I make £93k a year selling charms – here’s how you can rake in the cash too & why you should avoid selling on Etsy

A WOMAN has revealed however she makes £93,000 a twelvemonth selling charms online - and lone works 5 hours a week.

Mei Pak, who runs the Creative Hive YouTube channel, opened up astir the secrets to her occurrence successful a video.

She said: “I person made $1.6million selling polymer clay nutrient charms since I started doing this full-time successful 2012. 

“I present lone enactment connected this business connected mean 5 hours a week and it's making maine six figures successful yearly sales. 

“So however bash I marque that overmuch money from selling conscionable polymer clay charms?”

She shared however each twelvemonth she would absorption connected a antithetic thing, with Facebook being twelvemonth one, past Instagram oregon TikTok oregon blogging.

Mei added: “I person tried each the things. I cognize firsthand what works and what doesn't and I volition stock that with you. 

“There are truly lone a fistful of things that helped maine get to six figures.”

Social media didn’t matter

Mei claimed that societal media “didn't truly matter” for her concern success.

Instead, she said having a beardown media outreach did acold much for raking successful the sales.

The businesswoman said: “I get my products connected the pages of people magazines oregon successful blogs oregon websites that get a batch of postulation similar BuzzFeed oregon Huffington Post.

“It is wholly escaped to bash speech from the occasional outgo of making immoderate merchandise samples and shipping it to the magazine. 

“And what was adjacent much astonishing was it wasn't impermanent dissimilar societal media wherever I person this changeless unit to crank retired station aft station which lone unrecorded for similar a fewer hours and past it gets buried by different people's posts.”

After she switched her absorption from societal media to media outlet, she went from making hundreds per period to having regular five-figure months.

And she advised being originative successful her media pitches.

Mei shared: “You request your transportation and your merchandise to basal out. And successful bid to bash that, you person to transportation extracurricular of your niche.

“For example, I merchantability scented nutrient jewellery. I could transportation to jewellery places, but I don't person overmuch occurrence doing that.

“I person a smores necklace, truthful I mightiness transportation that to an outdoor camping magazine.”

Paid advertizing works well

Once she had started bringing successful dependable sales, she had much currency for paid ads connected Facebook and Instagram.

However, she did supply a informing astir it.

Mei said: “Only bash paid ads if you are already making steadfast income organically for free, you person a accordant fund for it, and you're consenting to instrumentality the clip to truly larn however to bash it well.

“Organic income that you've gotten for escaped are similar the steadfast plants that person already sprouted, right? 

“Paid ads are similar fertiliser. If your plot is already growing, the fertiliser tin assistance it flourish adjacent more. 

“But if you haven't planted anything, nary magnitude of fertiliser volition marque thing grow.”

Look beyond Etsy

While online marketplace Etsy tin beryllium a large mode to get your merchandise to customers, Mei highlighted the drawbacks for her business.

She compared listing connected Etsy to renting a location and said “deep down you cognize it’s not your home.”

Mei advised: “If your landlord decides to footwear you out, they can. 

“Just similar however Etsy tin conscionable unopen down astatine immoderate clip and it is retired of your control.

“If you privation your concern to wage you a meaningful income, 1 day, discontinue your job, enactment from home, doing what you love, you request to put successful your ain location that you buy. 

“In different words, your ain website.”

She added that selling connected Etsy “often feels a batch much similar this roller coaster”, and said: “We're ne'er definite erstwhile the next merchantability is going to travel in. 

“One time you mightiness beryllium getting a ton of income and the adjacent it's wholly quiet.”

Mei shared: “You're often cervix and cervix with different shops that unrecorded successful countries wherever the worth of their currency is truthful debased that they tin spend to complaint overmuch little than you, oregon they're conscionable hobbyists and they're conscionable not priced right. 

“Whereas you're really trying to marque a surviving from your business.”

She compared however she’s made $114,000 (£87,000) successful income connected Etsy since she started her shop, but raked successful astir $1.7million (£1.2million) selling my charms connected her Shopify site. 

Start with customized orders

Mei advised against “designing products successful a silo each by yourself” arsenic you whitethorn not cognize what customers want.

She shared: “People would travel to my store and spot what I could bash and past they would email maine oregon connection maine to inquire if I could bash this different happening instead. 

“If I felt I could propulsion it off, I would bash it and if the point turned retired truly good, I would marque it a imperishable portion of my merchandise enactment and this often leads to that point becoming a best-selling product. 

“I often spot different makers absorption excessively overmuch of their clip connected creating products that they privation to marque which is wholly good and steadfast if you're conscionable doing it for creativity and enjoyment's sake. but if you are wanting to tally a concern that makes money, you person to see what customers privation arsenic well.”

Now 90 to 95 percent of the products she sells are made by my tiny squad of accumulation assistants, which has freed up her time.

People praised her advice, with 1 saying: “Truly proposal I don’t perceive talked about! Thank you for this.”

Another added: “Thank you truthful overmuch for generously sharing things that helped you!”