Making & Marketing a Successful Art & Craft Business

(Paperback)

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Description

A revised and updated edition of Craft a Creative Business, this is a must-read guide for anyone wanting to turn their hobby, craft or art skills into a successful business.

Fiona Pullen, owner of The Sewing Directory, covers every aspect of setting up a small creative business clearly and simply; giving advice on the importance of identifying markets, focusing on a USP (unique selling point), assessing the competition, making sure the price is right and setting goals. Also included are sections on product photography and videography, branding and legal matters.

Particular emphasis is placed on online selling, with detailed information on markets, blogging, using social media and the importance of analytics and SEO (search engine optimisation). Information on offline selling is included too, with notes on selling at craft fairs, trade fairs and markets, selling through retail outlets, running courses and workshops, and featuring work in the media. Every chapter is supported by practical activities to help you apply the lessons to your business, along with insights and advice from dozens of successful business professionals including Debbie Shore, Torie Jayne and Laura Strutt.

Reviews

To a run a successful business you have to be, or make yourself, good at all the administrative tasks that come with that particular territory. Most books on running art and craft businesses tend to concentrate on the business and forget the art. This one, however, is immediately user-friendly. Everything comes in bite-size chunks that you can absorb easily, headings are easy to follow and there are even illustrations that make reading fun. You could almost believe admin can be an art!

* The Artist, April 2019 *

Making & Marketing a Successful Art & Craft Business by Fiona Pullen is a comprehensive guide to help you in your quest to establish a business around your passion.

Written from first hand experience, Pullen starts by taking the reader through the pros and cons of self employment and getting started, from market research, creating a business plan, setting goals and everything in between.

Then the book covers the nitty gritty of legal matters, including coverage of necessities like taxes and accounts. This section was particularly well done, very clear and straightforward.

The chapter covering the myriad ways of presenting your business and creating a brand offers invaluable advice and is accompanied by lovely photographs. The world of social media and its use to your business is particularly topical and has been almost totally revised since the last edition, providing up to date advice on this fast changing area.

The business of selling your product online and offline conclude the book with lots of good tips and ideas about where to sell your wares and exactly how to do it, like how to get your product into stores.

Every aspect of starting and running your own craft business has been thought of and addressed in this book. This is a must read for those starting up!

-- Alex Scott * Customer Review *

Not sure on how to turn your hobby into a career

Fiona Pullen holds your hand as you navigate every aspect of setting up a small creative business. The book is divided into chapters that deal practically with self employment, legal matters, branding and marketing, social media, selling online and in the the real world, as well as running workshops and networking, Each chapter is supported by practical exercises to help you apply the lesson to your business, along with insights and advice from dozens of successful business professionals making this a must-read guide for anyone thinking of setting up their own business.

* Embroidery, January/February 2019 *

Required reading for anyone wishing to turn their hobby into a business, Fiona Pullen's updated and revisedMaking & Marketing a Successful Art & Craft Business is a must. Fiona explores every aspect of setting up a creative business with advice on identifying markets, setting the correct prices and goals, as well as how to photograph your work to best advantage. There is also plenty of useful information on branding, legal matters, online selling, craft fairs, and featuring work in the media. Each section is accompanied by practical activities to help you apply the lessons to your own business.

* Leisure Painter, January 2019 *

Theres been a fairly steady stream of books on this subject over the years but, up to now, theyve usually been written by or for (or both) the business professional. This one differs in the first instance by having as its author someone who is active in the field she writes about.

The second, and even more important, aspect is that this is aimed at those who are primarily creators rather than entrepreneurs. The presentation is bright, pithy and written in everyday language. There are no lengthy treatises on legal and commercial practice although this is all covered. Rather, short paragraphs and breakout boxes sit alongside simple to-do lists. Although this is a complex subject, learning about it doesnt need to be intimidating. If you were thinking of putting a toe in the water but were put off by the immense list of what you need to know and do, this is immediately reassuring the moment you open the pages.

Running a business isnt a simple exercise, although you dont have to start with a chain of shops and a host of staff. Maybe you just want to sell your own work from your home. Do that and a lot of the difficulties go away. You can deal with the problems of success when you have them. You do need, however, to know how to price, present and market your work and Fiona has plenty of advice that will help you avoid the pitfalls that entrap many a newcomer. Early failures can easily put you off, as well as being expensive, but follow the simple guides and you should be rewarded from the outset.

