In addition to selling your crafts for profit, you can make money by hosting advertisements on your website. By using Google AdSense, Project Wonderful, and even your WordPress blog ads, you’ll be able to make money when people come to your website. These tools are easy to use and can increase your reach and customer base. In this final lesson on how to sell your crochet for profit, take a look at how your brand can make money for you.
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Intrigued by screen printing, but not quite ready to invest in a six station six color press? Or do you have one of those, but need something portable for demonstrations and screen printing on the go? Catspit Productions shows you how to construct a homemade stand for your bench press out of a sawhorse, scrap wood, and counterweight, and discusses the advantages of a small single color press.
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It's time to add the finishing touches to your homemade skirt! This lesson is the final part of Mimi G Style's series on creating a basic skirt from a commercial pattern. Learn how to 'stitch in the ditch', or sew a seam between the waistband, fashion fabric, and lining that hardly can be seen. Iron the waistband, and then sew the lining along the zipper tape. See how to finish off the hem of your skirt, and how to sew a hook and eye with which you can fasten the top of the waistband.
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In addition to retail and wholesale pricing, you will need to have special pricing in place for some other common sales scenarios. In this lesson, Sedie walks you through how to price your crochet products (or any product!) for a craft show, flea market, or consignment. Then, you’ll also get tips on offering discounts to friends and family so that you can continue to grow your small business. Finally, learn how to price items for charity auctions and nonprofits.
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Now that you’ve got your target audience figured out and your items properly priced, it’s time to get out there and sell! Learn where to start when it comes to selling your handmade crochet items in this lesson from Sedie. You’ll learn about hosted sites such as Etsy, ArtFire, eBay, Craftsy, and Ravelry, and why you should set-up an online shop either on a hosted website or your own domain. Then, also consider selling your handmade products in a traditional brick and mortar shop!
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Continue planning your business by focusing on one of the key components: you! In this lesson, you’ll take what you know about your target audience and add in what you know about yourself. What makes you different? Learn how to make a business stand out with a unique selling proposition. By having a clear idea of why customers would buy from you, the seller and small business owner, you’ll be better able to relate and speak to them.
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You're stenciling a damask or all-over stenciling project, but how you do approach stenciling those tricky corners? This lesson from Cutting Edge Stencils walks you through stenciling corners using a roller and stencil brush. Learn how taking the corner one wall at a time, then filling in the overlapping area with a brush, can give you clean, sharp corners.
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You've created the skeleton of your skirt - and now it's time to flesh it out by adding the waistband and lining! In this next-to-last lesson on sewing a skirt using a commercial pattern, Mimi G Style shows you how to make fit adjustments to your lining, then walks you through sewing in both lining and waistband. See how to leave a seam allowance when attaching the waistband, sew over the zipper coil, and match up your seams and notches as you add the lining.
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Create soothing scented guest soaps from scratch, right at home! Part of their series on how to make soap, the O'Neil Sisters show you how to make flower-shaped soaps with chamomile (or any herb) suspended within the soap. Learn how to mix, scent, color, and add the herbs, then pour your soap into a mold and cure it. Also get tips on attractive presentation to show off your hard work!
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Screenprinting is a great way to express yourself artistically, and it allows you to bring an idea to life, on a shirt, bag, or other printed piece. Once you get the method down, there are no limits as to what you can create. In this lesson from Catspit Productions, discover how to get a screen ready for printing. Learn how to prepare the screen (removing grease while abrading the surface), and coat it with emulsion. You’ll be ready to print in no time!
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Social media is a great way to build community and put a personal touch to your business. In this lesson, learn how to use social media to engage with your target audience and get online followers. Sedie will guide you through the merits of blogging, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. Learn which form of social media is best for sharing pictures and which forms is like the online cocktail party. By connecting to your customers, you’ll be better able to grow your small business.
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Now that you know how to do wholesale pricing, continue your journey into building a small business by figuring out how to calculate retail price. Using your wholesale price, you’ll set a suggested retail price, as well as consider how much items will cost customers buying direct from you. Sedie will give you important tips on making sure you keep your target audience in mind and what can happen if you undercut your wholesale buyers.
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In this lesson, make the most of your business advertising and marketing budget by learning how to use Google AdWords to customize ads that will drive traffic to your page. This pay-per-click advertising method can get you targeted online traffic and help boost sales. Then, learn how to use Google AdSense to make more money for your small business by hosting other advertisements on your website.
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Now that you’re ready to start making your handmade crochet items, it’s time to figure out pricing. Knowing how to price your work is essential in keeping your business afloat and your bottom line strong. Make sure your small business makes a profit by setting a wholesale price based on fixed costs and variable costs. In this lesson, Sedie will share some tips and show you some simple formulas for calculating wholesale prices.
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Looking for a great do-it-yourself way to add interest and color to your home? Thinking about painting a statement wall? Consider stenciling—with elegant designs and easy to use stencils, your paint project just got easier. In this lesson, Cutting Edge Stencils demonstrates how to use an interlocking stencil to update a wall. Learn how to align stencils, make sure your design is level, and how to use the registration to ensure correct spacing. Beautiful just got easy.
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In this lesson, learn how to plan your business inventory. Will you make prototypes and then crochet custom items to order? Or, will you have a set inventory and stockpile of items ready to ship? You’ll want to consider things such as storage space, upfront business costs, and business insurance. Then, take the next steps in your small business by planning you shipping packaging, creating business cards, and photographing your products.
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Out with the old stencils and in with the new! Catspit Productions teaches you how to wash the emulsion out of your screen printing screen so that you can use the screen to print a new design. Learn why you get a slimy build-up of emulsion on the ink-well side of your screen, what tools you will require to reclaim the screen, and what a proper wash booth should include.
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Engaging with your audience isn’t the only benefit of using social media to promote your small business! Learn how to increase traffic to your Facebook page and online store by using targeted Facebook ads. Facebook is the largest social media platform and a great way to reach your customers. By understanding how to advertise on Facebook, you’ll be able to grow your business and increase profits. Monitor your ads to make sure your marketing budget is being spent well!
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You've assembled the pieces of your skirt, so now it's time to add a zipper! This lesson from Mimi G Style shows you how to take a commercial skirt pattern and alter it to install a clean-looking invisible zipper using basting stitches and a zipper foot. See how to use pins to keep your fabric in place, use a seam ripper to remove basting stitches, sew in your skirt lining, and then check the size of your skirt and take it in or let it out at the seams to get that perfect fit.
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