Getting your clothes to sell online can be difficult at times. Selling is not for everybody and can be difficult, yet it is worth doing as you could sell some of your old clothes that you have only worn a couple of times! You could also be one of those people that are trying to make a side income for buying and selling, which is a great option.
If you are one of those people that are looking to make a secondary income then this guide is for you. Here are some tips that will help you sell clothes and make a bit of extra money!
Set Yourself A Goal
It is important to have goals, and that is with everything in life. If you set these goals then you can see if you have made any progress. You have got to make these goals achievable, as aiming too high and not achieving them can be disappointing.
In terms of the fashion industry, you have got to take into consideration the different fashion trends available. If you are buying clothes that are currently trending, then you can set the goal a bit higher, as people are likely to be willing to spend more when they know it is bang on-trend.
Another thing to take into consideration is how many hours you are willing to put into this. If you are looking to earn an extra £5000 a year then divide that by how many months there are in the year. If you take into consideration the full year, then you will be looking at selling enough to make £400 each month. That is only a hundred pound a week but it is a nice side income that will slowly add up.
Some months, you will overachieve this goal. Other months, you will underachieve your goal. As long as you write down the numbers that you earn each month then, you know how much you are profiting. At the end of the day, as long as you are making enough profit for the amount of time you are putting in, you are not doing badly. Then it is not an issue if you underachieve this goal! Some months are going to be better than others.
Find The Market You Want To Target
If you want to make more money, you have got to understand your target audience. You might want to target the streetwear community or 20-25-year-old women for clothes. Having a wide range of clothes is good, but it can also put people off, so having an area you specialise in is ideal.
If people are browsing your page where you sell your clothes, the website you have or social media channels, the last thing that they will want to see is a dress if they clicked on your page for streetwear.
Finding your audience is important and understanding their interests is also important. Find other pages that are linked to the style that you are looking to sell. Social media is great for market research. Find influencers and see what they are wearing at the minute and look at dedicated pages for your niche.
Maybe you want to target the activewear community for both males and females. Looking at plain tracksuits is not a bad market to consider, especially if they are vintage as well. Vintage clothing is highly competitive but it can be difficult to get hold of good quality items. If you manage to find cheap vintage clothing then that is something to explore.
This is your priority before you start setting yourself goals. Putting your hours into market research will help you in both the short and long term.
Set Up Your Social Media Accounts
Social media is the number one marketing method for selling items of clothing, there is absolutely no doubt about that. This is how you gain a following as well as getting potential customers to click on your Depop or eBay account.
Instagram and Facebook are the perfect platforms for your clothing business. Instagram is a popular social media platform that buyers and sellers use to reach their target audience. There are plenty of marketing tips for Instagram out there that can help you and your small business. If you ever wish to set up some giveaways to increase your brand awareness then Instagram is a great platform for that.
It can be easy to set up and it comes at no cost to create social media accounts. Another great positive for this is that it is easy to build as well. The more interaction you get with your pages, the more followers and potential customers you can have, meaning you are going to increase your profits throughout the year.
Keep Track Of Your Orders
Keeping track of what is coming in and out is another important task you need to do once everything is set up. The reason for this is because you do not want to disappoint any customers who are looking to buy a certain product, only to have to tell them it is sold out!
Keeping track of this will also help you be able to see how much you are making each month, as well as how much you are spending on postage and packaging. All these play a big role when it comes to the end of the month and you need to balance the books!
Keep a track of stock and let your customers know about it. If you are running a clothing website then make sure it says it is out of stock. You could also post on social media to let people know that the item of clothing is out of stock or is close to selling out. Don’t forget to inform them when it is expected to come back in stock as well! Keeping your customers updated is important, as customers love updates about the stock they are looking to buy.
To Conclude
Starting your own clothing business can be difficult to do because a lot of people are trying to do this. However, as long as you put in the time to your side income, explore your audience and create social media channels, you are well on your way to setting something up that will make you money!