Ideas for Publicizing OU

[FreedomLover]

I know there are still people who wish they knew about this site. How can we get the word out?

I don't add things to Pinterest but I do have followers, so every so often I search on OU and add anything I find to my board.

I recently purchased gorgeous yarns from Hillview Farms and mentioned OU in my review.

I ordered yarn from Acorn Willows a while ago, and when I tried to go back and add a review I couldn't, it had probably been too long. Melissa is about to update her site so I guess I'll just have to order another skein and do this on her site as well. If some of you are about to tell me you're going to do this there, y'all need to hush up. JK (You can leave the review of course, just don't tell me about it, at least not yet.)

Are people still talking about this on YT? FB?

Any thoughts?

[Char]

I would like a megaphone :-)

I don’t know how to get picked up in search engines. I have googled Ravelry Alternative and nothing comes up. Crafting websites etc. nothing.

How does a website become on the list of searches?

[FreedomLover]

I would like one as well.

[Admin]

You can either pay to have a "sponsored" listing at the top using those words, or you have to have those words in the metadata for the site. The problem is I don't want to have our site listed as "ravelry alternative". It'd be great to come up in those searches but it's difficult without actually putting that content on our site.

[Char]

That makes sense Admin... but honestly - if I'm leaving Ravelry, I am probably googling something similar to see what is out there.

Such a hard thing to figure out. But - I tell everyone I run into that crafts about it.

[susanwayne]

In business, I know that we pay Google so that our name comes up in the beginning of a search rather than on page 900+ I'm not talking about the Google Ads which you pay for so that your site comes up as a separate listing. That's expensive. I mean throughout the Google searches. You also can have 'strings' of associated words to identify your site. For instance, buried into your site are words like, craft, yarn, crochet, etc. Then when people do a search for those terms, this site potentially will come up. I'm not sure how this is done, but I know that's how it works. I'll ask the guy who does our Google stuff for more information when he comes in. Bankers hours! LOL

I also know that by doing a lot of searches for the name will bring you towards the top of the searches. For instance, if enough people search for OU, find it no matter where it appears and drill down on it, eventually the Google algorithims will pick that name up and push it towards the top. If you are thinking you can beat their system, forget it. You can't do a search every hour on the hour from the same address bc the algorithm picks that up as well and you get penalized, pushing the name towards the bottom of the pack. Perhaps we could all Google this site once a day? Just a thought because I don't know how it would work for a site like this.

Need someone with IT background or maybe you could Google 'how to' and more information may be forth coming. Someone will have more/better knowledge about it.

[FreedomLover]

I will gladly Google this site once a day.

[Char]

Let’s see - In this house we have five phones, five tablets, one desktop, two chrome books ....

Yah - we can all search that. Lol

[susanwayne]

Already did!

[wheat]

susanwayne is absolutely right about google. However that there are many platforms where OUR can be mentioned and links shared.

OurUnraveled has a page on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/ourunraveled/
And I "assume" that once a new name has been finalized - that identity will also have a page
so if you have a FB account, be sure to like & follow and then perhaps like and comment posts to push itup in the FB rating system
Reactions (more than just like) also help with posts and comments.

for example, Facebook has 3 "push back" groups
Walk Away from Ravelry
https://www.facebook.com/groups/walkawayfromravelry/

UnRaveled: A group for exiled Ravelry knitters
https://www.facebook.com/groups/2346650612218322/

Ravelry is Unraveling
https://www.facebook.com/groups/ravelryisunraveling/

Several of us have "talked up" OUR in GAB which is both a free speech and a bit of the wild west of early internet types
Still - it has a crafts group and one or more of can usually manage a mention at least once a week or so.

Do some searches on alternative search engines, I use duckduckgo.com
guess I will have to do some test searches over there as well.

If you have a personal blog, mention OUR there - perhaps about a post that helped you, or about finding a home truly dedicated to Fiber -
Or, if you have also set up a project blog in OUR - mention that in your "off site" blog.

Let friends and family know you have found a new home for your fiber interests and tell them out to join.

If you happen to also be a member of another platform like USA.life - we have a small OUR page/group there too - like follow or whatever to show your interest and support.

If you are already in any of these groups, you can mention OUR or even just react when it is mentioned by others.

And don't get discouraged - OUR is already about a year or more ahead of where Rav was several years in
- some of what is happening here is already well ahead.

Neither Rome or Ravelry were built in a day or a even a year, but DAMN _ Mr/Mrs Admin have done more than is even humanly reasonable in less than 2 months.

