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Instagram Hashtag Cheatsheet for Handmade Careers

- July 20, 2018 | by April -

It’s my birthday!!!!!! Well, yesterday was, but let’s overlook that minor detail. And, because it’s my birthday, I made you a present.

I spent well over 40 hours working on this 1300+ hashtag cheatsheet for handmade careers for you. I hope you love it. If you sell in any of these categories, this cheatsheet will help you grow your following on Instagram:

  • Bath/Beauty/Soap Making
  • Calligraphy/Handlettering/Stationery
  • Ceramics/Pottery
  • Doll/Toy Designer
  • Embroidery
  • Jewelry Designer
  • Knitting/Crochet
  • Sewing/Textiles
  • Surface Design
  • Woodworking

I’ve also covered the following categories:

  • Maker/Handmade
  • Business/Marketing/Selling
  • Crafts/Crafted
  • Etsy

This cheatsheet lists a bunch of hashtags in each category and the hashtags are listed in order of usage. Each hashtag has the number of uses (at the time I created it) next to it so that you can decide which you should use based on your number followers, likes and comments.

Here’s an example of the Sewing/Textiles category:

  • sewing 7,380,309
  • wallart 6,600,000
  • fabric 5,000,000
  • weave 3,355,198
  • sewin 2,998,596
  • sew 1,662,910
  • fabrics 1,300,000
  • quilt 1,182,263
  • qulting 1,182,170
  • weaving 1,100,000
  • imadethis 1,000,000
  • fiberart 773,000
  • handwoven 732,000
  • wallhanging 656,000
  • tapestry 627,000
  • textileart 605,000
  • sewingproject 520,635
  • sewingmachine 451,230
  • isew 451,000
  • seamstress 427,000
  • applique 389,000
  • sewingforkids 349,628
  • handloom 313,000
  • quilts 292,790
  • naturaldye 256,000
  • sewcialists 250,000
  • sewinglove 228,320
  • handmadewardrobe 223,000
  • sewersofinstagram 202,900
  • weaversofinstagram 198,000
  • sewingaddict 194,135
  • diyfashion 188,000
  • bohemiandecor 178,000
  • fabriclove 176,000
  • fiberartist 175,000
  • handsewing 174,000
  • fibreart 172,000
  • sewingblogger 159,650
  • quilted 151,660
  • quiltsofinstagram 149,868
  • quiltersofinstagram 147,553
  • bohemianhome 147,000
  • fabricstore 139,000
  • fabricaddict 129,000
  • sewer 122,654
  • naturaldyes 121,000
  • sewingpattern 120,802
  • textileartist 118,000
  • instasew 118,000
  • quiltcover 110,993
  • sewist 110,429
  • fabricshop 107,000
  • wovenwallhanging 107,000
  • lovetosew 106,000
  • sewinglife 105,544
  • handweaving 103,000
  • sewingroom 102,703
  • longarmquilting 96,200
  • quilter 95,116
  • sewistofinstagram 94,245
  • modernquilt 92,300
  • cottonfabric 87,000
  • naturalfibers 86,800
  • sewn 84,927
  • sewingisfun 82,657
  • weaverfever 82,400
  • freepattern 81,200
  • wewingforgirls 77,296
  • ilovetosew 75,400
  • quiltmarket 74,383
  • modernquilting 71,600
  • sewingclass 70,796
  • handstitching 70,500
  • sewingtime 69,710
  • weavers 67,500
  • handknotted 65,900
  • weavingloom 65,600
  • fabricstash 64,300
  • sewingmama 63,877
  • sewcute 62,700
  • freemotionquilting 61,800
  • fabricshopping 60,600
  • sewingblog 57,900
  • sewsewsew 57,822
  • isewmyownclothes 56,300
  • sewingforbaby 55,695
  • sewingpatterns 55,188
  • sewingprojects 52,757
  • weaveweird 52,600
  • handquilting 52,000
  • imademyclothes 47,700
  • seamstresslife 47,400
  • quiltblock 47,012
  • sewmuchcrafting 46,259
  • quiltlover 46,245
  • newfabric 45,900
  • sewingissexy 45,344
  • sewingfun 45,276
  • floralfabric 44,700
  • imakemyclothes 44,300
  • sewingforboys 43,779
  • sewingbee 42,800
  • quiltingfabric 42,535
  • sewingstudio 40,561
  • pdfpattern 39,300
  • ilovehandloom 38,200
  • sewingwithlove 36,215
  • sewallthethings 35,700
  • wovenart 35,100
  • printedfabric 33,300
  • quilters 32,465
  • wovenwallart 32,500
  • machinequilting 31,500
  • sewingclasses 31,493
  • premiumcotton 31,300
  • quiltshop 21,224
  • loomweaving 31,200
  • sewingkit 31,175
  • handmaderug 28,400
  • quiltingfun 28,357
  • sewingforme 27,733
  • sewingbox 27,543
  • sewingmom 27,116
  • handsew 26,100
  • newfabrics 25,300
  • sewingschool 24,686
  • sewinglovers 24,110
  • sewingday 23,914
  • woventapestry 23,800
  • homesewn 23,300
  • sewingskills 22,201
  • patterntesting 22,000
  • fabricscraps 21,500
  • sewinginspiration 21,211
  • weavingart 20,800
  • sewersgonnasew 20,700
  • sewingtools 19,473
  • onlinefabricstore 18,700
  • sewinglessons 18,658
  • woventextiles 18,400
  • quiltshow 18,246
  • sewingmachines 17,977
  • sewingmakesmehappy 17,748
  • quiltpattern 17,473
  • sewingworkshop 16,500
  • quiltedbag 16,445
  • quiltblocks 16,162
  • quiltfabric 16,162
  • sewingtutorial 15,528
  • sewingwithknits 15,200
  • quiltlife 15,182
  • quiltalong 15,043
  • sewingbags 14,305
  • sewcreative 14,200
  • sewingismytherapy 14,069
  • sewingtable 13,809
  • quiltdesign 13,300
  • quiltart 13,181
  • weaversofig 13,100
  • modernfabric 12,800
  • quiltingismytherapy 12,775
  • sewingislife 12,612
  • sewingtips 12,358
  • sewingspace 12,300
  • quiltshabby 13,319
  • quiltcoverset 11,603
  • sewingtherapy 11,511
  • jerseyknit 11,100
  • prettyfabric 10,600
  • quiltingcotton 10,300
  • sewingboundaries 10,201
  • quiltfestival 10,063
  • sewingnotions 9,626
  • sewingcraft 9,312
  • quiltinprogress 8,977
  • sewingcommunity 8,266
  • quiltbag 8,032
  • modernweaving 7,806
  • sewingismysuperpower 7,730
  • quiltbinding 7,568
  • quiltretreat 7,486
  • quiltedwithlove 6,994
  • sewingideas 6,387
  • handmadecloset 6,301
  • quiltingtreasures 5,834
  • quiltingit 5,727
  • sewingwithstyle 5,397
  • diydressmaker 5,356
  • fortheloveofsewing 5,351
  • sewinglifestyle 5,332
  • quiltkit 5,166
  • quiltingtips 5,047
  • quiltingismybliss 5,013
  • weavingtapestry 4,839
  • quiltmaker 3,831
  • quiltmania 3,779
  • quiltingonthego 3,172
  • sewingchronicles 2,959
  • measuretape 1,294

