Frequently Asked Questions from Handmade Business Owners

Hi! Mei here!

Our Creative Hive VIP Facebook Group has grown tremendously over the last few months. We have an amazing, supportive community and I love seeing people flourish in there!

We get a lot of questions coming in every day and while I would love to answer every one myself, I wouldn't have enough time in the day to do it! As you'll see in my responses below, I give extremely thorough and in-depth feedback.

So here's what I can do instead. I've compiled a list of frequently asked questions below along with my responses to them.

If you're reading this, you've most likely been linked to this post from within the group and your question has been answered here.

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Thinking About Promoting Your Product to a Store? Here are Six Things to Keep in Mind

It can be downright scary to talk to a store about your product! You have spent all this time and energy creating something and getting it right.

You’re thinking to yourself, “What if I’m not really ready yet to wholesale?”, “What if the store doesn’t like my color options?”, “Am I displaying my inventory in a professional way?” Here are a few things I have learned along the way about wholesaling. [Read more…]

Case Study: How I studied my ideal clients before launching my brand (and how I got 1000 Instagram followers + 6 blog features + Real clients in less than 6 months)

Starting an online business isn’t easy.

You are excited about your idea, you invest all your time, effort and money into it and most of the times you end up few months after hearing crickets.

I’ve been seeing many of my own attempts growing slowly.

My products disappearing from the Etsy results, my Instagram with barely likes…

As entrepreneur and creative I’ve started several businesses: from handmade products such as handmade soaps, clutches, kimonos or pencil cases to my graphic & web design studio & the cherry of my cake: Lovers Love Loving. [Read more…]

How to Make Your Competitors Irrelevant

What do you think of when you hear the word “competitor”?

For most of us, when the word “competitor” enters the scene, all logic stays behind and we start dwelling on the frustration of the shops that are ahead of us.

But I'm here to tell you today: it doesn't have to be this way!

Your competitors are valuable to your business for many reasons but regardless of whether you use them or not, you still need to outrun them so you can stay ahead. [Read more…]

A Little Known Way to Boost Traffic and Increase Conversions

How do you go about choosing a photo to promote your product? Is it your favorite photo? An image that shows your product in action? A detail shot that shows off your craftsmanship? Research shows that a product’s photo quality is the biggest driver of its sales, even more than its tags, price, or customer reviews. If there was an empirical way to learn which photo will drive more traffic — and therefore conversions — to your shop, would you use it? (Spoiler: there is.)

Take a Guess

Take a look at the two photos below. They depict the same pair of sandals; one shows them as they might be used after purchase, the second as they might appear in a store. Which image will generate more traffic? Go ahead and guess before scrolling on.

In this case, the seller had chosen the image with feet as the primary image. When we tested both, the image of the sandals alone generated 30-50% more traffic.

Now, try the same exercise with these two photos of a necklace: [Read more…]