If you Google “blankets”, you’ll get thousands of hits. If you comb through those hits, you’ll see that most of those products are poorly made, low quality items that are usually sourced overseas. They tend to be made of cheap materials that don’t hold up to much use, and utilize materials and chemicals that are bad for the environment. Lastly, for most of these products the designs on them are often printed on and the colors are not durable; they’ll often fade or wear within the first year.
Consumers are catching on, and especially in today’s economy, they want to buy items that will last a long time before needing replacement. This is the trend we’re seeing for artists, where consumers are flocking for woven blankets. They’d rather support smaller businesses and local artists, while getting a superior product that will probably cost them less in the long run.
It’s in artists and small business’s best interest to take advantage of this surge of interest. So if you’re an artist selling your blankets and products online, go ahead and shoot your shot. We have some tips to help your product stand out and get noticed, and hopefully bring you that much closer to making a sale. We wish you the best of luck!
Make the Descriptions As Captivating As Possible
This is especially true if you’re selling online. Having a catching website or quality photo is only half the battle, because your customers won’t be able to feel or hold the blankets like they would in a physical store. Be sure to include a good amount of adjectives–”the softest material you can buy” or “the coziest blanket you’ll ever own”-- to accurately sell the product, but don’t overdo it. Be sure to have the blanket photographed in its natural habitat–if it’s intended to be a decorative throw, get a picture of it on a neutral chair. If it’s intended for dogs, get a photo of your puppy snuggling in it.
Show Off How It’s Made
This is one of the major reasons customers are turning to your blankets instead of printed blankets–show it off! Take photos of the process of producing the product, or better yet, film a video and give it a voiceover. Consumers will connect more with you and the product, and be that much closer to the sale. If you crochet or knit your blankets by hand, have a friend film you while you show your technique, or ask for a time-lapse video of the blanket gradually being woven if you are ordering from a small manufacturer. Taking the time to film show your process and the build quality of the merchandise will make your customer feel connected to the product, and emotionally drive them to add it to their cart by showing the humanity of your company.
Get on Social Media
More and more sales are being made through posts people find on Pinterest, Instagram, and TikTok. It’s "free", so there’s nothing to lose by focusing on your social media presence. Post your eye-catching designs, add some witty captions and relevant hashtags, and connect your store. Remember, Instagram started out as a photo-sharing platform, and photos are still important on the platform. However, both it and TikTok are also great places to share the videos about the creation process that we mentioned above. It’s also a great way to market and advertise to younger people, so be sure to include your handles in your website and business cards!
Use Quality Materials
We touched on how manufacturers overseas use cheap materials in their products. This translates to an inferior product and one that’s probably not good for the planet and the workers who produce them. Customers are flocking to artisanal and small-business made blankets because of the quality in them, so be sure to deliver!
Use the most premium materials that you can reasonably afford. The more quality, the better the product, and this can all be reflected in the cost. You can also buy in bulk to get more at a cheaper price. Try to make it part of your company’s brand and mission to use quality materials–if any of the materials are locally or sustainably sourced, or acrylic or synthetic fibers made from recycled plastic materials, incorporate it into your brand and mention it in your social media or process videos! Customers will feel even better–they’re not only walking away with a more quality product, they’re also helping give the planet and your local business partners a hand too.
Final Thoughts
We hope that this article proved helpful for you. We love supporting artists and small businesses, and sincerely hope that you can capitalize on this movement towards more quality and artist-made blankets. We wish you the best of luck, and encourage you to check out our other posts for more helpful information!
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