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Ali Thompson is a handmade business coach who wants her clients to get out of their comfort zone and gain confidence in selling their products online. She argues that a website is not necessary for success, and talks about her Super Seller System that creates demand and desire for your product through Facebook posts. Tune in for more tips on how to succeed as a handmade seller! Ali created the Handmade Sellers Club to help those who feel overwhelmed by the tech aspects of selling online and offers a two-week trial for just $7 here: handmadesellersclub.com
[00:01:14] Many people are overwhelmed by tech, but it's becoming more accessible for older people.
[00:05:44] "Don't think website is necessary for sales. Use Super Seller system to create demand without one." [00:06:40] Use prompts on Facebook to generate interest in your product and make more sales with Profits calendar.
[00:12:21] Social media misconceptions; people approach it as a business facade; need to be more social; Prompts for Profits calendar has prompts for posts to make without being overly social
[00:15:43] Facebook Live allows interaction with customers but not crucial to business.
[00:18:59] Pushing for growth and confidence in online sales through Handmade Sellers Club (2 week trial for $7).
[00:22:12] Advantages of Handmade Sellers Club include varied social media posts and increased engagement.
[00:25:27] Facebook Live sales increase sales and plant the idea of buying in viewers' heads. Even non-official live sales can generate interest and sales through product discussion and Q&A.
[00:26:42] To gain trust in jewelry sales, do weekly live streams featuring products at a high price point, answering questions, but avoiding direct sales. Clients have reported sales post-live stream.
[00:29:18] Some people are willing to pay more for jewelry, while others need more convincing. Examples include a $200 ink pen made of amethyst and gold and a seller of leather covers for military journals.
Transcript:
Ali Thompson [00:00:00]:
So let's just jump right into it. Today's question is less of a question, more of a statement, but I think it's definitely worth talking about. And it comes from a lady named Angie and she said so she's wanting to sell her handmade products online, but she says, I'm not social, I'm older and I don't know how to create a website. So if that sounds like you, raise your hand if you feel like, hey, I'm not a social butterfly, I'm an older person. Website feels overwhelming. How do I actually sell my products online? I want to break these down to the different elements. First of all, I'm not social. Well, I'm not social.
Ali Thompson [00:00:41]:
I'm older and I don't know how to build a website. So let's tackle the middle one first. I'm older. I want to sell my handmade products online, but I am older. The good news is that social media and websites and technology in general is getting easier and easier to use. When I started my business, that was back in 2003, I wasn't older. I was actually quite young. I would have been what, 25 at the 24, 25 at the time.
Ali Thompson [00:01:14]:
But I was not tech savvy at all. I didn't grow up with technology. I had no idea what I was doing with tech. And still to this day, I don't really understand when I have to buy a new computer, I call people I'm like, I don't know what rams and gigs, I don't know what any of that stuff means. Just tell me what to buy. So the good news is that this stuff is getting easier and easier. The challenges that I had back in 2003 when we were creating our very first website, are not the challenges that people of today have. So as it's getting easier and easier, it becomes more and more accessible to people who are older and didn't grow up with the technology.
Ali Thompson [00:01:59]:
Yes, depending on how much time you spend online is going to depend on how your skill levels with using online platforms. But it's all learnable. I've had people in their seventy s and even up into their 80s join my programs and learn how to market their products online and learn the technology. They only had to learn a certain segment of it. And that's what I'm going to talk about here in a minute. But I would recommend that if you are older and you're trying to learn how to use all of this technology and you don't want to spend the rest of your life learning how computers work, I still don't know how they work. Like, I have no idea. I'm really ignorant on that stuff.
Ali Thompson [00:02:42]:
And that's okay, I'm fine with that. All you need to do is learn the little one section of technology in order to make sales. This is why I teach Facebook as a primary method of selling your handmade products online, or at least the place to start because facebook doesn't require any coding. Most people are already using it personally, especially if you're watching this video. I'm recording this video live on Facebook. So most people watching this know how to use Facebook. They're at least on here on a personal level, using Facebook. So I like starting with Facebook because you already have some familiarity with it.
