How can your Instagram appeal to knife buyers while you still can post messy, spontaneous workshop stuff? That’s what a IG strategy is for: it tells you what goes where. In this post we talk about the Shop vs Forge Accounts strategy. (See our Instagram Guide for other strategies.) While it is a very clear […]
Knives Need Social Proof
Social what? Gotta love those fancy marketing terms, right? š Itās really simple though. And probably you do that already. For example, weāve seen many knife makers share posts from happy customers receiving the knife at last, unwrapping it, being happy. Thatās social proof. One example for it at least. Ever seen online shops adding […]
Your Knife Post is Gone in 20 Seconds
We counted: for #knife there were 31 posts in 10 minutes. That means 3 posts per minute. That meansā¦ š Your post has, on average,20 secondsin the top spot, and then itās being replaced by the next one. The takeaway is simple: Don’t wasteyour gunpowderon wildlypopular hashtags Youāve got 30. Make āem count. šÆ Consider aiming for […]
Daggers and Diamonds: Drilling Daggers & The Copters of Doom
As many as 2500 injuries involving drill presses happen every year! š¤Æ (And I was one of them.) Let’s make sure you aren’t!! Last year I was one of those 2500 injuries š because I wanted to do a quick and dirty drill jobāinstead of taking the proper precautions. I decided I would hold the […]
Why You Should Use Hashtags
Use hashtags, use hashtags! Wait, but WHY? š¤ Because Instagram puts your knife pics, your content into a bubble with only your followers! And Hashtags are one way to break out. By default itās almost only your followers who will see your content. There are a few ways to break out of this, for example: […]
3 Free Hashtag Research Tools for Instagram (in 2022)
Hashtag research ā¦ not everyone’s favorite topic. š Most of you want to MAKE, not research hashtags, right? Of course, hashtag research does matter if you want to reach your niche audience. So, here are some tools to help you out. We’ll keep this list up to date with our favorite hashtag tools. Let us […]
Knife Material Matters: An Abrasive Discussion
Humidity š§ and bad storage š¦ are the fastest ways to RUIN YOUR ABRASIVE BELTS. Letās talk about how you can free up space and get more life out of those expensive belts. Thanks šĀ @balticbladesĀ for the 2nd pic! š ā The most important factor in belt life is HUMIDITY. In a perfect world, your belts […]
Nobody NEEDS a Custom Knife (But Some Folks Really WANT One)
If you make custom knives for a living you gotta face one hard truth: no one needs what you’re making. Sorry, it’s true. (But there is hope.) Custom knives start at $100 a piece. $300 are common, even $1000 isn’t unheard of. No one needs a $100+ knife to chop bell pepper thrice a week. […]
Do Knife Maker Businesses Need a Newsletter?
Why do you need a newsletter? It’s a question we’ve heard a few times, so we thought it’s useful to share our answer with everyone. The question is often a bit more complicated: Yes, I am a knife maker who wants to go pro. And I have or am building an Instagram account or Youtube […]
Don’t Rely Only on Instagram to Sell Your Knives! (Manage Your Risk)
When you turn your knife making hobby into a business some things start to matter. Risk management is one of those. What does that mean? What if Instagram suspends your account? Let’s look at an example. With much time and effort you build up your IG account to 12k followers. You drive a steady stream […]