A business podcast just for crochet business owners where we learn how to grow your crochet business and set it up for success!
Press play to listen to episode 7!
Inside this Episode
Below is a breakdown of each section in this episode. Feel free to skip ahead to the parts that interest you most. Each section has the timestamp beside it so you know exactly when the subject starts and ends.
You can find the live replay of this Instagram live video on my IGTV!
Welcome [0:00-0:35]
Do you use one type of yarn for all projects or experiment with other types? [0:36- 3:21]
I am thinking about revamping my Etsy listings, does it hurt the algorithm to deactivate it? [3:22- 7:32]
How do I avoid distractions during crochet time? Can you suggest a good crochet podcast? (I have heard yours!) [7:33- 9:52]
How do you get over a slump? I’m loosing my mojo and need to find it again for my own sanity. [9:53- 15:58]
Can you please do a tutorial on how to take pictures? How to set up your background etc. [15:59- 17:00]
Best way to promote on Instagram when you don’t have much time? [17:01- 21:05]
Are Crochet cactus still a hot item? [21:06- 22:03]
How do you feel about headbands having a tag? Like the leather tags? [22:04- 23:46]
I see a lot of people suggest to switch to neutrals at craft fairs to have a nice aesthetics. I really like using colors and neutrals, what are your thoughts? [23:47- 30:06]
Resources Mentioned
Taylor (The other half of Ash & Tay Tuesday Talks!)
Stu Mclaren Podcast
Amy Porterfield Podcast
The Merriweather Council Podcast
Jasmin Star- A Step by step guide to planning Instagram Posts.
Transcript
Hello friends! How is everybody’s Tuesday going? Welcome back to Tuesday Talks, where every other Tuesday I go live here on Instagram to answer your crochet, business, blogging, Instagram, pattern questions. I don’t really do pattern design and things like that, but that is where Taylor comes in! Taylor and I go back and forth every Tuesday to answer your questions. This week it is my turn!!
Do you use one type of yarn for all projects or experiment with other types?
This is a very good question! Until 2019 I only used I love this yarn for everything. My brain knew there were other yarns available, but I didn’t have any desire to try them.
I think the second yarn that I tried was I love this cotton, but I used I love this yarn for everything for a very long time. That is why most of my patterns are written with I love this yarn.
I have ventured out since 2019 and trying new yarns. I really novelty yarns kind of. Not super funky, but I like Bernet Blanket yarn, I like velvet yarn, I like furry yarn.
If you have a favorite crochet pattern, make that same pattern in furry yarn and watch it blow your mind!
I love the idea of chunky yarn but I can never get a super awesome pattern for chunky yarn that I am just obsessed with.
I like my nesting baskets that are made with chunky wool, and that was my first time using wool. It was very sturdy, so that was perfect for nesting baskets.
Also, I just bought a pattern (I don’t remember the designer’s name!) but she designed some chunky overalls and I had to buy it the moment it went live! I can’t wait to make them for myself, I might do that once we move into the tiny house, and I need some me-time.
My current me time project is by Rachel of Evelyn and Peter, her Bonfire Beach Hoodie- the short-sleeved version. I just started the body portion of the front panel. I already did the back panel, started the body portion of the front panel. That is my nighttime project that I crochet for like 30 minutes before Gabe and I go to bed.
So usually Gabe puts Ava to bed and I crochet as fast as I can until he comes to bed and we go to sleep, or sometimes we watch hours of Tik Tok and then we go to sleep!
But that is my me time project right now, I am very excited to see how it turns out. Also, it used a DK weight yarn so it’s very thin, and a G hook! I think that gives it a really pretty drape so I am excited to see how it turns out. This is my first time making something with DK weight.
DK weight can be really fun if you have a favorite amigurumi pattern, like the Ava Bunny, follow that same pattern using DK weight yarn and it will be a smaller version!
That is really fun for me, is using different yarns for the same patterns.
I am thinking about revamping my Etsy listings, does it hurt the algorithm to deactivate it?
If you are removing that listing from your shop forever, that won’t hurt the algorithm. But if you are just tweaking the listing and you still want to sell that item but you want to change the tags or change the pictures- I wouldn’t deactivate it. I would just edit it and make it like again.
If it is one of your listings that does really really well, like it gets you a lot of traffic to your shop, you get a lot of organic Etsy traffic from that one listing- I would not mess with the title portion because that can affect your algorithm juice.
Changing the tags and editing the title on listings that aren’t doing well, won’t hurt you. It does take a few weeks for edits to kick in.
If you have a listing that is doing really well, don’t mess with the title. You can change the tags and the attributes.
