When you start to sell your crochet, whether you just want to make a bit of cash or you’re already planning on turning it into a salary, it can be easy to start making some very common mistakes. After all, just because you know how to crochet doesn’t mean you know anything about selling and how to get people to buy from you. This makes it easy to fall into some traps, that on the face of it look like they don’t matter much, or at first glance make sense to do. But these 7 mistakes are incredibly common for crochet sellers to make.
I know, as I was once in the same place. I knew nothing, but unlike you I didn’t know where to turn for good advice – I know you do as you’re here 😉
There are 7 mistakes crochet sellers make very regularly, and the chances are that you are making at least one, if not several of them. I certainly made a lot of these errors when I started selling my crochet.
So what are these mistakes, and how do you put things right?
1. Not Knowing Who You’re Selling To
This was my biggest mistake. When I started selling my crochet, all I wanted to do was make a bit of extra cash. So I made whatever I wanted, listed it in my Etsy shop and on Facebook and then scratched my head in puzzlement when it didn’t sell. I mean anyone can buy crochet right? So why wasn’t anyone buying?
The truth is, that you have to have someone on mind when you start selling. People need to know what you do and what they can expect. If someone sees that you are selling a sweater, they will go exploring your shop expecting to find other types of sweater and winter wear. Instead if they find baby booties and wall hangings, they’re going to feel like they’ve stumbled onto a jumble sale
Ditch the jumble sale and focus on one type of product. You can read more about how to choose what you sell here.
2. Pricing Too Cheap
Again, I was guilty as charged. I did this for far too long. Its easy to do, you get rattled by what everyone else is charging and think that no one will buy from you when someone else is charging so little. Or you think that you’re crochet isn’t worth much because “it’s just crochet”. My favourite are the trolls who rudely crash your social media comments and tell you that “no one will buy it at that price” Click here to find out why that is so wrong.
The hardest part of pricing is ignoring all of the sellers that are selling cheaply and thinking that you can never compete. Well you’re not competing with them. Different price points target different customers, so the people that will buy from you will not buy from those selling at a cheaper price point and vice versa.
The truth is, you can sell at any price point you choose – even a sky-high luxury price, as long as you convey the value of what you are selling. No one buys because its crochet. They buy because your crochet solves a problem for them.
Scream and shout the benefits of your crochet, and throw in the quality, skill and uniqueness of handmade products too, and you will sell at the price you choose to sell at.
3. Not Starting An Email List
Your email list is hugely valuable, and can bring you more sales than social media ever will – I have a podcast episode on this that you can listen to here
Unless you have your own website, you can loose everything overnight. You don’t own your Facebook page, Etsy shop, Instagram account or anything that is hosted and controlled by someone else. You could have all these shut down without warning. And unless you have an email list, you will find yourself having to start again from scratch as you will have no way of telling your followers and customers where they can now find you.
Another reason that you need an email list, is how much easier it is to sell your products.
Your social media posts will only be seen by a fraction of your followers. But you can guarantee that your newsletter will land in every single inbox on your list. Whether every subscribers chooses to open and read that email is another story.
However, you can guarantee that they will see that you sent an email. This means that you have a far higher chance of your followers finding out about your latest product when you send an email, therefore a far higher chance of making a sale.
Your email list is extremely valuable, make sure you start it now!
4. Hiding Away Out Of Fear
I totally get this. It can be daunting to put yourself out there for the world to see. The fear of being of being judged, of receiving some not nice comments is very real. Trolls exist and they can be so mean.
Hiding away and hoping that customers will just stumble across your beautiful crochet stops you from feeling the fear, but it also stops you from making sales.
You won’t make any sales unless you start posting in other social media groups, or making videos, or choosing the right hashtags to add.
Making consistent crochet sales means that you need to step out of your comfort zone and just give it a try. The more you practice putting yourself out there, the easier it will become.
The most effective way of getting your crochet seen is to use video. But if you don’t want to show yourself in the videos, I have some great ideas for you here.
5. Posting On Every Social Platform
If you’re everywhere, you will make more sales right?
Well, no.
If you are running your business all by yourself, them you simply do not have the time to be on every social media platform and use them all effectively. If you don’t use them effectively, your social accounts won’t bring you sales.
Posting 3 times a day on Facebook may get you seen by your existing followers, but unless you have time to reply to comments and be seen in other groups you will not be building relationships or finding new followers.
Instead you are just another soulless account who nobody can connect with, so will not be making sales.
The only sellers who can be on every platform and make it work, are the ones who can afford to hire assistants or social media managers to do it for them.
If you can’t afford to hire any help, then you need to focus on just one social platform. Learn to use that one platform well, and how to use it to maximum effect. You can build your build your business on any platform if you put the effort in, so choose the social site that you prefer and then put your all into it.
6. Sell, Sell, Sell
How is selling all the time a bad thing? I mean that’s what you’re trying to do right?
Posting nothing but selling posts on social media just comes across as a glorified catalogue. How is anyone supposed to get to know you or have a bit of fun if you do nothing but put up yet another product picture with a “buy me now” caption.
To sell your crochet on social media, you need to stand out from the crowd and build a relationship with your audience. You are far more likely to make sales if your audience knows, likes and trusts you. You can’t do this unless you show your audience what you stand for, let them get to know you and you interact with them by posting engaging posts and replying to comments.
So make sure you space out those selling posts, and add some engaging content in between them so you can build that know, like and trust factor.
7. Taking Product Photos That Sell
Your photos may be your only chance to make a sale.
Your photo is the first thing that your customers see. They need to like what they see before they click to find out more.
Are you taking clickable product photos?
New crochet sellers tend to stand out as their photos are often cluttered, taken in a dark room lit with a yellow light and taken on a bed or on a table against the wall.
Your photos need to be clear, with it obvious what is up for sale. The colours need to be as true as possible which is best achieved in natural light. The background needs to look professional.
Getting your photos right is absolutely vital to getting sales. But that doesn’t mean that you need to spend a lot of money perfecting them. You actually don’t need to spend any money at all. You can find out how to take crochet photos that sell using just your smartphone here.
There you go, the 7 biggest mistakes crochet sellers make. Now you know what they are, you can make sure you avoid them and start making the crochet sales you deserve.
Psst, there are more ways that I can help you
1 – Sign up for my weekly newsletter here to have tips and advice on how to sell your crochet straight to your inbox
2. Come and join our Facebook Community Group here and join your fellow crochet sellers as everyone learns and moves forward together
3. Check out my shop for courses and ebooks here to give you the tools you need to grow your business and shortcut your way to success
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