Knitting For Profit
If you love knitting and have ever wished you could make money from it, then make sure you keep reading because I
Posts Tagged ‘knitting business’
Guilt-Free (Knitting) Business Mothers!
Friday, January 29th, 2010
This might sound a little off-topic, but two amazing Australian women I know are running a free teleseminar series that is starting next week about balancing business and work with mothering, which I thought might be of interest.
As a mother of two small children, I often get pangs of guilt when I get busy and spend more time on my business than with my little ones.
But I do love running my home business too!
If you are already running a business from home, or are planning to start up your knitting business, then I think this series will have some valuable advice for keeping that balance and enjoying both your family and your new business. It also includes some great advice for success in life and business for women – and it costs nothing!
I'm going to be listening in, and you can join in too by clicking the link below to register: http://guiltfreebusinessmothers.com/seminars/tspub9lr.html
I'm looking forward to hearing what all 7 of the speakers have to say and taking away some great ideas and strategies for us work-at-home mums.
I hope you enjoy them too!
Knitting Business Success Story – Sue from TasmanianFibre.com.au
Friday, January 15th, 2010
How does a single mum go from the backyard blues to running an International Fibre House that is now Tasmania's largest spinning supplier?
It all began with a rather unusual wedding present from her new husband Barry – 2 Alpacas! But what was she to do with them?
Two years on, the "Mount Roland Alpaca Stud" in the Highlands of Tasmania produces the finest of Alpaca fleeces and supplies to an international market. Sue is now the proud owner of 18 Alpacas, 14 Angora Rabbits (including a pair of German Angoras which are rare in Australia) and 8 Tasmanian Cormo coloured sheep for fine fleece production. She even buys fine fleeces from other Tasmanian growers to help with the demand of a worldwide market for her hand spun yarns!
Sue has now given up her fulltime day job to concentrate on this business, which was launched in October 2009 and very quickly attracted local and international interest with orders flowing in daily. The Tasmanian House of Fibre (www.tasmaniafibre.com.au) supplies high quality, specialised yarns, the lastest of which are the beautiful, fine, luxurious, hand spun lace weight yarns – Mount Roland Silk ’n’ paca, Silk ’n’ Suri and Silk ’n’ Bunny.
Mount Roland Silk ’n’ paca is a fine lace weight hand spun yarn that is plied with natural silk. The Alpaca used is mainly from Sue’s own Alpaca Stud with some fleeces from other finely bred Tasmanian Alpacas. The yarn features natural colours but may also be enhanced with hand painted silk colourways.
Alpaca is light and very warm due to hollow fibres, the yarn is suited to lace weight scarves and wraps knitted on large needles or baby garments, this yarn is lovely to wear.
Mount Roland Silk ’n’ Suri is a very special and unique yarn. The Suri is also an Alpaca but instead of a fluffy coat the Suri has long silky lustrous locks. The yarn Silk ’n’ Suri is again plied with silk featuring natural colours and hand painted silk colourways.
Suri is a completely different fibre to work with, it has a long staple of 8 – 15 cm. When the Suri yarn is spun and plied with silk it is very good for garments that require drape, Suri is a heavy fibre compared to Alpaca and Angora rabbit. Suggested uses (I’m sure the fibre Artists out there will find many more) are, scarves, wraps, anything lacy, would be nice as an open lace over dress for a very spectacular wedding gown. Silk ‘n’ Suri should adapt well to cotton patterns.
Mount Roland Silk ’n’ Bunny – a real labour of love!
The rabbits are grown happily on the property, they have special five star accommodation that has been built just for them (by her loving Husband!), they are fed twice daily plus hay and water on demand. All cages are cleaned every 3 days and disinfected, floors are swept every day and washed.
The bunnies have special outdoor runs that they use to munch their way around the yard, so most days except when raining or high winds they are all taken out to their day runs and returned in the evening, grooming, chatting and clipping add to the hours of care.
Silk ’n’ Bunny is a beautiful, delicate, soft, luxury blend of hand spun lace weight English or German Angora and silk. It comes in natural colours of white, chocolate, smoke, gold/cream and some hand painted colourways of limited quantities. Angora rabbit fleece is extremely soft and warm and cuddly being a very low micron of 10 and under, again a hollow fibre, not a lot is needed for warmth.