If you are not currently using attributes in your Etsy listings you are missing out on some potential search engine juice. Choose the color that it is, primary and secondary. Select the ones that apply because that is going to help you show up in search results.
If somebody types in “blue women’s winter hat” and your title says “women’s winter hat” and your attribute says blue- that is going to help you show up in search results faster.
You don’t have to use the attribute that says what occasion is it for. Say I am selling Bitty Boho Bibs and I go to attributes and it says “baby shower” as an option and just because it would make a good gift for a baby shower does not mean I need to select that occasion.
Unless it’s like a baby banner that says “Baby” and it’s designed as baby shower decor or something that is very baby shower specific. Like Christmas stockings would be considered Christmas when it comes to the occasion or holiday.
Just because it can be gifted during that occasion, you don’t want to check it, just leave it blank.
Use as many attributes as you can, it is going to help you show up in search results.
It is better to let your listing sell out than it is to deactivate it. If I deactivate my listing Etsy will think that listing doesn’t exist anymore and promote other listings which would be your competitors. If you let your item sell out, Etsy will say this listing is sold out, but show other products in your shop. (I am 95% sure that is true, but do some research!)
Take a look at your own listings that have been sold out vs. ones you deactivated, go to an incognito browser (private) on your desktop computer and click on it and see if it shows you competitors or does it show other things in your own shop?
(Bethany in the comment section during the live said) it takes you to competitors either way! So it doesn’t seem to matter if you deactivate it or let it sell out.
How do I avoid distractions during crochet time? Can you suggest a good crochet podcast? (I have heard yours!
Well, first off excellent you have great taste 🙂 Second, off I don’t listen to crochet podcasts regularly.
I know WeCrochet has one because I was a guest over there. Brittany from B.Hooked quit hers, but there might be some episodes still up that you can listen to.
I listen to business podcasts. I highly recommend Jasmine Star and Christy Wright .
Stu Mclaren has a podcast about marketing and how to build membership sites which I know some of that won’t apply to crocheter product sellers but some of his marketing stuff is really interesting.
Amy Porterfield has a podcast that she talks about how to build your email list and how to build a course. This also might not apply to crochet product sellers, but she talks a lot about how to build an email list and that is important no matter what kind of business you are in.
The Merriweather Council Podcast is a good one for Etsy!
How do you get over a slump? I’m losing my mojo and need to find it again for my own sanity.
I am right there with you, in this current season!
We are moving, Ava is in school, we are still wearing masks, I am still doing Crochet Boss Academy.
I am not just moving houses, I am moving into a tiny house so all of my stuff is going into storage- and we are building a new house, so I am in like a crazy hectic season right now so my mojo or crojo is a little dwindling.
I mean you have probably noticed that I haven’t been on Instagram very much- and I think the Instagram algorithm is acting crazy right now or people are just outside enjoying the nice weather and spending time with their families, which is awesome.
So I have been taking a little bit of a break on social media. Not like a full-on break but I haven’t planned any content, haven’t drafted any posts, I don’t know when my next post will be.
I have a few reels in my drafts that I can share here and there but I am going to be taking it slow. I didn’t design a new pattern for this month, that is why we released the Bitty Boho Bag pattern– it is a fan favorite!
I think it is important to make sure your mindset is in a healthy state of mind.
I see a therapist, I haven’t been to see him in a couple of weeks now because we are moving but he does some energy healing type of things.
Maybe that is what you need to do, just listening to positive things on a regular basis and taking out anything that has a negative tone.
If you follow someone on social media and they are constantly complaining or whining or arguing- that stuff seeps into a person and can affect your brain and all the people around you because of the way you are calibrated at that moment.
If you feel yourself being icky, you know like heavy, pay close attention to what you are listening to on a daily basis. It can even be your music! Maybe you are listening to negative music that is not fueling your body.
I think it is important if you are struggling with feeling this way maybe you are listening to some negative things that you need to cut out ASAP.
If you listen to things on a regular basis and you enjoy that and it lights you up- go for it.
I am not saying negative things are bad for everyone, I am just saying if you do feel very heavy, no energy, no passion, maybe take a look at what you are putting into your body through your ears and your eyes and make some changes there and that might help you set up.
I myself have started listening to K-Love.
If I am cleaning, crocheting, or whatever, I just listen to K-Love and that had a very positive effect. K-Love is Christian music, but it also just positive! Almost everything has a God-centered perspective but if you just listen to it even if you are not a Christian or a person of faith sometimes just listening to the love and encouragement that comes from those songs can build you up!
Maybe you just need to listen to some of the podcasts I listed earlier because all of those women post encouraging content on a regular basis.
None of those women that I listed have I ever heard them complaining or arguing about anything because complaining is contagious.