Ali Thompson [00:03:26]:
Most people have some familiarity with it. There's no coding involved. It's really just about learning what buttons do what, how a page works, like a business page versus the personal account. And once you understand those basics, it can be pretty easy to, okay, I get it now, and I know how to use it, and now how to talk on Facebook in a way that makes sales. So instead of trying to do all of the things, if you're older and you feel like the technology is overwhelming, instead of trying to do all the things, just focus on mastering one. And Facebook is the fastest, easiest platform to master and do well with. And there are millions of opportunities for you to be able to sell your products on Facebook. So that's what I would recommend number one for.
Ali Thompson [00:04:18]:
I'm older. Number two. So the question is, I'm not social, I'm older and I don't know how to create a website, how do I still sell my products online? So let's jump to number two, is kind of in relation what I already said with number one, I don't know how to create a website. The good news is you don't have to know. You don't have to have a website. Honestly, truly, I say to you guys, I say to everybody listening to this, if you are stuck on the website part of your business, and you feel like you cannot build an online business without a website, I am here to dispel that myth right now. You do not need a website. Now, do I have a website? Yeah, I have a website, but I don't need one.
Ali Thompson [00:05:05]:
And you definitely don't need one. At the beginning for me, I have enough customers now. I have a large email address, I have a very large social media. Following the website just makes it easier for people to shop. It just makes it easier for them to look around and shop and buy things. But I have had many clients go months, if not years, following my Facebook strategies that didn't have a website. That entire time I had one client was making 2000, $3,000 a month in sales without a website. No website, just a solid Facebook strategy.
Ali Thompson [00:05:44]:
And so that's what I encourage you to do is just kind of let go of this notion of I need a website. If I'm going to be successful, I need a website. You don't need a website. Eventually, yes, but to get started and to start making sales, no, you don't need it. So how do you actually sell something? Okay, Allie, I get it. You're telling me that I need to post to Facebook. But then how are people actually buying when they don't have a website to go to? Like, if I'm not putting a link to a website everywhere, how does anybody know to buy my stuff? And that's the magic of what I teach in my Super Seller system which you get access to when you become a Handmade Seller's Club member is I give you access to my entire Super Seller system where I teach you how to create demand and desire for your product without a website. Just from the post that you are making to Facebook.
Ali Thompson [00:06:40]:
So what we do is we make a post to Facebook. You follow my prompts, and the prompt is going to get people to lean in and say, I really like that. Can I buy it? Can I have it? Right? This is why I create the prompts for Profits calendar. It's a calendar created to make people lean in and show interest in your product. All right? All the prompts are specially designed to help you make more sales. So when you make one of those posts and somebody says, oh my gosh, that is so beautiful, is that for sale? All you have to do is say, yes, it's for sale. I can send you an invoice over email if you would like. That's it.
Ali Thompson [00:07:17]:
And then you sign up for a square account. Square accounts are free to sign up. They do charge a percentage, but the percentage they charge is pretty basic to anywhere. I mean, even if you have a website, you're going to have to pay that percentage of the sale just for the credit card processing. And you get their email. You get their mailing address, you send them an invoice. You let them know I just sent you the invoice. You can either email it to them or send it to them through Facebook Messenger.
Ali Thompson [00:07:42]:
They pay for the invoice, you get the money, you ship the product. It's that easy, guys. You don't need a website again, you can have one, but you don't need one. In order to be successful with online sales, what you need is customers. What you need is customers. We can figure out the transaction part of it, right? When they're like, I have to have that. I need that. I want it right now.
Ali Thompson [00:08:09]:
That's easy. That's the easy part. The hardest part is getting people drawn in and interested in your product in the first place. And that's exactly what I teach in my super seller system because that is the missing piece. I can't tell you how many people that I've talked to that have built a website. And the website is just sitting there collecting dust and they're confused and they're like, I don't know what I'm supposed to how do I get sales to the website? How do I actually get people to buy from me? It's just sitting there. And that's because they solve the how to collect money part of the problem. The most complicated way possible, right? We could go easy PayPal.
Ali Thompson [00:08:55]:
We could do square. You can even do like, Venmo or something like that. You can do any of those. But you went and did the most complicated way to collect money, which is building out an entire website. And again, websites are great, and I teach people how to build websites and I help people build their websites, but that's not step one. Step one is finding that hungry crowd of people who are really wanting to buy your product and presenting your product to them in a way that they don't feel like you're being salesy, but instead you are allowing them to purchase. That's the shift that we make. And again, my super seller system and my prompts for profits calendar.