In my last blog post, I shared five tips on using hashtags effectively along with a cheatsheet for artists. If you missed that blog post, read it. It’ll make hashtags a lot more useful to you.

6 Comments · Filed Under: Instagram, Social Media

How to Create a Cohesive Instagram Feed (Free Guide Included)

- June 22, 2018 | by April -

The coveted Instagram accounts with thousands of followers–the ones you love. How do they do it?

They stick to visual themes.

Instagram is a visual platform and the feeds that people love have one thing in common: they take two to three visual themes, put them together and never stray.

That’s how to duplicate the success you see and want.

To begin, you need to decide which themes will work best for your brand.

I’ve created a guide to help you do just that. It walks you through the nine visual themes to choose from, shows you examples of each and then helps you determine which ones you should use for your Instagram account.

It’s free for you to download right here:

2 Comments · Filed Under: Instagram, Marketing, Social Media

10 Tips to Double Your Instagram Followers in 30 Days

- April 8, 2015 | by April -

InstagramSanFranMug

When I announced the Instagram Inspiration Challenge a couple weeks ago, two things happened: I realized how many of you also love Instagram and that many of you are semi-new to the platform.

My partner in crime (and business), Mayi Carles, tried to persuade me to join Instagram when the hype started. My reaction: groan, grumble, groan. I didn’t want to join another social media platform.

But, I should’ve listened to Mayi right away and not waited another eight months before finally biting the banana.

Instagram is my jam.

Spending the day taking and editing photos is up there with an Anthropologie shopping spree for me—that’s how much I enjoy it. Plus, my target market (i.e., creative entrepreneurs…you guys!) is all about that Instagram.

Like anything new, I dove in headfirst. I don’t know how to just dip my toe into anything…it’s not my nature. Thanks for that, Mom!

I’ve learned a lot about what works and what doesn’t. What grows a following and what stifles it.

