Planning for Holiday Sales Success: 5 Essential Steps for Handmade Business Owners
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Welcome to my “Christmas in July” series for handmade sellers! This week, we’re planning for holiday sales success.
The holiday season is a wonderful time for handmade business owners to boost sales and connect with customers at craft shows and online.
By following these steps, you can maximize your profits, attract more customers, and ensure a (relatively) smooth holiday season for your handmade business.
Grab your planner, and let’s get started!
Disclosure: some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.
1: Analyze Past Performance
Before diving into the holiday sales frenzy, it’s essential to analyze your past performance.
Take a close look at your previous year’s sales data online and at craft shows. Identify your most popular products and the ones that didn’t perform as well.
This analysis will guide you in making informed decisions about your inventory, pricing, and marketing strategies for the upcoming holiday season.
Be sure to read Week 1 of “Christmas In July,” which will help you deeply analyze your business’ previous year.
2: Decide on New Products and Collections for Holiday Sales
You’ll need an idea of what you’ll be making to know what materials you need.
With your past performance information, you can decide which products you will continue making for this year’s holidays. But now is also the time to come up with new product ideas.
Collections and gift sets are also great ways to “repackage” your current products. Find ways to pair items together to create gifts for various people.
Once you have a list of products, come up with preliminary materials and packing supplies. Ordering these items now will ensure you have them in stock when things get busy.
Step 3: Create a Production Schedule
You can start creating a production schedule now that you know what you’ll be making.
Give yourself time to make your products, as well as time to take photos and create marketing for them.
As you start to produce your products, you’ll have a better sense of how long it takes to make them, so you can tweak this schedule as you go along.
But think about how much ahead you will be by starting a production schedule now!
My favorite way to create this schedule is through batch work. I also create blocks of time for all my business functions in my calendar, so I make sure I carve out time to do what’s important.
You can read more about this planning method here: Get Your Craft Business Ready for a Thriving Busy Season.
4: Craft Show Readiness
Craft shows offer a fantastic opportunity to connect with customers face-to-face and showcase the uniqueness of your handmade products.
To make the most of craft shows during the holiday season, prepare an eye-catching booth display that captures the spirit of the season. If you start planning now, you can create an enjoyable set-up to draw customers in.
Plan on offering the gift items and collections you’ve decided to sell. Remember, customers at craft shows during the holidays are looking for gift ideas for everyone in their lives.
Also, think about your marketing efforts within your booth. You’ll want handouts that have your contact information and website info. And remember to capture emails!
Finally, be sure you have a way to capture payments, including credit cards. If you want more help getting craft show ready, check out my free guide, Market Must-Haves for Makers!
5: Holiday Sales Depend on Marketing
Effective promotion and advertising are crucial to stand out from the competition during the holiday sales season.
This is the perfect time to think about any sales you want to run during the holidays. Remember to ensure you’ll still make a profit!
Once you secure your sale dates, start thinking about your marketing. This includes emails and social media.
You can create a content calendar for yourself just by using a spreadsheet. Decide how often you will post, and put those days into the calendar.
Then think about what you will talk about in each post. Remember, not all posts will be about selling! You can share your process, your hobbies, and even your favorite traditions that you follow during the holidays.
You may even want to contact influencers to see if you can collaborate with them during the holidays. I have more about collaborating here: Pros and Cons of Influencer Marketing.
There are several free scheduling apps for social media, including Canva and Meta Business Suite. Or you can use a more robust app such as Later. Either way, if you start scheduling your posts now, they will run automatically when you have your hands full fulfilling orders.
Planning for Holiday Sales Success: 5 Essential Steps for Handmade Business Owners
By following these five essential steps, you can plan for holiday sales success and make the most of the season for your handmade business. With a well-thought-out plan in place, you’ll be able to attract more customers and increase your sales.
Read the Full Christmas (Prep) in July Series:
Start or Improve Your Online Store
How to Do a Social Media Audit
Self-Care and Hiring Help (goes live on 7/31/23)
Get everything you need to know about art fair and market prep with my free guide, Market Must-Haves for Makers! Get ready to ROCK your market sales!