Ali Thompson [00:09:38]:
In the super seller system, there's a six week guide there step by step. Week one, do this. Week two, do that. Week three, do that. Angie and this question is like, I'm older and I don't know how to create a website. So what I'm hearing is I'm not very techy great. The super seller system takes you through each one of these steps and shows you what buttons to push even. And the best thing is, we also have the community.
Ali Thompson [00:10:06]:
When you join Handmade Sellers Club, you get the super seller system, but you also get the community. If you don't understand the tech. If you feel overwhelmed by that, not only do you need the step by step training videos, but also that community that's in place that you can say, hey, I'm stuck here. I'm not sure which button to push. Allie showed me, but my page looks a little bit different or I'm not sure if I'm doing the right thing here. You have an entire community to help you and support you, and that's huge. That cannot be understated. So if you're feeling like I'm older, I don't understand the technology.
Ali Thompson [00:10:40]:
You need to be in handmade. Sellers club. If you want to sell your handmade products online, the fastest, easiest, least techy way possible, you need to be in Handmade Sellers Club because we're going to make it easy. We're going to give you step by step instructions and we're going to answer your questions along the way. I have a no business left behind policy. I don't ever want somebody to feel more confused when they come into my system than before. So we do everything that we can to smooth the way for you so that you can start making sales even today. If you join today and go through our quick cash method within the super seller system, you could be making sales today.
Ali Thompson [00:11:23]:
We show you the fastest, easiest way to do it. So now let's look at the third part of Angie's question. So the full question again was, I'm not social, I'm older and I don't know how to create a website. So you're older, maybe struggling with the tech we got. You don't know how to build a website, no problem, you don't need one. We got you. We're going to show you how to get those sales without a website. But what about the I'm not social, so that seems to undercut everything I just said, right? Like, oh, you need to be on Facebook and do all these things on Facebook.
Ali Thompson [00:11:54]:
And she's like, yeah, but I'm not social. You don't have to be. Believe it or not, guys, believe it or not, I am not a very social person. I tend to want to be at home. I'm very awkward in group situations. People wear me out. I have a difficult time just like, going to parties and things. Like, I have to plan for that, and I kind of would rather not go.
Ali Thompson [00:12:21]:
So I'm not a super overly social person. There are different misconceptions about social media and how social you should be and how social you shouldn't be. And the truth is that a lot of people approach their social media in a way that is not social at all, that doesn't work, and that's having kind of this business facade of like, my name is such and such business and this is what I sell, go to my website and buy one. So that stuff doesn't work. You do have to be more social than that. But the good news is, again, with my Prompts for Profits calendar, you don't have to dig inside of yourself and pull out a more social, big sugary personality, right? You don't have to be anything that you're not. But we give you prompts in the Prompts for Profits calendar to show you exactly what types of posts to make. And let me give you a couple of examples of these posts and you'll see that you don't really have to be social to use these prompts.
Ali Thompson [00:13:23]:
So share a bestseller. Show your followers what your best seller is and why you think it's your bestseller, or why customers have said that they love it so much. That's not being social. That's just talking about your product in a way that is interesting to other people. Oh, that's a bestseller. I see that asking people to rate your product on a scale of one to ten, that's not social. Like, you're asking for advice, but you're not saying, like, hey, can we be BFFs and talk about all our dreams and aspirations and all? No, you're just asking people their opinion, and you didn't have to come up with it on your own. You may be hearing that like, oh, I never thought to say something like that.
Ali Thompson [00:14:07]:
That's easy enough. No, we tell you exactly what to say in the calendar. That's the beauty of the calendar. I know there are a few people on here right now that are using the calendar. Let me know in the comments if you're watching and you're using the calendar. Because that calendar is a game changer. It is a game changer. You don't have to come up with the clever ideas on your own.
Ali Thompson [00:14:30]:
I've already come up with it. And all you have to do is follow it. The most social thing that we do is, one, we do respond to comments. So if somebody says that's beautiful, you say thank you. If you can't handle that, if you're so antisocial that you can't say thank you when somebody says your product is beautiful, then I don't know what to tell you. Then none of this is going to work. You've got to be able to talk to your customers. So you have to have some level of back and forth with your customers.
