Payhip and discount codes

Whilst we wait for the new website to be finished - and I know, it’s been a long wait as I explain in another post - I’ve used the Payhip shopping cart on this website. It’s quite possible that once the new website is finished I’ll keep my Payhip store open, I’m not sure yet.

But in the meantime I’ve been slowly building more resources to help folks using Payhip and today I’m sharing a photo step-by-step guide to using discount codes with their cart.

Before I start I’d like to re-emphasise the golden rules about using discounts!

1. If the code doesn’t seem to work, or you can’t see where to apply the code, DO NOT proceed to checkout and pay - because I’m unable to reimburse you. I’ve over 10,000 members in The Woolly Hat Society and tens of thousands of followers on social media, which are amazing feats, but it also means that it’s impossible for me to personally rectify any problems with discount codes because there’s only one of me back here working on this.

2. All of the codes I provide - whether they be Etsy, Ravelry, Payhip or anywhere else - all need to be applied BEFORE you proceed to the Paypal or Stripe checkout. What I mean by this is that all the codes are specific to the platform where the products are available, and not the cart provider. Trying to use a code once you’ve reached Paypal or Stripe simply won’t work.

OK, now that that’s covered, let me show you how the discount codes work with Payhip!

The image shows the crown of my Everglade pattern. It features the post title “Using Discount Codes via Payhip”

1) If you use the temporary cart on this website this part will look a little different, but for now I want to focus on using the Payhip store directly as that’s where discounts are primarily used. The example I’m showing here is for my Cuboidal collection but it’ll be the same for anything in my Payhip store.

Whether you click ‘Add to Cart’ or ‘Buy Now’ is up to you. Just bear in mind that you can only use one discount code at a time, and all of the platforms are the same about this.

2) Once you’ve added the item to your cart, the cart will pop up and showing you what’s in your basket. If you’re not adding anything else to the cart then click ‘Checkout’.

3) This is how the Payhip cart appears. Because Payhip doesn’t have a membership option, it doesn’t remember you. So before it can proceed with anything it needs to know who you are - your email address and your name need to be added. It won’t let you skip this part, because it won’t let you checkout if it doesn’t know where to email the download link!

4) So fill these bits in and let it know where you’d like the download link to be sent. It asks for your name as Payhip has a review system, and for reviews to be authentic a realistic first and last name is needed. But you can use a pseudonym here if you prefer.

Note that I’ve used a made up email address here - if you want your download link to arrive then you’ll need to use the email address that you use most often.

And right under where you add your surname you’ll see the ‘Add Coupon’ link in blue.

5) The wording on this is a bit odd, but I also suggest you check the ‘Send me Product Updates’ box. If you don’t check this then you won’t receive any update notices to patterns or eBooks, and they’re mighty important. Updates through Ravelry are automatic but because Payhip is a UK company and takes GDPR law very seriously, it explicity requires that you opt in to get updates - so please do!

6) Once you’ve done all of that, hit the ‘Add Coupon’ link that’s below the surname field and you’ll see this screen pop up - this is where you add your code!

I always always suggest folks copy+paste the code I provide in the newsletters to make sure no misspellings or rogue spaces and characters get in the way - you wouldn’t believe how often I get emails about a failed code that turned out to be a typing error.

7) Once you’ve added the code, the Payhip cart quite annoyingly asks you for your name and permission to get pattern updates again. I don’t know why it does this, I’m not a coder and only use their cart service, but I suggest you add your name again and check the box again - it won’t let you proceed to checkout without your name as a minimum.

The example I’ve shown here is how the screen looks with a 100% discount code, it’ll look a little different with a discount code of a different value.

8) You can now download the pattern and a copy of the download email will be sent to you. Please PLEASE keep the download email in a safe place, maybe set up a folder within your email program for pattern and digital purchases, as if you ever lose or misplace the file you can retrieve it via the download email, and that’s an awful lot quicker and more efficient than emailing me to ask for a new link!

9) If the discount code has a value other than 100%, then apply the code as shown in step 6 will result in a different screen. Here you will see the original price of the item and the price you have to pay after the discount - this shows you that the discount has worked.

You’ll then click the ‘Continue with Purchase’ button.

10) You’ll then be taken to a screen where you can choose your payment preference, but like before you’ll need to enter your details and check the update box again. From here you’ll then be taken to Paypal to complete the purchase, and once that’s done you’ll see the same screen shown in step 8.

I do hope this helps! By all means leave a comment below with any questions. The Payhip cart has a couple of quirks that are a little annoying but it does all work and the benefits make it an overall very useful system indeed.

Test vs Beta vs Preview

Before the beta knit for Cuboidal, I’d only run one other beta knit, and that was for the Imperceptions collection. Neither of these were or are test knits, they’re early access to patterns that are fully tested and working, just not in their final layout.

