5 Ways to Sell Candles Without Using Social Media

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I have been selling my candles since 2015. The hardest part about owning a candle business is figuring out how to sell the darn things. I am a very curious person, so I am willing to try new things. Over the years, I have sold candles using several different methods.

I know that social media is a beast, and everyone’s first instinct is to hop on the latest platform and ride the trend waves. If this is your current marketing style you may find that posting on social media can be exhausting; and sometimes even defeating.

You may be looking to branch out beyond social media platforms. Well, I have some great ways you can make decent sales or full-time income WITHOUT relying on social media.

Search Engine Optimization

If you follow me on YouTube you may know that I talk about SEO or search engine optimization a lot. I cannot stress enough for new sellers to learn how SEO works. In short, learning what keywords your buyers are searching for can get your products seen organically in search. This means you can make sales without having to constantly post on social platforms. The buyers will come to you.

SEO helps me rank on sites like Etsy and Amazon. I never market these platforms on social media, but I get sales. Tools like erank.com help me get keywords that I can use in my listings.

Local Markets and Conventions

Selling at local markets is a great way to get sales. Yes, it can be intimidating since you have to pack everything you need for a successful show, but the rewards can be worth it.

Not many people harness the power of local selling. Word of mouth is a great marketing tool. Currently, I own a brick-and-mortar candle and gift shop in my town, and I have gotten so much local business from word-of-mouth marketing. I have even done candle events with a local elementary school because a parent had visited my shop.

When you are thinking of signing up for an event it is good practice to get a feel of the demographic. It would be such a waste of time and money for you to attend a show that is not a good fit for what you are selling. Ask the coordinator about the demographics of the attendees, how many people are expected to attend, and how many other candle sellers are signed up.

I learned my lesson the hard way when I attended a show with a $700 booth fee only to find out there were 4 other candle sellers there! That weekend I only made 12 sales. It was an awful learning experience, but I am here to tell you to do your research beforehand.

Wholesale

I have been wholesaling my candles since 2018. When I was doing all the work on my own I never had more than a few clients at a time. Then, I learned about Faire Wholesale and signed up. Oh my goodness! Faire has been such a game-changer for wholesale. I don’t have to put in much work to find clients. I use my SEO techniques, and the clients come to me. Some people shy away from Faire because of the 25% fee they charge when they bring you new clients. I don’t mind the fee at all because I know firsthand how hard it can be to acquire new wholesale clients.

If you are interested in Faire you can check out this free video talking more about the benefits of using Faire Wholesale.

Live Selling

Live selling has been around for a while on platforms like Facebook and Instagram, but it has never been a super refined process. There are now apps that make live selling more streamlined.

I was invited to become a seller on PopShop Live, and this platform makes it so easy to sell and buy live. Popshop’s interface is super easy to use, and buyers never have to leave your livestream to purchase. During my first stream, I cleared $388 in an hour. I am not super consistent on this platform, but I have done a few streams that have brought in over $500 in sales.

The buyers on the app are hot leads. On Tiktok and Instagram, most viewers are not looking to buy anything so you have to post consistently to get sales there, but on Popshop, the viewers are there to shop so it is a lot easier to make a sale during your stream.

Live streaming can be a bit intimidating, but you can always do test streams to get a feel for the platform before you go live.

Email Marketing

The most obvious way to make sales without social media is email marketing. On your website, create a popup so people can sign up for your email list. This is a great way to advertise new products and sales. Mailchimp is a great email host to start with. They have tools that help create attractive email lists.

I hope these tips helped to get some ideas on how to sell candles without social media.