Introduction

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio: https://www.pexels.com/photo/various-colorful-threads-hanging-on-rail-in-workshop-3769010/

A craft business is a small, independent business that produces handmade or custom goods. Craft businesses can be found in all industries, from fashion to food and beyond.

Craft businesses have a lot of advantages over larger companies: they’re often more flexible, creative and nimble; they can offer a personal touch that big brands don’t; and their owners are usually passionate about what they do!But there are also some challenges that come with being small: it’s hard to compete with the sheer volume of products available at big-box stores; it’s easy for customers to forget about you if they don’t see your brand everywhere (like when they’re scrolling through Instagram); and sometimes people associate handmade items with being expensive or low quality–which isn’t always true!

Defining Your Target Audience

Defining your target audience is one of the most important steps in creating a marketing strategy. You need to know who you’re trying to reach, and why they would want to buy from you. This can be difficult if you’re just starting out, but it’s important that you spend some time thinking about this so that when it comes time for creating ads or other promotional materials, they will appeal directly to the people who are most likely going to buy from you.

If possible, try testing different types of ads with different audiences until one works better than others–this will help narrow down what kind of advertising methods work best for each type of customer. If nothing else works well enough yet (or if there isn’t enough money), consider using social media platforms like Facebook or Instagram as an inexpensive way to reach out directly without having spent any money at all!

Developing a Marketing Plan

When you’re developing your marketing plan, the first thing to consider is how much money you want to spend on it. The next step is setting objectives for what you want to achieve with your marketing efforts. For example, if one of your goals is to increase sales by 20% over the next year and another goal is for customers to be more engaged with their experience at craft fairs (e.g., buy more items), then these are two very different objectives that require different types of strategies and tactics in order for them both work out well together as part of one cohesive plan.

Once we know our objectives, we can start thinking about which channels will help us reach those goals most effectively–and this isn’t always an easy question! For example: If I’m selling handmade jewelry through my Etsy shop as well as at craft fairs around town every weekend during peak season from May through October each year (which happens), where should I focus my efforts? Should I only advertise online or also try advertising offline? How much time should I spend doing each type of advertising? What kind of return am I hoping for from each type?

Social Media Marketing

Social media marketing is a great way to build your brand and get the word out about your business. The key is creating engaging content that people want to share with their friends and family, which will help increase brand awareness.

Another important aspect of social media marketing is leveraging influencers–people who have large followings on platforms like Instagram or YouTube, who are willing to promote your business in exchange for free products or services (or sometimes just because they love what you’re doing). This can be an effective strategy because it allows you reach thousands more potential customers than if you were just posting on Facebook yourself!

Finally, advertising platforms such as Google AdWords allow businesses like yours access paid advertising spots in front of specific audiences based on keywords related specifically toward craft-related searches made by consumers interested in purchasing products similar yours online at any given time during any given day throughout each month throughout each year…

Email Marketing

Email marketing is one of the best ways to reach your customers and grow your business. It’s also one of the most effective ways to build a loyal following, which will help you sell more products in the long run.

Email lists are like gold for small businesses because they allow you to communicate directly with people who want to hear from you–and only them. You can send out emails on special offers or new products, run campaigns that encourage people to buy something right then and there (like an “early bird” deal), or even just keep them updated on what’s happening at craft fairs around town.

Setting up an email list is easy; all it takes is some basic information about each person who signs up (like their name). Then, when someone signs up through a form on your website or social media page(s), they’ll automatically be added into this database so that any future messages go straight into their inboxes without cluttering up other areas where they might get lost among other messages from companies or friends/family members who aren’t selling anything! Once set up properly with automation software like MailChimp (which comes free with every paid account) there won’t ever need any additional maintenance either!