# Marketing Ideas for Custom Crochet Items



## Ninn (Oct 28, 2006)

I'm trying to prepare a presentation to a local boutique. I want to offer some of my hand made items, having made them from local fibers if I can, for consignment in her store. 

The store is Pure Pennsylvania-nothing in there comes from outside the state. Almost everything is hand-made. She offers Amish quilts, home made foods, hand sewn items, hand painted items, etc. However, I've never seen any crochet items. I have a baby dress with bloomers; a sweater, hat and blanket set, and a travelghan to take with me for examples of my work. I currently have no adult wearables, but I'm hoping to get a few shawls done.

This store is located right off the highway in an area that gets high tourist traffic and lots of tourist dollars. Any ideas how I should be marketing my product? I think the travelghans will be a big hit, and I'm thinking of child and teen sized hats. Also market bags-the tourists are all carrying canvas grocery bags and mine are so much nicer. 

How should I present these items so that they will be received in a favorable light and be more likely to be accepted for consignment? Are there other items I should offer?


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## KBQuilter (Jun 11, 2008)

Maybe a tag on your items stating that they are made in the town of "whatever" PA, by hand, by you, since "200?". I always look at the tags on items in a store like you described, I like to feel like I "know" a little about who made it. You could also list your price on the other side of the tag.


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## Ninn (Oct 28, 2006)

I was thinking that I would order business cards and put the sizing info and prices on the back, with my business name and Made in The Endless Mountains of PA since 1985 on the front, along with my website and contact info.


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## mtnest (Mar 11, 2008)

I have often seen a small blurb stating "why this _______ is your best purchase today" (or similar), explaining WHY your product is better(at least according to you) and how it benefits whomever(from the fiber sources to the creator of the product). 

Bottom line of marketing is getting the person to buy your product.... it is a "how does this help ME" society... work it


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## MorrisonCorner (Jul 27, 2004)

As an online marketer I just saw a fascinating article by someone who set up two identical sites.. on one site the products are listed like you'd list products: blue sweatshirt. On the other the "blue sweatshirt" has a 25 word "story" attached to it (rainy day soft and bright blue, this sweatshirt will make you feel warm all over type thing).

Duh.. guess which store blew the other out of the water?

On a hang-tag the story needs to be very short and ATTENTION YOUNG READERS!! IN A TYPEFACE AND FONT SIZE A MIDDLE-AGED WOMAN WITHOUT HER GLASSES CAN READ!!

Seriously. Ask your mother if she can read the thing without her glasses.

You could also view any sales you make in a retail environment as a means to drive traffic to your website. Now (again, pay attention class) many retailers do not smile kindly on a traffic driving hang tag. In fact, I know a number of stores in this area that strip them off and tag the item with a generic store tag with the store website on it. Why should they send you traffic? So print the website on the sewn in tag, and any website on a hang tag should read "follow our blog" or "visit our farm..." Not "see more designs at..."

It sounds obvious... but obviously it isn't because I see this mistake all the time.


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

Online marketing is all about technology. You have to stay up on what works and what doesn't. Google has become brutal. Fact of the matter, under their current policy you won't even get a new domain indexed at Google for 6 months.

There are still exploits that work though. I wrote a detailed article in this forum a while back about video promotion, through exploiting their new "priority content" feature. The proper type of promotion can get you at the top of Google WITHIN AN HOUR. Yes, and that's no lie.

Check out post #42 at this link to learn how.

http://homesteadingtoday.com/showthread.php?t=292746&page=2

Online promotion is all about what you know and how you apply it.

However, local marketing and consignment relationships are all about who you know. If you don't want to market online, be prepared to make a lot friends.


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## Chixarecute (Nov 19, 2004)

Coldwater Creek has excellent "stories" for their items, if you need inspiration.


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## livefrugal (Jun 2, 2009)

I had a good friend crochet me a throw for a graduation gift and the thing I liked the best was that she had customized cloth tags sewn on the corner of the back side (basically the type of soft, cloth tag that is in all clothing, at the back of the neck of a t-shirt for example. I bet you could order some of these online. They would add an air of professionalism and also allow you to put your business name on them so that as long as the person is carrying the bag, if someone asks who made it, they can look at the tag to find out and this might drive traffic to your website as well. Good luck!


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## beaglebiz (Aug 5, 2008)

Ninn, at the Bloomsburg fair this year we asked several of the sheep owners how much they sold their fleeces for. They throw them away!! Claim there is no market for it from spinners, they get hardly anything for it. Just thought I's mention as this might be a fiber source for you


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## How Do I (Feb 11, 2008)

Ninn said:


> Almost everything is hand-made. She offers Amish quilts, home made foods, hand sewn items, hand painted items, etc. However, I've never seen any crochet items. I have a baby dress with bloomers; a sweater, hat and blanket set, and a travelghan to take with me for examples of my work.


As mentioned above, a good rule to follow in marketing: Sell the benefits! And use the types of terms for marketing your products same as what you've used to describe the items in the store...hand-made, hand-sewn, handcrafted, homemade, etc. It seems to enforce reasoning in the mind of the consumer that the item is of higher value.


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