Marketing is both one of the hardest and one of the easiest parts of creating your business. If you know how to market, it comes easily, but if you don’t, it can be one of the most frustrating things to have to do. So what are the best ways that you can market your candle making business, and what is the most effective?
6 Effective ways to Promote Your Candle Business are:
- Create your brand and make it unique.
- Take your brand to social media.
- Share what you know online.
- Work with other businesses to promote your products.
- Talk to your customers—and listen.
- Find your niche and lean into your niche.
But what options are the best for you and your business? How can you break through the social media barriers to not only gain views but new customers? Read on to find out more about these marketing strategies and how you can easily implement them in your business.
1. Create your brand and make it unique.
It can be difficult to create your own unique brand, especially in a saturated market, but it is not impossible. Create something that people are going to recognize and flock to—which means they will continue to come back. When you’re creating your business plan for your candle making business, you should be planning what your image will be. What kind of logo will you have? What kind of online presence will you have? Create your brand through your social media and your website—and make sure it all appears the same. Matching your brand across all platforms and advertising locations will create brand recognition, which is key in any business.
2. Take your brand to social media.
There are so many ways to market your products, but for the most effective—and effectively free—advertising, take your brand to some social media channels. Depending on the demographic you’re looking to bring in, cater your social media presence to those group. Younger adults and teens are utilizing Instagram and TikTok, while the older crowd favors Facebook.
The key in any sort of social media marketing is consistence. You must be posting consistently with a focus on what you provide—your products should be in the forefront of your social media presence. How do you do that, though? Check out what content is trending and see how you can hop on that train. With that in consideration, though, try to keep your content evergreen. How does this work? It’s all about balance. You can post on that trend or that hashtag, but make sure you’re creating enough content that will stand the test of time, like how to’s or a fragrance focus. If you have more than one employee, you can also do an employee feature, showing your followers the behind the scenes of your business. Don’t be afraid to show them how your candles get made—it’s fascinating to most, and they’ll have confidence in buying your product if they know how you do it.
One thing to remember is not stretching yourself too thin. Trying to get the next big trend on TikTok might cut into your candle making time if you’re also in Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. Pick one or two social media platforms to focus on, and then you can get maximum coverage within that app.
That being said, cross promotion is vital to your success on social media. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel across each platform—repost your content to get the most out of what you’re doing, and make sure you link everything back to your website.
3. Share what you know online.
While you might think it’s counterproductive, showing your customers how you make your products, you might be surprised—being transparent in your business can actually bring people in and make them want to buy your products. This is a great way to cross promote—post your how to’s on your social media pages, show people how you make your candles or choose your fragrances, and you will get more attention—which just brings in more and more potential customers.
Consider checking out other social media pages for candle makers. What is their content like? What are they doing to educate their customers and followers? Try to come up with something different. Finding your niche in your products is key, but you can also find a niche within your educational process—what do you want people to know about candles, and how are you going to inform your potential customers? Sharing what you know won’t hurt your business—but it can certainly help it.
Learn how many candles a pound of beeswax makes!
4. Work with other businesses to promote your products.
Especially if you’re creating your candles as a local small business, you can partner with others in your community to help market each other. Customers love seeing their favorite small businesses working together, and that can work in your favor. It can be something as simple as providing promotional materials or even samples of your candles for other businesses to display in their shops—and that could lead to you having a physical spot to sell your candles rather than just focusing online.
You could also help bring in more business by providing coupons or discounts that you can give out in those partner businesses. Customers are always looking for discounts, and when you’re promoting your business in smaller communities, you never know who you might bring in with those discounts—you could find a new returning customer.
If you need help finding some local businesses to work with, consider checking in with your local chamber of commerce. They can put you in contact with any reputable business that you may be interested in working with.
5. Talk to your customers—and listen.
This may seem like a very ambiguous way to promote your candle business, but by talking to your customers, you can find out what they like and what they don’t like about your products. Do they want more choice? Do they want more natural ingredients? Do they love what you’re doing? You don’t know how people feel unless you’re collecting information. This information can not only be used to improve your product, but improve how people see your brand and check out your advertising online—finding out how people found out about you can help you determine where you’re getting the most views.
6. Find your niche and lean into your niche.
The candle market could be considered saturated, but that doesn’t mean you can’t find your place in it. Finding your niche in the candle making community will help you not only make good content for your social media pages but also bring more people in. Whether you’re looking at a particular grouping of unique scents, making gel candles with figurines inside, or just trying to make the best, most environmentally friendly candles you can, people will want to know. Talk about your process on your website and your social media pages, and customers will find your products.
Promoting your candle making business doesn’t have to be complicated. No matter whether you’re posting on social media or working with another local business, you have to give it your all. Standing out in a saturated market means getting the attention of potential customers in any way you know how, and you have to put in 100 percent to do so. Don’t think you have to do every single tip on this list, either—find what works for you and stick with it. Create the highest quality of products you can, and the customers will come!
Related Questions
Where can I learn to make candles?
There are many resources on the web to learn to make candles. Some of the best websites, blogs, and YouTube channels include CandleScience, Standley Handcrafted, Bramble Berry, Sunshine Soap and Candle Company, and Sheri Vegas. Don’t be afraid to look through their information and YouTube videos for the perfect tutorial on how to improve your candle making skills.
How do I create a name for my candle making business?
While the creative process can be a fluid one, you should start with a list of ideas and start to get inspiration from other places, like name generators. Consider using word concepts like rhymes or alliteration in your business name, or use a family name to give it a personal touch. Once you have a decent list, start putting ideas together, then get feedback from trusted friends and family. When you’ve found something you like, find out if the business name is available in your state, then register your name before you start doing business.
Is the candle market too oversaturated to sell my candles?
While the candle market is saturated, there are ways to sell your candles. Candles are considered a luxury item and are frequently sold by large corporations. While many niches are filled, people are still making their candles at home with the help of online tutorials. By finding your niche, promoting your candles properly, selling your candles locally and in small businesses, and leaning into the educational portion of your business, you too can break through that saturated market.
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Please note that the contents of this blog are for informational and entertainment purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice. Any action taken based on the information provided in this blog is solely at your own risk. Additionally, all images used in this blog are generated under the CC0 license of Creative Commons, which means they are free to use for any purpose without attribution.
Meet Shawn Chun: Entrepreneur and Candle Business Fan.
I’m a happy individual who happens to be an entrepreneur. I have owned several types of businesses in my life from a coffee shop to an import and export business to an online review business plus a few more and now I create online candle business resources for those interested in starting new ventures. It’s demanding work but I love it. I do it for those passionate about their business and their goals. That’s why when I meet a candle business owner at a craft fair, farmers market, retail location or anywhere else I see myself. I know how hard the struggle is to obtain and retain clients, finding good employees all while trying to stay competitive. That’s why I created Candle Business Boss: I want to help candle business owners like you build a thriving business that brings you endless joy and supports your ideal lifestyle.