If you’re a pattern designer you’ve likely created a free pattern or tutorial at some point. Generously sharing your knowledge and skills by explaining how to make a particular project, or even how to do a certain stitch or technique, proves to your audience that you have expertise and are a trustworthy source of information….
Making the Most of MailChimp Automations
MailChimp is powerful software and there’s a lot you can do with it beyond sending the standard email newsletter. When I work with consulting clients one of the things we often discuss is how to get the most out of MailChimp and using automations is usually a key focus. It used to be that automations (sometimes referred…
4 Ways to Find Fresh New Content to Share
Creating new, high-quality content is really time-consuming and isn’t something you can do every single day. A great blog post, video tutorial, or podcast interview takes hours, sometimes even days of effort to create, edit, and publish. In the interim, we still need to share interesting content with our followers. The best way to do…
5 Unexpected Ways to Find Interesting Craft Content to Share on Social Media
Almost all social media platforms now have algorithms that determine what you see in your feed. Interact with a post by liking or commenting and you’ll see more posts by that account. Over time your feed will become catered to your preferences. This works great for the social media platform because it can then also…
Profile of an Email Newsletter: Fish Museum and Circus
Deborah Fisher is an artist from Long Island who is harnessing the power of an email newsletter to grow her handmade business. Deborah was my very first consulting client (I’ve had 19 more since – book an hour with me). At the time she’d just finished the manuscript for her second book and was ready…
Introducing Newsletter Classifieds
I’ve been writing a weekly email newsletter now for over three years and I find putting the newsletter together to be incredibly satisfying. All week long I save interesting links to share with subscribers. In particular I look for links to opportunities for paid work in the industry, news about what’s happening in craft and…
Black Friday 2016 Results (and Why You Should Start Now For Next Year)
For most small businesses Black Friday is the biggest sale of the year. It’s called Black Friday because this is the day when businesses go from being in the red (losing money) to being in the black (making a profit). This is true for huge national companies and it also can be true for small,…
Trying Out LeadPages
One of things I like most about having a business online is the ease with which I can experiment with new things. I see the internet like a sandbox and I want to get in and play around and see what I can make. I think it’s helpful to maintain a sense of excitement about…
How to Reactivate Inactive Newsletter Subscribers in Mailchimp
No matter how amazing your email newsletter may be, a certain percentage of people you send it to won’t open it. Maybe they’re too busy that day and their inbox is overflowing. Maybe they forgot that they signed up and don’t recognize your email address. Or maybe they no longer use that email address at…
Profile of an Email Newsletter: The Wonky Press
I recently subscribed to a new email newsletter that I love: The Wonky Press. It’s written by quilter and blogger Jessica Skultety and she just started writing it a few months ago. Already Jessica is seeing results from communicating with her most loyal fans via email and I thought it would be neat to talk…