How to Make & Market Costume Jewelry for Fun or Profit

After you make your own jewelry, market it on the Internet.

If you enjoy making jewelry for yourself and your friends, or people compliment you often on the gifts they receive, you might be onto something -- you might have stumbled upon a craft that you can actually make money from. The first thing you need do to do is to set up a way to get your brand known. You need to market yourself. So gather up your homemade costume jewelry and get ready to brand yourself.

Things You'll Need

• Camera

Instructions

1. Make your costume jewelry. Before you can start your business, you need to have stock. Decide what kind of jewelry you're going to make -- necklaces, rings or bracelets and whether they'll be beaded or just metal. Other homemade jewelry may be made with embroidery floss or with rhinestones or precious gems. Once you have decided on the type of costume jewelry you're going to market, make it. To make sure people want your wares, make each piece unique; your customers will be delighted to know they have a one-of-a-kind item.

2. Take pictures of your finished product. Don't just take a single picture of each piece, take a picture from at least three angles. Use a model to show how the jewelry looks on a person -- this often helps sell a piece better than a picture of it lying flat on velvet or felt. Transfer the pictures from your camera to your computer.

3. Set up a website. If you don't want or know how to build your own website, set up a shop on Facebook, Etsy or eBay. Upload your photos and write out descriptions of each piece, and name your price. Make your pages public and easily searchable by using specific keywords in your descriptions. If you merely want to get your brand out there, price your jewelry at-cost, meaning the same price as what you paid for the materials. If you want to make a profit, mark the jewelry up 10 to 20 percent from the original cost of the materials -- mark it up even higher if you want to get some extra money for the time you put in.

References

• The Home Jewelry Business Success Resource
• Beading -- Design -- Jewelry: Home Based Jewelry Business and Design Guide
• How to Make a Name for Your Handmade Jewelry Locally: Part Two