Ali Thompson [00:15:02]:
Otherwise just find a hobby because this isn't going to work for you. So in that way, we're being a little bit more social. But it's important we have to acknowledge our customers, and it really helps us with the Facebook algorithm. But probably the most social thing that my clients do are Facebook Lives and Facebook Live sales. And most of them have worked up to that before. They get to the Facebook Lives and Facebook Live sales, and they don't just jump in like, okay, I guess I got to be super social. A lot of them are scared before they do it the first time. But what you will find is they are actually quite a lot of fun.
Ali Thompson [00:15:43]:
Like I'm going Facebook live right now. I've got these comments happening on the side. I am going to be reading some of these comments and talking to some people. But I have control over the situation. I can talk about what I want to talk about. I could ignore those comments if I want to and just move on and come back and respond to them just typing, right? And not all of my clients go Facebook Live. To me, it's an important part of your business to be able to have your customers see you so they can know, like, and trust you, so that they can feel like they're building a relationship with you. But if you are like, absolutely no, I can't go Facebook Live, there's still very far that you can go without those Facebook lives.
Ali Thompson [00:16:29]:
Just the Facebook lives are going to take you that bit further, especially Facebook Live sales. You can make more money sitting on your couch doing a Facebook Live sale than setting up at a show in an hour, hour and a half, than setting up at a show for two, three days. They are absolutely amazing. Highly, highly profitable. But you don't have to do them if you want to do them. We teach you how to do it in the super seller system and handmade sellers club. So, yeah, all of these kind of objections to like, all right, I want to sell online, but I think I can't because I'm older, because I don't know how to create a website. And because I'm not social, none of those things are a problem.
Ali Thompson [00:17:10]:
You don't need any one of them. The tech can be learned. You master one piece of easy tech like Facebook. It's not to say Facebook isn't frustrating. Sometimes I get frustrated with it. But that's tech, right? But you master one platform, a social media platform, where you don't need to know any coding, anything fancy, no fancy terminology. You just need to know what buttons do what. And that's what we teach you in the super seller system.
Ali Thompson [00:17:37]:
So if you're older and worried about the tech, we've got you on that, you don't need a website. You can simply send people invoices through either PayPal or Square, and we help you with that as well. We show you how to do that. Simple, easy, not complicated. The most difficult part of selling online is connecting with people and making them want your product. So that's what we teach you to do on Facebook. Even if you're not social, which is the third part of that question. Even if you're not a social butterfly, if you're very introverted, if you're very shy, or maybe you're just done with people, maybe you're just like, I don't want to talk to people.
Ali Thompson [00:18:18]:
I am talking to people, but I don't have the stress of holding a conversation right now. I'm not a very social person, and yet I find social media very easy to use. And I'm building relationships with people even though they're not face to face with me. And I can do it in my own terms, on my own times, with what I'm comfortable with. And I'll always try to push your boundaries a little bit because there are so many people that have come into Handmade Sellers Club that are like, no, I can't go live. And then they take one of my challenges, a five day Facebook Live challenge. And by the end of that, they're like, wait a minute, I can do that. That wasn't that hard.
Ali Thompson [00:18:59]:
And they get so proud of themselves and they gain so much confidence in themselves. So I'm always going to push you a little bit because I don't want you getting too comfy where you're like, nah, I can't do that. But there's tons of sales on the other side of it, and if we can find a way to get you comfortable with it, that's what my job as a coach is. So if you are not already in Handmade Sellers Club and you're wanting to sell online and you're overwhelmed by tech and you think you can't get it because you're older or you don't know how to build a website or you're not social and not creative to come up with these post ideas, handmade Sellers Club was built for you. So I'm going to drop a link for Handmade Sellers Club in the comments. Remember, guys, you can get a two week trial for just $7. So if you're like, I don't know about this, Allie. I don't know if this is actually what you say it is.
