11 easy things to make and sell online

Selling items online can be a fun way to build a business or establish an additional source of income. And when you make those items yourself, you have total control over their design, quality, and even profit margins. Handmade products are in high demand, and you can create unique products that set your business apart from the crowd.

Making handcrafted products doesn’t have to be difficult. These DIY-friendly craft ideas are easy to learn. You can start creating products for extra cash and build your own small business.

1. Candles

Candles are great products to start with, since you can customize them and make them for holiday occasions. Candles don’t have to be expensive or complicated to make. You can even make them using mason jars. Try adding in different essential oils to make scented options.

2. Wall art

Wall art, particularly paint pouring, is trending right now, and paint pours are incredibly easy DIY crafts. You’ll just need some assorted paints, a canvas, and a sense of which colors will look best together. Poured paintings let you quickly create completely unique products, since no two of these paintings will ever be alike.

3. Bath products

Consider making essentials like lip balm, handmade soaps, body scrubs, and more. You can use molds to create different shapes and add dyes and essential oils to change the products up. These items are essentials, so that often makes them easy to sell.

4. Jewelry

You can easily get started making jewelry, and you can even purchase kits containing all the supplies and tools you’ll need. As you develop your skills, you can make the pieces more and more complex and even progress to using fine metals or gemstones. Start with necklaces and earrings, then give keychains and bracelets a try.

5. Tote bags and T-shirts

If you’re a talented designer, you can custom print tote bags and T-shirts with unique designs. With print-on-demand technology, you won’t have to maintain a large inventory of items, since each item will be printed only once you get an order. You can also screen print these items if you want to do the work yourself.

6. Coasters

Coasters can be great DIY home décor items. You can crochet them or make some beautiful coasters out of items like tiles or pieces of wood. Look for unique ways to decorate the coasters, such as by painting or engraving them for a personalized touch.

7. Wreaths

You can easily learn how to create and decorate wreaths, and chances are your local craft store even offers a course on the topic. Wreaths aren’t just for holidays, and with a little creativity and some unique designs, you can probably sell wreaths year-round.

8. Scarves

If you like to knit or crochet, then scarves are easy products to make that are also in demand. You can make designs as complex or as simple as you want.

9. Digital products

If you have skills in graphic design, you can create digital products like avatars or logos for customers to purchase. This can turn into a lucrative business.

10. Printable items

You can also use those graphic design skills to create printable items, like invitations, signs, stickers, and party décor. When you create printable items, there’s no need to worry about shipping them to buyers. Instead, buyers are able to download the files and take care of the printing themselves.

11. Gift baskets

You can combine many of the above crafts into a gift basket that’s perfect for holidays like Christmas. Buyers often appreciate the convenience of gift baskets, and creating these baskets gives you a chance to sell multiple items together.

Ways to sell your handmade items

Once you’ve created your items, you’ll need to decide on the best way to sell them. You can use sites like Etsy, Facebook Marketplace, Amazon, and eBay, but one of the best options is to create your own online store.

With your own online store, repeat customers will always know how to find your products. You can use marketing techniques like digital advertising and content marketing to drive traffic to your site, and you can then email your customers to keep them informed of sales and new product releases.

Creating your own online store is easy when you use Jotform Store Builder. The program’s drag-and-drop interface is intuitive and simple, and you don’t need any coding knowledge to be able to build your own store. Start with any of the more than 100 store templates, customize it with your branding and colors, upload your own products, and accept payments from more than 25 payment gateways. 

With your own e-commerce business, you’re in charge of how your store grows, and you can easily add more products as you create them.

Photo by micheile henderson on Unsplash