And, I want to share it with you, because if you’re a creative entrepreneur, you really should be using Instagram to grow your brand. It’s the place to be nowadays so bite the banana and let’s do this.

Over the past thirty days I’ve nearly doubled my following on Instagram and you can easily do the same if you spend some time improving your presence. You with me?

Drum roll….

Here are the ten tips that will help you improve your Instagram account and double your followers in one month:

InstagramWatercolorPensTriangles

1. Keep it cohesive.

Out of all of the tips I give you, this one is the most important.

When I started my Instagram account, I was all over the place with the type of pictures that I was sharing: lots of sad selfies, flowers I found on walks, smoothies and doggies gone wild. That might’ve been fine if that represented my brand, but it didn’t.

If you scroll through my profile, you’ll see the exact moment I sharpened my focus. I recognized that if I wanted you to follow me on Instagram, I needed to get very clear on what you’d get from me if you did.

This doesn’t mean that I can’t share all different types of photos but they all need to feel like they belong. For me, that means I needed to combine two things in every photo: my distinct photo styling and editing. When I blend those two things, each photo has a similar “feel.”

The other themes for my Instagram account are: soft, white space with pops of color, and the combination of vintage and modern. Do you get that when you look at the most recent forty photos of my account? I sure hope so.

Those forty photos are how I’ve doubled my following in about thirty days.

There are tons of ways to make your account feel cohesive. You could focus on family and fabric or fashion and florals or patterns and color.

Whatever you decide, give yourself enough room so that you don’t feel creatively suffocated but focused enough that all the photos feel like they should be there.

InstagramCirlcesBrushPalette

2. Edit your photos.

After building a cohesive page, editing your photos is the second thing you need to do before adding each photo.

On Instagram it’s obvious what stands out: beautiful photos. You don’t get that by publishing unedited photos.

My favorite apps for iPhone photos are: Facetune for selfies (see the magic that happens when you whiten your teeth, give your lashes a bit more detail and smooth over your crow’s feet) and Afterlight for everything else.

I find beauty in photos that are more natural, but even those photos often need a little tweaking whether that be boosting the light or getting rid of the bluish tint.

InstagramBandWShoes

3. Edit what you share.

Stop sharing every photo you take. Like my friend Mayi says, “You shouldn’t share the photos that only Granny really wants to see.”

Remember that you want to build a cohesive account.

For every photo you see me share, there are at least twenty that don’t make the cut. Keep those for your family albums.

InstagramWatercolorDrops

4. Take lots of photos so that you have lots to choose from.

When I’m sharing a selfie, I take at least twenty different options, trying out lots of different angles and light. You want to share your best self.

When I post a photo of vase of flowers, I can guarantee that I took at least fifteen different options and usually it’s more like thirty or fifty.

If you want people to follow you, you’ve got to work for it. Give them a reason to add your account to their feed by taking this seriously.

And, remember that your Instagram account is a reflection of your brand. You want it to be a positive reflection or what’s the point?

InstagramMetallicsFlorals1

5. Don’t just settle for the photos you take on your phone.

Another thing I did that made a huge difference to the quality of photos I share and helped me gain a lot more followers is posting photos I took with my “real” camera.

You don’t have to have a DSLR or anything fancy, but don’t just use photos you take on your phone. Use your camera to take photos for your Instagram account, edit them on your computer with Photoshop or Pic Monkey, email them to yourself, open the email on your phone, save the photos to your camera roll and then you can pull them up via Instagram. It sounds like a lot of steps but it isn’t really, especially when you do this in batches.

InstagramGoldClipsBunch

6. Be social. Engage with your followers.

I get so frustrated when someone tells me that a social media platform isn’t working for her and I take a look and she isn’t social on it. Are you kidding me?

Instagram is a social media platform. Social being the operative word so get social. I spend about ten minutes a day clicking on the profiles of people who like and comment on my photos and like and comment on some of their photos. Spread the goodwill and it’ll come back to you tenfold.

InstagramWatercolorMe

7. Write thoughtful captions and use hashtags wisely.

Even though photos on Instagram take top priority, your captions matter. The better the caption, the more likes and comments you’ll get. Take a few minutes to write something that’s filled with your personality instead of rushing to post. I promise you’ll see a difference in engagement.

You also want to take some time to think of the hashtags you use for each photo. That’s how people who aren’t following you will find your photos. When deciding on hashtags, try to think in specifics.

For example, if you use #pancakes for your hashtag, it’s gonna get buried much faster than if you use #blueberrypancakes #blueberrypancakerecipe and #glutenfreepancakerecipe.

