As crafters many of us sell our wares on-line; maybe your craft is a full-time business, or maybe you sell on-line as a side project to help off-set the cost of your hobbies. Either way, it’s that time of year: The Holiday Shopping Season!

For most of us the last two months of the year are by far our busiest, and the holiday rush can make or break our bottom line for the year. It pays (pun totally intended) to be prepared. That is why I’ve compiled a list of tips to help you make the most of the upcoming Holiday Shopping Season.

Tip no. 1 – Spruce  up your shop: Whether it’s your own website, an Etsy shop, or a studio on Artfire, take the time to give your space  a thorough “spruce up”. This can include looking closely at your photos, and re-shooting any that aren’t stellar. Read your product descriptions objectively, or ask an objective friend to read them for you, and edit as necessary. Is your bio current? Are your shipping, payment, and return  policies clearly outlined? It may sound tedious, but if you take the time to clean up your space before you get super busy you’ll be able to focus on customer service during the rush.

Tip no. 2 – Stock up on supplies: This includes shipping supplies, packaging supplies, gift wrap  if you offer that service (and you may want to consider it),  and of course your branding materials. Do you have enough calling cards, hang tags, and other materials you use to brand yourself to get you through? It may seem obvious, but December is not the time to run out of cards.

Tip no. 3 – Focus on your product – inventory : First and foremost,  do you have enough inventory? Are you sure? Customers can’t buy things that aren’t available. I remember one year when I was listing and selling journals faster than I could bind them, and as hard as I tried to keep up I eventually had to be “sold out”. I hate to even think about the sales I lost.

Tip no. 4 – Focus on your product – new, seasonal, & special items: It’s too late now to try and plan a new product line, but if you have new work, now may be the time to feature it. Likewise, feature those seasonal items, and the things that work especially well as gifts. Make sure your descriptions point out their “giftiness”, and suggest to your customers whom they might give them to – journals “for your writer friends”, desk calendars “for your co-workers”, you get the idea. If you sell on a site that utilizes a tag system make sure to include gifting and season specific tags. Most importantly have your new and seasonal items front and center in your shop.

Tip no. 5 – Customer service and special  services: Take full advantage of the fact that you may have more customers right now and try your best to make each one a returning customer. What special services can you afford to offer – free shipping? gift wrap? customized products? If you can afford any of these services, now is the time to offer  them. If not, that’s fine, you can still make your customers feel special with small give-away items like buttons, stickers, even candy, some small token of appreciation. And of course, provide the best possible service to everyone. Again, try to turn all those extra seasonal customers into a loyal following of returning customers.

Tip no 6 – Take time for yourself: It is the holidays after all and you should take time for yourself and your loved ones. If you have prepared and are well supplied and solid on inventory, you should be able to have both a great selling season and time for yourself and your family. Don’t let the rush burn you out.  I can’t stress this enough, so I’ll say it again; don’t let the rush burn you out!

~Elizabeth Carls

Read more of about Elizabeth at her blog, crafting with fiber, paper, thread and ink