Craft Business Tips – Branding, Images & Photography

Presentation is (nearly) EVERYTHING in running a successful knitting or crochet business.  Whether you are running an online shop, designing patterns, or blogging, the impression your site or shop makes on your potential customers will make or break your chances of success.

Why are things like images, fonts, and descriptions so important?  Well, for starters, if it is appealing to look at, you have a better chance of getting customers to check out what you have to offer.  Eye-catching images pull people in, and a well-designed site or shop encourages people to stick around.  Making the most of your website or shop’s appearance, using consistent branding, and utilizing quality photography will set your knitting or crochet business above the rest.

Appearance: Create an Appealing Craft Shop or Blog

If you haven’t already selected a type of craft business, be sure to visit the post about Choosing your Direction.  That will help you focus in and proceed with a clear plan.  Once you know your direction, you have likely selected a platform for your business, whether it’s your own blog or a shop through another site, such as Etsy, Ravelry, or Amazon Handmade.   If you haven’t already selected a platform, take a minute to read through some recommended options in the post 5 Websites to Start a Knitting or Crochet Business.

If you are starting a blog or your own website, you will want to spend time learning the ins and outs of the platform.  Learn the features, customize the template, and make it your own.  You do not want a cluttered site or a site that lacks a cohesive “look.”  I recommend checking out other blogs and websites that you admire and enjoy and see what is working and what isn’t.  It is also always an option to have a site designed by a professional if you are not comfortable creating it yourself.

Personally, I’ve used WordPress for my blog, and I love the template options.  I have “tried on” a few and found what works for my brand and my “look.”  They are fairly easy to customize, but this can be overwhelming if you are new to all of this.  Keep in mind that a free blog is often much more limited than if you pay to have your blog self-hosted with a company like Bluehost.

If you’ve selected to create a shop on a platform that is already established, such as Etsy, Ravelry, or Amazon Handmade, most of the “design” is already set.  So, all you need to focus on is making your individual listings stand out and look amazing.

While you cannot control the overall website appearance on these sites, you can make sure that you have high-quality photography to show off your products to their best advantage.  When you are setting up your shop, consider making samples in a set color scheme so that all your listings will look cohesive.  For instance, choose three colors that look well together and use those three colors for all the samples you photograph for your shop listings or pattern designs.  Similarly, do some research on SEO and plan a set title and description style for your patterns or items.  Keeping consistent with the way you structure your listing titles and descriptions will make the shop look more professional.

I realize this may be a lot to take in.  Keep in mind that this is a bare-bones overview.  There is a lot to learn with setting up a shop or blog, and we are just getting the basics out in this post.  There are so many wonderful tutorials through the websites like Etsy or WordPress to help you create the site appearance you want.

Branding: How to Establish a Brand for your Knitting or Crochet Business

Branding may seem like a small part of starting a craft business, but it will have a large impact on the overall appearance and “feel” of your website or shop.  So, what is branding?  Basically, branding is how you set yourself apart from other people that do something similar to what you do.  In other words, what makes your shop or blog recognizable?  How can you make it consistent?

Have a Theme

I know most of us knitters or crocheters don’t stick to “one thing.”  We like to do different things, make different types of items, and have varied interests.  That is one of the things that makes us so awesome, but it is also something that can kill a craft business.  If you try to be too many things to too many people, you will not be a success.  Instead, spend some time thinking about what “angle” you want for your business.  Also, think about who your customers will be.  You need to narrow in a focus for your target customer. 

For instance, does the customer live in Canada or Florida?  Does the customer have certain needs, likes, hobbies, habits?  These things will not only help you figure out what to make, but will also help you brand your shop or blog.  For example, maybe you love crocheting lightweight, lacy wraps.  So, maybe your target customer is someone living on the coast in a warmish climate.  Your shop could have a “beachy” feel to it when you do your branding.  There are really limitless possibilities for choosing a theme or focus for your business.  Spend some time thinking about it before you make branding choices.

Establishing Your Brand

Once you know your target customer, you can create your brand.  You’ll want to have an on-brand logo, color scheme, fonts, and image type.  Create a logo that reflects the “feel” of your brand.  Choose three base colors for your brand that reflect the mood you’d like to convey.  Select 2-3 different fonts to use consistently.  I like to use one more “block” type font and a contrasting “script” type font.  Use the same fonts on your posts, graphics, emails, etc.  Also, think about the images you’ll use.  What will be a common thread?  Consider colors and motifs.  For instance, if you go with a “beachy” vibe, use water, sand, and sky in your images and those beachy colors in your graphics.

Photography & Graphics

Photography is the key to success with an online shop or blog.  If you are selling items or patterns, you’ll get MUCH further with high-quality photographs of those items.  If you are doing your own photography, be sure that you use a plain, consistent background and natural light.  There are many tutorials out there about how to photograph your finished knitting or crochet items, and I highly recommend taking the time to read up on this and to practice.

Graphics are also really useful, especially for promoting your shop or blog on social media.  When you create graphics, stick with your branding.  A great place to make graphics is Canva.com.  I use it all the time, and it is fabulous.  There is a free version and an upgraded version available.

Admittedly, this is just a jumping-off point.  There is a lot involved in presenting your business to the world.  It takes some time, but starting with these tips in mind will make it easier to set up the knitting or crochet business that you want with your best foot forward.

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