Image via Flickr by Official U.S. Navy Imagery

Even though it’s February 1, I am still considering this the final week of the 2013 31 Days of Crochet Business Blogging. I’m late posting because I had a freelance copy writing assignment pop up on Tuesday with a Thursday deadline. So I had to push everything aside and focus on it. Now that the assignment is finished, I can come back to the final post of what has been a wonderful blog challenge.

Final Three Writing Prompts

The focus of the last three days of the blog challenge is “monetizing my blog,” and the writing prompts are:

• Day 29 – Write a post about a new project or pattern you’re working on (because readers want to know your story).
• Day 20 – Write a post about your affiliate partner and why you chose to work with them.
• Day 31 – Write a post with your plans for offering ads on your blog. Will you offer advertising? Why? Give details on how your readers or potential advertisers can contact you.

Day 29 – I’m Currently Working On …

… a shrug, the pattern for which I found on Craftsy.com. I typically don’t like to wear shrugs because they make me look fat, but this shrug ends at the top of the thighs in the back, and the vertical lines are slimming. I’m not going to reveal the name of the pattern yet because I’ll be posting about it when I finish the project.

I will say a few things about it though. It’s an extremely easy pattern, but the nine-row pattern repeat creates a really nice looking fabric that can drape beautifully, depending on the yarn you choose.

I’m on a limited budget at the moment, so I decided on some Caron Simply Soft because I didn’t want to use my go-to acrylic yarn, Red Heart Super Saver, given that it’s not the smoothest of yarns for clothing items. I’ve never used Caron before, so I thought I’d give it a try because the Simply Soft is … well … softer than Red Heart Super Saver, and the price didn’t bust by budget.

Once I finish the shrug, I’d really like to try it out in a more expensive yarn because I think it will make a luxurious wrap in a merino wool or a wool/silk blend.

I’m also working on some Crochet By Numbers  patterns. I messed up my second and third certification pieces because I wasn’t doing the rows correctly, so I’m redoing both of them.I’m just about finished the second certification piece which went a lot quicker, probably because I had done the third certification piece which involved eight colors instead of the four the second pattern requires. I know what I did wrong, so I feel it’s only right to redo them.

The third pattern is based on a photo of the POTUS, and I intend to post more about CBN in the near future.

I like to take lots of notes and photos when I’m working on a pattern, whether it’s one I’m designing or someone else’s pattern. This gives me a wealth of material to use when it’s time to write a blog post about the project.

Day 30 – My Affiliate Partners

I have several affiliate partners that I’m working with: Krochet Kids International, Interweave, Craftsy, and Amazon.

My favorite of the four is Krochet Kids International because they have such a worthy cause of helping women in Uganda and Peru (and soon in the U.S.) build sustainable businesses through crochet and knitting respectively. The businesses these women are building help not only themselves and their families, but their communities, too.

I chose Craftsy and Interweave because they have excellent products and classes for crocheters. One of my goals for 2013 is to start reviewing patterns and classes that I purchase from them. I think you have to draw attention to the products and services your affiliate partners provide, and (honest) reviews are a great way of doing this.

I’m also an Amazon Associate, and I typically use my Amazon affiliate ID in the links I post about crochet-related Amazon products, usually books, which means I’ll be doing more book reviews in 2013. But I always let my readers know it’s an affiliate link with a “(aff)” right after the anchor text.

Day 31 – Advertising Space on My Blog – Will I or Won’t I?

I would love to offer ad space on my blog, but not right now. I need to get a lot more traffic before I think advertisers will find my offer of ad space attractive. And I’ll only allow ads that are crochet or fiber-arts related.

Once I have the amount of monthly traffic that I think will attract advertisers, I’ll create a separate page with specific details describing my traffic stats and the cost of monthly ad space.

Final Thoughts

This blog challenge has been a wonderful experience. It has forced me to stop procrastinating and take the steps I need to take in order to move this blog and my crochet business forward.

So thank you, Sara Duggin, for giving me the opportunity to participate in your blog challenge. It’s been a great experience, I’ve learned so much, and I have a load of advice, wisdom, and resources to help me move forward.