Jewelry Business Tips for 2020

Moving into the holiday season we know many of you who make and sell your jewelry are feeling the pressure to make those sales. While this year is a little different, we wanted to share with you some ideas you can use to get those sales. Many of the usual holiday craft shows may be canceled, but that doesn't mean this holiday season has to be a bust for your business! Many people are seeking out small businesses to support and stimulate their local economy, and there are many ways you can still keep the sales flowing in.

Many of our staff members also have their own small jewelry businesses and have a ton of knowledge and experience to share when it comes to marketing and increasing sales. Our first tip is to make sure your business is present on social media! Being on Facebook and Instagram is especially important during these unprecedented times because many people are home and active on social media. If you can boost your following with good content, people will be inspired to make a purchase from you. Some things to keep in mind when posting on social media is to make sure you have good quality images and don't be afraid to be candid and genuine with your audience. Not all posts need to sound like a sales pitch. People love connecting and seeing you, the designer, along with your process, your pets, etc. It is also important to make sure you are using relevant hashtags on your posts as this helps new people with common interests find your business. It's best to use at least 15 hashtags but you can use up to 30. Two apps we use for finding relevant hashtags are Leetags and Intags. You can download these apps on your phone and cut out the hashtag guessing game. They will suggest tags based on keywords that you enter. You can also connect your social media accounts and post to Instagram and Facebook simultaneously, killing two birds with one stone and reaching double the audience in half the time. (Work smart, not hard!)

If you are looking to boost your following you can launch a giveaway to garner up more followers around the holiday season. Social media can also be used to host live sales. Customers love getting to see and talk to you, and that's half the fun of going to a big jewelry show- getting to meet all sorts of people and chatting about your creative process. We have seen many clients have great success showcasing their items in live videos on social media.

Another virtual idea is to post your items on another storefront platform. For example, if you already have a website maybe try listing some things on Etsy, or vice versa. We love Shopify as an easy to use web platform. It's very user friendly and even a beginner can navigate it. There are also many fabulous integrations with Shopify such as a feature allowing customers to shop directly from your Facebook and Instagram pages!

A non-virtual idea that can be fun as well as lucrative is hosting small socially-distanced jewelry parties with your friends or acquaintances. Ask a friend to host and give them a percentage of your sales or offer free products in exchange. We also love the idea of celebrating your local teachers with a jewelry party featuring games and giveaways. Make it fun!

Another great way to get your foot in the door at local shops is to have your items on consignment. This is wonderful for both designer and shop owner. This gets your jewelry into a store and store owners get beautiful inventory with no out of pocket costs.

Don't forget how much fun it is to set up a pop up trunk show in a local shop to feature some of your jewelry. This may even help you snag a permanent spot in a local shop if your jewelry sells well. We have also noticed in our area that there are many open-air pop up shows happening such as tailgate markets and local farmers markets.

There are so many possibilities if you think outside the box. You could potentially have your best holiday season ever! We love to help our clients blossom and are here to help guide you with the knowledge we have learned over the years. We are happy to answer any questions you may have about the areas we are familiar with, just shoot us an email!