Avoid These 10 Mistakes when Selling Crochet Items

Many passionate crochet makers dream of turning their hobbies into profitable businesses. Yet, the journey from crocheting as a leisurely pastime to managing a thriving business is not without its challenges. Understanding and avoiding common mistakes people make when selling crochet items can be your ticket to success. Let’s dive into these pitfalls and, more importantly, learn how to steer clear of them.

Most Common Mistakes when Selling Crochet Items

Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced crochet designer, avoiding these common mistakes will help you thrive. Ready to dive in? Keep reading or listen to the podcast to learn ten of the biggest mistakes crochet designers make—and how to dodge them. 👇

Mistakes When Selling Crochet Items and How to Avoid Them

1. Underpricing your Crochet Products

One of the first mistakes people make when selling crochet items is pricing. It’s tempting to underprice to attract customers, but this strategy can backfire. Why is underpricing a mistake?

• Profit Limitation: Selling at low prices might result in little to no profit, jeopardizing business sustainability.
• Customer Perception: Lower prices can signal lower value, affecting how customers perceive your craftsmanship.

Solution

Use Pam’s Free Product Pricing Calculator to set prices that reflect your skills and effort. This tool helps in calculating a price that’s fair to both you and your customer.

2. Branding (or a Lack Thereof)

Your brand is your business’s identity. It shapes first impressions and builds trust. That’s why it’s so important that your branding establishes you as a professional. Crochet sellers often make these branding errors:

• Lack of cohesive aesthetics.
• Inconsistent messaging.

Neglecting these elements of your crochet business can cause potential customers to see you as a “flea market” seller, they are going to expect to pay flea market prices, which will not be profitable for you in the long run.

Solution

Set up your craft market booth or online shop in a way that says, “Hey, I’m a professional.” Use your messaging, logos, and other visuals to create a memorable identity that speaks to who you are, what you sell, and who you serve. Pay attention to these branding elements:

• Logos & Taglines: These elements are often the first thing your customer sees. So make sure they are memorable and true to your brand.
• Consistent Visuals: Ensure your brand’s visual elements are uniform across all platforms.
• Unique Selling Proposition: Clearly communicate what sets your crochet products apart from others.

“Branding isn’t just a logo; it’s the promise you convey to your customers.”

Having all of these elements in-line will increase the professionalism of your brand, build trust with your customers, and increase your perceived value. That means you can charge more for your crochet items.

3. Poor Merchandising

Both in-person and online merchandising play pivotal roles in your business’s success. Merchandising mistakes people make when selling crochet items include:

• Suboptimal booth setups at craft fairs: Just laying out your items flat on a table with no thought to making a beautiful shopping experience.
• Poor-quality or not enough online photos: When buying online, people can’t see or touch the product. If you fail to showcase the product’s true appeal, customers won’t be enticed to buy it.

Solution

In-Person

Use attractive displays that take advantage of color, height, and lighting to draw customers’ attention. Arrange like items together. For wearables, display products on mannequins to show bundled products together, like hats with scarves.

💡Tip: Display your best-selling products most prominently. For example, my customers will often buy favorite products right off the mannequin.

Online

Invest in high-quality photography. Photos should be taken from multiple angles to simulate a physical experience.

💡Tip: Consider enrolling in courses by photography experts like Amy Eaton to hone your skills.

4. Not Understanding or Establishing Your Target Market

In practice, this looks like just making whatever you want to make and throwing it out there. One size does not fit all. Knowing your audience is critical to crafting tailored products that appeal directly to them.

Solution

Conduct market research to uncover your target demographic. Learn their pain points, then create messaging that resonates with your customers’ needs and desires. Rather than just saying, “Look at this thing that I made,” instead tell potential customers how your products will bring them joy, improve their lives, spark their kids’ creativity, make them feel beautiful, etc.

This is a huge topic in and of itself. So if you’re struggling in this area, you can read more about how to identify and attract your ideal customer here.

5. Neglecting SEO

No matter how great your product is, no one will buy it if they can’t find you online. Search engine optimization is key to online visibility, especially on platforms like Etsy. Many online sellers make the mistake of using unique or non-descriptive listing titles that are not searchable.

