Start to sell candles from home! Homemade candles have a higher demand, it is easy to sell online, and it is cheaper to make candles. So, it makes total sense to start an online candle business from home.
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In this guide, we will tell you how to start a successful homemade candle business from scratch, including how to make candles and how to sell candles online.
Sell candles online – It can be your entry point to eCommerce
Starting an online business can be a great way to make money from home or to make a passive income. Therefore, in this post, we’ll find out how to start an online business by selling candles.
Depending on your passion, dedication, and talent you will be able to run a successful homemade candle brand this time next year! So, let’s get started!
The demand for homemade candles
According to the National Candle Association’s fact sheets, there’s still enough room make money by selling candles. So, let’s go through some basic facts about the candle industry. This knowledge will help us to build a strong marketing strategy to sell candles from home.
- The consumers are usually purchasing candles as home decors, for aromatherapy, and for stress reduction.
- People use candles to make their spaces more comfortable and cosy.
- Usually, people burn candles in the living room, kitchen, and bedrooms.
- Fragrance and the looks are the most important purchasing influence for candles. If you sell them online, it is all about looks and customer reviews.
- Both men and women consider candles as a highly appreciated gift for many occasions including holidays, house warming parties, thank you gifts, and birthdays.
What are the different types of candles that you can sell
There are a few different types of candles that you can sell online.
Scented or aromatherapy candles
People use scented candles to bring in pleasant fragrances for their living spaces. They buy scented candles for special occasions. So, you can make candles with a wide array of fragrances, including;
- Vanilla and nutmeg
- Lavender
- Tobacco
- Mandarine
- Sandalwood
- Peach
- Mahogany/Teakwood
- Coconut and lemon etc.
You can buy all these candle making scents as oils from local supplies stores or on Amazon.
The aromatherapy candles are a special type of scented candles. They contain the hints of essential oils to soothe the mind and body.
Sell decorative candles
As we have discussed earlier, people buy candles just to decorate their living spaces. So, you can start making decorative candles as well. When you make decorative candles to sell, you have to focus more on the looks of the product.
Usually, decorative candles come with many different shapes, colours, and accessories. You can get design inspirations using the decorative candle photos on Pinterest and Instagram. Also, search on Amazon for the decorative candles and see what type of candles have the highest demand.
Soy and Vegan candles
Soy and vegan candles have a very high demand in the candle market. Unlike the regular oil, paraffine, and beeswax candles, soy candles are made from the wax extracted of soybeans. Also, soy candles usually burn longer and cleanly. Therefore, best quality soy candles are usually sold for a higher price than the regular candles.
Other types of candles that you can sell
There are many other types of candles as well. For example, tapered candles, church candles, pillar candles as well. Keep exploring and see for more opportunities to sell candles. However, when you do so, always cross-check for the demand of candle types on Amazon.
Here is a little tip…
Not every product is suitable to sell online. When we talk about the marketing strategies, you will learn that you need something special, or something intriguing, to get the attention of your customers. So, selling something like regular church candles might not be a wise idea. However, the candles types like Decorative, Vegan, and Scented might have a better opportunity to sell via a simple Facebook ad campaign.
How to make candles at home
Making candles is not hard. It is a simple and straightforward process. Below I have shared some YouTube videos to learn how to make candles to sell.
However, before you go ahead and start making candles to sell, you need to consider a little bit about how you are going to sell these candles. Let me first share the video, and then we’ll talk more on this special marketing tactic.
The importance of having a unique product
A candle business is a competitive niche. There are many sellers. So, you need some sort of unique quality for your business to cut through the competition and sell your candle to the potential customers.
This is called having a unique selling proposition for your business.
A unique selling proposition gives your buyers a reason to buy from you and no one else. However, when it comes to the candle business, finding a unique selling proposition can be an overwhelming task. Don’t let that put you off. Try to think out of the box.
It can be a new scent, a safety feature, or even a new accessory. Think and invent some unique feature for your candles. This will make your life 1000 times easier when it comes to the selling stage.
Where you can sell candles
The easiest way to start selling candles is on the popular online marketplaces. For example, you can use eBay, Amazon, or Etsy to sell candles. These platforms don’t charge you for listing. They take commissions as you make sales.
If you like to sell candles on eBay, check this beginner’s guide to sell on eBay.
Selling candles on your own eCommerce store
As your business grows, you can get greater benefits by moving the candle sales onto your own online store. So, while you are selling the candles on eBay or any other online marketplace, work on starting a website for your business too.
It won’t cost you a fortune to start a website. For example, you can start a WordPress website by just paying only for the domain address. It will be like $15 per year. And, the best this is starting a WordPress website is a total DIY project. With the basic computer and internet skills, you can do it yourself.
As your business grows, you can develop this website by moving it to another hosting service, and adding more customised features. Also, you can add an eCommerce section (an online store) for your website later. Until then, start a simple website, and work on your blog and other marketing tactics. So, by the time you start selling candles on your website, it will be old enough to get more traffic.
Additional reading: How to start an online store
Marketing your candle business
Now, this is the most important part of this whole startup guide to selling candles.
Making candles is pretty much straight forward. Everyone can do that. Starting a website, or listing the candles to sell on eBay? Simple, and everyone can do that too.
So, what is the tricky part?
Yes, marketing. The only way to build a successful candle business is by creating proper marketing strategies for your candle sales.
Learn marketing to sell candles
Below I have listed the most essential marketing strategies for building a successful candle business. Let’s go through the list and discuss them in detail.
Facebook marketing for a candle business
Facebook can be the cash cow of your candle business. It has a tremendous audience for you to reach and sell candles. Also, they provide precise demographic data to build your marketing campaign.
Therefore, start working on building a powerful social media strategy from day one. Start a Facebook page for your business and start posting right now.
You can even post about the initial phases of your business too. Create videos of how you are trying to perfect the candle making and post them on your Facebook page. These types of videos can bring in more engagement and a human touch to your business. Sometimes, these posts can help you to get some early bird customers and investors as well.
Using content marketing to sell candles
Content marketing is another powerful way to reach a hot audience for your products. For example, you can start writing blog posts about candles on your websites to get the attention of your customers in the early stages of their purchasing journey.
Here are some content ideas to sell candles
- The 10 Best Scented Candles for a Cosy Home
- How to select the aromatherapy candles
- 10 home decorating ideas with candles
- How candles can help you to relax after a hefty workday
So, when people come to read these posts, you can subtly show your candles and influence them to buy candles from you. For example, in the “10 Best Scented Candles” article, you can give them the purchasing links to the scented candles that you sell.
Also, you can start making videos for the same content topics and publish them on your blog and on YouTube. These content can drive traffic and sales to your listings.
Other marketing tactics to sell candles
Even though we have discussed only Facebook and Content marketing strategies, there are many other marketing skills that you can use to sell candles.
Check this list about the 30 most essential online marketing strategies for the beginners. There you can find more information about Ad strategies and other digital marketing strategies to sell candles.
Do 10 times better than your top competitor
If you want to establish a successful candle business, I would suggest that you need to do at least 10 times better than your top competitor within the first year. This brute force passion and dedication will help you to climb up in the ladder in no time, and start selling candles better than the other competitors.
You can sell candles to make an extra income, or to start an online business. The process is pretty much straight forward. The only tricky part is creating marketing strategies to sell candles.
There are plenty of free resources to learn how to handle marketing on YouTube, Google, and EcommerceBuff. So, keep in touch with us. We’ll share more tactics to better your candle sales in the future.