- It's true, there is a lot of competition
in the handmade world.
And I'm not talking necessarily just on Etsy either,
but even if you are selling on your own website.
There're many handmade shop owners selling items
that might be close
to the ones you are selling or intend to sell.
So when I hear makers say things like,
"There is too much competition now to succeed,"
or "It's not what it used to be.
Everyone and their mother has a handmade shop these days,"
or "It's impossible to stand out from the crowd..."
When I hear these things, I understand.
Because, factually, yes,
it's true there is a lot of competition.
This video isn't going to try and convince you otherwise.
But what I'd like to do instead is offer you some tips
as to how you can still stand out from the crowd,
how even if there is some competition,
you can still find more than enough customers out there
to have a successful handmade shop.
Ready? Let's dive in!
(upbeat music)
Bonjour, my name is Deb and I'm the founder of Tizzit.co,
a community for makers and handmade shop owners,
just like your fabulous self!
And today I'd love to chat about this idea
that it's impossible to stand out in a crowded niche
and give you a few tips
as to how you can make your handmade products,
and your handmade shop in general, stand out.
I think it might be a good idea
to start with what will not help you stand out, actually.
So let's start there.
What I see a lot of makers do
is look at what someone who is selling similar items
to the ones they are selling or want to sell,
so this shop that's similar to yours
but that's' ahead of you,
that's doing better than you might be right now
and try to not imitate, not copy, but, to a degree,
take inspiration from replicate what that shop is doing
so that you can stand out too.
The logic being, "Well, they stood out doing this thing,
so this thing works, so I am going to do this thing too."
So "if it works for them it should work for you"
is the logic here.
The problem is that, by definition,
standing out means doing something different.
Actually, here's what the dictionary says
about standing out.
Standing out means to be easy to see or notice
because of being different.
Now this is nothing you didn't already know, right?
But if you compare that to what most shops are doing,
you can't help but notice a little bit of an issue.
You can not stand out
by doing what someone else already did to stand out.
That's a done way of standing out.
If you take a stadium, and I promise
I am going to bring this back to your handmade shop,
but if you take a stadium and fill it with people
who are all wearing a black t-shirt
and then you make one person change
and come back with a blue t-shirt, that person stands out.
If another person gets changed into a blue t-shirt,
still kinda stands out.
But after a little while, blue stops being enough
to stand out on its own.
You're going to have to go put a PINK t-shirt on
or if you want to keep your blue t-shirt,
you're going to have to dive deeper
and differentiate yourself in some other way
because blue simply isn't enough anymore.
No magic keyword or marketing or SEO trick
will make blue stand out if everyone is wearing blue.
This is crucial to understand
because when it comes to your handmade shop,
whether it's on Etsy or on your own website
or any other marketplace you might be selling on,
you cannot stand out without differentiating yourself.
Something needs to be different,
either in what you're offering or in the way you're offering
and positioning your brand in that niche.
You've got to find your special standing out sauce.
Your products being handmade, that helps!
They are unique because they are handmade.
To which you're probably thinking, "Yes they're handmade
but there are still thousands of shops
selling items that are very similar to mine."
Now, of course you're going to have competitors
with similar products, and a similar style
and overall, a pretty similar look in their shops to yours.
But A, never exactly the same products
and B, there is another element, a very very important one,
that comes into play
when you want to differentiate yourself,
something that's got nothing to do with your products
and everything to do with you, your personality,
your brand, your brand's voice and personality.
That is 100% unique and different because no other person
can be exactly like you.
And this uniqueness of yours
needs to be reflected in your brand and in your shop.
The best shops, the best brand,
the ones who stand out from the crowd
aren't everyone's best friend.
They can't be, you cannot be.
If you are going to stand out, you have to be different,
your sense of aesthetics, your unique designs
and your products, yes, they will get you halfway there.
But the rest of the way?
It's all about how you show up as a brand.
What you stand for and what you don't.
You will stand out to people who stand
for the same things you do.
Your shop, your brand will stand out
to the people who stand for and live by similar values,
who have a similar sense of humour,
who have a similar lifestyle
to the one that your brand communicates,
to the one that your brand sells.
Remember you are not selling products
as much as you are selling
the lifestyle around your products.
You have to make it a priority
to repel people as much as you attract others.
Because, "Why is your shop not making money
if they are thousands of other shops
just like yours out there?"
Is the tough love question I am really asking here.
And the honest and loving answer I want to give you
is that your products can not be everything to everybody.
Often when I ask makers or shop owners I work with,
"So who do you want to sell your products to?
Who is your ideal customer,
this person you know that if you put your products
in front of that person,
they're going to fall in love with your products?"
When I ask that, the vast majority of answers are so broad,
it's essentially half the world's population.
For example, for a Jeweller, it could be,
"My shop is for every woman who wants to feel special
and express herself through her jewellery."
That's 100% of women,
we all want to feel special, many billions.
It's impossible for your shop to stand out
by staying that broad.
So if you want to stand out, you have got to make it a point
to not be for everybody.
You won't lose visibility online
because you're pushing people away
and focusing on a small pocket of people
inside your own niche.
You won't lose sales by niching down, you will get more.
You won't struggle to get found online, you will stand out.
So don't be just another fish in the sea,
be a big fish in a small pond.
You want as many people coming to your shop,
saying, "Nope, you know ? That's not for me."
Than people coming and saying,
"Wow, that's exactly what I am looking for,
I love this brand!"
Now, at this point, it totally makes sense
that you would think that pushing people away
can not possibly be the answer
to making your shop stand out.
That this advice I am giving you right now
is the dumbest, most stupidest advice you've ever heard
because I am essentially telling you to turn away sales.
Crazy, right?
And deep down, because you're proud of your work
and of your products, and so you should!,
you can't help but think,
going back to the same jewellery designer example,
that most women would love your designs
and that it would make them feel special.
But I promise you, if you cast your nest too wide
and try to make your brand stand out for everybody,
it will stand out to nobody.
Trying to appeal to everybody
and standing out at the same time is not feasible.
And also dangerous!
Because the problem with being like a lot of other brands
is that you're not only competing for attention
but you also will end up competing on price.
Because in front of a similar product
and a similar brand experience,
the only element left to compare for your customers
will be price and you can't afford to compete on price.
Competition can feel so overwhelming,
but the good news is that you can decide
how big that competition pool really is.
Focus on delighting a small part of your market.
You get to decide whether you want to swim in the ocean
or in a much smaller pond, you're in control.
So be the glittery, unicorn-soap shop for little girls.
Be the skull and morbid soap-shop
selling coffin-shaped, soap bars for the gothic lover.
Be the organic, sustainable, natural soap bar
stamped with inspiring words
for the eco-conscious 30-year old
who's into self-development.
Just avoid being the soap for everybody.
Actually be different,
and the sales will flow in, I can promise you.
I have another video around competition
that pairs really well with that one,
with what we just talked about,
that's around your mindset around competition.
You can click the link on the screen somewhere right now
to watch it or below this video.
Once you've done that, you'll have everything you need
to stop worrying about your competition for good.
Thanks for watching and until next time, au revoir!