Do you want to grow your Antique Business so that you get more traffic to your Antique Mall, Show or Flea Market?
Creating a website for your antique business is going to bring more customers through your doors where ever you do your business, whether it is at an Antique Mall, Antique Show, Flea Market or Auction.
Your website is the online business card that will help your customers find you. It will be open 24 hours 7 days a week and at the fingertips of anyone who has access to the Internet. Even a small country General Store can be seen by thousands of people.
Even if you just have a small booth in an Antique Mall, you should create a website to boost your sales. Many people like to browse online 24 hours a day for things that they are looking for. They also search Google to find items for their collections.
People are Looking for What You Are Selling
I had a small booth at the Sugar Creek Antique Mall when I made my first Antique Website. I listed the items by name that I had placed in my booth on my website. Someone searched Google for a game “Geo-graphy Worldwide Game” and found that I had a game in my booth. This person visited Sugar Creek Antique Mall and purchased the game. She let the owner know that she found it by looking online. That sell would have never happened without my online promotion. Here is the receipt from that day.
One thing that is important when promoting your items on a website, is to always remind your visitors that they should call ahead to be sure the item is still available. That way, you can keep your customers happy and also set aside items if someone wants to reserve them.
Make Your Hard Work Pay Off
I personally know how hard an antique dealer works and how a rainy day of an outdoor event can break your year. Hours and hours are put into doing research on your treasures and more hours are put into your displays. At the same time, it is usually a labor of love and it is a passion that keeps us going.
Pictures are Worth a Thousand Words
If you show antiques at an Antique Show or Flea Market you will be one step ahead if you promote online some photos of what you have to offer. Keep it simple by taking photos of your tables and displays. Most people own a smartphone so you shouldn’t have any excuses for not posting photos. A picture is worth a thousand words and the best way to promote what you are selling.
You can even show photos of individual items and have your website visitors leave comments or ask questions about what you are offering. This is especially a good idea to promote your higher priced items.
The beauty of showing what you have to offer in your shop is that your customers can come to pick up the items instead of shipping them such as on eBay.
Websites are Incredibly Easy to Build and Affordable
Just in case you are thinking that a website would be too expensive or you are not savvy enough to create your own I am here to tell you many people have learned this skill and it is not as hard as you think. You can start with a free website to see for yourself that – YES YOU CAN DO THIS. The key is to surround yourself with help every step of the way and give yourself time to master this skill.
I have outlined the steps here as to how you can start with a simple WordPress Site that can be built upon over time.
Website Basics for Antique Malls & Dealers
Basic Information to Add to Your Site for Antique Malls and Antique Dealers
- Name
- Address
- Phone
- Hours
- Special Events
- Contact via Email
- Photos
Photos – Photos and more Photos. Most people will browse your site visually. Just like when they visit your shop they walk up and down the aisles.
Create Your Own YouTube Videos
Include videos on your website- they are easy and fun to make. Some shops offer a YouTube visual as seen below.
What I like about this video is that it gives a peek inside this small shop in Prairie du Chien, WI. It is simply made but packs a powerful visual of what is inside. Use your smartphone to make your own videos. Don’t worry about it not being perfect – it will show what you have to offer.
I love the explanation of the antiques and I think the Norwegian Trunk would be perfect for my guest room.
Free Online Advertising
Once you have your website up and running there are several ways for people to find it. First, Google will do a lot of the work if you include the information that people are looking for. This includes information about your business plus descriptions of what you sell and where you sell things. Over time your site will grow and you will find Google will promote what you have to sell. I found the above video just by typing in search Videos of Wisconsin Antique Shops.
Offline Promotions
Another way to promote your website is the old-fashioned way of creating business cards and fliers. Place these cards in your booth and pass them out to your customers. You can also post them at local grocery stores that offer free bulletin boards.
Social Media
Facebook is another way that is free and easy to get your antiques online. Create a Facebook business page to keep your followers updated on what you have to offer.
Learn how to create a Facebook business page here.
Building a website could be the game changer for you and your antique business. Bring the world to your doorstep and let them enter your antique shop online and see what you have to offer.
Here are the things that you will need to get started.
- A name for your business (If you don’t have one already).
- Free Starter Website to learn the ropes.
- A community of support for learning how to build your website.
- Time to make it happen.
Everything that you need to get started can be found here.
