How to Use a Content Calendar to Plan and Schedule Your Posts
Do the words “content calendar” induce an anxiety attack or make you roll your eyes? Although it may seem like an extra step, using a content calendar to organize and plan your posts and can help you think ahead and share content that’s relevant to your audience all year long. Most of all, using a content calendar allows you to reflect on your efforts and measure the effectiveness of your work so that you can improve over time. Here are some considerations to think through when choosing a content calendar for your creative business.
In an effort to learn how to pack better — and lighter — for her next trip, Stephanie Escheveste asked some artists who do work on-the-go about what they pack. She found that each artist has their own unique set of art supplies, based on their own practice. Instead of packing their whole studio, they each select only the essential items and have found that the limitations actually help them be more creative.
Erin Dollar is back as the Craft Industry Alliance resident librarian, offering her picks for Spring 2019’s best art books, creative business titles, and self-help books. Erin has found some excellent new titles to kickstart your springtime reading.
Desktop wallpaper to help you stay organized with the year at a glance and division of space for keeping track of those things that clutter your desktop.
Hey craft business owners! This gift guide is just for you. If someone has been asking you what you want this holiday, we know you’ll find some things on this list that you’ll need and love. Treat your business (and yourself) to something fun this holiday season!
Erin Dollar is back as the Craft Industry Alliance resident librarian, offering her picks for 2018’s best art books, creative business titles, and self-help books. For artists and creatives, fall is a great time to get renew your inspiration and, as the kids go back to school, buckle down with your own work. Erin has found some excellent new titles to kickstart your autumn reading.
The big order comes in and it’s all hands on deck to get it processed and out the door. Photographing, packaging, and post office visits. If you have kids in the house there is a good chance you asked them to help, just to get the work done and maintain a level of sanity. 
“Although getting hacked is a horrible experience, there could be a silver lining of sorts. Some creative business owners find that easing up on social media frees them up to focus on their primary handcraft, and allows them to plan, strategize, and research effective business practices, while still marketing effectively enough.”
Looking for an engaging podcast to listen to while you work in your studio? Need some motivation and perspective for your own entrepreneurial efforts? Check out some of our favorite business podcasts for creatives.
Craft Industry Alliance is a group of co-founders, contract writers, and service providers. Although we’re a small team, we have big communication challenges. Here are some of the tools we’ve found to be the most effective for communicating with each other as well as our members.
Erin Dollar is back as the Craft Industry Alliance resident librarian, offering her picks for 2018’s best art books, creative business titles, and self-help books. For artists and creatives, summer vacation often means a tote bag filled with craft books, and she’s found some excellent additions to your summer reading list. 
Along the journey of my daily art creation, I did a lot of things right, many of them by accident, but together these tools helped me start and maintain a daily practice.
Mindful crafting can help crafty entrepreneurs refresh and rejuvenate. Take some at least once a week to make something just for yourself. 
Social media fatigue is hitting hard in 2018 as makers spend more time trying to “beat the algorithm” to connect with our community. Between our desire to reach our customers online, and the dopamine hit our brains receive each time we check social media, many of us are grappling with bad habits around screen time. Erin Dollar gives us some tips for carving out time to let our minds wander.
In this fast-paced digital world, it’s no wonder people are slowing down in an analog way by gravitating to journals in all their myriad, wonderful forms. 
Throughout 2018 we’ll be bringing you curated lists of books for craft business owners. Erin Dollar, founder of Cotton & Flax, a home decor products company based in California, is an avid reader with a library of books to share. She’ll be choosing a selection each season and describing what each book has to offer. Erin is here today sharing her spring book picks!
As creative business owners, we have to keep on top of many things at once. Sometimes it can feel like we spend more time tied to the computer than crafting, and that’s not a great feeling! Fiona Pullen is the owner of The Sewing Directory and the author of Craft a Creative Business. She uses a series of apps to stay productive and organized and work more efficiently. Learn to use a few of these apps and you’ll free up the time to focus on what you really enjoy.
A business retreat is an opportunity to surround yourself with a group of like-minded solopreneurs to take a critical look at your business with you.
Do you find yourself writing the same types of emails over and over again for your business? Programs Like Gmail’s Canned Responses and Text Expander can help you streamline your approach to answering emails, and free up more time for marketing, shipping orders, or anything else that might need attention your business. I use canned responses to speed up replies to wholesale requests, client questions, customer support, job applicants, and more.
Throughout 2018 we’ll be bringing you curated lists of books for craft business owners. Erin Dollar, founder of Cotton & Flax, a home decor products company based in California, is an avid reader with a library of books to share. She’ll be choosing a selection each season and describing what each book has to offer. To kick things off here is Erin with our winter book picks!