How to Market Jewelry Online and 4x Your Sales in 4 Months!

Today I wanted to feature a case study from a real-life jewelry designer who wanted to know how to market jewelry online.

Flourish & Thrive Academy is an online jewelry business education company where we teach independent jewelry brands of all sizes how to market jewelry online. From total beginners who want to launch a collection to industry veterans looking to scale and get strategic.

Over the past 6 years, my co-founder Robin Kramer and I have helped thousands of independent jewelry designers build the business they’ve always imagined.

I’m sharing this story because I know there are so many passionate designers who face the same issues or questions like:

• Is this really a viable business idea or am I just being silly?
• How do I stand out and market my jewelry online when there’s so much competition?
• Am I too old for this? I’m in my 40’s | 50’s | 60’s etc!

Enter Kena Treadway of “Few Made” Jewelry, based in the Washington D.C. area…

Kena knew she needed to make a change in her life while feeling the rush of freedom, fear, and adrenaline after bungee jumping off the edge of a cliff.

She’d been working a soul-sucking job in financial services for many years. Even though she was good at her job, it wasn’t lighting her up. It didn’t give her that sense of fulfillment and joy she wanted.

A divorce and some soul searching inspired her to finally live the second half of her life following her true purpose!

That’s when she decided to really “make a go” at designing limited edition and one-of-a-kind pieces of jewelry. Originally, she designed for herself in a modern boho style.

Then her friends and family started to notice her work and love her pieces. So she sold her jewelry at trunk shows, a little through her website, and some local consignment shops.

Everyone told her she had talent… but she still doubted that she could really replace her income by being a jewelry designer. The struggle between her head and heart began.

Kena wanted to feel more fulfilled in her life, ditch the finance job and do work she was passionate about.

But it was hard to ignore the reality of bills to pay and children to raise. She was only making, at most, $2000/month from her jewelry sales and that was during her busiest season.

She decided that it’s now or never. And just like the opportunity to bungee jump with her sisters, she knew another chance wouldn’t come along. For Kena, it was time to start walking the walk and that’s when “Few Made” was born.

Kena found Flourish & Thrive Academy and applied for our Momentum coaching program without knowing much about what we did, other than what she saw on social media. When Kena jumped on the Strategy Session Call with Jess, our community manager, and success coach, but she was a little skeptical at first.

She wondered if it would really work for her and her business model. She had an omnichannel brand selling in person, online, and wanted to do more wholesale. It was a significant investment and since she still had kids at home, she wanted to make sure she wasn’t investing in something that couldn’t get her real results.

If Kena was ever going to build a jewelry business, she knew the Momentum was the group that would allow her to do it. And that is because of the custom support and advice that was unique to her business.

She knew she wanted to move fast in her business and retire from her finance career, but she couldn’t do it all on her own. So she committed to the program…

Within 9 months, Kena’s business transformed.

She spent the first 5 months setting the groundwork to elevate her brand and attract the right customers. Once she had her online presence consistently representing her brand, she spent 4 months focusing on selling.

Here Are Just a Few Things She Did:

• Created a beautiful maker video telling her brand story and who she serves
• Edited and curated her social media platforms for conversion
• Overhauled her website to increase the user experience and flow
• Focused on growing her email list using online and offline list-building strategies
• Overcame her fear of video and started using Facebook Live to attract, connect with, and convert new customers while re-engaging existing customers
• Developed a clear brand voice that is prominent and consistent in all of her sales and marketing
• Setup automated sequences on her website to sell without selling (as in, she’s making money while she’s asleep, away from the computer, or on vacation)
• Setup multiple in-person trunk shows with different groups of friends to grow her local customer base
• Created a regular newsletter and promotional email strategy to keep these new customers engaged and buying
• Broke down and looked at her sales goals daily to take action to make that bit by bit.
• And so much more…

She did all this while working a full-time job and spending the first part of the year caring for an elderly parent.

Here’s what happened…

The Flourish & Thrive Momentum coaching program hosted a challenge in May called $8K in May. The goal was to sell $8,000 in jewelry that month. Even though Kena’s highest sales month was $2,000 up until this point, she took action despite her fear and accepted the challenge.

On May 31st, she reported that she did her first ever $8K month in “Few Made” history!

It came down to the wire, but she kept her energy high and focused on her goal. And in turn, attracted more repeat sales and custom orders from her clients. The work she did earlier in the year came through for her at the perfect time and she landed a wholesale order “for the win” just before June.

She knew this wholesale opportunity was a great fit. Through Momentum, she learned our follow-up formula for getting retail buyer’s attention and kept taking action!

Once Kena saw the power of taking action in the face of fear, she went all in.

She committed to hosting regular Facebook Live Trunk shows, even though she felt uncomfortable being on camera. Kena's Facebook fans love it though, so she shares videos on a regular basis. Her following is small but mighty. And her organic reach is up 1,763% – yes, percent.

Her page views increased by 597%, her likes by 700% and her engagement by 4,773%

Remember when I told you that Kena had never done more than $2000/ month? Well, she’s now consistently selling $2,000 worth of jewelry in an hour or two by properly promoting her Facebook live videos and VIP virtual trunk shows.

By following the advice of the coaches in our Momentum program, Kena sold 4x her previous annual sales in just 4 months.

That’s right… in 120 days she sold 400% more than she did all last year.

(Remember, she joined the program in January and spent 5 months getting the groundwork in place).

When I spoke to her on our podcast, Kena told me the Momentum program changed her life. She’s more confident, happier, and actually making money doing something she truly loves.

Kena’s mission is to inspire women to face their fears and take their own leap to fulfill their dreams in life. “Few Made” is a symbol that when you trust yourself enough to do the thing that scares you, it pays off.

She’s an inspiration to anyone considering making big life changes to pursue something, even if it feels scary. Whether it’s changing career paths, moving across the world, or starting that food blog – Kena believes you should go for it.

Her jewelry income will soon surpass her corporate finance income. She’s already preparing for her next leap of faith to leave behind corporate finance and become a designer full time. With the continued support and advice from the Momentum coaches and program, she feels safe knowing there’s a community there to support her with every leap.

Our Conclusion:

Take a leap of faith to follow your passion. Be open to accepting help and commit to being uncomfortable. Kena was able to surpass sales goals more quickly than she ever imagined because she was COMMITTED to following advice, doing the work, and not letting fear get in her way.

This is the reason I started the program. So designers like Kena can have the support, personalized guidance, and peer accountability to build a business as an independent jewelry designer.

I can’t wait for the day Kena tells me she retired from her job in finance, it’s happened with a few of our designers, and it never gets old!

You go, girl!

Are you ready to face your fears and profit from your passion?

We’re ready to get you on the same path Kena took and provide a plan for your website and online presence.