Silk ’n’ Bunny makes a very soft, warm lacy scarf or wrap, is lovely used as a feature or trim on garments, e.g. cuffs, edging on hoods, baby booties to keep those little toes warm or mittens. The yarn as it is knitted produces a beautiful halo of soft fluffiness.
So with all the animal care, spinning, dyeing, website management and orders, managing a small band of spinners – her mum included, developing new lines and sourcing new supplies Sue has found she is now busier running her home based business than working 5 days a week – but she enjoys every minute of it and she loves chatting to her customers!
If you would like to know more or ask Sue a question, or just have a chat, you can contact her through her website at www.tasmanianfibre.com.au
$140,000 A Year From Knitting??
Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009
Yes! You CAN make money knitting, and I am very excited to show you this article from the New York Times…
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/17/fashion/17etsy.html?_r=1
It's an etsy success story of a woman who threw in her job to knit full-time and is now earning more that $140,000 a year working from home.
Now admittedly, this is no walk in the park – it's hard work doing that much knitting! But it shows what's possible, and it's really inspiring. Imagine if you were making only half or even a quarter of that amount from working at home and knitting…
So I hope this inspires you, and gives you a good boost in motivation to stay on your knitting for profit journey!
Machine Knitting Success Story From Linda
Thursday, June 18th, 2009
Linda's story is another great example of finding a niche and creating a successful knitting business that has grown and developed over her lifetime. In this interview, she gives some valuable tips and advice about knitting jobs and how to make your knitting and crochet business a success.
How long have you been knitting and crocheting?
I have been knitting and crocheting for over 40 years now. I started designing about 20 years ago but didn’t get serious until about 5 years ago and created a loom knitting pattern book. “Looney for Looms”
Can you give a brief description of your knitting business?
I have recently retired from my knitting business as far as producing products, but they included everything from slippers to afghans. Mostly though I made personalized knitwear for both individuals and schools and such. The meat and potatoes of the business were personalized knitted ski caps. These were made to order so it wasn’t something you could make up ahead of time and keep in stock. Now I am more into helping others learn the ropes so to speak. (Linda's website is www.knitting-n-crochet.com)
When did you decide to start your knitting business and what gave you the idea?
I have always enjoyed making and creating knitted items and sales is just a natural outlet. In my early 20s I first saw an ad for a knitting machine and couldn’t get it out of my head – I just had to have one! Before that everything was done by hand and very limited to how much I could produce. The knitting machine opened up a whole new world for me.
I also learned a lot from a neighbor, who had had a successful knitting business. She knitted all sorts of things including hats, sweaters and dog sweaters that she sold all over the world. They were beautiful items and were made in no time flat. There was no Internet back then so she sold through ads in magazines and a sales rep.
I had always dreamed of my own home based business but thought it was only for the rich. Then here was my neighbour running a successful knitting business, and she was an a stay-home-Mom, just like me.
She sold me her old Brother 260, she encouraged me and shared her knitting patterns. She was the one who showed me how to make a personalized ski cap. When she moved away I taught myself with books and a mad desire to open my own knitting business.
Since 1986 I have learned machine knitting, loom knitting and hand knitting along with the crocheting I already knew. You can make money and work at home with these crafts. It takes persistence, determination, a little imagination and a bit of guidance, but you can do it!
Did you have any business experience when you started?
My mother was always selling something by party plan when I was growing up, but other than that I had to learn everything on my own. Books became your best friend back than but now you have the internet and so many more opportunities available.
Were there any challenges when you started out?
There were many challenges from finding supplies, to finding customers to finding time and lets not forget finding start up money. Yes you will have many bumps in the road, but if you are willing to do the research and put in the time, you can make it.
Is there anything you have learned that you wish you had known from the start?
Yes, I wish I had not tried every get rich scheme that came down the pike. I should have chosen my niche and learned all there was about it and stuck with it.
What are your hours like? Do you work from home?
