Should You Join a Soap Trade Association?

No person is an island. While your online soap shop can be doing well and making money, expansion is something that can be difficult to do by yourself. You may want to consider joining an industry trade association in order to expand and have a network to bounce off of.

What are the benefits of joining a soap trade association? Well, while you likely have to pay an annual or monthly fee, you’ll be able to learn more about how others ply their soap craft and get some ideas you can emulate. You can also be given additional training in other methods to make soap. Some might even offer liability insurance and additional listings for your soap shop, too. For more information about soap trade associations, click here:: Top Handcrafted Soap and Cosmetic Trade Associations and Why You Should Join

Edit Your Soap Photos for Free

One of the best selling points for your soap shop is making sure that the photos of your soap products are top-notch. One way to enhance the look of your soap on your website is to take great photos and make them greater with photo editing software. This can sound expensive, but you can find quality photo editing software FOR FREE!

Many crafters find and download photo editing programs such as PicMonkey or Gimp in order to touch up pictures. There are even less known programs such as Ribbet and Photoscape that you can try if you don’t care for the others. Many of them are easy to use and you can always look for tutorials on YouTube if there are specific tasks you need to learn to make your photos look better. For a full list of free photo editing programs, please click here:: The Best Free Photo Editing Programs for Crafters

Make Clay Wrapped Pots for Simple Crafty Storage

If you want to make some containers with an artistic flair, why not create some classy clay pot out of regular tin cans. Just take some air dry clay and wrap it around a sturdy tin can. You’ll then have a great clay pot to use as a vase for flowers, hold pens, and more. Once it dries, you can also paint the pots themselves if you wish to show off your artistic self. For a full tutorial, please click here:: DIY Clay Wrapped Pots

Using Plastic Molds for Soap

While many soap makers use silicone or wooden molds for their soaps, there are plastic molds that can be used to shape cold process soap as well. However, the unmolding process is different for plastic than its wooden or silicone counterparts. What’s the trick?

When using a plastic mold for cold process soap, be sure that no air is touching the soap inside. This prevents imperfect shapes. Also, soap in a plastic mold takes longer to harden, taking up to 2 weeks before it is hard enough to maintain its shape and design. Keeping this in mind can help you create some great soap molded into a fun pattern. For a more detailed tutorial and tips, click here:: Unmolding Cold Process Soap from Plastic Molds

Adjust Soap Prices Without Losing a Profit

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“Supply and demand” is the hallmark of any enterprise and craft soaps are no different. You may make a quality soap but your soap sales might be limited due to the price you are asking for them. How can you adjust your soap prices without sacrificing too much profit?

First, take a look at your price and ask yourself if you are charging a reasonable rate for your labor. Would you pay an employee that rate? If not, then changes might have to be made. You should also ask yourself if certain ingredients in some soaps can be replaced with cheaper substitutes without sacrificing the quality. That way each soap can be cheaper to make and thus cheaper to price. For more on how to readjust your soap prices while still making money, click here:: How to Adjust Your Prices While Maintaining a Profit