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Websites
For Pen Makers
Stand out from the crowd and showcase your handcrafted pens on your own website—a professional, trusted space designed to highlight your craftsmanship and build customer confidence.
With full control over your sales, promotions, and marketing, your website becomes a powerful tool to attract buyers, increase revenue, and create an exceptional shopping experience.
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Benefits of a Website
Lends legitimacy and professionalism to your brand.
It instills confidence in potential customers, showcasing your commitment to quality craftsmanship and providing a trusted platform for transactions.
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Centralized hub to showcase your products and work.
Unlike on crowded marketplace platforms, where your items may get lost among countless others, your website allows you to curate your offerings and present them in a visually appealing and cohesive manner, enhancing their perceived value and attractiveness to buyers.
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New avenues for additional sales.
You can implement various marketing strategies, such as discounts, promotions, and cross-selling, directly on your site to incentivize purchases and encourage repeat business.
Built-in customer analytics tools
You gain valuable insights into consumer behavior and preferences, enabling you to tailor your offerings and marketing efforts more effectively. Through targeted marketing campaigns and personalized recommendations, you can engage with your audience more meaningfully, driving traffic to your site and boosting sales in the long run.​​​
How to start a website for pen sales
Starting a website requires two essential ingredients: web hosting and a domain.
Web hosting is a service that provides the necessary infrastructure to store your website's files and make them accessible on the internet. It ensures that your website runs smoothly and can handle traffic from visitors.
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My Recommendation: WIX Web Hosting
After working with several types of sites, ​I recommend Wix for web hosting its simplicity and robust features.
Note: I have not tried Shopify
Wix offers an intuitive drag-and-drop interface, numerous templates, and integrated tools that make website creation and management easy, even for beginners.
Several of my clients have been delighted with their choice after switching over to a Wix website, finding it significantly easier to manage and more effective in showcasing their products and services.
Wix usually offers 50% off the first year of web hosting.
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A domain is your website's address, like www.yourbusiness.com, which users type into their browsers to find your site.
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For domain purchase, I recommend GoDaddy
It's straightforward process and extensive support features.
GoDaddy provides a user-friendly experience and a wide range of domain options, making it simple to secure a professional web address.
GoDaddy automatically hides your contact information - Wix will publish your address unless you pay a fee.
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Together, web hosting and a domain form the foundation of your online presence, allowing you to establish a professional, easily accessible platform to showcase your products and services.
Wix Website for Pen Makers 2024 Prices
I recommend the Core Website Option.
Website for Pen Makers 2024 Annual Prices Break Down
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Etsy
$.20 per listing, plus 6% transaction fee
$20 pen sale cost $1.40 minimum.
This does not include listing renewals​
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Square
2.6% transaction fee plus $.10 per item.
$20 pen sale cost $.62 minimum.
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Shopify (Basic)
2.9% transaction fee plus $.30 per item.
$20 pen sale cost $.88 minimum.
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Wix charges a 2.6% transaction fee per sale. There is no listing fee.
Selling a $20 pen will cost .$.52
If the sales tax is correctly set up on the website, Wix will automatically send sellers a 1099.
Wix Offers a P.O.S. system for $80 that integrates seamlessly with the website.
This is a great feature for pen makers selling pens are fairs and events. This can be connected to an easy to use phone app.​
Wix can track your inventory!!!!!​
Wix has business email hosting for $3 per account if you want it!​
Pages for a Pen Selling Website
Ready to click your way to selling those beautiful hand-turned pens? Let’s build a website that shows off your craftsmanship, charms your customers, and makes it easy for them to say 'I need that pen!'. Discover the must-haves for a site that turns browsers into buyers and pens into profits.
Wix Demo Site for Pen Makers
I have created a template website that is available for purchase. Please feel free to check it out.
I will update the template with your information and images. I offer free training for how to use your website.
E commerce site
This is a demo site created for participants in the Midwest Pen Turners gathering. Please reach out to me for purchase price.
The Best Feature of a Wix Website
One of the standout features of a Wix website is its robust SEO strategy, which is particularly beneficial for boosting your online visibility. Wix provides comprehensive SEO checklists that guide you step-by-step through optimizing your site, ensuring you cover all essential aspects like keyword usage, meta tags, and alt texts. Additionally, Wix’s seamless integration with Google Search Console allows you to monitor your site’s performance, submit sitemaps, and troubleshoot issues directly. This connection helps ensure that your website is easily discoverable by search engines, ultimately driving more traffic to your site.
Help Section
Another major advantage of using Wix is its user-friendly help section, which includes detailed screenshots and instructional videos. This extensive support library covers a wide range of topics, from basic site setup to advanced customization options, making it easy for users of all skill levels to build and maintain their websites. The visual aids, such as step-by-step videos, provide clear guidance, reducing the learning curve and empowering you to effectively utilize all of Wix’s features. This level of support ensures that you can manage your website confidently, knowing that help is readily available whenever you need it.
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Alternatives to a Website
Alternatively, pen makers can consider sourcing a resale site to sell their products. While platforms like Etsy, eBay, and Facebook Marketplace can offer an way to reach a customers without the need to manage a website, I have a different recommendation.
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Pen makers can consider a partnership with a physical gift store and/or a online gift store.
An example of this would be Lisa Maries Made in Maine. The site sells hand crafted pens made in Maine with unique Maine pieces.
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