Knitting for Profit – Start a Knitting Blog
Knitting blogs are very popular because knitters love to connect, see what others are doing and have a good chat. If you’re thinking of starting a knitting business, but maybe you don’t want to get into selling what you create, a 
knitting blog can bring in some extra income to support that yarn stash! Keep in mind too, that if you are selling your knitting wares, it’s a good idea to have a knitting blog which you can link to your e-store on Etsy or Artfire, of just sell through your blog. Your blog followers are also potential customers.
How to Start a Knitting Blog
Decide on a Blogger Platform
There are various types of blogging tools out there and many are free. Blogger.com, which is a google blogger tool, is free and you can monetize it very easily. If you don’t mind paying a little bit per year, you can do a self-hosted WordPress blog, which functions both like a blog and as a regular website. Some computer knowledge is helpful for this type of blog but there are also programs out there, like The Niche Blogger, which take you step by tiny step through the process, making it easy for anyone to do.
Choose a Topic for Your Knitting Blog
Do Your Research on Knitting Topics
This may sound easy – a knitting blog is about knitting, right? If you want to make money blogging though, you should consider a Niche Blog, or a blog that is narrow in topic, the narrower the better. The Niche Blogger teaches you how to narrow down your topic and how to choose a topic that makes money. Check out Google Adwords too. You can put in a list of keywords and Google Adwords tells you how many searches are performed for each month for them. A keyword like “knitting” would have too much competition to even try to compete with but “alpaca yarn” or “scarf patterns” would be a niche where you could rise to the top of the pile for search engines.
What is your area of expertise? Do you teach knitting classes? Do you spin and dye alpaca yarn? Do you have an etsy store? It’s a good idea to start a knitting blog based on something you know about but it isn’t essential either. If you’re interested in a knitting topic and think you could write a post about it 2-3 times a week, then it just may be a good idea in knitting for profit.
Creating a Blog People Want to Read
If you want to blog for profit, you have to create entertaining, informative posts and invite others to comment. Read other knitting blogs and get used to entering into the conversations. Once you get your own blog, you can add a link there so others can check out what you are doing and, hopefully, comment. Lots of photos are always attractive and enticing on a knitting blog too so get used to photographing whatever you are knitting for use on your blog.
Monetizing Your Knitting Blog
My only advice here is to choose your ads carefully and tastefully. Loud, blinking banners are off-putting to readers. Advertise products you personally believe in and like, write articles about these products. Here are some of the popular ways to monetize your blog. All are free to sign up with:
- Google Adsense – easy to set up and install on your blog. Google chooses ads to fit your content. You have to earn $100 before you get paid by Adsense. If you earn $50 each over two months, then you get a check.
- Amazon.com- easy to use also. Allows you to choose individual products or you can put in banners that let Amazon choose for you. I think Amazon’s threshold for payment is about $10.
- Clickbank-hundreds of ebooks which you can promote. Find lots of ebooks on knitting or other crafts and earn a commission on the sale. Commissions are fairly high, many as much as 50% of the sale. Earn a check after $50 in commissions.
- LinkShare – sign up with linkshare and choose from among hundreds of companies to promote. It’s best to have some traffic before you sign up for Linkshare as you apply to each company, they check out your blog or website and then ok you. They want to make sure you’re offering valuable content that will help them promote their business. Linkshare pays out after $50 earned.
There are many other avenues to make money on a blog, but these are some I’ve used successfully.
Once you have your knitting blog set up, plan on adding a post about 3 times a week, especially at first.
If you love knitting, or any other craft, a knitting blog can be a fun and creative way to earn some money.
One book I can recommend on the subject of blogging for profit is ProBlogger: Secrets for Blogging Your Way to a Six-Figure Income
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This post has 4 comments
August 27th, 2011
Great post- thank you for the tips. I’ve been doing some research for a niche knitting site and am having trouble finding an online yarn shop with an affiliate program. I’ve tried Linkshare and still no luck. Amazon’s selection is not great. Have you been able to find some good options? Thanks!
August 27th, 2011
Hi Devin,
Thanks for your question. If you type in “yarn affiliate program” into google search, you’ll come up with dozens of companies offering affiliate programs to join. The trouble with joining one company, as opposed to Amazon or Linkshare, for instance, is that sometimes it’s difficult to meet their minimum to ever get a check. You need lots and lots of traffic to earn through just one company. That’s why I’ve pretty much stuck with Amazon and google adsense, even though, as you say, Amazon doesn’t have a great yarn selection to promote.
To join the affiliate programs of large companies, like Joann, you need a certain level or traffic, etc, before they will accept your blog or website. It would probably be best to promote one company which sells not only yarn, but other knitting supplies as well.
One option might be to connect with some fiber artists through a place like Etsy and see if they will offer you a commission for promoting their products. This could be done with a coupon system where they get a small discount by ordering through your website and you, in turn, get a commission.
Best of luck with your niche website. When your website gets up and going, you’re welcome to come back and leave a link to it.
Joan
March 4th, 2012
Hi, I found this post and comments while looking for a yarn affiliate program myself. I found one and thought I would share. Not only is Paradise Fibers “local” (in my home state) but it’s a family-run operation, they have a great selection of yarns from all over the world, they also raise sheep and spin their own wool, and they donate to charities. Here’s my link if you’d like to sign up under me, or, go to their site on your own and create an account, then sign up as an affiliate. Good luck to all! http://www.paradisefibers.net/?Click=80964
March 9th, 2012
Affiliates are a great way to earn money with your blog or website. Thanks for the info.