How to Sell Blankets Online: Everything You Need to Know

Selling blankets online can turn into a profitable side hustle or even a full-time job if you’re lucky. But if you’re unsure how to get started or where to sell, we’ve got you covered.

In this blog post, we’ll discuss how to sell blankets online and the key steps you’ll need to take for success.

Quick Takeaways

• Pet, weighted, throw, quilts, personalized, and baby blankets are some of the more popular options for selling online.
• Popular places to sell blankets online include Etsy, Amazon Handmade, Shopify, Society 6, Walmart, Offerup, and Facebook Marketplace.
• When selecting a place to sell your items, look at commission fees, payment processing fees, shipping fees, monthly plan fees, and more to decide what’s best for you.
• Promote your business on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest, and optimize your site and product listings for the best results.

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Research and Define Your Audience and Niche

Whether you want to sell baby blankets, quilts for adults, or even pet blankies, it’s crucial to follow a few steps before you get started.

Identify Your Niche

The first step in selling blankets online is to identify your niche market. Who is your target audience? Are you selling to college students, families with young children, or older adults?

Understanding your audience’s preferences, needs, and expectations can go a long way in ensuring you succeed in the online marketplace.

Analyze Current Trends

Once you have defined your niche market, it’s time to analyze current trends. What types of blankets are popular right now? Are customers gravitating toward weighted, heated, or personalized? Is a specific material, pattern, or design popular right now?

By keeping up with the latest trends, you can offer your customers what they want and stay ahead of the game.

Define Your Target Customers

Before you can make money online, you’ll need to research your target market. This is because the type of blankets you sell will depend on your target market.

For example, if you want to target children and teenagers, you may want to sell blankets with bold designs and graphics. On the other hand, if you’re looking to target adults, you may want to sell more luxurious options like wool or cashmere. Choosing your target market is one of the most important steps in selling blankets online.

Types of Blankets to Sell Online

Now comes the fun part — deciding on the types of blankets you’ll sell. Here’s a look at popular blanket styles and designs to help you get started.

• Baby Blankets: Soft, cozy baby blankets designed specifically for infants and young children, often featuring cute patterns, animal designs, or personalized embroidery.
• Pet: Comfortable and durable and designed for pets, including dogs, cats, and other furry friends. These blankets can provide warmth, comfort, and a sense of security for pets.
• Throws: Versatile throws are typically used for snuggling up on the couch or adding a cozy touch to home decor. Throws come in various materials, sizes, and designs to suit different preferences.
• Weighted: These are filled with small weighted beads or materials to provide gentle pressure and promote relaxation. Weighted blankets are popular for improving sleep quality and reducing anxiety.
• Quilts: Traditional quilts are made by stitching together multiple layers of fabric, often with intricate patterns or designs. Quilts can serve both functional and decorative purposes.
• Fleece: Soft and lightweight and made from synthetic fleece material, known for its excellent warmth retention. Fleece is popular for outdoor activities and chilly nights.
• Electric: Equipped with heating elements to provide adjustable warmth. Electric options are sought after during colder seasons and offer customizable comfort.
• Luxury Bedding: High-quality, premium products made from luxurious materials such as cashmere, silk, or Egyptian cotton. These products are often part of a coordinated bedding set for an indulgent sleep experience.
• Outdoor: Durable and water-resistant and designed for outdoor activities like picnics, camping, and beach outings. Outdoor blankets often feature rugged materials and a portable design.
• Personalized: Customizable blankets that can be personalized with names, initials, or special messages. These make thoughtful gifts for special occasions like weddings, anniversaries, or birthdays.

Popular Blanket Styles

• Chunky Knit: Chunky knit is trendy and a great way to add texture to any room. Comes in various colors, sizes, and textures.
• Woven: Woven is popular as it is not just cozy but also vibrant. They come in different patterns, including stripes, checks, plaids, and geometric shapes.
• Fleece: Fleece is lightweight, warm, and comes in various prints and colors.
• Cable-Knit: Featuring interwoven cables, providing a classic and cozy look.
• Sherpa: Soft and plush, featuring a Sherpa or faux fur lining on one side, providing exceptional warmth and comfort.
• Fringed: Features decorative fringes along the edges, adding a touch of bohemian or rustic charm.

Popular Material Choices

• Cotton: Cotton is lightweight, soft, and durable and comes in different variations, such as Egyptian Cotton, Pima Cotton, and Organic Cotton.
• Wool: Wool is durable, warm, and comes in various colors and patterns. They also have a classic look, making them perfect for use in traditional or rustic-themed homes.
• Acrylic: Acrylic is an affordable alternative to wool, providing a warm, lightweight blanket option.
• Cashmere: Luxurious and ultra-soft, cashmere is prized for its exceptional quality and warmth.
• Fleece: Soft and cozy, fleece offers warmth and comfort while being lightweight and easy to care for.