Ali Thompson [00:19:51]:
Look, take the two week trial for $7. Do just the quick cash method, which is the very first step of the super seller system that's within Handmade Sellers Club. Do just the quick cash method and you may make 2345 times your investment. Just for that two week trial, we've had people make sales within 15 minutes of deploying the quick cash method. Not everybody happens that fast, but it can happen that fast. So this is an investment in you and your business. This is not an expense, this is an investment. You join Handmade Sellers Club and we show you how to make money with your handmade products.
Ali Thompson [00:20:28]:
So the link is in the comments. I'm going to go back through and say hello to everybody. Hi, Rhonda and Lynette. Thank you so much for you guys for jumping on. Anna says I don't have a website. I need to learn how to send invoice because ebay charges are huge. Yeah. So, Anna, you are in handmade sellers club.
Ali Thompson [00:20:46]:
We just did. Amy did a workshop on how to send invoices through Square and PayPal, I believe. So if you ask in the Handmade Sellers Club group, we can send you in the right direction and show you exactly where that training is. You don't have to list it to ebay first, something like Square. The charges are just the percentage of the sale, like any other credit card processor is going to take ebay and Etsy takes a cut above that. So using Square or PayPal keeps your fees at a minimum. And you can even do like, a really rudimentary website on there, too. Square has got a lot of features there that are great.
Ali Thompson [00:21:30]:
So, yeah, just ask in Handmade Sellers Club and we'll get you the link. I'm sure Amy knows where it is. Off the top of my head, I'm not sure where it is in the training, but we'll get you the link to where that training is. Hi, Sandra. Good to see you, Sandra. I always forget about the calendar. Can't forget about the calendar. The calendar is huge, you guys.
Ali Thompson [00:21:49]:
The calendar is huge. The calendar alone is going to get you more engagement, it's going to attract more people to your page and it's going to make you more sales. But you got to use it. You got to use it and you got to use it consistently. Let's see. Carrie says the calendar makes it so easy to post. Before I used it, I would take hours to figure out a post. Now it's minutes.
Ali Thompson [00:22:12]:
That alone again. There are so many advantages to Handmade Sellers Club, I cannot express them all, but this one point alone, how many of you have sat in front of your computer and just stared at the box on Facebook and was like, I don't know what to post? And then when you do post, you tend to post the same sort of things over and over and over again. I even see that with myself. If I'm not following a calendar, I'll stick with the same sort of post because my brain can only think of a couple of different ideas. So I actually have this set up for myself as well, where I look and I follow a calendar and I'm like, oh, I need to be making this kind of post. And it keeps your post varied, right? So I call it like a roller coaster. So it's up and down and around, and people never know what's going to come from you next. And that's what keeps people engaged and leaning in and saying, I wonder what they're going to post next.
Ali Thompson [00:23:14]:
But just this point about it would take hours to figure out a post. Now it's minutes. If you could take those hours you were spending and make product instead of doing marketing, isn't that worth $27 a month? I mean, it's just $27 a month. You get the super seller system. You get my prompts for profits. You get three calls a month from me like this on a Live where I'm answering questions. You get the community. You get a monthly workshop to help you learn new skills.
Ali Thompson [00:23:47]:
You get my website boot camp. You get my instagram master class. You get my pricing. Master class. You get my photography class. So you get everything you need to be successful online. It's all there. But when you join, you definitely want to focus on that super seller system first.
Ali Thompson [00:24:07]:
And as you grow and progress, then you can start adding those other things, and they're already just sitting there waiting for you to use them. It's fantastic. But just the PFP alone, that's less than a dollar a day just for the profit profits calendar, just to not stare at the computer and have no idea what to post. And then you do post, and it's super salesy and nobody's into it, and you don't make sales, right? Okay. You could save a dollar a day and make no sales or invest a dollar a day and start making consistent sales. That's an investment. That's an investment in you and your business. Lynette says, I keep forgetting to use my calendar, too and need to get back to it again.
Ali Thompson [00:24:49]:
Yes, use your calendar, guys. Use your calendar. Sandra says, Allie, do the Facebook Live sales work for higher price items? I sell handcrafted, gemstone, jewelry. Yes. What you may find is you and I don't know what you consider higher price. So the highest price I can think of off the top of my head of people that are doing live sales. A lot of my clients are selling products that are in the range, so I don't know if you consider that low price or high price for you. So let's be clear about that first.
