Nope, that’s not a spelling error. There’s a product by that name and it’s big. If you are reading this, chances are, you are already using this fantastic tool. If you haven’t, then you are in for a big treat because, in this quick tutorial, I am going to show how you can make money using Cricut, the profitable way.
Cricut at a Glance
On the tabletop, it looks like a big printer but in actual fact, Cricut (pronounced simply as cricket) is an electronic cutting machine that can be programmed to produce variable shapes and sizes from different materials. It’s largely used in the crafting industry for creating many DIY projects from cotton fabric, basswood, and even glass.
Based in Utah, the innovative device has given crafters the much-needed precision compared to using the traditional scissors or bladed hand tools. So it’s not surprising that Cricut has been taking the internet by storm since 2015.
Obviously, this is a very fun tool to work with but what’s even more exciting for entrepreneurs is how it can be used as a foundation for starting an online business. Imagine all the things that can be made with this machine and all the products that you can sell at a bigger scale. That’s what we are going to talk about today.
Business Idea #1 – Selling Crafts Online
Craft items aren’t just something that people buy at the flea market anymore these days. They are widely searched online, which means if you put some effort into displaying your work, it may attract some buyers from all over. Setting up a storefront is crucial to get the business rolling and there are several ways to do that.
Shared platforms are often free to use and allow easy listing on online marketplaces that are already getting a ton of targeted visitors. Your store is operated 24/7 and with automation, orders and payments can be processed fairly easily. The downside, however, is having to deal with competition because there are also other sellers jumping onto the opportunity, just like you.
Hence, getting eyeballs to land on your products can be challenging unless you pay for exposure through list boosting or advertisements. Most of these platforms also charge fees upon listing or takes a small commission from the sales transaction. So make sure you are aware of that before going all in.
1 – Marketplaces
Here are some top places where you can sell crafts online.
Etsy – Gets about 200 million visitors per month. The listing fee per product is $0.20 and it’s valid for 4 months or until a product sells. Upon sales, a 5% transaction fee goes to Etsy and a standard 3% + $0.25 payment processing fee will be applied.
Handmade at Amazon – Gets 2 billion visitors per month. While it doesn’t charge for product listing, you need to pay for referral fee upon sales and a monthly fee may apply depending on the seller’s level and the volume of handmade products that you are selling. You can find more information through the seller central page here.
Zibbet – Gets 336,000 visitors per month. The platform is not free to use but it comes with a 14 days free trial, after which you can choose between the monthly or yearly plans ranging from $5 to $6 per month. Interestingly, you are also required to sell on other platforms (such as Etsy) while using Zibbet.
Cratejoy – Cratejoy is a subscription box business marketplace that lets you customize whatever products for the customers on a monthly basis. It gets 962,000 visitors per month and it costs $39 per month (plus additional charges upon sales) to sell on the platform.
2 – Ecommerce Platform
Moving away from marketplaces, we have eCommerce platforms that can customize your store according to specific design and features. These sites do not provide free traffic but they will have tools to help with traffic generation.
Shopify – This is probably one of the most well-known eCommerce platforms out there. It has a large technical support team and is used by all types of businesses. The pricing plans range between $29 to $299 per month and it comes with a 14 days free trial for new users. Visit this page to learn more about creating a store with Shopify and get traffic
3DCart – 3DCart is another eCommerce software that has many comprehensive features and marketing tools for selling online. Armed with around the clock support team based in the US, they offer a 15-day free trial that doesn’t need a credit card. Their plans are divided into monthly and yearly, priced between $19 to $229 per month.
BigCartel – BigCartel is a platform dedicated to creating online stores for makers and artists. Most of the eCommerce features are tailored for creative businesses and the plans are affordable too – between $10 to $30 per month. If you like a test drive, you can try the free but limited feature Gold Plan.