If someone is complaining about anything- I made this mental decision years ago after I had Ava to not say my complaints out loud if it was something I could just keep to myself.
Some things you need to tell your spouse about or whatever, but if it’s just me venting, I just hold it in or I give it to God and I don’t even give it life by speaking it out loud and letting it affect my spirit.
If you think that is something that is in your life, start there!
Once you can clean up some of that gunk everything else that is good will rise to the surface, so then maybe you will start feeling better.
These are just some of the things I do personally. I suffer from depression, it’s PMDD so it’s like period depression basically. It is not fun!
I have to be very careful about what I put into my body or I will get into a major slump and it is not good for anybody around me, it’s not good for anybody that follows me on social media.
So these are some tips that I have personally done. I am obviously not an expert or therapist, this is just by my life- what I have noticed to make a difference in my life, so hopefully it can help you too.
Another good thing is listening to your favorite music, like some 90’s pop music or whatever you are into.
Sometimes that just loosens you up and starts helping you feel more like yourself again.
I would definitely suggest it being a mindset situation. Maybe you need to drink more water, maybe you need to exercise a little bit, that seems to help too. Every time I am in a good rhythm of drinking water and exercising everything else just better on a regular basis.
Can you please do a tutorial on how to take pictures? How to set up your background etc.
I have a blog post where I show you how I use my tripod and stuff- that might be helpful!
Jasmine Star talked about how she created a lightbox using white foam boards and creating a “U” shape and putting whatever you are using for your backdrop and putting your U shape foam boards around it facing a window and photographing from the top. The white foam boards will reflect the light on to your subject so the picture turns out really pretty.
Best way to promote on Instagram when you don’t have much time?
My best advice for that is to bulk write out all your captions.
I teach this in Crochet Boss Academy, but I can point you to a free resource again by Jasmin Star- A Step by step guide to planning Instagram Posts.
You are going to want to watch that video. She talks about organizing your Instagram content into categories, she suggests having 9-12 categories that you can talk about in your business on a regular basis.
For A Crafty Concept they would be business tips, behind the scenes, about me, Etsy tips, community sharing- these are some of my categories that I do on a regular basis on Instagram.
Come up with your categories, put them in order 1-9 or 1-12 and do it, again and again, to fill out the calendar- then write out captions that fit each of those categories.
That will help you get a little bit of a head start on what the caption should be about based on which category it falls under.
Also, the 2021 content calendar that I have that you can get by signing up for my email list! You can do that below and grab the free copy in your inbox!
It tells you all the social media holidays that are happening each month, it gives you a snippet of what your customers are thinking about each month. You can look at them all and see if any apply to your business then plan to post about them on social media.
At the beginning of each month, I put out a Youtube video telling you how to market your crochet business for that month.
If you sell aliens in your shop, you can go ahead and draft a post about Starwars Day “May the 4th be with you” and take a picture of one of your aliens that you sell- then you aren’t even saying “go buy my alien” you are just celebrating the day!
Everyone will be looking at the hashtag from that day because it will be a trend, so you might some new eyes on your stuff. You are just going to post a picture of it and say happy May the 4th how will you be celebrating today? We are having alien-shaped pancakes for breakfast! And that post would ideally lead to sales but also help attract your ideal customer like a magnet because if you sell aliens in your shop, May 4th is probably going to be a pretty big day for you and your ideal customer is going to be interested in that holiday whether she knew you existed or not!
If she comes across your post because it’s May 4th and she is going through those hashtags seeing what everyone is posting and she sees the cutest knit or crochet alien she has ever seen- might lead to a sale. It would probably lead to a new follow so she can start keeping up with you on a regular basis, and the more you serve her the better chances of you getting a sale from her.
I teach this on issue 5 in Crochet Boss Academy! More info on that coming soon 😉
Are Crochet cactus still a hot item?
I think crochet cactus are always a hot item but that probably depends on your ideal customer.
If your ideal customer loves plants and has a million plants in her house, she would probably love it. If she is awful at keeping real plants alive she would probably think that is cute. Or if she has a million plants but her friend is awful at keeping plants alive that would be a funny gift for her to get for her friend, so that is a way that you could market it.
I think crochet plants are really hot because plants in general are really hot.
I think it’s the millennials but maybe even a bit of the younger people too are obsessed with plants. I have no plants in my house except for some succulents that I got for Mother’s Day that are still alive, but I am going to say they are always going to be hot!
How do you feel about headbands having a tag? Like the leather tags?
I am team leather, pleather, suede, whatever!
I think tags give our items a nice professional look.
They are good for brand awareness because when your customer is wearing them and they post a selfie on social media everyone can see who the item was from.