Popular Blanket Designs

• Geometric Patterns: Geometric shapes, such as stripes, chevron, herringbone, or diamond patterns, offering a modern and contemporary look.
• Floral Patterns: Adorned with beautiful floral designs, ranging from delicate and intricate to bold and vibrant, perfect for adding a touch of elegance.
• Nature-Inspired Patterns: Showcasing nature motifs like leaves, trees, or landscapes, evoking a sense of tranquility and outdoor beauty.
• Abstract Patterns: Unique and artistic blanket designs with abstract shapes, lines, and colors, making a bold and eye-catching statement.
• Animal Prints: Animal prints, such as leopard, cheetah, and zebra, are trendy. They can completely transform the look of the room and give it a modern and edgy touch.

Additional Features to Consider

• Personalization: Offering customization options like monogramming or embroidery, allowing customers to add names, initials, or special messages.
• Size Variations: Providing different sizes, such as throws, twin, queen, or king sizes, to accommodate various needs and preferences.
• Sustainable Materials: Offering products made from eco-friendly and sustainable materials like organic cotton, bamboo, or recycled fibers, appealing to environmentally conscious customers.
• All-Season: Marketing blankets that are suitable for all seasons, either by using lightweight materials or incorporating temperature-regulating technologies.

Where to Source Blankets

If you don’t have the skills to crochet or knit blankets yourself, you can buy manufactured blankets instead.

When sourcing manufactured blankets for your online store, you have several options:

• Wholesale Suppliers: Connect with reputable wholesale suppliers who offer a wide variety of blanket styles and materials at discounted prices when purchased in bulk.
• Trade Shows and Exhibitions: Attend industry events to meet manufacturers and suppliers directly, compare products, and negotiate deals face-to-face.
• Online Marketplaces: Use online platforms like Alibaba or Made-in-China to explore a global network of manufacturers and suppliers, ensuring to verify their reliability and quality.
• Local Manufacturers: Consider partnering with local textile companies to support local production and potentially enjoy personalized service, shorter lead times, and reduced shipping costs.
• Dropshipping Suppliers: Opt for dropshipping to minimize inventory and logistics by partnering with suppliers who handle production, storage, and shipment directly to your customers.

Where to Sell Blankets Online

Not sure where to sell blankets online? While it can be helpful to sell in a few places to maximize your sales, we’ve included some of the more popular and profitable options below.

Etsy

This platform is a dream come true if you’re looking to sell handmade blankets. With millions of active buyers, Etsy is a powerhouse in the online marketplace industry. Etsy allows you to easily set up an online store and start selling.

Cost:

• $0.20 per item listing fee, total sale price fee of 6.5%, including shipping costs, and payment processing fees for U.S.-based sellers of 3% plus $0.25 of the total sale.

Amazon Handmade

Amazon Handmade is a marketplace that connects handmade artisans with customers from all over the world. If you sell handmade blankets, you can create a profile, upload your items, and start selling.

Amazon’s popularity gives you a broader audience, and since Amazon handles shipping and customer service, sellers can worry less about logistics and focus more on creating. Keep in mind that Amazon Handmade has a strict review process to ensure only handmade items get listed, giving customers peace of mind.

Cost: 15% referral fee

Shopify Website

Shopify is a great option for those looking to create a standalone e-commerce store to sell blankets online. However, this means you’ll be in charge of marketing, shipping, and everything else that comes with running your own business.

On the other hand, with Shopify, you will have full control over your online brand. Additionally, Shopify has various integrations with social media platforms, email marketing services, and more, allowing blanket makers to easily expand their sales channels. Shopify does have a monthly fee, but it is a worthwhile investment for those looking to take their online business seriously.

Cost: $39 per month and 2.9% + $0.30 for credit card rates for the basic membership (includes your store, product shipping, and payment processing)

Facebook Marketplace

Facebook Marketplace allows users to buy and sell items locally. It’s a great option for those who want to sell their blankets to their community by offering local pickup (but you can also offer shipping options to non-local buyers).

With Facebook Marketplace, you can post photos of your blankets, set your own prices, and interact with potential buyers. Plus, unlike other platforms, Facebook Marketplace doesn’t charge any listing fees, which means more money in your pocket, whether you’re selling a throw blanket, baby blanket, or anything else.

Cost: Free

Society6

If you want to expand your product line and sell more than just blankets, consider Society6. This platform is an online marketplace that features artwork and designs from independent artists and designers. Blanket makers can upload their designs, which Society6 prints on demand and ships out to customers.

What’s great about Society6 is that you get to keep the rights to your designs, and they handle all the logistics for you. However, Society6 does take a hefty portion of each sale, greatly limiting what you’ll make on this platform.

Cost: You make 10% of the retail price of products sold

Instagram

Instagram is a social media platform where you can showcase your hand-sewn blankets and reach a vast audience. Using hashtags relevant to your niche can help attract potential buyers and drive traffic to your page.

