1. Selling your Work
Online
Brittni Mehlhoff

6. 4 Things you need to
Create an Online Shop

7. 4 Things you need to
Create an Online Shop
• internet access
• digital camera
• photo editing software
• paypal account

8. Creating a PayPal
Account
• easy to set up
• free to create an account
• fees are charged once a sale is made
• 1.9 - 2.9% + $0.30 USD

11. What are my Options?
• etsy: www.etsy.com
• big cartel: www.bigcartel.com
• art fire: www.artfire.com
• shopify: www.shopify.com
• zibbet: www.zibbet.com

12. Etsy vs Big Cartel
• why would you choose one over another?
• what’s right for you?

15. Benefits of Etsy
• easy shop creation
• unlimited products
• up to 5 photos per product
• built in community and support
• basic stats available
• looking for a site with built in viewership
and a community of buyers & sellers?
• etsy is for you.

20. Benefits of Big Cartel• easy shop creation
• options for customization
• flat (per month) fee. no commission charge
• basic stats all the way up to advanced stats
& inventory tracking depending on the plan
• already established a viewership online,
through your website for example?
• big cartel is for you.

23. Aside from Price,What
are the Two most
Important Areas to
Focus on when Selling
your Work Online?

24. Top Two Areas to Focus
• product shots (photographs). this is number
one in my book.
• product description

25. A Note about Product
Shots
• this is your first sales pitch area.
• online shoppers cannot pick up your item
and hold it or examine the details as they
would at a real life store. so you must show
them what your work looks like in as great
detail as possible.
• if you don’t have the skills or equipment to
take quality photos, find someone who
does.

26. Product Shot Tips
• take photos in natural light during the day
• don’t forget to make use of your photo
editing software

27. How to Make use of All
Five Product Photos
• cropped image of painting (just the image)
• zoomed out (shows piece as a whole)
• style / environmental shot (this will also
show the scale of the piece, ideally)
• show its compliment (add on to the sale)
• detail shot

32. Product Description
• this is your second sales pitch area.
• again, online shoppers are not able to see
your work in person before they buy, so
the details really matter when it comes to
describing your work.

33. What to Include inYour
Product Descriptions
• title of work
• list dimensions and materials
• make it interesting!
• include a short story about each
piece if you have one (1-3 sentences)
• share your process (if it is unique)

34. A Few More Things
• creating policies
• setting prices

35. Shop Policies
• make this section as clear and concise aspossible.
• how long will it take for an item to shipafter it sells?
• are returns or exchanges allowed? and if so,how many days does a customer have to doso?
• who pays for shipping with areturn or exchange?

36. Pricing
• everyone has their own strategy for pricing,
so there is no right answer here.
• be consistent.
• if you want to price competitively, do your
research.
• check out your competition
• and then make an informed
decision

37. Start SellingYour Work
Online Today
• create a paypal account
• decide what online venue is right for you
• take high quality photos of your work
• write interesting product descriptions
• set your prices and store policies

38. Resources of Note
• the handmade marketplace: how to sell
your crafts locally, globally, and online
• by kari chapin
• www.papernstitch.com
• www.papernstitchblog.com
• category: advice + tips as well as
crafty business