Handmade products are the best option for the skin. If you plan to sell them, it’s important to communicate that to as many people as possible. Learn more about how to market your products below.
Social media is a great way to showcase your products and connect with potential customers. Instagram is one of the fastest growing platforms. The Instagram Tips and Tricks post goes over the basics like using hashtags, editing photos, and tracking statistics. The How to Use Instagram for Business post delves deeper into engaging with people and growing your community.
If you have a Facebook page for your business, there are several ways to help it grow. Best Business Practices for Facebook talks about how to post consistently, encourage feedback, and create exclusive content.
If you feel like you have plenty of content to share – tips, recipes, personal updates – blogging may be a good option for you. The 5 Things to Know Before Starting a Blog post can help you make your decision. Then check out this post for tips on how to set it up.
Whatever content you share, it’s important that it makes sense for your brand. Make sure to focus on what makes your business stand out – maybe you use fresh goat milk in every recipe or your packaging is hand painted. Learn more in the How to Find Your Niche post.
Markets are another way to showcase your products. Before getting started, check out the Are Markets Right for You? post to determine if it’s something you want to pursue. If so, the How to Set Up Your Market Display and Selling Success at Fairs and Public Markets posts have tips for making the process go smoothly.
How you present yourself at markets can be as important as the way your display is set up. People buy with their emotions and rationalize the choices later. That means it’s important to be confident and positive when interacting with potential customers. Get more tips in the Shopping is Psychological post.
Holiday markets are usually the busiest time of year for soapmakers and small business owners. Sales tend to decrease around January, but there are a few tricks to keep the momentum going. The Marketing Tips for the New Year post has information on social media engagement, promotions, and creating specialty products.
No matter how much you sell, it’s important to support your community. You can donate a portion of your proceeds, make a product that raises money for a cause, or volunteer at a local charity. Not only do you help those in need, but customers are more willing to shop with businesses that give back. Learn more in the Why Giving is Important post.
This post was updated in March 2018.
Does the solid bulk, melt and pour, item equal the same amt. when it’s melted down to pour into the molds? Is there a time frame to allow the melt and pour soaps to sit in the plastic molds so they are easy to get out. The package of a kit said to wait 30 min. before pushing out of the molds. However, it’s very difficult to get it out of the molds. Do M&P soaps have to cure? How soon do you wrap them to prevent glycerin sweat? How long does it have to set to cure or does it not have to cure?
Yes, the weight will be the same melted or unmelted but the volume of the soap will be different. We recommend waiting at least 30 minutes before attempting to remove the soap but you should be fine if you let them sit up to overnight before removing them. Melt and pour Soap does not have to cure, you will want to wrap it as soon as you remove it from the mold.
why does my CP soap never get hard. I follow the recipe, checked temp. don’t know what to do. do you have a no fail recipe I can try.
What are you using in your recipe? What trace is your soap, and how hot were your lye and oils? Did you insulate the soap, and how long ago did you make it? Let me know and I can help you troubleshoot.
I added my lye to ice water and find that my soap is not hardening either. It’s been a week now and it is harder, about the consistency of jello. I am thinking of heating it up in my crock pot. Would that work to harden my soap? It was a very simple beginners recipe, and I think I added way too much powdered oatmeal. Help please.
Double check the lye that you’re using. If it’s potassium hydroxide, then the wrong lye was used to make your soap, and it will probably never harden up.
Hello my name is gregory and soap making is a passion of mine and I would like to turn it into a small business and I was wondering if your website sold everything that I would need to get started As in the molds hand blenders measuring cups and more You’re like my soap fairy godmother
Yes, we sell tools like stick blenders, bowls, molds, etc. Find those here: https://www.brambleberry.com/Tools-Accessories-C206.aspx
This post talks about the tools you need to get started: https://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/tips-and-tricks/soapy-session-setup-guide/
you’re great as always. I need the rest of my life reviewing all those links and the books you’re continuously recommending.
I admire and wonder your tempo, though I myself am not a slow person
I love to read. If I could have another job, it would be reading and writing reviews for a literary magazine. It’s a dream for me to read and review books – love, love, love it! If you read any of the books, let me know what you think of them =)
At the moment, I’m busy reading “think and grow rich” which you’ve mentioned in one of your posts. It’s a wonder why I didn’t know about the book earlier (it’s my literature for late evening). At work, during blending and writing reports and making photos for documentation and managing orders etc. I read “Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience” which you recently mentioned. And I’ve as well ordered “Fire starter sessions” which I’ve not started yet.
These are between my daily literature (at the moment several books about Avocado, my favorite oil, and “Power of the Five Elements: The Chinese Medicine Path to Healthy Aging and Stress Resistance” from Charles A.Moss)
I’ll keep you informed about my progress and my opinion after I’m finished with your recommendations
You are reading some great stuff – Love ‘Think and Grow Rich’ – that’s where so much of the current ‘positive thinking coupled with actions equals awesome results’ genre of current books really sprung from.
Did you like Flow? I really liked how it basically laid out a formula for feeling fulfilled and yes, in the flow of life.