You can create posts that showcase your products and use captions to highlight features such as size, color, and texture. Instagram also allows you to use shoppable posts, allowing your followers to purchase directly from your page. Take advantage of Instagram Stories to showcase your products and include links to where your followers can buy them.

Cost: Free

Walmart Marketplace

Walmart is one of the largest retail chains in the world, and they offer an online marketplace for sellers to feature their products. The Walmart marketplace allows you to list your blankets for free, with a commission fee of 6% to 15% on each sale.

This may seem steep, but it’s worth noting that Walmart has a massive customer base and offers great exposure for your products.

Cost: Referral fee per item sold, from 6%–15% depending on the product category.

OfferUp

OfferUp is a mobile app that allows you to buy and sell products in your local area. It’s an excellent option for selling blankets if you want to target a more local audience. OfferUp is entirely free to use, with no listing fees or commission fees.

However, the platform is not built for blanket sellers specifically. Therefore, it may take some extra effort to create attention-grabbing listings, and you might get hagglers who are looking for rock-bottom pricing.

Cost: Free

Bonanza

If you’d rather have your own online shop, Shopify is an all-in-one e-commerce platform that empowers entrepreneurs to create and manage an online store. With Shopify, you can build a professional online shop to sell your blankets with ease. The platform offers various themes and customization options to create a visually appealing storefront.

Cost:

• Final offer value fee is based on the sale amount, which includes shipping costs. Fees range from 3.5% of the total sale to a maximum $250 fee per item and a transaction fee of $0.25 per item if you don’t have a membership (which requires a booth, but booths are free).

How to Promote Your Blanket Business

Now that you know where to sell your blankets, from your own website to online marketplaces, here’s an overview of how to promote your business.

Building a Brand Identity

Branding is important for any business, and that goes for your blanket business too. Your brand needs to be memorable and easily recognizable. Start by creating a unique logo representing your business’s values and mission. You can hire an affordable graphic designer on Fiverr or create one yourself using online tools like Canva.

Next, consistently use your brand colors and typography across all your online platforms, including your website, social media profiles, and email marketing campaigns. This is crucial for creating brand recognition and trust among your target audience.

Content Marketing

Creating valuable content is critical for promoting your business online. You can start by creating a blog on your website and writing articles about topics related to your blankets. For example, you could write about the benefits of using a specific type of fabric for a throw or share creative ways to use a fleece throw around the home.

Another way to promote your business through content marketing is by creating videos or infographics that showcase your blankets in action. Share your content on social media platforms and email newsletters to reach a wider audience.

Product Descriptions

Your product descriptions can make or break your sales. Make them informative and engaging to stand out from the competition. Start with an attention-grabbing headline that summarizes the product’s key features. Next, write detailed descriptions by describing the material, size, color, and any other unique features of the blanket.

Don’t forget to include high-quality photos that showcase the blanket’s texture and pattern. This will help your customers envision how the blanket will look and feel in their homes.

For example, if you are trying to sell a baby blanket, you would highlight how you used a light, feather-soft, breathable fabric, but if you were selling a dog blanket, you would stress how you used fleece, which provides dogs with a soft blanket that will be harder for them to destroy.

Social Media Advertising

Social media advertising is an effective way to get your blanket business in front of your target audience. Platforms like Facebook and Instagram allow you to create highly targeted ads to reach potential customers based on their interests, age, gender, and location.

Remember, social media advertising requires a budget, but it’s a worthwhile investment if done correctly. Start with a small test budget and track the performance of your ads. Adjust your targeting, ad copy, and images based on the results to improve their effectiveness.

Even if you don’t dabble in paid advertising, you should still have a presence on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest, at minimum. You can create social media posts to help sell your items. Plus, building an online presence for your business signals to Google that you’re a legit seller and helps you build authority and trust, which can boost your SEO rankings.

Optimize Your Site for On-Page SEO

On-page SEO refers to optimizing your website to improve its rankings in search engines. You can achieve this by ensuring that your website’s pages have relevant content and are optimized with relevant keywords that describe your business.

You can also optimize your website for on-page SEO by using meta tags, title tags, header tags, and optimizing your images with alt tags. If you’re new to SEO, check out this post on SEO basics for online sellers.

Build High-Quality Backlinks

Link-building is a major aspect of SEO. You need to create high-quality backlinks to your website from other authoritative websites in your niche. This will help you to build your website’s authority and increase its visibility in search engine rankings.

You can start by reaching out to other relevant blogs and websites in your niche and asking them to link back to your website.

Final Thoughts

Getting your blanket business off the ground is easier than you think. You can open up an Etsy store, sell on Amazon, or set up your own e-commerce store if you’d rather have complete control and start selling your blankets ASAP.

To get more customers locally, try selling at local craft fairs in your area and farmer’s markets. Hand out business cards with your website’s address to get repeat business. From baby blankets to weighted throws, we hope this guide has helped you learn how to successfully open a blanket business.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where will you sell blankets online? Share in the comments below.

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