Solution

Improve Your SEO by:

• Keyword-Rich Titles: Unique, cutesy pattern names can be an important part of your branding strategy. But … in the case of Etsy titles, it’s better to use descriptive and searchable keywords that people might actually be looking for.
  
  For example, when listing my Emma Beanie, I might use the keywords “chunky beanie hat,” rather than the official product name. This title gets at what terms that customers are actually searching for. You can still incorporate your branded product name in the description.
  
• Keyword research: Use tools like eRank or Marmalead to enhance Etsy listings’ searchability.

Effective SEO is like a virtual storefront sign; make sure yours is brightly lit and easily discoverable.

6. Mismanaging Inventory

Efficient inventory management prevents lost sales and waste. When selling crochet items, people often make the mistake of running out of stock during peak demand or overstocking items that sell slowly.

Solution

Implement these strategies for better inventory management:

• Use spreadsheets to track your current stock of yarn and finished products.
• Keep track of your best-selling crochet items based on product, color, and size to determine what and how many products to make in the future.
• Regularly review your stock to ensure alignment with sales data.

7. Not Engaging Customers Beyond the Transaction

Treat customers like partners in your business journey. Don’t make the mistake of viewing customers purely as a sales source. Avoid delayed or impersonal responses to inquiries.

Solution

Treat your customers like friends, building relationships through authentic, positive, timely interactions. Then, follow up post-purchase to ensure satisfaction and invite reviews.

⚠️Scam Alert: Be responsive, but don’t be so eager to get a sale that you fall victim to scammers. Sometimes people will send you a private message, asking to purchase your item directly. Instead of giving away your PayPal info, inform them that you only sell through Etsy (or your preferred platform) and direct them to the listing.

8. Failing to Plan for Busy Season

Like preparing for a storm, it’s important to anticipate and plan for busy seasons to optimize business operations. If you don’t realize what’s coming, you can quickly get yourself into a mess. You may get more online orders than you expected and you don’t know how to fulfill them. Or you don’t make enough inventory for your craft fairs and you end up selling out.

Solution

Here are some ways you can prepare for busy season as a crochet seller:

• Stockpile popular items during slow periods.
• Use downtime to create inventory and strategize product offerings for craft fairs.

With some careful planning, you can have enough inventory to meet your customers’ demand and save yourself the stress of scrambling at the last minute.

9. Skipping Follow-Up/Email List.

Another huge mistake people make when selling crochet items is they just ship the product and then act like the customer doesn’t exist. When you do this, you miss out on opportunities to build long-lasting relationships with your customers.

Solution:

After the sale, continue to connect with your customers in the following ways:

• Reach out to customers after their item has been delivered to connect, promote related products, and solicit reviews.
• Send follow-up emails through Etsy (these must be purchase-related). Ask customers to, “Let us know how much you loved it.”
• When people purchase your items in-person, get them signed up for your e-mail list and encourage them to share your products on Instagram or other social media.

When you forge genuine relationships with your customers, you

10. Seeking Advice from Random Strangers on the Internet

Surrounding yourself with a supportive community and expert guidance is invaluable. Avoid seeking advice from unreliable online sources, like general crochet groups that are not business-related. Random strangers will give you negative feedback that can undermine your confidence.

When I see people asking, “How much should I charge?” They’re giving away their power, not being the boss of their business, and totally just saying, “Everyone else tell me what to do.” This is not what a successful business owner does. So start stepping into your role as CEO and as decision maker.

– Pamela Grice, the Crochetpreneur

Solution

Follow people who are actually having success at selling crochet items. Also, connect with like-minded people who are serious about crochet as a business and can provide positive reinforcement. To find that type of people:

• Join Facebook groups like Pam’s Crochet Business Chat.
• Follow industry role models who embody success and positivity.

When you surround yourself with people who are successful, you will be drawn into their upward momentum!

Wrapping Up: Embrace Your CEO Role

Aspiring Crochetpreneurs, remember that success is within your grasp. By pricing wisely, branding effectively, mastering merchandising, and engaging authentically, you’re setting a solid foundation for your business. Trust your instincts, take strategic advice, and never stop learning.

Finally, embrace your role as a CEO—take bold steps, make informed decisions, and most importantly, enjoy the journey of growing your crochet business.

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