Making soy candles is a wonderful, creative hobby; in fact, it is so fun that it has become incredibly popular! There are so many people who make candles that the competition is getting tough, even for gifts. I certainly had gift competition this year - people gave Bluewick, Pacifica, and White Barn as gifts to the same people that were on my candle gift list. Luckily, I had a 'secret weapon,' which I'm going to teach you...



Whether you're making soy wax candles for personal use or to sell, you don't want to make the same thing as everybody else. You want candles that are unique and personal - the "you" brand! That's the secret weapon to making your candles stand out among all the rest.

If you don't know what your "you" brand is, don't worry. Chances are that you already have a unique take on candle making, but you just need some help bringing it to the surface. Here is a simple formula that can help you figure out what's unique about the candles you make.

Step One.

Ask yourself this: "What makes my candles different? Special? Unique?" Find as many possible answers to this question as you can, and write them down.

Any difference is fair game, no matter how small or slight. Do you use a special container? Special ingredients or dyes? Do you have something different about the process, such as making them without electricity? Perhaps your candles look the same as everyone else's, but that doesn't mean they *are* the same. After all, there is only one of you, and that means that there is definite potential for uniqueness.

If you've squeezed out every last drop of thought from your brain and still can't come up with anything, you're actually in a great position! It's an opportunity to use your innate creativity and start a new candle line. Give yourself permission to dream and experiment with different candle concepts - you will have a lot of fun and end up with a product that you are proud of.

Before going on to the next step, note that this process is *simple* but not *easy.* To answer the question "What makes my candles different from all the rest" requires looking at yourself, your existing products, and possibly your competition. The best unique points are those that no one can easily duplicate, because once someone starts doing what you're doing, it's no longer unique. It doesn't matter who got there first.

Step Two.

When you can say "I'm the only one who does ___," you are only halfway done. Next is a follow-up question that you must answer for each potential unique point: "Why does that matter? Why should people care about that?"

You'll find that some of your differences aren't really noteworthy. And you'll probably also find out that things that didn't seem important turned out to be your biggest asset! Distill your most important uniqueness and reason why it matters into a concise statement that goes like this example (which I obviously made up):

"Only my candles use Wild Mushroomika, a rare essence from the desert rainforests in China. This is significant because the scent of Wild Mushroomika is said to be 1000 times more relaxing than lavender and sends anyone to sleep within 7 seconds - even babies and insomniacs."

This step is especially important if you want to sell your candles. Unless your potential customers have been living in the wilderness for the past ten years, they are aware that they have choices. They know that you're not the only candle maker in the world, and they only have to go online (or even the grocery store!) to see possibilities.

Inside their heads, they'll be asking themselves, "Why should I buy these over any other option? What's so great about these particular candles? What makes this the best choice?" You have to respond with, "Because they're the only candles that ___, and you should care about that because ___."

Even if you don't sell candles, wouldn't it feel great to say, "I make candles myself because they're the only ones that ___, and that matters because ___"?

Of course, you can't please everyone. In the example above, only people who want to relax will be interested. Some people may avoid candles with Wild Mushroomika like the plague because they've just switched to decaf and are going around like zombies. Some may be violently allergic to herbal essences. Some may absolutely hate the scent and would rather smell old gym shoes than Wild Mushroomika.

Some people will be interested in your unique take on soy candles, and others will move on. Think of yourself as a lighthouse, and the people who could potentially want your candles as ships. Not everyone is going your way; you will never attract ships going in the opposite direction as you, but you can focus your beam so that the ships already headed in your direction can find you.