Do what you can, and every little bit will help. It is about a positive future with the negative behind us as a "life lesson learned"

But the important thing is for us all to get back to
Taking the time to
Enjoy The Making
Wheat

[FreedomLover]

I agree! What Mr. and Mrs. Admin have done is remarkable, I just see new members posting that they are so happy to have finally found OUR, and I want everyone who wants an alternative but still hasn't found OUR to know it is here. (BTW there is also a Boycott R group on FB. I'm not on FB but DH is and joined to see what others were doing when this first blew up. That's how I found OUR.)

Thanks for your suggestions.

[ilexedits]

Bravo!!!

[hereami]

I just asked my local LYS to join this site, and put their Yarn Crawl up on the events and calendar.

Not only so the site can grow...but so the shop can.
I see it as a positive for all involved.

Only other way I am helping is by word of mouth.

Perhaps I should make a shirt and wear it when I am out and about. Might be great advertising when I am going to crafty places.

What about bumper stickers. It is trendy to put them on water bottles and the outside of laptop computers right now.

[SDMcDaniel]

I'm a youtuber. I'm always on you tube looking for new crochet stitches, or to get inspiration, or to look up music groups I like and what not, and I have been trolling the 'Leaving Ravelry' videos. Each one I come across I comment and talk about this site, and encourage crafters to check it out. I also posted about this site on my Creative Craftopia page on facebook. Those are my contributions to this site, I wish it could be more.

[Rose the Rebel]

I'm a news junky and I think there are more than a few media outlets that would bring lots of attention to this site. Tucker Carlson features craziness like what's going on at r all the time. Then there's Judge Janine Piro, and a few morning people on fox that do the same. Also, I think Glen Beck would talk about it on his radio show. Maybe some connections can be found through the news aggregate site whatfinger.com.
I found OUR from a post on a blog I was reading. If we all start leaving hints around, word will spread much faster.

[susanwayne]

To All: Regarding Google searches. Even if you have loads of equipment at your address, you need to make sure they are not all using the same IP address. That's where Google will catch you. (sing song tune) --> Have you done your googling today? I have!

[FreedomLover]

I did and the site comes right up for me.

[hereami]

Just used Google to find this site.

All I had to type in was.... OurU... this site was the top in the listings to choose from.

woo hoo

[Hellokitten]

I found this site when everything blew up at Ravelry and several people on Ravelry mentioned this site and Open Ravel. So I joined pretty early. I have given the links to several friends on R.

Originally I found Ravelry by searching the internet for knitting patterns. I joined up after awhile. Later I found the groups which were my cup of tea. So, I came for the patterns, and stayed for the groups.

Having a pattern database will attract many crafters. The faster we can build that, the more they will come.

[annekepoot]

I agree - I mostly used the site to search for patterns and to get help for problems that YouTube couldn't solve. Secondary was saving my project information. I don't accumulate stash so never bothered with that function.

[Hellokitten]

annekepoot I have minimal stash, too. My thrifty nature likes to find ways to use things up. I didn't particularly care about my project info.

But yes, having a pattern search engine with filters was huge. Looking forward to the day when they can develop such a thing here.

I learned to knit in the dark ages and taught myself. Also learned to solve my own errors, etc. But I really enjoy brainstorming with other knitters and getting new inspiration.

[wheat]

It all takes time - but yes such a search function is in the plans.

[Hellokitten]

Excellent. I'm patient.

[Amore]

Check the Marketplace. You'll find that a well-thought-out pattern search engine already exists. All we need is more vendors.

[Hellokitten]

Oh! See, I never would have looked there. Thanks for directing me there.

I think there needs to be a big header sending people to Patterns. Because, like I said, some of us need neon lights or we just drift around, clueless......

[5xhappy]

Hellokitten agree, a yuge header or a link on top of a home page.

[qfknit]

Admin, would you be interested in creating a sticky note at the top of these places... pointing to the OU Marketplace... to raise awareness of it and provide a link to it, in a handy, convenient location for those who are looking for patterns...?

1) Forums > Knitting > Knitting Patterns (https://vb.ourunraveled.com/forum/kn...tting-patterns)
2) Forums > Crochet > Crochet Patterns (https://vb.ourunraveled.com/forum/cr...ochet-patterns)
3) Groups > Free Knitting and Crochet Patterns (https://vb.ourunraveled.com/sguncate...ochet-patterns)

[qfknit]

I know there are still people who wish they knew about this site. How can we get the word out?

To help publicize OurUnraveled forum & marketplace, are there #hashtags on social media related to knitting, crochet, and even one for OurUnraveled...?
It might be helpful to make a list of those and encourage their use.

(I am not on facebook, twitter, instagram, snapchat, etc.)