How To Make Money With Your Crafts

Side hustles—it seems like you can’t scroll through Facebook without being bombarded with ads that tell you all of the reasons you should be working on earning an extra source of income. While I’m not here to sell you a course on how to get rich quick, I do want to share that there are so many ways to earn extra money with your crafts! And if it’s something you love to do, why not make a little spare change on the side?

With the internet, we can share our messages far and wide. If you’ve got a knack for creating needle felted pieces—let me tell you this—there’s an entire community of people who would love to purchase your projects as gifts or keepsakes. When we have special skills or talents, we often take it for granted. We forget that there are loads of people out there who admire our creativity and ability, and they wish they had the time or patience to sit down and do what we do! That’s pretty neat, huh?

Whether you would like to build a handmade business, earn some extra income, or simply sell enough of your work to cover the cost of your supplies, there are many different ways to get started. I’m not saying it will be easy, but it will be so worth it. I started selling my needle felted work back in 2008! And while our world has changed so much since then, there’s no doubt that the love for needle felted figurines is still going strong.

Find the Right Place to Sell

Local art shows, farmers markets and craft fairs can be wonderful places to sell handmade work because customers get to see your pieces in person and meet the artist who created them.

Selling online gives you another option. Etsy helped me tremendously when I was building Bear Creek Felting, and I began selling there in 2008. Today there are many ways to sell handmade work online, including marketplaces like Etsy, your own website, and social media.

Each option has its own fees, rules and advantages, so take some time to find the one that works best for what you make and how much time you want to spend managing your shop.

Whatever selling method you choose, remember to account for all of the costs involved—not only your materials and time, but also packaging, shipping, selling fees and other expenses that come with getting your work to the customer.

Get Social 

 There are millions of products on Etsy. How will yours get noticed? It’s not enough to simply post your items (no matter how beautiful they might be) and hope you get a sale! You’re going to have to put in a whole lot of work behind the scenes.

Social media can be a great way to help people discover your work and get to know the person behind it. 

You don’t have to be everywhere. Choose one or two places you enjoy using and share your work consistently. Show finished pieces, works in progress, the materials you use, and some of the story behind what you create. Don’t be afraid to show your progress or even the things that didn’t go quite right. Before-and-after photos and works in progress can be some of the most interesting parts of your story.

You also don’t need fancy equipment. Some of the most interesting content is simply a quick look at a project taking shape or a photograph of something you are proud to have finished.

The goal isn’t just to sell something every time you post. Give people a chance to follow your work, learn about what you make and become part of your story.

Build A Community

 Now that you’ve started sharing your passion with the rest of the world, it’s time to build a community. Find other crafters in your hometown or seek out some inspiring creators online. Chat with them, get inspired, and meet new friends! As much as we all love to complain about how technology has taken over our lives, it has done a lot of good as well.