For years I had test knitters, and they were amazing. We worked within a private group where we talked through a number of issues, and they were also paid. Not a lot, granted, as my budget would never stretch to paying anyone a decent rate to knit a Hat, but it wasn’t free labour either. Test knitting had to come to an end when I moved my business to Estonia to Brexit-proof it 5 years ago as I couldn’t pay anyone without an invoice or service agreement, meaning the admin for testers became too much.

Alongside those testers I always used tech editors. In fact there’s only a handful of my patterns that have only been reviewed by one tech editor; using two tech editors is my norm and on occasion have used three. My paid testers were never a replacement for tech editors, more that I worked with them together to help inform the pattern and improve my process.

That’s not to say that my process isn’t as good now that I’m no longer using testers, more that my process has changed. I had 12 years of pattern writing and working with testers under my belt when things had to change; instead of talking through various details with my testers I now do that with my editors. My editors may not knit the whole design but they will swatch and test sections of it, and they’re highly skilled in being able to read a pattern and see how it all fits together - which is a skill I lack, as I need to knit it to understand it!

Test knitting, what’s expected of it and how it fits into a designer’s process, is different for different people. I’ve never been keen on asking folks to work for nothing and similarly, wouldn’t expect them to work for nothing and be responsible for making sure the pattern is clear. But not everyone’s in a position to pay and I get why designers go that route.

With all that in mind, I’ve been careful to not call these beta knits test knits. I’ve reiterated that the feedback form is there for anything folks feel needs feedback, but it’s not there because they need to look for things. I’m not asking anyone to make sense of the process or dissect it, rather I’m asking folks to trust the process and knit it, then let me know how it went. And I’m reminding folks that these patterns have been through a very thorough editing process, that they work, they’re just not in layout yet.

All that said, I’m realising that this isn’t clear, and that some folks are still seeing a beta knit as a test knit. It’s not the case for everyone, which only confirms to me that the whole concept of test knitting is pretty muddy. But I think folks are looking for things to comment on, because they believe they should, and in turn not only is that causing folks to not trust the process but it’s also burning through my already limited bandwidth.

front view of ‘Nettare’, a stranded colourwork design, one of two new designs due for publication in the coming season

rear view of ‘Nettare’, a stranded colourwork design, one of two new designs due for publication in the coming season

side view of ‘Riverbero’, a sideways slipped stitch colourwork design, one of two new designs due for publication in the coming season

rear view of ‘Riverbero’, a sideways slipped stitch colourwork design, one of two new designs due for publication in the coming season

Going forward I think I’m not going to do beta knits anymore, and instead I’ll have previewers. The one key difference is that the pattern will more likely be in final layout, which is something that’s been a big issue with this latest beta knit. It’ll make it trickier working on new collections as eBook layout takes a fair amount of time and planning, and getting that done ahead of previews will be quite the juggling act!

Yet I think this will work better. It’ll help make the point that I’m not asking you to work for nothing; that what you’re getting is a finished pattern, looking polished, and that you’ll get early access. If you can leave a review, even better. But, with the exception of errors, the pattern is done and ready to be published.

Patreon supporters will get first dibs on previewer slots - it is their support after all that allows me to do this and it’s only fair they get early access. The remaining slots will go out via the newsletter for The Woolly Hat Society and I’ll be suggesting that folks who are in a position to buy the pattern may want to let someone who isn’t take the slot. The number of available slots isn’t decided yet, I think that’ll take a little while to get right, but each route will get a limited number of slots to always ensure subscribers get a chance.

The two new designs shown above - ‘Nettare’, a vertically knit stranded colourwork Hat, and ‘Riverbero’, a sideways knit slipped stitch colourwork Hat - are both tech edited, in layout and ready to go. I’ve not yet decided which will be the first available for preview, or when, I still need to get through releasing Cuboidal! But I thought I’d offer a taste of what’s to come, and if you’re interested in being a previewer, especially if your knitting budget can’t always stretch to buying patterns, then you might want to sign up if you haven’t already.

I’m not always going to be able to give such advance notice of new designs, btw! But I like the idea of offering previews to patrons and subscribers - it’ll add an extra dimension to The Woolly Hat Society, another perk to joining and maintaining membership. In the meantime, I’ll start drafting an article covering the preview guidelines so that folks know what is and isn’t expected of them.

Received a 'gift' pattern via Ravelry today? Let me explain...

Since I stopped using Ravelry’s cart on this website and switched to Payhip, whilst we wait for the new website build, one thing I’ve been keen to do is merge my 2 Ravelry stores. I’ve managed to do that today, albeit not in the most straightforward way, by gifting your purchases from one Ravelry Pro account to another.

Before I go any further, let me provide a bit of background information.

I used to have a Ravelry shopping cart on this website, but I removed it when they launched their new site which caused migraines, seizures and more for many users. The current cart runs alongside my Payhip store but that’ll eventually be replaced when the new site is ready.