When I first started I spent many more hours working than if I had a traditional job, but this is just what you do to get started. Than I gradually would work during the day when the kids were in school. With the internet it is even better because you can work a couple of hours here or there when ever you want. You can create knitwear and ship 24 hours a day now.
Do you still enjoy knitting now that it is your business as well as your hobby, and whats the best part of knitting for a living?
Yes I still enjoy it and always will. I love working with the yarns, patterns and colors. It is fun just to see it all come together into a beautiful article. The best part of knitting for a living is I can choose my own hours, it doesn’t matter if I am working at 12:00 noon or 12:00 midnight. My family was always first for me and this made it so much easier to have both family and income.
What's the hardest part?
I know this sounds contradictory but it is that you have times and seasons when the orders flood you and you HAVE to work long into the night. Especially with my product the holidays were extremely busy and the phone rang non-stop with more orders. When I choose to work at midnight I didn’t mind, but I hated to disappoint people and say “Sorry I just can’t get that done in the time you want it”
Do you have any tips for someone who is just starting out?
First you have to have a product people like and want – if you don’t have that than you need to find one. Than you have to get it out in the public’s eye, you need the product and you need the customers to buy it. And you need to take your knitting business seriously – give it 150% if you want to succeed. With all the sales avenues available now, you have a better chance of success today than I did 20 some years ago – you have the Internet and that is a tremendous advantage alone. If you want your own business and are willing to work at it, you can do it.
Read more about Linda and her knitting business on her website at www.knitting-n-crochet.com, where you'll also find her books, patterns and some great information about starting a machine knitting business.
Machine Knitting Success Story – Diana from Wizardknits
Wednesday, May 13th, 2009
Diana learned to knit from her great grandmother, and although she didn't realise it at the time, the skills she developed put her on the path to becoming a true “knitterpreneur”.
Like so many knitting businesses, it started as a hobby and grew over time into a full-time occupation. Now Diana enjoys spending her days doing what she loves to do. Read on to find how she has created a fantastic niche knitting business that grows and grows, with an advertising budget of zero!
Diana's knitterpreneur journey started back in 1975 when her daughter was born. After learning from her great grandmother how to knit complete garments for her dolls, she started doing the same for her daughter. Neighbors noticed her creations and started asking her to knit for their children too.
Diana offered a very personalised service, with her customers able to choose colours and adjust styles and sizing, and very soon she could hardly keep up with demand. Even after moving interstate and starting her knitting business over, her customer base quickly grew as word spread about her unique and high quality creations including children's clothes and layettes. Even today she knits for the same customers, but now it's for their grandchildren!
The Switch To Machine Knitting
It was at this point in her business that she realised she just couldn't keep up with hand knitting alone, so Diana invested in a knitting machine and hasn't looked back. After figuring out how to use the machine herself, she also began teaching others. This included demonstrations in yarn-stores, craft shows, school events and adult education classes.
Throughout her knitting career, Diana has used every one of the five “Knitting For Profit” strategies. She has done contract knitting for designers to test patterns and correct mistakes, she taught others how to knit, she has re-created vintage knitwear for a Parisian couturier, she has designed knitting patterns of her own, and also created unique made-to-order garments for theatre, vintage and historical costuming. She never tires of knitting, because something new and interesting is always available!
How Diana's Son Changed Her Whole Business…
Diana's knitting business now includes a great niche market and whole new marketing strategy, all because her son wanted to go to a convention dressed as Harry Potter in a Hogwarts uniform. She knitted up a woollen scarf and school sweater for him, and suddenly there were requests from friends and other fans for the same. Her son posted the items on the internet, and they got more orders than they could fill – the scarves selling out in just 3 hours!
Diana's knitting service had always been so personalised she hadn't thought that she would be able to sell online, but after the success of the scarves and sweaters she created wizardknits.com and found that her high quality garments and personalised service were a winning formula online as well as off.
She has not spent a cent on advertising – all her traffic and orders come from word of mouth and referrals. People from around the world now know her name and will seek her out to get their knitted wizarding garments.
