Make money selling crochet
You see your favorite crafters, on social media and think “they have it all”. They’ve figured out how to make a career doing what they love. What’s their secret? What are they doing that you don’t know? How do you make money selling crochet?
I can tell you what they’re not doing. They’re not just posting their item on Etsy and hoping they’ll become an overnight sensation. These artists are working their butts off to get noticed.
If you want to make money doing what you love, you’re going to have to give it 110%. I’m going to talk from the perspective of a crocheter, but I’m sure this can pertain to anybody who makes and sells handmade goods.
As crocheters, we are a dime a dozen on Etsy. If you type ‘crochet hat’ on Etsy, guarantee you won’t find me. I’m basically invisible. So what I’m telling you is that you have to make yourself seen! Become visible in anyway you can.
That means Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, blogging, Etsy, and maybe even your own YouTube page. Make your name synonymous with your craft. Right now go search Littlejohn’s Yarn you’ll find 6+ pages of me on google. You have to create a presence. So let’s start with a couple of tips on how to create a presence online.
Mimic those who you want to be like. Those crafty Gurus got there somehow. Imitation is the greatest form of flattery. But we are gonna do it better! You want to be better than anyone in your field, be seen first, and take up as much online space as possible. No matter where they look, they need to find you. And I’m going to give you some personal tips on how to do that.
Get Your Money Right with PayPal
We are going to start with the basics. If you are going to sell online, then I would suggest you open up a PayPal account. PayPal is a well-trusted company that has been assisting in a secure transaction between customers and merchants.
There is a fee that comes along with PayPal. It will cost 2.9% + $0.30. In my eyes, it isn’t too bad. An example of the cost break down according to PayPal’s website:
- If you send $100.00 USD by credit card, the fee would be $3.20 USD ($2.90 + $0.30). PayPal can easily connect to your bank account. Transfers from PayPal to your personal bank account is absolutely free.
If already have an account from making purchases online, then you’re ahead of the game. After setting up your PayPal account, you’ll need to start making money! My very favorite place to start is FREE, but we will get to that part shortly.
Make it Look Good with Photos
This is the most important part of selling online! What we make is not a necessity. Shelter and food is a necessity. A handmade cashmere scarf is not a necessity. Our job as crafters is a lot harder. You have to make people believe they want are items. And how are we going to do this without amazing pictures?
When I’m shopping online I have to see myself in or using the product If I can’t imagine owning it, I don’t want it. There are millions of sparkly things online to catch someone’s eye, you have to Sparkle brighter.
I’m not going to teach you a crash course in photography, but I suggest you do take a crash course on YouTube or Google. You don’t need expensive equipment to take pictures. Use what you have. You can take gorgeous pictures with the smartphone you have in your pocket.
There are thousands of editing apps you can use. Remember we always emulate the professionals. I make and sell accessories and apparel.
So when I take pictures modeling my items, I’ll contort my body to look like the Nostrums models online. Ok, my quality of photos isn’t that good yet, but you catch my drift.
Find a nice well-lit area to take pictures. You don’t want dark pictures. Dark doesn’t scream “buy me”. Also please make sure your background is free of clutter. People are looking to purchase your item, not your husband sitting on a couch in the background.
Facebook is Your Friend
Let’s not go into debt trying to make money selling crochet. People believe they need to have a lot of money to start-up their own online craft business. Instead, you should work with what you have available. Facebook is absolutely free. I’m not talking about promoting and advertising on Facebook we’ll talk about that later.
Remember we’re trying to create an online presence, so I want you to go create a Facebook fan page. This is free and at no cost to you. If you search for a name brand on Facebook, their fan page will pop up. Guess what? You are a brand and you need to have a Facebook fan page as well.
Make sure you post on your fan page often. I would say daily. Have engaging information and fun topics.
You are even able to sell on your fan page by connecting a shop (Shopify, Etsy) or selling directly from your page. Your Facebook fan page is just one of the steps on a ladder to get more sales. We’re going to talk about my absolute favorite way to sell on Facebook for free next.
Facebook Groups
I met a wonderful woman on Instagram who had tons of followers. So of course I reached out to her because she’s somebody I wanted to emulate. I’d asked her what’s her secret to making sales online?
At that time in my yarn hustle, I was struggling, not selling anything. I was spending my money on advertisements, trying to catch anybody’s eye. She told me she only sells on her Facebook group page. I was completely shocked. The more I thought about it the more I began to believe this woman was a genius.
