Social media for makers
Instagram for a handmade business: what to post to sell your work
A handmade business needs only 3–4 posts a week, built on four pillars: process videos (your hands at work), materials and where they come from, the story behind each one-of-a-kind piece, and practical posts — commissions, markets, fairs. This guide to social media for makers gives you the pillars with examples, a ready content week and tips for shooting at the bench with a phone.
Why makers' social media goes quiet
Clay, sawdust, dough, hot wax: there's no moment in the day to sit down and type captions. Photos pile up in the camera roll and never make it out.
At a fair it does: people pick a piece up, turn it over, buy it. Online it doesn't — until you show the process and the materials, a handmade bowl looks just like a factory one at a third of the price.
For a one- or two-person studio, professional social media management costs as much as a month of materials. And an outsider rarely knows a glaze from a varnish — so you get "exclusive masterpieces" instead of substance.
Five content pillars that carry a maker's profile
You don't need twenty formats. Five recurring pillars cover everything — trust, sales and reach — whether you throw pots, work wood or bake in small batches.
The strongest currency in handmade. Twenty seconds of clay on the wheel, a plane curling shavings or icing flowing from a piping bag stops the scroll better than any photo of the finished piece: it proves there's a craft behind the object.
Which wood, whose wool, why that particular glaze. This is the pillar that justifies your price: once people understand what they're buying, they stop comparing you to mass production.
Every piece has a story: who it was made for, what it demanded, why there will never be another quite like it. Show the finished work with the hours it took and the details you only notice up close.
The pillar that sells: how commissions work, waiting times, price range, shipping. Repeat it regularly — people who have followed you for months often still don't know they can order a custom piece.
Where to find you this weekend, what you're bringing to the market, upcoming fair dates. In between: studio life — the bench in morning light, the tools on the wall, the kiln being loaded.
Example: a week of content for a handmade business
A balanced week: two posts that sell, three that build trust, two that bring reach. Swap in your own pieces — the pattern stays the same.
| Day | Network | Format | Post |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon | Finished piece | A piece fresh off the bench: materials, hours of work, what makes it one of a kind. Price or price range right in the caption. | |
| Tue | Instagram Stories | Poll | Two versions of the same piece: matt or gloss glaze, walnut or oak? Voters feel part of the process — and come back to see the result. |
| Wed | Reels | Process video, 15–30 sec | Hands at work: the wheel, the plane, the piping bag. Ambient sound instead of music — the real noise of the craft. No face needed. |
| Thu | Carousel | From raw material to finished object in 4–5 photos: the rough board, the blank, the finish, the final piece. End with how to order one. | |
| Fri | Market announcement | Where to find you this weekend: market, hours, stall number. Share it into local groups — neighbourhood events still travel far on Facebook. | |
| Sat | Instagram Stories | Behind the scenes | The studio at work: the bench, the kiln, pieces waiting for their second firing. A quiet reminder: "Christmas commissions open in October". |
| Sun | Commission story | A custom piece delivered: what the client asked for, how it took shape, the result. Close with how to commission your own. |
This is exactly the plan Laspi builds for you: talk for two minutes about what's new in the studio — finished pieces, an upcoming market, open commission slots — and get a week of posts with texts and images for every network.
In practice: shooting and writing when your hands are busy
- ✓ Photograph every piece the moment it's finished, in window light, on a neutral background — pale wood, linen, a bare wall. One fixed photo spot in the studio, and each shot takes under a minute.
- ✓ For process videos, stand your phone vertically on a cheap tripod next to the bench, press record and work as usual. Almost any session yields a good 20–30 seconds.
- ✓ Write captions the way you talk at a market stall: the material, how long it took, how to care for it, what it costs. Skip "exquisite artisanal masterpieces" — concrete details sell better.
- ✓ Every post about an available or commissionable piece should say exactly how to order — DM, website, email — and the lead time. It's the step almost everyone forgets.
- ✓ Reply to comments and messages the same day: for people who buy handmade, talking to the maker is half the value of the piece.
- ✓ Don't delete old posts. A profile with years of work behind it is your best portfolio — and it builds more trust than a perfectly curated nine-square grid.
You don't have to invent any of this week
Tell Laspi in a voice note what's happening in the studio: which pieces are finished, which market is coming up, whether commissions are open. A few minutes later the week is ready — texts for each network, images, videos. All that's left is one tap to publish, between firings.
Try it freeTwo free gifts to get you started
A free marketing strategy — your channels, your audience and exactly what to post, mapped out for you.
Your first two posts generated free — see the quality, in your own voice, before you pay a cent.
No card needed to start.
Frequently asked questions
How often should a handmade business post?
3–4 feed posts and 2–3 Stories a week are enough for a profile that looks alive and brings enquiries. Consistency beats volume: three posts every week works better than ten in one day and then a month of silence.
What do I post if I make the same things over and over?
Change the angle, not the object: the same mug becomes a wheel video, a post about the clay, the story of who commissioned it, a glaze comparison and a market announcement. One piece easily gives you 4–5 different posts.
Does social media actually sell handmade work, or just collect likes?
It sells — if every post about a piece says clearly how to order it. Enquiries almost always arrive by DM after a process video or a commission story, which is why the practical pillars should never be skipped.
Do I have to show my face?
No. Hands at work, close-ups of materials, finished pieces and a voice-over are plenty. In handmade, trust comes from a process people can see — not from the face of the person behind it.
How much time does this plan take each week?
By hand, 3–4 hours of shooting, captions and publishing. With Laspi, about fifteen minutes: record what's new in the studio, review the ready-made posts and publish them in one tap.
A week of posts for your studio — from one voice note
The first week is free: a content plan and two ready posts with images about your work. No card required.
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