The secret she says, is authenticity. When you buy from wizardknits, you get a quality product of 100% wool that has the most authentic design and colours available. And the second most important factors are customisation and service. She tailors each sweater to suit her customers and always maintains communication with them. She will answer each and every email because “If you want to get a sale, you need to act like you are interested and respond to questions. Working on the internet is not the same as being live in front of someone, but you still need to communicate with people!”
The Problem Of Pricing?
Every knitterpreneur has to contend with the issue of pricing – valuing your time and skills can be hard – and Diana was no different. “I have spent sleepless nights trying to figure out what is a fair price for me, but also working out how much someone would be willing to spend, and I know I would pay almost any price to get something that fit me and looked great. In the end, you need to look at it that way, get the best materials and make it as something you would buy yourself”.
She has found that her most expensive products actually sell just as well (if not better) than her lower priced ones, which shows that people are willing to pay more when they are getting a high quality niche product that they won't find anywhere else.
Stock Control And Minimising Costs
Diana has some great advice for keeping costs down. Once you find your niche and know what knitted products you are going to provide you'll be able to order your yarns in bulk and from yarn wholesalers rather than retail. Diana has found that by knitting to order (and having virtually no stock) she can order only the yarn she needs, so she doesn't have costly leftovers lying around and she doesn't need lots of space to store stock.
Diana's Advice For Starting Out?
“The first thing you need to do is decide whether you are ready to spend the time to make your knitting into a business. You can be knitting furiously all day but it doesn't make a knitting business, there are a lot of things that go with it. If you spend the hours to start the right way, and if you set it up correctly then it pretty much runs itself.”
And Her Advice For Starting Machine Knitting…
“There's a big learning curve with a knitting machine, in my opinion you need to spend the money and get a good quality machine. So you need to decide if your knitting business is ready for it – do you have enough orders and business to warrant it? A knitting machine is an investment, I take it off in my tax return, and my business did not warrant one in the beginning, but it came to a point where I just couldn't keep up with demand and it really helped.”
“There are many different kinds of knitting machine so you need one that suits your business and the kind of knitwear you produce. Stay away from plastic machines, and get one with accessories because once you have achieved the learning curve and are comfortable with it, you want your knitting machine to be able to grow with you as you are able to do more complex designs.”
“Remember its a learning experience, you shouldn't assume that you can buy a knitting machine and instantly have a sweater, even the knitting on a machine takes a long time to learn. It will speed things up in the end, and if you are knitting the same things over and over again then its perfect”
Her Favourite Part Of Knitting For Profit?
“I just enjoy the knitting, and knowing that the person on the other end just can't wait to get what I'm making for them. You would think I would get tired of knitting these, but they are all different – different sizes and colours. I knit hundreds of sweaters and scarves a year, so you can't do that without really loving it!
And it's the unsolicited testimonials and that they are always pleasantly surprised when they open their package from me, that's what I enjoy hearing”
Visit Diana's website at www.wizardknits.com and if you would like to know more or ask any questions you can contact her by clicking here.
An Update On Knitting Pattern Copyrights
Monday, May 11th, 2009
The comments after my post about quick knitting patterns were great because they highlighted an issue that most knitters who sell their work will face, whether you can use a someone else’s knitting patterns to make knitted products to sell (even if the knitting pattern is free). So I’ve done a bit of research on copyright and how it applies to knitting and crochet…
Copyright is a form of legal protection for creators of original works (whether literary, artistic, dramatic or musical) which ensures they are credited (and/or paid) for that work for a certain period of time. This includes original knitting and crochet patterns.
Copyright laws were created because there needed to be a balance between sharing ideas and information, and making sure that the original creators of those ideas are credited for them. Without copyright laws, people may be much less willing to share their ideas for fear that others could use their creation to make money, with no credit or reward to them for their inspiration. But sometimes copyright works against the author, with people unwilling to use an idea or inspiration for fear of infringing copyright, and so the work is never widely known.
When you find a knitting pattern, whether it is in a published book or free on the internet, it is automatically subject to copyright laws, which are in essence the same around the world. If it says "All rights reserved", that means you basically can’t do anything but knit it for yourself or perhaps as a gift. If it just says copyright or says nothing at all, then the best course of action is to contact the designer and ask.