How many other makeup, skinny wraps, spandex group pages on Facebook making good money. Think about it, on Etsy, you are 1 in a million. In your own group, you are the sole seller. You don’t have to fight the competition.
So I hopped on the crochet group bandwagon. That’s when my little hobby that makes a little extra money turned into a part-time job! The great thing about group pages that I have their attention as long as they are a member of my group. You might not buy from me today, but give me time my beautiful work will win you over eventually.
Go to other Facebook group pages and see how they run and operate their sales groups. The ones that were making more sales are the ones to emulate. Once your Facebook group page is set up, started inviting friends. Those friends will be inviting friends and so on.
Run contests to gain more engagement. Please post in your group multiple times a day. When you do, you’ll automatically pop up in their news feed. Do this several times a day. It’s like running your own advertisement all day long for free!
Wear them down with your crafty greatness. If they don’t like seeing your work all day, they can leave your group page. Now you are left with only potential clients. We got them just where we want them. The great thing about group pages that I have their attention as long as they are a member of my group. You might not buy from me today, but give me time my beautiful crochet will win you over eventually.
Make Money Selling Crochet
Instagram and Twitter
Now we’re going to go even deeper into your online presence. If you’re older like me, you are hesitant to get on Instagram Twitter and YouTube, but if you want to be seen this is what you have to do. For me, Instagram was a great way of getting other crochet ideas and connecting with other like-minded crafters. Also, gain followers who will fall in love with your work and eventually go to your site to buy an item.
Instagram is all about appearances. Please oh please stop posting s*** pictures. No one wants to buy your hat that’s sitting on your coffee table next to your cat Remember you are a brand. Do you want people to see you as someone who has a hobby or as someone who owns a business? Come on guys you wouldn’t go to an office job in your pajamas.
Instagram and Twitter is a great place to use hashtags. Okay, I didn’t know what a hashtag was for. I thought it was just the pound sign when I was growing up. A # is a map that can connect you to potential customers. Let me give you an example. When I post a picture of a crochet hat, I hashtag #hat #littlejohnsyarn. That means when anyone else in the world types #hat or #littlejohnsyarn I’m now connected to that tag and my photo will show up. I have hashtags my name so much that I take up a full-page of images on Google!
Lights, Camera, Action
YouTube is for the adventurous. Some people are afraid to put themselves out there. If you’re truly serious about making this your full-time job, then this is what you need to do. REMEMBER. Make your presence known!
Your name should be synonymous with your craft. People should be able to easily find you online. Do some reviews of a product that you use in your craft. Make a tutorial on how to do what you do. Make a funny video just to sell what you make. YouTube is a great place to make your business more personable. And it’s another great free tool that you shouldn’t let slip through your fingers.
Blogging
Start your own blog. Remember we are covering every corner of the internet blanket. This is another nice little Personal Touch to your business. Your customers and fellow Crafters can see exactly what’s going on in your business life and sometimes personal. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy. You can even get a blog for free, just do a little searching.
But if you want to make real money. I suggest you put a little money into it your blog. I use Bluehost and WordPress. Webs hosting packages through Bluehost are as low as $3. And the Blog is yours. You won’t have to worry about someone shutting your site down.
Your blog can make you money too! By placing ads on your page. You will be able to make additional revenue. I’m using Google Adsense to monetize my blog
Learn more about starting your blog HERE
Etsy
We all know about Esty. It’s a great platform to sell in I’ll list the seller’s policy here if you would like to learn more about it. https://www.etsy.com/legal/sellers/
Selling apps “Letgo, Offerup, Facebook Marketplace”
If you are starting out, nothing you make should be sold in one place online. There’re several apps just for buying and selling, use them Many of these apps are even free. So you can actually post your item online and offer them to people in your local area.
You won’t become a success overnight but maybe you’ll be famous in your tri-state area. The selling app is another place you need to post daily. Always stay currently in potential customers’ feeds.
Putting it All Together
So on top of your already time-consuming crafty talent, you have to become a social media tycoon. If it sounds exhausting, it is. If you want to make money selling crochet you’re going to work harder than you’ve ever worked before. Trust me it’s rewarding in the long run. To begin you might not make that much money but you’re going to have to put in full-time work to get where you want to be. I want to see consistent blogs, videos, and checking into your social media pages several times a day. Checking in doesn’t mean looking at. What it means is to actually engage with your potential clients everyday, several times a day.