Ali Thompson [00:25:27]:
If you are selling things in the higher price range. A Facebook Live sale may make you some sales on the front end, but people re watch it, and it's also a great way to plant the idea of them buying that item in their head. So they may not buy it during that live sale, but they're thinking about it and they may buy it a week or two weeks later. So the Facebook Live sales, we have some people that don't do official Live sales. They just come on and they talk about their products and they sell product while on the sale because people are looking at it and they're like, okay, yeah, I've seen that before. I'm really interested in it. They have the opportunity to ask questions about it. So even if you don't do a live sale where you're like, hey, number 263, comment, mine below.
Ali Thompson [00:26:16]:
Even if you don't do that, if you do like a weekly feature of a handful of high end products, it's going to sell you more product for sure, as long as you have a following, as long as there are people there. And we show you how to get a following. So we show you how to do all of this stuff. Let's see. Anna says, I will ask. Thank you. You're very welcome. Much higher, 200 to 1000.
Ali Thompson [00:26:42]:
So, yeah, I would definitely say use. I think at that price range, you have to be going live. You have to be going live because again, we are dealing with trust. And if I'm going to drop $500 on a piece of jewelry or $200, 300, 400, 500, then I want to trust and believe that you are legit, that the piece is legit. And so, yeah, just going onto your page and doing a live, maybe not so much a sale, but if you did a weekly live featuring a different product with that price range, I would do like a single product a week or maybe like up to three a week. Where you talk about your products, you talk about how you made them, what inspired you to make them answer questions that people have. We have many of my clients have said pretty much all of them that they make sales after the live as well. So I would take away the sales part of it just to not make it look like you're not selling anything if you don't have people that are ready to drop that kind of cash right away.
Ali Thompson [00:27:53]:
So it's not that it doesn't work. And you can definitely build yourself up to the point where you can do a Facebook Live sale. You've just got to attract that right customer to you so that you got to attract that right customer so that when you do have a live sale, maybe some of the maybe you're going to do a sale on things like a 20% discount on some of your pieces, like you're doing a clearance sale and that sort of. Thing. People are already really familiar with your prices. They've already had their eye on certain pieces. You've already got a pretty decent following of people who are excited to see what you have. Then you could go on there and start dropping prices and saying, claim it and that sort of thing.
Ali Thompson [00:28:38]:
Michelle said, most of my sales are from the replays. Yeah, I hear that a lot. I hear that a lot. So that's what I would recommend for you, Sandra, is maybe we start off with featuring versus a live sale. Do live features and use those videos. You need more videos. You need more of you in your pictures because there's a lot of trust you need to build to get people to drop that kind of money on your pieces. That being said, I have clients that sell higher end pieces like that, but they're either very niche or they've spent a lot of time showing their face and talking about their product and getting people engaged and leaning in.
Ali Thompson [00:29:18]:
Because $500 for a piece of jewelry, for some people, that's not a big deal. For a lot of people, that's a lot. It's more than a $10 piece of jewelry or even a $50 piece of jewelry. So some of them are just going to have to chew on it a little bit more, and you're just going to keep stoking that desire until they're like, I can't stand it anymore. Um, I had a client that sold a $200 ink pen that was made out of amethyst and gold. They hand turned it, sold that for $200. So I have another client that sells green book covers. So they're like journals that you get in the military, and she makes leather covers for them.
Ali Thompson [00:29:57]:
Her lowest price is $150, and she goes up to somewhere around 400 some, and she's busy all the time. Now, I don't think she does live sales, but at least in the past, she has done lives. She doesn't do live sales because everything's custom order. So everybody's going to be a little bit different. But I think this is a really good strategy for you to get on those lives and show your products off and talk about them and make people emotionally invested in them. All right, guys, that was excellent. Great questions today. Thank you so much for popping on here with me.
Ali Thompson [00:30:30]:
We are going to be off. I am not going to be coming back here. I will be dropping videos throughout the month of July, and then I'm going to decide whether or not we're just going to keep dropping videos or if I'm going to continue to go live on this page in August. Moving forward, you guys may get just as much from me doing the pre recorded videos and asking questions and allowing me to answer back that way as well. So I may or may not be doing lives in August, but I'll be posting videos one way or the other. All right, guys, thank you so much. And I'll talk to you later. Bye.