Obviously, you can’t just change a couple of stitches and claim a design as your own, but you can use the ideas and techniques in a pattern to create your own designs. Exactly how much different it needs to be to not infringe copyright is like asking "how long is a piece of yarn?". A lot of it is down to common sense and courtesy really – if you’re not sure, just ask the designer. The knitting world is generally a friendly and sharing community, and every author can decide what you are allowed to do with their patterns. If you ask, most are quite happy to at least discuss it.
There are also patterns available that are in the "public domain". This means that their copyright term has ended, and you are completely free to use them, reproduce them, modify them and resell them as you wish. Generally these are vintage knitting patterns published before 1963 (this is for the US, and providing their copyright has not been renewed).
These days there is a big swing towards "free licence", which means many people are putting their original ideas and works out into the world happy for people to use them as long as they credit them as the original creator. I really like this model because it encourages sharing and collaboration, which is something that sits very well with the knitting community spirit.
If you are a designer, it is also a great way to get your patterns known by lots of people, because they will be more willing to share and recommend them. You are also likely to make more sales worldwide with this model because it opens up whole new markets – especially people who want to make money from knitting and need unique patterns that they can sell from!
And when you think about it, the actual knitting pattern is really only part of the creative process of the finished knitted product. The knitter will choose the colours and yarns and fix mistakes or make small alterations to a pattern. So every finished piece will probably be a bit different from the original design!
If you have patterns that you are happy for people to sell the finished work from, feel free to post your web address and details in the comments section below and get some free traffic! Or if you have any comments or other information about copyright of knitting patterns, please post a reply and let us all know.
Top 7 Tips To Beat Procrastination
Thursday, April 30th, 2009
For many people, the biggest challenge of knitting for profit success is not lack of money or experience or ideas – it’s procrastination! So here’s 7 top tips to help you beat procrastination and start living your dream sooner…
Tip #1 – Write a list of what needs to be done each day, then cross things off as you finish them. This will give you a great sense of achievement and help keep you motivated and enthusiastic
Tip #2 – Prioritise your tasks and focus on the ones that are most important for getting your business off the ground and making money. There’s a difference between being busy and being productive – you can fiddle around doing low priority things but it won’t get you any closer to your dreams of a knitting business
Tip #3 – Put the things that need to be done right in front of you. This way you just won’t be able to avoid doing what needs to be done. And do the things you really don’t want to first – then they are out of the way and you can enjoy the rest of the day – yay!
Tip #4 – Focus on doing and finishing, not perfection. You have to get over the idea that things need to be just right, sometimes a slightly less than perfect job is better than none at all (especially in the online world where things don’t have to look perfect to be effective). This tip applies more to "running the business" kind of tasks than your actual knitting – I am certainly not suggesting you try to sell unfinished or bad quality products!
Tip #4 – Write down your goals for the future and a plan of how you’re going to get there. Again this doesn’t have to be perfect and it’s not set in stone, but it will give you a good overall picture of where you are going and what you need to do to get there.
Tip #5 – Get help from mentors and advisors. Don’t be shy about asking for help and advice from people you admire and respect, they can probably give you ideas that will save you time and help you through tough times. And don’t be closed minded about management and personal development books and courses, you could discover an idea or breakthrough that could be worth thousands of dollars to you (not to mention make your life easier and happier!)
Tip #6 – Learn to say no and mean it. It’s easy to get caught doing useless tasks or engaging in idle chat when you can’t say no. When you work for yourself, you are wasting your own time and money when you accept tasks that don’t take you closer to YOUR dreams. Keep socialising and unproductive tasks for your leisure time, not your working time.
Tip #7 – Stay positive and avoid worrying. Psychologists have proven that worrying uses up huge amounts of energy, and worrying never solved any problems. If you find yourself anxious, write down everything that is on your mind and then write out the tasks you need to do to solve the problems – just doing that process will relieve stress enormously. Try changing your state by talking to someone who inspires you, or reading a book that encourages you, or by doing some guided meditation. Working on yourself and your positive attitude is the most valuable thing you can do – not only for your knitting business but for your whole life too!
