Black Friday / Small Business Saturday / Cyber Monday Prep for Handmade Businesses

Are you feeling the rush (and the crunch) of the holiday season that’s quickly approaching? It’s time to prep our handmade businesses for busiest weekend of the year!

Hopefully by now, you’ve:

✅ Organized your workspace.

✅ Planned out your marketing strategy.

✅ Have new photos of your products, some with a holiday theme.

✅ Set your production schedule.

✅ And created your shipping deadlines and ordered your supplies.

If you haven’t checked these boxes off yet, don’t panic! Each blog post link gives you tips to get them done. Do what you can!

Now it’s time to put it all together, get your marketing going, and start filling those orders!

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.

The Black Friday through Cyber Monday weekend is THE busiest shopping weekend of the year for handmade businesses, both on and off-line.

While online shopping will continue to be record-breaking, this weekend comes with a LOT more competition and customers expecting to receive their items quickly. You might also struggle to keep up with orders! 

If you have done your prep work in advance, you will be ready for these possible roadblocks. 

Now, you just need to get people to your website, and that’s where your marketing comes in.

What Can You Offer Potential Customers?

To stand out from the crowd, try to come up with an enticing offer for your customers that is valid only during this busy shopping weekend.

You get bonus points if you can make it something fun for your customers. It is the season of joy, after all! It could be a scavenger hunt on your website, or a series of fun posts on your social media.

Maybe offer a discount on your items for certain days and times during the weekend. Or, come up with a free gift that you can offer with a purchase of a certain amount. 

The idea is to give your followers and potential customers a reason to shop with you instead of other sellers. Stand out from the crowd!

Get Customers Excited with Your Marketing

Because it’s such a busy weekend of shopping, it may be best to start showing your customers what they can expect in the weeks leading up.

Share photos of your products that are perfect for gift-giving. Tell your customers how they can get a great deal during the Black Friday weekend!

Set up your email list and get those emails ready to go! Send out a few before the big day, and then be sure to send several during Thanksgiving weekend. Remember, you’re competing for space in your customers’ inbox, so it may be necessary to send a few more emails than you normally would.

If you are appearing at craft shows in the weeks’ prior to Thanksgiving weekend, be sure to tell your customers about your special offers for that weekend. Give out your website info to anyone who will take it, and advertise what you plan on doing during the Thanksgiving weekend online.

The Finishing Touches for Holiday Selling Success

Make sure your product photos are in top shape. If you took new photos, make sure they are uploaded to your website. Top notch photos are the backbone for handmade businesses. If your photos are not up to par, you’ll miss out on sales.

Spruce up your home page with festive images. Update your Etsy banner with a holiday theme, or dress up your website’s homepage to make it fun and inviting. You can add a special holiday logo image, or make sure your holiday-themed product photos are on your home page. 

Test your website’s speed and make sure everything is working properly now, so you don’t come across issues later on that might keep people from completing their orders.

Check your social media posts, make sure you have them scheduled and ready to go. Double check that all your coupon codes are set up correctly (if you’re issuing them), and that you have posts set to go for your special offers.

Black Friday / Small Business Saturday / Cyber Monday Prep for Handmade Businesses

It’s almost go time! Take some deep breaths and remember to schedule in some self-care. This time of year can be crazy for handmade business owners, but it’s also fun and exciting! 

If you need some help creating social media content for your holiday marketing, check out my new course – Clear Cut Canva! It’s a step-by-step guide to help you quickly start using Canva to create gorgeous graphics for your business.