Did you know that one of the top reasons people unfollow others on social media is the misuse of hashtags? It’s true. We don’t like spammy people who are just trying to get people to click on their photos. Only use relevant hashtags unless you want to irritate your followers.

InstagramHoneyPot

8. Join an Instagram challenge.

One of the main reasons I started the Instagram challenge for this month is to help all of us creative Belles find one another on the platform. And, it’s working! Not only have many more of you started following me, but you’ve also started following each other by searching for the hashtag #BelleInstaInspiration.

My husband is participating in the challenge because he’s just that awesome and supports his wife. Swoon. And, on the first day, I remember him saying that he got more likes and comments on his photo than any of his previous photos on Instagram.

It’s a social platform so you’ll be more successful if you join social things and connect with others who have similar interests and values.

InstagramBookmark

9. Plan things out. Start a content calendar. Be consistent.

I recently told a lovely creative entrepreneur that she should plan out the content she’s going to share on Instagram and I could feel the eye roll in her response.

Here’s the thing: when you plan this stuff out, it actually makes it easier.

It might sound like a lot of work at first, but it will actually cut down on the time you spend on social media. I pinky promise.

If you’re serious about growing your Instagram following and using it to promote your business, I suggest posting one to three photos a day. That way, people start to take notice of your photos and pay more attention to them. You build trust with your followers and that’s everything when it comes to marketing your online business.

I’ve set a rule for myself to post one to two pictures a day. But, I don’t take new photos for Instagram every single day. That wouldn’t be a good use of my time. Instead, I’ll spend thirty minutes twice a week taking photos for multiple days.

InstagramClipsPink

10. Do something worthy of sharing.

The other big way to grow your following fast is for others to share your handle/profile and photos (regram) with their followers. If you want others to encourage their followers to follow you, you’ve got to do something worthy of sharing.

That could mean that you have a beautiful profile with gorgeous photos that people can’t wait to share. It could mean hosting your own Instagram challenge. It could mean that you give people a reason to use a hashtag and search for that hashtag to find others. It could mean hosting a giveaway—giving away something that everyone wants (like a Life is Messy Kitchen cookbook!).

InstagramLIMK

There you have it, my ten tips to improve your Instagram game and double your followers in one month.

I know this might seem like a lot of work, but if you want people to add you to their feeds and give you their attention, you’ve got to give them a good reason to do so. We’re all busy and everybody is vying for our attention.

Stand out among the clutter instead of adding to it!

I’d love to hear from you. Is there a tip that you’d add that I didn’t cover? What have you done to grow your Instagram following? Have you done any of these things and if so, did it work? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.

49 Comments · Filed Under: Instagram, Social Media

Instagram Inspiration Challenge for the Month of April

- March 25, 2015 | by April -

InstagramInspirationApril

One of the questions I get asked over and over is: what type of content should I be sharing?

What should I blog about? What should I email my list about? What should I share on social media?

Sometimes we make this stuff way too difficult, because we’re overthinking it. It shouldn’t be that hard.

To get you inspired to share more photos on Instagram, I’ve created an Instagram Inspiration Challenge for the month of April. Creativity explodes when you’re given constraints. When you’ve got a focus, you’ll see that you come up with a lot more ideas. That’s the idea behind this challenge.

And if you want more people to follow you, you’ve got to be sharing new content regularly. Daily is even better.

Here’s how you participate:

1. Upload a photo on Instagram inspired by the phrase of the day. (Example: For April 1st, you want to publish a photo on Instagram inspired by “Life is Messy” and on April 2nd, you’ll publish a photo inspired by “Black and White.” And, you’ll continue throughout the month.) Do as many as you can…it’s okay to miss a day or two or more.

2. Include the hashtag #BelleInstaInspiration in the description of your photo so that we can find each others’ photos and follow each other!

3. Connect with the other women participating by searching for the hashtag #BelleInstaInspiration and like and comment on their photos. This challenge is about more than uploading content–it’s about connecting with each other and finding other creatives to follow on Instagram.

4. Download and print (right click and select “download linked file”) the list to keep at your desk as a daily reminder.

5. Comment below to let us know that you’re participating with the link to your Instagram profile.

And, because I want to make this challenge even more fun, I’ll be selecting a winner on May 1st.

That winner will receive: A Life is Messy Kitchen bundle ($67 value) that includes the digital kit, an artist signed copy of Life is Messy Kitchen and an exclusive coloring book with bonuses!

I’ll be picking the winner based on the person who participates the most and gives it her all. I’ll announce the winner right here on May 1st.

Belle Insta Winner

I’m publishing the list early in order to give you time to start planning and taking photos. I hope this challenge sparks your creativity.

173 Comments · Filed Under: Inspiration, Instagram, Social Media

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