Top 5 Tips For Selling Knitting At Craft Shows
Wednesday, April 15th, 2009
Craft Shows are a great way to get a lot of people to see you and your knitting business in a short space of time. Plus there is the potential to make a lot of money too! But competition at large craft show events can be intense, so you need to know how to maximise your time and exposure to make the best of your investment.
I have displayed at many large shows, and have paid a lot of attention to which stands get the most customers. This is a great way to learn what works, and get innovative ideas for your craft show booth.
Here are 5 ways you can ensure that you get the most for the time, effort and money you invest into a craft show booth…
Tip #1 – First Impressions Are Everything!
Even though it sounds like common sense, it’s worth remembering that many customers are going to decide whether or not to come and look at what you have to offer based on their first impression of the stand as a whole. If you can catch their eye with something interesting, you are going to be getting more traffic to your stall, and traffic means business!
There are some little inexpensive tricks you can use to make your booth stand out (and you can do this for small markets and fairs too).
• Choose a colour and theme for your booth that suits your knit or crochet products. For example, if you produce knitted baby items, decorate as you would a babies room. Add props like a crib if they will fit (a dolls pram or crib is small enough to fit on a table and will attract attention), and use colours like pink, baby blue, light purple and light green. If you’re niche is organic and natural yarns, then add props like a potted plant, cardboard trees and a green and brown theme.
• Props are great! They attract attention and are excellent conversation starters. I have used mannequins, stuffed toys, plants, cardboard cut-outs, a model house, and even a racing car game (some of these were not for a craft show obviously!)
• Your main display table should be covered in a clean and ironed cloth (don’t laugh, I have seen some surprisingly scruffy looking displays in my time), of a colour that compliments or highlights the colours of your products. If your knitted products are mostly white, don’t use a white table covering, or your products will be lost in a sea of white.
• If you have been to the craft show event before, think about what colours everyone else tends to use, and choose a different one so you stand out. Make sure you pay attention to these things when you are at a craft show. Try to get time to look around at everyone else’s displays and make notes!
• Place boxes underneath the table cloth to give your display height and texture.
• Remember to decorate the walls of your booth, drape them with cloth or examples of your work. This adds height and depth to your display.
• If you are offered overhead lights for the booth, use them! They will make your stand brighter and more noticible – good light is one of the things that really isn’t worth skimping out on.
Tip #2 – Make It Easy For People To See, Touch And Try On Your Knitted Products.
Again this may sound simple, but if people can’t easily see and feel things, they will be less inclined to buy. The following ideas are straight from retail research about the way people shop and buy. All the large retailers use little tricks to get us to buy (like putting sweets at the checkout counter, or placing items they want to boost sales of in the front right hand side of the store because that’s where people tend to go first…)
• If you have racks of knitwear, make sure people can get easy access to them without having to squeeze past tables or boxes. Admittedly it can be very difficult to achieve this when you only have a space that is 3 metres square, but you need to get a bit creative with how you lay things out so people can get to your products. Try placing tables in a U-shape inside your booth so they can come right in and reach everything. Corner booths are good for stalls that have racks, so people can wander through them more easily.
• If you are selling knitted or crocheted clothing of any kind (even scarves and beanies), make sure you have a mirror that people can see themselves in.
• Try not to make people bend over to reach your products – if you have shelves, only use the ones that are at about hip height and above. When people have to bend over, they bump into other people and make everyone uncomfortable.
• Remember, you don’t have to display everything all at once! Don’t make your stand too cluttered or it will become confusing. Select a range, and if someone wants a different colour or size, you can get it out for them.
Tip #3 – Invite People In.
If you make eye contact with people and invite them in to your display, you’ll get much more traffic than if you stand mute and just hope they’ll come your way. I was always completely exhausted after a show because I spent the whole time talking and interacting with people. But it meant that we made good sales, and introduced as many people as possible to our business.
Tip #4 – Run A Competition.
This was by far the best way I found to excite interest in my stall, as well as get the names and addresses of lots of people who were interested in my products.