There is necessarily a lot of detail here and this is, at 256 pages, not a slim volume. However, the layout makes it easy to locate the sections you need. Following Fionas excellent advice is not difficult and can even be a pleasure.

-- Henry Malt * Artbookreview.net *

I was delighted to receive a copy of Fiona Pullenss revised edition of Making & Marketing a Successful Art & Craft Business to review. This is an updated version of Fionas first book Craft a Creative Business, that was published by Search Press in 2015, and brings it up to date on such issues as: social media, and the increase in video content; legislative and tax changes; and updated links to valuable resources. As a longarm quilter in the creative industry, I was really interested to read this book and see what information was relevant to me.

Over the past 4 weeks Fiona has been writing for the website, click here to see the articles, and giving an overview of certain topics which are covered in much more depth in the book. The main areas it covers are Where do I start, Legal matters, Presentation, Social media, Selling online and Selling offline. Each topic is broken down further into sections and the comprehensive index at the back means you can find what you want really easily.

The book is one that can be read from cover to cover but is also a great book to dip in and out off on the subjects that you are addressing at the time. I know how much video content is at the forefront of social media these days but know nothing about how to go about it. If I am going to take that step I want it to be worthwhile and not another drain on my time. So I jumped to the social media topic straight away. There was great advice on all the different aspects of social media and what I really liked was the real world examples that were provided and insight from other creatives in business. Also all the links I visited worked hooray!

I think a lot of us who are in the creative industry come into it in a different way than other businesses. Quite often what started as a hobby can lead into a money making venture and sometimes we dont stop and think whether it should or do a lot of business planning beforehand. The section on Is self-employment for you is a great jumping off point for figuring out whether you really do want to take on everything that is involved with self-employment and the activities included in there could prove invaluable in making this decision.

On a totally practical note I love the size of it it was perfect to slip into my handbag and read whilst waiting for children at various activities!

-- Abigail Sheridan de Graaff * Cut & Alter *
Three Reasons You Need This Book Reason Number 1

A business manual (which is essentially what this book is) could be a very dry and boring read. But this book is not at all boring or dry. Fiona Pullen has a writing style that is fun and entertaining to read.

Plus, Search Press has done a great job with the layout. So, you dont get pages and pages of text. It is broken up with case studies, bullet points, action plans, notes etc, which make the advice easy to follow.

This is a book that you can plough through, or dip into, depending on what you need.

Reason Number 2

Practicality. It is all very well being given a theoretical guide to running a business, but its all too easy to read such a guide, then take no practical steps. So, you might as well not have bothered at all.

The second thing I love about this book is the downloads. So, once you have read a theory like how to write a business plan, you get a download to fill in. This will guide you through the steps to produce your own business plan.

Plus, the book is full of little tasks for you to carry out. If you really go through those with diligence, you cant fail in your business.

Reason Number 3

How often do you get to learn from an expert Well, perhaps this is the most valuable aspect of this book. Fiona has done it already. So, this isnt some lovely classroom theory. This is an expert passing on their knowledge and expertise. Really, thats priceless

Clickhereto read Katie Dean's review in full.

-- Katie Dean * www.myworldofbeads.com *

"The Craft & Hobby Association UK (CHA-UK) highly recommends Craft a Creative Business as a must read for anybody starting-up or working in the craft industry! It gives you insightful knowledge, helpful hints and tips written in an easy to read format by the incredible Fiona Pullen.

-- Craig De Souza, CHA-UK * The Craft & Hobby Association UK *

I received this book as a Christmas present (2015) - I read it cover to cover! It's an easy read and the little activity tasks help you to focus on different areas.

I found the sections on online selling and social media particularly helpful. I put into practice many of the suggestions, and this has resulted in a steady increase in web traffic and followers.

I regularly refer back to the book and have recommended it to friends developing creative businesses. A must for anyone with a creative business.

-- Ellie

Author Bio

Fiona Pullen is the founder of popular sewing website, The Sewing Directory, which allows stitchers to find their local sewing shop, sewing school or sewing groups plus free projects and tutorials. Launched in 2010, the site rapidly grew to be one of the UKs top sewing websites, attracting 1,000,000 visitors a year and with a social media following of over 80,000. You can find The Sewing Directory at:www.thesewingdirectory.co.uk

As a law graduate, Fiona keenly researched all aspects of running a business to ensure the success ofThe Sewing Directory. She has shared her knowledge in countless magazine features and seminars.

Fiona lives in picturesque Devon, UK, with her husband and son. When not working or writing, she enjoys bag making, quilting and embroidery; and is an avid reader.