Crafting products for the long tail
How does a long tail apply to selling crafting stuff? The term « long tail » was first coined by Chris Anderson in Wired and was relative to the books and music markets. Simply put, it states that the total sales of products in low demand can exceed the total of the most popular products.
Interestingly enough, this applies perfectly to the craft sale market. At the head of the graph you can find the crafts and products made by a lot of people without a particular target buyer, like the one color scarf and many kind of jewelry. Many people buy those products and this is fine.
But for all of those people looking for the common product, there are as many buyers that are looking for something else. People today are looking more and more into getting products that cater to their own personal tastes and style. All of those other crafts are part of the long tail, and there is a lot more variety there, but less craft sold in total for each of them
The same can apply to any craft or group of people you may target. There is always the head of the graph with the common products everybody wants with a lot of competition, and the tip of the tail with the most obscure stuff and less competition.
But does that mean that you should always craft weird, obscure stuff to avoid competition? Of course not! True, some products type are more popular than others, but people are looking for many different things and have different needs. You may wish to craft a few different products for a small markets, or create for a big, crowded market with lots of buyers. It’s all about finding a balance between the two that work for you.
If you’re trying to decide on a new craft to learn or new products to create, remember the long tail. Crafting for a smaller group of people most likely means that there will be less competition, and more chance for you to make a name. With the whole world at your disposal online, you can’t go so small that there is no buyer at all.
You can apply the same principles to the content of your craft shop. Your few most popular products will probably sell as much as all your other products put together. The advantage of your less popular products is that they most likely attract a narrower group of buyers with needs that are harder to fulfill and who will be loyal to you. Those same buyers may even buy you more common crafts for themselves or as gifts!
So, get crafting and don’t worry about product popularity! If you make quality crafts and promote well to the right buyers, you will have sales.
Happy craft selling,
Cindy
Suggested Reading:
Crafts and Craft Shows: How to Make MoneyCraftspeople and hobbyists will welcome this new edition of a popular book. Comprehensive and indispensable, Crafts and Crafts Shows gives advice on e... Read More >
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