So, you want to find out ways to grow your crochet business? Let me give you some ideas, but first I want to tell you a little bit about me. I write crochet patterns with intermediate beginners in mind. What does this mean? I want my crochet clothes to be as accessible as possible for a wide range of crocheters. The tutorials are supposed to be easy to follow for beginning crocheters but still interesting and intricate enough for more experienced yarn addicts. My patterns are made-to-measure so the crocheted piece can be adapted for any body type and size.
I officially registered my business in 2019 and I originally had in mind to sell finished crocheted items (which did not work at all, but that will be the topic for another blog post soon, be sure to hop on my newsletter so you will not miss it). After about two years of not really selling anything at all, I published a crochet pattern which kind of went through the roof and sold for several hundred times within the first few days. This got me hooked (pun intended) to continue down this avenue.
So where am I standing now? I can proudly say that I am now at a point where I have consistent sales every day and a nice little side income. I will not go into the specifics just yet, but bear with me here for now. And now I am curious if I can maybe take it up a notch (beside raising two toddlers and working part-time). I actually want to double my side income in the next few month and this is the plan I have in mind for that goal. I will keep you updated regularly here.
Step 1: Selling my Crochet Patterns on Several Platforms
Currently I am almost exclusively selling my patterns on Etsy which is therefore my main source of income for my crochet handmade business. I want to change this and I am a bit torn on this first step actually. On the one hand I really don't want to be too dependent on one platform because in case anything happens there, my only income stream would be gone and that would be devastating. On the other hand, what I'd really love would be to have my own pattern shop as main income source. And while I really dislike the thought of giving a good amount of money away (fees, provisions and stuff) I am definitely seeing how this money works for me in bringing traffic for example. It is incredibly difficult to build traffic to your own website. I will get to this point later.
So, in the next few months, my goal is to put all of my crochet patterns on these platforms at least: Etsy, Ravelry, Crazypatterns and my own shop of course. Why aren't all of my existing crochet patterns on Etsy already, when I just said that Etsy is my main platform? Well, I was a bit hesitant because I kept telling myself that my shop must have a coherent look (which it actually should have) and I have a couple of patterns that are just floating around on Crazypatterns but not in my other shops because they do not really represent my niche anymore. Regardless, I have decided that I am very proud of these patterns and I want to move them to my shop. I will give it some thought how I will manage to still give my whole portfolio a coherent look and feel and I am pretty sure that I will come up with something good.
Step 2: Exploring one New Crochet Handmade Business Income Stream (At Least)
I rely exclusively on crochet patterns for making a side income since that is what I do and am really good at. In the next few months I want to find a new way of earning money with crochet. I am not sure yet, what this second income source might be but I was thinking along the lines of affiliate marketing or offering some kind of translation service for other crochet pattern designers since I'm quite fluent in both German and English and I translate all of my patterns (and my website) into English. This might be a service for my German readers, since I doubt there will be any need for an English speaking crochet pattern designer to translate their patterns into German. Well, these are just some random thoughts and I think I am currently leaning more towards the idea of affiliate links, I will check that out and get back to you about it when I'll be writing my updates. Like I mentioned earlier, make sure to get on my mailing list so you won't miss any posts in the future.
Step 3: Doubling my Pinterest Marketing Efforts
This is an easy one for me at this current stage I am in. I currently do most of the marketing for my handmade business on Pinterest and I pin once a day. I did my research and took some courses regarding Pinterest (more on that in another blog post coming in the future) and I am confident that I will be able to double my pin output fairly consistently. I will definitely keep track if this will in any way affect my sales.
Step 4: Building up a Newsletter and Mailing List for my Handmade Business
As I have already teased a couple of times in this blog post, I want to build my own community and write regular newsletters for various reasons but most of all to share my crochet business journey and to get direct feedback and input by fellow yarn artists. I might include the occasional self promotion but I mostly want to increase my visibility and I also hope that it will keep me more accountable to show up regularly on my blog.
Bonus Step: Writing a Handmade Business Blog
This step occured to my while writing this post which is incidentally my first blog post. I have been aiming to start a blog since forever and now is the moment it starts. And of course this will be a valuable tool in increasing visibility, traffic and things like that. So this should come in handy in the long run.
To Wrap it All Up
Well, I really think (hope) these steps will make a noticeable difference a few months from now. Because what I definitely have learnt so far as a crochet business owner is that there is not really a recipe for overnight success. Everything requires a lot of work and consistency. If I do not show up and regularly chip away at my goal, nothing will change. And I am really excited for change so here is one more reminder to hop on my mailing list and follow my journey if you are curious to see how to make it as a yarn artist. See you soon and regularly from now on!
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