Marketing Your Fiber Products
Shave 'Em to Save 'Em Initiative
Are you a shepherd who doesn't know how to sell your wool?
Are you a fiber artist who is thinking of turning your passion into a business?
Have you already started a fiber business but need to increase sales?
Whether you call yourself a shepherd, a sheep breeder, a fiber artist, a fiber worker, or a fiberista, wool—in all its diverse forms—can enrich your life. This course focuses on connecting and creating better communication between the people who produce wool and those who use it, in all its multiple varieties.
Whether you are a shepherd or a fiber artist, you can increase the value of wool with each step of processing. You'll discover how the price of wool increases from a raw fleece to washed fleece to roving to yarn and then to finished garments and other products.
Most people immediately think of Etsy when it comes to handmade or homegrown products, but there are so many marketplaces available, from individual websites or farm stores to farmers markets and retail stores. Whether you’re selling or buying, we’ll help you find channels to locate what you need.
Having a successful business is all about relationship marketing. And no, you can't just ask your neighbor's teenager to handle your Facebook page. Learn the pros and cons of the various social media outlets, as well as how to use them to increase sales, find supplies, or even just engage in informative dialogue and build relationships.
Your Instructor
Deborah Niemann started raising Shetland sheep in 2003 and selling their wool online and in person at fiber shows, as well as conferences and farmers markets. She is the author of six books, including Homegrown and Handmade, and also happens to have a masters degree in communication and especially enjoys online communication and social media.