WordPress WooCommerce – WordPress is originally a blogging platform but has now extended to eCommerce as well. With the WooCommerce plugin, you get full control of the design and marketing of your store. Considering that WordPress and the plugin are both free to download, it’s a great option for new businesses that are tight on the budget.
Business Idea #2 – Promoting Cricut Machine
The second method to make money with Cricut is actually to promote the machine itself. Instead of producing and selling DIY items, the focus here is to sell the product and earn from the sales commission. This is called affiliate marketing and Cricut has a program with ShareASale which you can join for free.
As you can see from the data above, it is currently one of the top 100 high performing merchants with average sales of $100+. The program offers a 45-day cookie, thousands of product data links and exciting deals all year round to help with your content promotion.
I know what you are thinking – “But I am a maker, not a salesperson!”. I totally get that but hear me out. If the machine is a big part of your work and it’s producing positive results, someone can surely learn from your experience too.
Imagine all the art teachers, budding designers, and hobbyists who are still stuck with the conventional way of cutting materials. Don’t you think Cricut would make their lives more convenient and precise? That’s the whole point of promoting the product online.
The company pays 12% commission for every sale you refer to in their online store. Since most products sell between $10+ to $600+, you are looking at making a pure profit of $1.20 to $72 per item. Not a bad side income to complement a craft business, don’t you think?
Seeing that many American households are now involved in crafting and more people are using the Internet to search for how-to’s and shopping, you have every valid reason to promote Cricut online. Plus, it’s a very versatile and durable machine. What’s not to like about that?
Unlike a storefront, affiliate marketing is less complicated to get started. All you need is a functional blog containing topics related to Cricut and you can apply for the program straightaway. Never own a blog before? No worries. Use the tool below to create a WordPress blog for free.
To achieve effective online sales conversion, it’s best to talk about things that interest a specific audience. In blogging, these are called keywords and the more specific they are, the better you can reach out to potential customers. There are some targeted keywords I discovered using the Jaaxy keyword tool for this product using and I think they make great topics for your blog.
Feel free to use them if you like.
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For more information on how to start an affiliate business, please check out my recommended training platform here.
Is Cricut Worth Your Time?
If you want to produce crafts at a larger scale, the machine has proven to work in various projects so I think it’s worth the investment to get the most out of time and quality. As the company makes plans to expand to more countries, I think you should also harness the affiliate opportunity to be part of their marketing growth.
Let us know in the comment down below what you think about making money using Cricut or any other experience you have with this product.
I have been wanting to sell some of my crafts using the Cricut machine and was thinking of joining the handmade marketplace on Amazon. I heard you can create a shop and list products for free but they have a pretty strict application process as it’s only meant for professional artisans. I am only doing this out of hobby so I think it could be tough to get in.
Hi, Cathy, this is a magical product that opens my eyes! Many of my friends sell DIY products through the Internet. I am from China. They mainly sell their own foods, such as cakes and snacks. I think salesmanship is also a good idea. I really want to try it. Many thanks for sharing.
Interesting write up – I actually had not heard of this until I came across your page. I do obviously want to make money with Cricut but I’m curious if it works on patch material? Because I want to make handcrafted patches inspired by Game of Thrones and I’m wondering if Cricut is designed for this.
Yes, it cuts fabric into patches too! You can read more about it here.
This is the first time I come across Cricut. Somehow it reminds me of a 3D printer, but I guess Cricut is more for people who want to create craft while automating certain parts of the process. I have a friend who is selling handmade craft in Etsy, and she had been complaining about all those manual works of cutting, fitting, sewing, etc.
Seems like Cricut could be a good investment for her business!
So, Cricut can truly cut anything? Wood, plastic and even glass? That’s amazing! I would love to start doing something with used glass bottles but was afraid of the glass cutting process. A friend of mine cuts glass and creates beautiful things such as mirrors, windows, and doors, but her hands are hard and callused. Perhaps I should tell her about Cricut.
Yes, apparently it does. You should definitely share this product with your friends.