Focus on sales strategy: Hoobynoo World

Graphic and web designer Chiara Stone started selling handmade jewellery when she had her first child. With a full product line spanning iPhone covers and broaches to temporary tattoos, Stone has created a sales strategy approaching various routes to market.

One year later her website is making sales across a range of devices. She uses a number of online marketplaces and her products are stocked by Liberty of London. I caught up with her to see how she created her sales strategy and what has worked best.

Chiara, tell me how the business started

I’ve always been a creative person and liked doing artistic things – I have a degree in graphic design and have been formally trained so I could have done web design freelance but it didn’t fulfil me creatively. After my second child I realised I wanted to spend more time with the children so needed something I could easily do from home.

Previously I had been making felt animal broaches but they were so labour intensive to create – I needed something more sustainable and had the idea of turning the broaches into pendants and having them manufactured.

I had started making up stories about my doodles for my son and thought wouldn’t it be great to create characters around my creations to make a unique selling point.

I started looking at fashion trends and adding characters which I thought would be popular. For example I added a fox in autumn which sold really well. I also expanded from jewellery to iPhones and other sorts of accessories – I’m thinking of clothing next.

So with your product line created what was the first part of your sales strategy?

I built the website first because I am a website designer it was relatively quick and easy. But I knew that just having a website doesn’t mean you are going to have sales. I had used Etsy before so registered with them and Folksy and continued working on the own site.

When I had around 15 products in my range I approached Not On The High Street – they are incredibly picky about who they choose so I didn’t get my hopes up but they loved my stuff and wanted to stock it.

I had to sit and talk to my husband and see if the joining fee was worth it for us. We had to invest some of our savings in it as it is expensive – certainly not pocket change. We decided to do it and it has given me a real boost and brought the money in.

Have you had a good experience selling on Etsy?

Yes Etsy has been really good – it actually brings in orders from the international market which is good – I reach a lot of American customers. Etsy takes a bit of work because you have to build up a community but because I was on it before I knew this and was able to build up a presence quickly. Folksy is a bit slower for me but I haven’t had the time to put a lot of effort into it.

Do you sell across other devices such as mobile and tablets?

Yes – I recently had my website upgraded to a better ecommerce platform. The new one allows people to create accounts with me including wish lists etc. It also has a mobile friendly version of my site – making these changes has doubled the orders coming through to my site.

I’m using the BigCommerce shop builder now – the back end is brilliant as it analyses a lot more data. With the BigCommerce system it actually tells me there they have purchased through mobile, tablet or computer and I am getting a good amount of purchases through mobile.

How about using social media as a route to market?

I am a big believer in social media – I spend a large portion of my day doing Twitter and Instagram much to my husbands annoyance. I had a couple of orders this week off the back of Instagram. It can feel like a relentless slog, speaking and no-one listening but I really felt the benefits of social media around Christmas.

I had been working hard promoting my brand throughout the year on social media and come Christmas the orders flooded in. It helps that things like Instagram are so visual – people can go from my account directly to my site.

Have you ever thought of affiliate marketing?

No not yet – as I was still working part-time until recently and have two children to look after. Now that I have just left my job, as soon as I have time I will look at other options like that.

I understand you also sell in stores such as Liberty of London?

Yes I sell there and in some other independent stores. I also sell on online store Spoiled Brat which Katy Price has just ordered one of my necklaces off which is really exciting. Expanding the wholesale side of my business helps to spread the brand. It does require a lot of time though as you have to chase people who are used to getting lots of requests.

How did you get involved with Liberty?

I went to an open call at Liberty for designers to pitch to the buyers of the store. I had three minutes to pitch to them and they said they fell in love with the stuff. They said they were definitely interested and six months later they placed a huge order with me which was great!

Which of your sales channels brings in the most revenue?

At the moment it is probably a mixture of Not On The High Street and my own website Hoobynoo World. At Christmas Not On The High Street was crazy with so many orders coming in and now there is a slower period – probably because of Father’s Day – my products on Not On The High Street are aimed at children.

What advice would you give to someone building their own online shop and looking to create sales?

I would say unless you have a really large marketing budget, it is not realistic to rely on your own site alone. You need to pay an expert to build your site to be keyword heavy and perform well in SEO. When you launch your own site it can take months to get recognised by Google and move up the rankings.

Have you paid for any Google advertising?

Only a bit. We didn’t really have the budget before and now I need to learn a bit more instead of chucking money at something I don’t fully understand. I do however put my products onto Google Shopping product feed. I didn’t do it one month and noticed a dramatic drop in sales so it is obviously working.

How do you make your brand stand out on marketplaces?

Again a lot of it is about getting keywords right but I think you have to have a strong brand that is easily recognisable. You would spot one of my pieces because of the consistency. It is also important to create a community. That is why I started the British Sellers team on Etsy in which I have discussions with other members.

I follow other designers that I like and they follow back. It’s quite strategic. For example on Twitter and Instagram and follow other brands that would have a similar audience to mine and we grow the community and get recommended through “likes”.

www.hoobynooworld.co.uk