Welcome to Business of Craft, a show designed to help entrepreneurs with fabric or fiber businesses become more successful.
This is our 8th season of BOC and today we have another solocast to cover one of the topics in our new book, Marketing Magic for Savvy Craft Businesses. I’m super proud of this book which my whole team wrote in 2025. The book is available for sale in Kindle and print version (and soon to be audio) on our website or Amazon.
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I want to rewind the clock just a bit and bring you behind the scenes to where this journey began — not just the book, but my journey in the world of craft marketing.
Let me take you back to the early 90s — I had just finished my master’s at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, when I landed a role as an editorial assistant at Interweave Press under Deb Robson. If you know the name, you know she’s legendary — Editor of Spin Off, and co-author of The Fleece and Fiber Sourcebook. Deb gave me two unforgettable gifts: she taught me how to knit… and she fired me.
Yep. That was a formative moment. Getting fired is rarely fun — but wow, did it redirect my life.
Knitting became my creative anchor and eventually, my professional compass. After a stint in print advertising, and a nasty 70% income drop during the recession, I pivoted hard. And that was the genesis of Stitchcraft Marketing — back then, a humble side hustle called “The Wool Wide Web.” I was playing with Facebook strategy when it was still a baby platform, and designing email newsletters for fiber clients.
Flash forward: here we are, nearly 20 years later, with a book that gathers our best insights on modern craft marketing.
This first chapter — which we’ve framed as a Prologue — gives you a sense of why we wrote this book and who it’s for. But I want to unpack the bigger message behind the stories and stats we share: The craft world has changed, and we’ve got to change with it.
Back in the day, you could launch your business with a few print ads and a killer word-of-mouth game. Your store was your kingdom. Now? Your kingdom needs a digital drawbridge, a moat of email strategy, and maybe even a TikTok tower.
We know that shift is overwhelming — because we asked you and we heard your woes. In 2023, we partnered with Audience Audit to survey nearly a thousand craft retailers. We wanted real answers, real pain points. And the responses were crystal clear:
That gap? That’s what we’re here to close.
The research revealed four types of craft retailers, and I bet you’ll recognize yourself in at least one:
And here’s the kicker — these personas aren’t generational. Age didn’t dictate mindset. Which means: anyone can evolve. Even if you’re feeling like a Worried Willa, you’ve still got time and tools to turn things around.
So let’s do a quick gut check — and if you’ve got a notebook, jot these down:
These questions aren’t meant to stress you out. They’re meant to start a conversation — and guide your next steps.
Because here’s the truth: this book, and this season of Business of Craft, isn’t about shaming where you’re at. It’s about showing what’s possible — with the right mindset and a little marketing magic.
So wherever you land on the retailer spectrum — from Confident Chris to Worried Willa — we’ve got tools and strategies to help you connect better, market smarter, and grow stronger.
If you’re interested in the full executive summary for our research, you can find that on our website, Stitchcraft Marketing under the link Our Work and then click on “research”. We’ll ask for your email address to get the download but if you don’t want to get our newsletter, you can unsubscribe at any time. You may also be interested in our monthly office hours–where we tackle a topic specific to marketing in the craft industry. We teach for about 15 minutes then open it up to your questions- so it’s kinda like getting free consulting from us! Learn about topics, dates and times in our newsletter!
And lastly, we’d love for you to buy our book, Marketing Magic for Savvy Craft Businesses. We cover 16 chapters of best practices we’ve garnered over the last 15 years of running a craft specific marketing agency. If you’re new to this space or if you’re a seasoned veteran, you’re going to find nuggets of wisdom in this book. It’s a quick read– you can probably do it in a weekend. Right now it’s available on Kindle and paperback. I’m recording the audio version right now because if you’re like me, you love to listen to books on tape when you’re knitting or sewing or whatever your chosen craft is. Look for that to be available in summer of 2025. Currently, you can buy the book on Amazon or if you prefer to buy it directly from us, you can do that on our website.
OK friends, that’s all I’ve got for you for this episode! I’m Leanne Pressly with Stitchcraft Marketing. Thanks for tuning in to Business of Craft, and until next time, happy crafting!