7 Reasons You Should Start a Craft Blog

The idea of starting a craft blog may be somewhat overwhelming to those who don’t consider themselves tech-savvy, but it really shouldn't be! There are many free blogging platforms that can help you get your craft blog up and running in little to no time at all and with very little effort. Rather than getting worked up over the bells and whistles of publishing a craft blog , i.e., blog headers, layouts and marketing streams, first, you should focus on the reasons and benefits of craft blogging in the first place.

The Internet is used by billions and billions of people each and every day. Once your craft blog is published, visitors from all over the world will have the chance to view your photos, ideas and thoughts. Viewers will have the opportunity to follow your posts regularly, leave comments and e-mail you directly. You will soon be introduced to many people who have the same interests and passions that you would otherwise never meet. Many of them will follow your blog. Maybe you will even start following theirs! You will be surprised at how many long-lasting relationships can be established just by publishing on your craft blog.

I can guarantee that the majority of hard-core crafters have very few photos of the projects they’ve completed and that’s really sad. Think about all of the craft projects we finish in a year. Wouldn't it be a shame if we had no record of them? Think of a craft blog as an online photo album that will contain all of the projects you've created over the years.

A craft blog is no different than a virtual journal. Unlike a pen-and-pencil journal, an online blog allows you to add links, audio, video and images in addition to your thoughts, ramblings and ideas for projects. These interactive applications can really enhance your journal in multiple ways. You can add a video tutorial that you used to help you create a design, or better yet a video tutorial you uploaded yourself; you can add links to sites you've gotten inspiration from, or sites that you've bought supplies from so that others can do the same; and you can add images not only of your finished product, but images of the product while it was coming to life.

It sounds funny, but crafting in general is very therapeutic. Sometimes writing about your thoughts or maybe even some of your frustrations, can be very helpful -- especially when you’re stuck in a rut! It happens to all of us. Sometimes we just don’t feel inspired to create new things or come up with new ideas. It’s these moments where a craft blog can link you to your crafty peers who will give you a boost!

Many craft bloggers participate in contests and giveaways and you can too! Sometimes these contests require you to upload a photo of your project with a link to your blog post, and if chosen, you will receive a prize. Some craft bloggers also host giveaways in which they will offer free prizes to readers of their blog. Having a blog link helps you not only apply for these giveaways, but get the word out to others who may wish to do the same.

If you sell your crafts at brick-and-mortar stores or online, having a craft blog is a great way to get some traffic to your shop. Visitors of your blog can see your newly listed items and even order custom items from ideas they’ve seen. A craft blog is also a good marketing tool to get the word out when you have specials, giveaways, coupons or sales.

Perhaps you want to sell some of the items you’ve created but don’t want to necessarily open an online craft shop, or sell through an online venue (Etsy, Artfire, etc). If you have just a few craft items or extra supplies you would like to sell without all the hassle, having a craft blog is an easy way to advertise. With just some simple integration with PayPal’s shopping cart, you can easily add photos and descriptions of your items with a simple checkout link.