Anyone can build a successful crochet business, but not everyone manages to do it.
One of the biggest mistakes I see being made – and one that I was guilty of doing when I started selling my crochet – is which products that are being sold.
The problem with the products chosen is not the quality, the price or each product individually. It’s the product range as a whole, none of the items fit together, it’s like a crochet jumble sale.
Your products should all be:
- All part of a theme
- Things you enjoy making
It’s really tempting to just make whatever you feel like making, and put it all up for sale. After all, anyone can buy crochet, you’re catering to everyone and anyone who happens to come across your shop or social profile.
If You Try To Sell To Everyone, You Will Sell To No One
But, if you are trying to sell to everyone, you end up selling to no one, simply because you are not speaking to anyone specifically so no one knows that you are talking to them, or know what to expect from you next.
I know that anyone can see your social media posts, but unless you can say specifically who your products are aimed at, people will simply shrug their shoulders and scroll on.
You can only get the attention you need to grow your business if you get specific about who you are aiming for and say I’m talking to YOU! – seriously, we have so much information thrown at us everyday, you need to tell me that you’re talking to me to get me to notice you.
But you need to shout about what the theme of your products are, what your niche is.
Very few of your customers are going to buy what you sell because its crochet – you can read more about that here
They are going to buy because they want that particular type of product. But they may not be ready to buy the first time they see what you are offering.
This means that your audience need to know what to keep you in mind for. Since the fact that your products are crocheted doesn’t matter to your customers, what can they keep you in mind for?
What Will You Be Remembered For?
Do you make nursery decor and accessories? Do you make wedding accessories and favors? Do you make bold rainbow accessories?
If all you can say about your product range is that you crochet a range of fabulous creations, then you’re doomed to have very few sales.
You need to have a theme, a niche, something to be remembered for.
Did you know that a customer needs to see your brand up to 27 times before they feel comfortable making a purchase from you? That number will go up exponentially if they don’t know what you’re about.
If the first time they come across your shop you are advertising baby Booties, the 2nd time you are showing off a set of coasters, the next time they come across you they see a lace shawl. The next time they see you they have no clue what to expect. You in effect have a jumble sale. Who knows what they will see next.
So if someone is looking for baby booties, will they come to your jumble sale, or will they go to someone who they know for sure is going to sell baby booties? After all no one wants to waste their time, so why waste time coming to your shop which may have baby booties, when I can just go to the business that I know specialises in baby accessories and will most probably have baby booties? I think you know which you would rather go to.
This is what you need to bear in mind when choosing what you are going to sell. You don’t need a huge range of products. A product line of 10 items in a variety of colours will do the job. But make sure that the whole line fits into a theme that your customers can keep you in mind for.
Do You Enjoy Making Your Products?
You should also make sure that you enjoy making all of these products. You could end up making each of your products dozens of times, so you need to make sure you enjoy making what you are offering or your business will quickly turn into a chore.
If it turns into a chore, you will not want to spend time advertising those products. If you don’t spend time advertising your products, you won’t get the sales. If you don’t get the sales, you have a failing business. All because you didn’t choose a product line that you would enjoy making.
So what should a product range look like?
Your range should have at least ten products, and I would recommend offering several colour variations for each as well that include trending and traditional shades. A mix of quick to make and larger products is ideal as then you have a good price range to suit all price points and quick makes are good for making cash quick when you need it, but the big pieces gives you some show stopping pictures to get attention to your brand.
Make sure that you are clear on who you are selling to and what your theme is. If you’re not clear on this, then how is anyone else supposed to be clear about what to remember you for and know what else you might sell apart from what they’ve already glimpsed?
Make sure you choose products that you enjoy making over and over. You could end up making each item dozens of times if it becomes popular – and we very much want that to happen.
Choosing a successful product range is an art rather than a science, but as you gain experience and learn what your audience is looking for, then you will be able to pick new products much more easily.
If you are ready to turn your crochet business into a recurring profit machine, there are 3 ways I can help you :
- Listen to my podcast for more crochet tips and advice
- Sign up to my newsletter for weekly crochet selling tips and resources sent straight to your inbox
- Check out my free Facebook group for daily tips, resources and support
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