Online Marketing 101: 10 Programs I Can’t Live Without

Hi all!

As a small business owner who sells mostly PDF patterns, online marketing is the name of the game. It’s important to find the best solutions for your specific needs and make your day-to-day operations as efficient as possible. Here are some of the programs I’ve discovered over the last 6 years that have made my life so much easier. Feel free to leave a comment below if you have any questions or want to add something to this list!

 

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This post contains some affiliate links. This means, should you make a purchase, I will receive a small portion of the sale at no extra cost to you. All opinions are my own. View my Privacy + Disclosures Policy here.

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1. Flodesk

Flodesk is by-far my favourite email marketing platform. I am so pumped that I found them because my old email platform was causing me so much stress! Before Flodesk, I used Mailchimp for my email marketing, but I found it not very user friendly and their fees were just too high. Every time you reach a new subscriber threshold, your monthly fees go up with them. I reached a point where it seemed outrageous to pay these monthly fees when I only sent out one or two emails a month. Then I heard Jenna Kutcher (queen of online marketing) say she uses a program called Flodesk, and she offered a half-off code in one of her podcast episodes, which I used to get my subscription. I now have the same code to pass on to you if you’d like to try out Flodesk – a beautiful email marketing tool that is actually intuitive and affordable. You can still get the beta pricing locked in at $19/mo forever (price will never go up even as your list grows!).

If you want to give it a try, click here to join Flodesk at half price of just $19/mo instead of $38/mo for your first year.

2. Cognito Forms or Google Forms

If you run pattern tests, you need some sort of form service. Google Forms and Cognito Forms are two of your options to collect pattern tester applications or final notes all in one place. You can ask specific questions and your applicants can submit photos as well.

3. Canva

I use Canva with every pattern release. It’s the key to great graphic design for those of us who are not graphic designers. I’ve used Canva for 4 or 5 years now for everything from creating Pinterest images, creating photos with rounded corners or other fun details within my pattern files, creating my main Etsy listing photo with the word “crochet pattern” written over top of the photo, and so much more. Canva is such an important step in all of my pattern releases!

4. Pinterest

Now, if you’re not using Pinterest for your business, you’re missing on out a HUGE segment of your audience. I get 95% of my traffic from Pinterest. It is a great marketing tool because you can tap into millions of people who are looking for exactly what you’re offering, and you don’t need followers to be successful. You can have a thousand, you can have three, it doesn’t matter because your content speaks for itself. Do something for me now.. Think of the sales you currently make each month. Now imagine if that same number were only 5-10% of your monthly income.

Go look at some pins within your industry and take notice of what you like about them and what you dislike about them. You are probably drawn to the ones with clear, bright photography and big, bold, easy-to-read text. You probably dislike the ones which leave you wondering what they are advertising. Pinterest is an app where people are scrolling, scrolling, scrolling. If the customer can’t tell exactly what you’re selling within a second, they’re not going to care enough to figure it out and they won’t be your customer. Make note of what types of pins you like, and infuse this into your own pins using Canva (#3) or the Tailwind app builder (#5).

5. Tailwind App

Tailwind is an app for scheduling Pinterest pins and growing your Pinterst using Tailwind Communities. I have used it for about 3 years now and it has changed my entire business model. I no longer have to post on Instagram everyday because my income is not tied to it anymore. When you can schedule your pins, you do it once and then forget about it because it operates on its own without any need for your intervening. 

I use Smart Loops, which are groups of pins that you program to post on certain boards at certain times. It’s all automated and allows you to categorize your pins if you have seasonal content such as holiday, summer, Halloween, etc. and it will post for you during these peak times. You get to choose the spacing between pins, the number of pins per day for each board, and so many more details.

Tailwind Communities has been one of the most helpful aspects of the app for me. Communities are little groups within the Tailwind app that have some kind of common goal – I’m a part of many crochet and knit communities and even blogging and craft communities. You send your pins to them, and you pin something from another group member in return. This is a way for your content to get out there quicker since everybody is helping everybody!

Get a free month of Tailwind here, on me!

6. Shareasale

Let’s talk affiliate marketing! As online business owners, we are all about the passive income strategies, right? If you’re in the fiber arts industry, there are a few you’re going to need to join asap.

One of those programs is Shareasale. Knit Picks, WeCrochet, Lion Brand, Annie’s, KnitCrate, they’re all on here and can leave you earning a pretty penny each month. Any time you link to a product, you have an opportunity to make a commission when people click through and buy something within 30 days. Some programs pay a referral of 10% of the sale, some pay 30% of the sale. This really adds up quick and can lead you to making a lot of money simply from sharing links to products you already use. Sharing these products to your blog posts, patterns, Instagram stories, and emails can really pay off, especially if these brands are running promotions – people love a chance to save some money! (Just make sure to share things you truly believe in so that you don’t lose the trust of your audience!)

Shareasale is not just for fiber arts, there are hundreds and hundreds of merchants whose programs you can join across every industry you can think of. You can join here for free!

7. Lovecrafts Affiliate

You can sign up as a lovecrafts affiliate here and earn 15% of the sale for any referrals. This is just for the LoveCrafts site, a UK based online yarn store that ships to North America.

8. Amazon Associates

You can sign up for Amazon Associates in the US and Canada. (I have one of each.) These allow you to share links as well as links with images as shown below. Once you reach a commission threshold, you will receive a cheque in the mail from Amazon.

This shows the Amazon US link.

 

This shows the Amazon CA link.

9. Lightroom

One of the most important things for online sellers is to have great photography. If you can’t afford to hire a photographer, you can buy presets from your favorite creators, too, and apply them to your photos. The basics of Lightroom are easy to learn with the help of a few quick YouTube videos or Google searches. You can download presets from creators – I have some from some of my favourite online bloggers and I also had my photographer make me some during Covid when I couldn’t see her in person – and it’s as simple as importing the preset file into your Lightroom account and then applying it to your photo. Easy peasy, no advanced photo editing skills required.

10. Stitch Fiddle or Charting Software

If you’re a crochet or knit designer, you need some type of charting software. I honestly have not found the best one yet.. I currently use Stitch Fiddle and it does the trick but is not very user friendly. If you have a better one, comment below because I’d love to know what it is!

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I hope you’ve found some of these to be helpful! If you have any other must-have programs, leave a comment below!

Pre-order my new book, Modern Crochet Sweaters: 20 Chic Designs For Everyday Wear!

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Janine

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