You’ll need to check with the event organiser and possibly register for a competition licence (check if there are local government regulations, the licence is usually easy and cheap to get), but it’s well worth the effort!
I usually gave away $50 to $100 worth of my products in a lucky draw – which was a small price for the extra traffic and interest in my stall. It’s a great, easy way to invite people in by asking if they would like to go in the competition. And after the show I would follow up with an email to say hello and remind them of my website.
Tip #5 – Brochures and Knitting Business Cards.
Vital for exposure and follow-up sales so make sure you have plenty on hand – and not just for customers, but for networking opportunities too! Craft fairs are a great place for meeting people who can help you and your knitting business. Retailers who want to stock your products, other crafters who you may want to work with, suppliers and wholesalers who can reduce your costs. So make sure you have professional business cards that clearly state your name, niche and contact details – see my post on Knitting Business Cards for more information.
I hope these tips will help you get the most out of your craft show investment, and also help if you have a stall at smaller craft fairs and local markets. If you have any other tips or ideas that you have found worked well at craft shows, please leave a comment for everyone below!
How To Build Your Knitting Website – For Free!
Tuesday, April 7th, 2009
The Internet can provide knitterpreneurs with a fantastic opportunity to find customers from all over the world. So how do you start your knitting business niche website, process payments and get your customers to find it – all for FREE?
There are so many ways to create a presence on the web these days it can all get a bit confusing – do you start a blog? a website? an e-commerce site? a craft-mall store? an E-bay store? And then how do you get people to find you – on search engines? From advertising or promotions? Through links and recommendations? Is your head spinning yet??
Don’t worry! In this article I’m going to show you how to decide what sort of site you’ll need for your knitting business, and where to find the resources to build it easily, and for FREE. But the first thing you need to do before jumping in and starting your site is to sit down and do a bit of planning – this will save you a lot of time and headache!
The first step is to decide what you want your knitting website to achieve. Think about the following questions:
• Do you just want an online catalogue so people can get more information about you and your products? (Like an electronic business card)
• Or have you found a knitting niche that you want to become well known in?
• Do you want to be able to make sales online? Can your products be shipped around the country or worldwide?
• Is your goal to get people to find you online? Do you want lots of traffic to your knitting website? Do you want to be found through search engines?
• Or are you going to be mainly promoting your knitted products or services in the real world (like at markets and fairs or in stores etc)?
• Do you want to keep in regular contact with your customers? Do you have lots of good information about knitting or crochet that you can share with them?
• How much time do you want to spend on this project? Do you want to ‘set and forget’ or are you willing to make a long term commitment to updating it?
Following are the three main types of knitting website you can create, and depending on your answers to the above questions, you’ll find that one will stand out as the most suitable for your knitting business.
A Static Knitting Website – often used as an online catalogue, these websites are called “static” because their content does not tend to change. They are designed to give people information about you and your knitting business and products, and they are the easiest site to set up and maintain because once you’ve got all your information and pictures there, you don’t need to do anything but get people to visit it!
Many static sites rely on off-line promotion for their traffic, in other words, they are great to list on your business card or in advertising so people can go and find out more information and see your complete range of knitting online.
You can create a great static knitting website for free on services like weebly.com. I created a sample site there today and it was really quick and easy, and looks great. Have a look at http://gentletouchknits.weebly.com to see what’s possible in about half an hour! This site was completely free as it is hosted on weebly, there is also the option to register a domain name and host it yourself (but this means you will need to set up a hosting account – which is easy and cheap, but not free!)
The main disadvantage of static sites is that search engines seem to prefer “dynamic” sites like blogs, whose content is regularly updated. This means that your static site may be more difficult to get listed high in search engine results, and if thats the main way you want to get traffic, then perhaps a blog is a better option.
A Knitting Blog – like the one you are reading! A blog is a website that is regularly updated with “posts”, rather than static pages with information and product listings. It can be a great interactive way to keep in contact with your customers, and also a good way to get listed quickly and prominently in the search engines.