Or even if they don’t see who the item was from and the customer does not tag you in it but someone messages them and says “hey omg your hat is cute where did you get it from?” They can be like oh it’s from A Crafty Concept!
That is why it is a good idea to have tags on your beanies or headbands!
Angie & Britt sell some really good ones.
Kathy’s Kozies sells some cute ones!
Check those out! I have some for my Wild Grace beanies that just say Mama and Mini but they do not say, Wild Grace.
They are still really cute and trendy. I have been seeing a lot of people wear beanies with beanie patches on them that are not handmade so it’s a trendy style right now. I think they are precious and I love them.
It is a very quick way to spice up your pieces.
When I was beanies full time in A Crafty Concept I had my wooden “A Crafty Concept” tags on my Claire Bun Beanies and I got so many compliments on those tags from people at craft shows and stuff.
They would be like oh wow look it has a little tag! They loved it!
They thought it was just the coolest thing in the world that a regular human being that made this hat with her bare hands could have a tag made to go on it. They thought it was so legit! So yeah I am all about branding your products!
I see a lot of people suggest switching to neutrals at craft fairs to have nice aesthetics. I really like using colors and neutrals, what are your thoughts?
My thought is, you need to choose the one your ideal customer is into.
Not very many people that I know personally, like both colors and neutrals. They are going to be pulled, one way or another when it comes to the things that you are selling.
If you are selling home decor and your ideal customer has a very farmhouse-themed home your Retro Stripes wall hangers are not going to draw her eye. She might wear a Retro Stripes hat or ear warmer, but if you are selling home decor that is not going to match her home.
You need to know who your ideal customer is a curate your product line to serve her really well because you know her so well.
I think from my experience, I am not saying it is impossible to do both- but in Wild Grace, I have 8 colors. A few are neutrals, a couple are saturated colors but they all go well together. They are all for people who are into boho colors.
Those are the only colors that I offer in Wild Grace.
I have curated this line specifically for my ideal customer who is a boho millennial girl mom who cares very much about what people think, she always leaves her house with a face full of makeup, her girls are always dressed really nice- this is who my ideal customer is.
I made her up out of thin air and then made a product line to serve her well and these are the colors I offer to her because they are boho style and all of these colors will match all of the things in her daughter’s wardrobe.
You do not have to do all neutrals.
You do not have to do all bright colors. You just need to choose a color palette that is going to serve your ideal customer really well.
If you are selling little girl accessories she is going to want it to match her girl’s closet.
My ideal customer does not have any cartoon character clothes for her daughter, you would never see her daughter wearing a Peppa Pig T-shirt or a Paw Patrol T-shirt. She doesn’t have Paw Patrol wall decor in her nursery or toddler room, everything is strategically designed and intentional.
I was struggling between two colors for my line, mustard, and tobacco.
Mustard is really trendy and I thought she would like mustard yellow. I still think she would like mustard but I chose tobacco because that is more geared towards her. That is going to match more things in her daughter’s closet.
Mustard was a little bit too bright for my ideal customer. I made that decision as the business owner. I am not going to say here are 66 colors, you choose the type of yellow that would match your room best.
You are coming from a place of service, and you think you are helping them by giving them more options and that is a natural human instinct to give them more options so you can help them better, but you are really confusing them giving them choice paralysis and they won’t buy anything!
They will get overwhelmed and they will say “I will just look at it later”. You don’t want them to do that!
If she is looking for a yellow-ish Bitty Boho bag, and she comes across my shop and sees tobacco- boom she bought it and that’s the only one she has to choose from!
It’s better to limit the things that you offer. Either limit the products that you sell or limit the colors for the products that you sell.
If I only sold bitty boho bags, I could offer more colors. But I sell multiple items so I don’t have 10 different styles of hats, I have 1.
I am not going to give them 6 different hats to choose from. I am going to give them one hat style that I think would match her best. It is a very simple look so it is going to fit with a lot of different pieces, very minimal, very boho, because that is what my ideal customer likes.
If your ideal customer likes textures and colors and funkiness, maybe you want to go with the Kate Bun Beanie in your shop. It’s my bun beanie that has bobbles all over it.
If she is sophisticated, like my gal, the Claire Bun Beanie would be a good beanie for her.
But you don’t want to offer two different types of bun beanies, because that will overwhelm her. You want to choose the style that will serve her well, and start talking to her directly through that beanie and start pulling her in like a magnet.
I hope that was helpful guys! I love chatting with you! My daughter is ready for me to be done haha! Feel free to DM if you have more questions or if you want community feedback I highly recommend heading over to the Ash & Tay Facebook group!
Feel free to pop your questions in the Facebook group and people will be there to help you 🙂
I love you guys so much have a great evening!
Ashley