Sell More Handmade Soap by Finding a Niche Market

If you’re in the soap making business and want to sell more soap, you need to discover the power of niche marketing. I have a friend who is an prolific soap maker. Every Saturday morning she awakened at 5:00 A.M. to make the long haul to the farmer’s market to sell her handmade soaps. She was able to establish a market for her soaps and her sales were satisfying, although not outstanding. Being one to always strive to be better, she naturally wanted to sell more. This smart lady realized in order to rise above the crowds of soap makers in the world, she needed to have a niche.

After doing a bit of research, both online and offline, my friend decided upon her niche. She saw a demand for all natural, chemical free soap for bathing dogs. She spent some additional time researching the components that would go into her soap and experimented with different formulations in her kitchen. She came up with an all natural shampoo bar for dogs as well as a liquid, chemical free dog shampoo. She gave her dog shampoo line a clever name and designed a cute, but professional lookingon her computer. The label was sent out to a printing company to be mass produced. When her labels arrived, she was ready to go!

My friend was fortunate enough to get a table at a local dog show that was coming to our area and she proudly took her new line of dog shampoos to the show. She put a little of the shampoo into a bowl and added water so people could feel the texture and scent of the shampoos she offered. Did she sell any of her dog soap? I’m proud to say she SOLD OUT! She also was able to develop a mailing list of potential future customers for her soap making business.

My friend went on to market her dog soap line both locally to grooming studios and veterinarian offices as well as via a website she set up online. Her sales have remained so brisk that she had to hire three employees. Would this have happened if she hadn’t established a niche? Who can say, but I would bet not! Finding a niche market can be a very powerful marketing tool for your soap making business.

Does YOUR soap making business need a niche? There are so many potential soap making niches out there including:

1. Soaps for gardeners
2. All natural baby soaps
3. Soaps for pampered cats
4. Natural soaps for artists (to remove paint from their hands)
5. Soaps for ferrets and other small rodents
6. Aromatherapy soaps
7. Soaps for hand washing clothing
8. Manly soaps for men
9. Soaps that smell like candy and bubble gum for kids

This is just a small list of potential niche soap making business niches to get your creative juices flowing.

So, if your soap making business isn’t as profitable as you’d like for it to be, why not consider nicheing it?