The 5 Ways a Blog Can Boost Your Handmade Business

5 Reasons to Start a Blog for Your Handmade Business

Having a homemade business usually starts as a hobby. Then you hear friends and family suggest you sell your items for money. So you start up a Facebook page and wait for the sales to roll in. But they don't.

It takes a while to get your business to the point that it's successful. There's only so much that family and friends will buy from you. You'll need to reach other customers. One way to do that is to start a blog. Blogging is an excellent way to boost your business, and here are the 5 main reasons why.

1. 1. Promote and Collect Emails

   This is probably one of the most important reasons to start a blog if you have a business. You can promote your business to a much wider audience with a blog. People will come to your site from all over. It doesn't happen overnight, but once you've been running for a while, you’ll start to see more and more traffic.

   When you set up your blog, make sure you set up an email collection option. Whether it's a pop-up or a signup section, you need to collect emails. I have it set up so if a customer signs up for my email list, they get 50% off their pattern order on Ravelry. If they get something in return, they’re more likely to sign up.

   Once you have their emails, make sure you send out quality posts, otherwise they may unsubscribe. This way though, they’ll always have your name in the back of their head. When they start thinking of gifts to buy (or whatever it is they need), they’ll remember you and you’ve just gained a new customer!

   Related Article: 3 Tips I Wish I Knew When I Started Blogging

2. 2. Show Expertise

   Sometimes when you’re promoting items on Facebook or Instagram, you only have a short space for a description. It’s hard to show customers that you really do have a lot of knowledge in your craft. With a blog, you can show how well you understand what you make and teach others along the way. People are more likely to buy from someone they trust, especially when they can see you know what you’re doing.

3. 3. Explain Who You Are

   A blog is a great way for somebody to get to know you. You can explain who you are as a person through your writing. That’s also why I like to do craft fairs, so you can talk with your potential customers. When people feel like they know you (even if it’s through reading your posts), they are more likely to buy from you over other people in your niche.

4. 4. Keep Current Customers

   Having a blog keeps your customers aware of what you have going on. This helps you avoid being a “one and done” purchase. If customers follow your blog, they’ll see new products, new patterns, and updates, and they’ll be more likely to return.

5. 5. Distinguish Your Business

   A blog sets you apart from others in your niche. Because of all the points above, you’ll be ahead of the game with your handmade business. Also, the more helpful content you have, the better chance you’ll show up in search engine results, which means more visibility and more potential customers.

Having a blog is a lot of work. There is research and time that goes into starting one. Even after it’s started, you still have to put in effort: creating new content, choosing an ad company and affiliates that fit your genre, and keeping up with comments.

Even so, I still highly suggest creating a blog if you have a handmade business. Once you get the hang of it, it's fun, and it becomes a great asset to your business.