Starting a Goimagine.com Store

My greatest birthday gift this year was receiving my acceptance to the beta platform of Goimagine. The idea of Goimagine is that it is an online platform for selling handcrafted or homemade items (much like Etsy intended to be, but Etsy lost its way…) BUT they also have a fabulous mission of giving back to non-profits who help with solutions for children suffering homeslessness and/or hunger. My shop is just starting out but you can find it here on Second Time Around Homestead. 

Join the GoimagineTeam

At the time I am writing this, you have to apply to be a part of this platform, it is still in beta stages so they are expanding in waves. I had to wait about a month for my acceptance, but I knew that there was a waitlist. They intend for this process to become quicker as they move forward.

Once accepted you must set up your store, but it is super easy. Goimagine asks you questions, you answer these questions and voila! you have a storefront! Among the questions are the types of crafts you sell and approximately how many types of crafts you would have. I craft on a smaller scale as part time income, so I only need a storefront carrying about 25-100 different items. I can always expand. You will be able to choose what best suits you. There are packages of 25 items and the transaction fees (what you pay Goimagine) are 5% to 1000 items and only 3.5%. (Remember, a portion of these fees go towards the cause of supporting children.) Then comes the fun part, adding your products!

Add your Goimagine products

Like many platforms, this is a process that walks you through step-by-step, from the moment you tap the green plus sign to add product. 

1. Your product title. This should be clear, simple, and catchy if you can, simple and straightforward if not catchy: “Set of Six Sunflower Coasters” isn’t glamorous, but you do know what to expect.
2. Choose your category. Put yourself in the buyer’s shoes, what category would they search for your item? You wouldn’t look for a macrame plant hanger in baby clothes. Goimagine lets you choose numerous categories from their drop down menu or by typing and searching.
3. Then, describe your item. Type this for your buyer. Describe why they need one in general and why yours is the best. Describe your item with the senses: feel, smell, etc as well as the size and materials. Describe how to care for the item. Why is your item unique.
4. Include in your description other options (do you make this in another color, style, size? Do you offer custom work>.)
5. Include in your description links to your social profile to see upcoming designs. 
6. Next, you add a short description of key search words (again, think like a buyer and what they might search for).
7. Add your price, and your quantity. I am a firm believer that it is better to offer one of something and post it before worrying about building up your stock for larger inventory. Because these are handcrafted it is ok to have just 1 product in stock. Personally, I would be suspicious of any seller that had a lot of the same product in stock, it feels less home crafted and more mass produced then. But it depends on the item, lip balm is different than a quilt for example.
8. Last, add any comment you need to about shipping timeframes. As I write this Covid-19 continues to affect the world so that is mentioned  in my shipping notes.
9. Then hit the Create button. 
10. Scroll through and proof, then hit Save.
11. Now you need to adjust your SEO etc through the tabs near the top of your page.
12. The meta descriptions are more what the search engines see than what your buyer sees. You want strong, clean descriptions here.
13. Shipping and Quantity discounts are pretty self-explanatory, as is adding any files you would be selling or email subscribers.
14. Under Default Settings you choose from the drop-down menu how Facebook should recognize your wares and what kind of rating system your product will collect. I personally chose comments and rating as that helps the buyer more.
15. Remember to keep hitting Save.
16. That’s it – your item is for sale!

Personalize your Goimagine site

When you have time you can play around a bit more with your site to personalize it. I definitely recommend taking the time to do this, it can be the deciding factor in a sale. It shows that you care and that you are a real person, both of these factors entice buyers. 

You are able to add your own logo both as a small piece and as a banner. I used Canva to create my banner, and I’ll do the same for the small logo. My banner isn’t perfect, apparently I have a little gap on the edge I need to fix, but it is personal.

Just as important to personalize the site is to include a bit of an About Me. Be friendly here, let your personality shine through. Also include your links to social media, if they are business or crafting related.

That’s it, super simple. Now go load your site. Then, like most business people you will keep tweaking details and adding more and chase the sales. Good luck!

You may also be interested in our post Farmer’s Market vs Craft Fair

Or, our month long Crafting Challenge