There are lots of places where you can start a free blog, the two I have used are blogger.com (which is owned by Google, and some say is faster to get listed and ranked because of this), and wordpress.com, and if you’re looking for convenience you can also create a blog through weebly.com. All are easy to use and quick to get started.
Blogs can be very personal and friendly, and will help you create an ongoing relationship with your customers. They are also a good way to dominate a niche market. But you do need to keep them up to date, so in that sense they are an ongoing commitment where a static site requires less maintenance.
A Knitting Shopping Site – This is similar to a static site, with listings of your knitted products, photos and descriptions, but it is also able to take orders and process payments.
There are a couple of ways you can do this. The fastest, easiest way is to set up a shop front through one of the online craft malls like etsy.com (I will do a whole post about craft malls and which are the best value, so look out for that one very soon!).
These are great because there is already lots of people searching on there for handmade products, so you’ll probably get some good instant traffic. These services usually charge a listing fee or a monthly access fee, as well as a percentage commission on every sale, so they’re not free. And most of the time you won’t really own your own site, so you might be limited in design or layout, and with some your store won’t get listed in search engines.
The other option is to add a shopping cart to your already existing static website. There are services like romancart.com or paypal.com which provide you with order buttons to place next to your knitting items for sale. Payments are then processed by secure servers. These two services are free to set up, but they do charge a small percentage commission per sale.
Now, you don’t need to limit yourself to just one of these types of site. Many people start by building a static site, then adding a shopping cart, then adding a blog. By doing this you get the benefit of all three models – and this is of course a long term plan.
If you are new to the online world, just start by going to a site like weebly.com or blogger.com and have a play around. You can’t break anything, and the best way to learn is by having a go – you’ll have your knitting business up online before you know it!
Let me know how you go with these sites in a comment below, or if you have found any other good free services for creating websites, blogs or shopping carts that other knitters may find useful, please share your experiences with us!
Knitting Business Success Story – Jill and Susan from Y2Knit
Thursday, March 26th, 2009
Susan and Jill have brought together their love of knitting and yarn, their skills, life passions and experiences to create www.Y2Knit.net, a knitting business with a difference!
They are a wonderful example of the many paths that a life in knitting can take you down, and how being creative with your approach can set you apart and make your knitting business a success.
Both Susan and Jill have been knitting since they were young children, and both have been teaching knitting for many years now. Their knitting business, Y2Knit, has evolved over the last few years to include not only the yarn store, but also knitting workshops (online and live), an extensive pattern collection, two published knitting books, two more books on the way, and of course their famous knitting retreats!
“Jill and I both loved the idea of combining a relaxing experience with knitting workshops, good food, yoga, massage and fun conversation. Our most recent knitting getaway was in Tuscany” says Susan.
This is a great example of finding a niche and doing something that really sets you apart.
Both Susan and Jill attribute their success to determination and hard work, as well as flexibility and being able to capitalise on each others skills. “We tend to have different strengths, so we can balance each other, and we are also able to bounce ideas off one another” says Jill.
They both had some experience in business when they started out, and now have a knitting business plan which helps keep them moving in the direction they want to go. “We are constantly looking at how we can excel and succeed in our knitting business” says Susan.
And they have some great advice for anyone wanting to start teaching knitting:
“I think the first step is to identify if you are a good teacher. Try teaching your friends and see what it’s like. If you find that you can’t stifle your impatience, then teaching knitting isn’t for you!
Jill and I both love to teach knitting, and I think that our enthusiasm shows through. To start, develop some lesson plans, find a venue, and work at getting people to sign up. To be an entrepreneur, you must be able to do your own marketing.”
They freely admit that their hours are long, and it can be challenging to embrace the rapid changes that have occurred in this industry over the last few years, but both Jill and Susan show a wonderful passion for knitting and teaching knitting, and live life surrounded by the people and things that are most enjoyable for them, a dream come true for many of us!
If you have found Jill and Susan’s story helpful and inspirational, or would like to know more about how to start teaching knitting, please leave a comment!
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About Liz
Welcome! My name is Liz and I am a work at home mother of two. I am also the author of the new book “Knitting for Profit”. I have created this blog to give you more great information, ideas and resources for making money from your knitting passion! [more]
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