Creative Enterprise Growth Programme: Improving Websites & Marketplaces

Selling your creative work online should feel clear and manageable, not confusing, technical, or overwhelming.

This full-day, in-person workshop is designed to help creative businesses improve how they present their products or creative services on websites and marketplaces. It focuses on clarity, structure, and confidence, helping you make improvements yourself without jargon or tech overwhelm.

We are delighted to welcome Racheal Straughan, Founder of Mayfli, and Elaine Parker, Founder of Exaltis. Together, they bring extensive, real-world experience supporting creative businesses to present their work clearly and professionally online.

Their approach is calm, practical, and human, cutting through noise and focusing on what actually helps customers and clients understand what you offer and how to buy or book from you.

This workshop gives you the space to step back, understand what is working, what is not, and leave with clear next steps you can realistically put into action.

Workshop Seven: Marketplace & Website Workshop for Creatives

Running a creative business already means juggling many roles. Your website or marketplace presence should support your work, not create extra stress.

Whether you sell physical products, creative services, commissions, or a mix of both, this workshop helps you understand how people experience your website or listings, and how small, thoughtful changes can improve clarity, trust, and conversions.

The day is designed to feel calm, supportive, and easy to follow, with guided learning and dedicated time to work on your own website or marketplace listings.

1. Selling Through Marketplaces

We will explore how to present your work clearly and confidently on platforms such as Etsy, Mayfli and similar marketplaces.

You will learn:

• How to structure listings so people quickly understand what you offer
• How to use images and text to explain your work or services
• Choosing the right titles and categories
• What marketplaces prioritise, and what you can safely ignore

This applies to both product-based and service-based creative businesses using marketplaces as part of their sales or visibility strategy.

2. Creating a Clear, Effective Website

This session is platform-neutral and suitable whether you use WordPress, Wix, Shopify, or another website builder.

We will cover:

• How a good website should be structured
• Which pages are essential for selling products or services
• Common issues that stop people buying, enquiring, or booking
• How to organise your products, services, or offers clearly

The focus is always on clarity, simplicity, and making your website easy for real people to use.

3. SEO Made Simple

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimisation. In very simple terms, it is how you help your website or product show up on Google when people search for what you sell. It does not need to be technical or intimidating.

In this section, we will gently break down:

• What keywords are and why they matter
• How to find keywords people are actually searching for
• Where keywords should appear on your website or listings
• How to structure headings (H1, H2, H3) clearly
• How AI can support SEO without replacing your voice

Everything is explained in plain language and linked directly to creative businesses.

4. Competitors, Reviews & Google

Understanding how your business appears online can highlight quick improvements.

We will explore:

• How to review what similar creative businesses are doing well
• What you can learn without copying or losing your identity
• Setting up or improving your Google Business Profile
• Why reviews and testimonials matter for both products and services

This section helps build trust and confidence for potential customers and clients.

5. Practical Working Session

This is where everything comes together.

There is dedicated time during the day to work on your own website or marketplace listings, with support from Racheal and Elaine throughout.

You will:

• Review your site or listings using simple audit tools
• Make improvements during the session
• Ask the questions you have been stuck on
• Leave with clear, prioritised actions, not just notes

The session is supportive, practical, and designed to build confidence.

What You Will Learn

By the end of the workshop, you will:

• Understand how to clearly present your products or creative services online
• Know what your website should and should not include
• Feel confident making changes yourself
• Understand simple SEO principles that support visibility
• Spot common issues that stop people buying or booking
• Leave with clarity, direction, and next steps

Everything is broken into manageable steps so the process feels achievable.

Practical Tools You’ll Receive

Every attendee will receive:

✔️ Marketplace Audit Sheet (simple tick-box checklist)
✔️ Website Audit Sheet (simple tick-box checklist)

These tools clearly show:

• What you should have
• What to improve
• What to work on next

They can be reused as your business grows or changes.

Who It Is For

This workshop is exclusively for people working within the creative industries, including:

• Makers, artists, designers, and illustrators
• Creative freelancers and service-based businesses
• Small creative brands
• Anyone selling products, services, commissions, or bookings online

It is ideal for creatives who want clarity and structure without technical overwhelm.

What to Expect

You will be supported throughout the day by Racheal Straughan and Elaine Parker, whose combined experience and calm teaching style make complex topics feel understandable and manageable.

Expect clear explanations, real examples, practical tools, and time to work on your own business. This is not corporate or overly technical. It is human, practical, and designed around real creative businesses.

Most people leave feeling clearer, more confident, and relieved to finally know what to focus on.

What to Bring

• A laptop or tablet
• Your website or marketplace login details
• Questions you have been stuck on

Can’t Make the Date?

If you are unable to attend this session, please get in touch and we will help you explore alternative workshop dates and ways to engage with the programme.

The Creative Enterprise Growth Programme is a Creative Impact project, part of Creative Central NCL, funded by the North East Combined Authority and Newcastle City Council.