When I used the Ravelry cart, and because I wanted to sell in €€ on this site and $$ on Ravelry, I needed to create a 2nd Ravelry Pro account - what’s known as a ‘publisher account’. I really didn’t need most of it’s features but it allowed me to offer 2 different currencies which was mighty helpful to a lot of folks, although it wasn’t without it’s issues.

These 2 Ravelry Pro accounts - what essentially is my designer account and my publisher account - are not connected at all. They’re entirely separate back-end. Which has meant 2 lots of uploads for me, 2 lots of coupon codes, 2 lots of fees, 2 lots of updates and more. It was worth it to maintain the option of an alternative currency but that 2nd account is now completely redundant.

Fast forward to now, with me having reformatted all of my single patterns in their shiny new layout with their fancy new ISBNS, I’m needing to merge these 2 accounts before I start updating all the files. This is often talked about on the Ravelry forums and designers are advised to email staff to request a merge. Except when I emailed in I was told it simply wasn’t possible and forum users were misinformed.

Which is a shame, as I didn’t want folks who’d purchased through that account to miss out on the new pattern versions, or any updates for that matter.

Logistically, I can’t maintain both stores. Our internet isn’t great at the best of times and I’m one of the folks affected by Ravelry’s new site. I’m not affected as badly as others and yes I use some of the free skins that generous coders have created, but none of the options - whether they be Ravelry’s native options or the skins or browser plug-ins - do much for the Pro area. And the Pro area is where I spend most of my time when I’m on Ravelry.

And briefly to pre-empt any questions: yes the accessibility issue is real, no Ravelry haven’t fixed it, yes I’ve tried all the options and no we’re not Maga Trolls. There’s a lot been written about this already by many folks more knowledgeable than me :)

And so the only way for me to realistically manage this - to ensure customers who purchased through the old €€ account get their updates - is to manually transfer all of the purchases with Ravelry usernames to my main $$ store. It’s a big task, but much much easier than trying to maintain 2 stores in the long run.

I’m only doing this for active Ravelry accounts as these transferred purchases appear as gifts from me and I don’t want to be sending download emails to folks who’ve closed their accounts because they no longer can use the site. Many folks may have purchased via the old cart without using a Ravelry username but unfortunately there’s no way for me to know the difference, and so I’m being cautious and only transferring and sending updates to active Ravelry accounts, not email addresses.

I’m able to send an item to many recipients at once although the system is a little slow when there’s hundreds of purchases for one pattern. And it’s likely that you may receive several gift notifications but I’ve no real other way, besides posting here and in my Ravelry group, of letting everyone know what’s going on with their Ravelry purchases. Please accept my apologies for the extra emails or any concern!

If you’ve received a download email and you don’t remember purchasing the pattern, it’s possible you used one of the newsletter coupon codes that gave you a free pattern of mine. Or maybe a friend bought it for you as a gift. Or maybe you purchased it a long time ago and don’t really remember. Unfortunately I can’t help with any of that, but I can assure you that that pattern or eBook was already attached to your Ravelry username. All that’s happening here is that the pattern, that you already have in your Ravelry library, is being transferred from one Ravelry store to the other to ensure you get the latest updates. It’ll appear as a duplicate in your library and you’ll likely get a fresh download email but you won’t have been charged anything extra :)

eta/ I’m looking at options for folks who can no longer use Ravelry, or didn’t have active accounts when they purchased, to receive the patterns and therefore updates they’re entitled to. I haven’t forgotten you at all, I promise!

That’ll take a little more work and it’s not something I can really do until I’ve got the new website functioning properly. Once that’s in place, we may set up a google form or something so that you can tell us how you’d like me to proceed. Everyone who purchases a pattern through the Ravelry system signs up for updates via the Ravelry system, so this was easier to do on that front.

I do hope this is all clear, my eyes are mighty sore already from doing so much back-end on Ravelry today!

eta2/ I’ve updated this post to re-iterate that no-one’s getting charged anything extra for this. I appreciate this has concerned a few folks and I am very sorry about that! But the download email is showing “you’ve received a pattern from Woolly Wormhead” and not “you’ve purchased a pattern from Woolly Wormhead”.

The Value of the Work we Create

The idea of offering something for free suggests that you’re getting a bargain, that you’re getting something for free that shouldn’t be. Yet when the same things, or the same types of things, are routinely given away for free that message changes. Those items lose their value. People start expecting those things to be free; they don’t see why they should pay when they can get something similar for free elsewhere.

Giving something away for free is a common sales tactic. Commercial yarn companies have forever given patterns away for free to drive sales of yarn. They devalued the patterns their staff were paid to develop because they never saw the pattern as the product, only a tool to drive sales of tangible goods. And it’s a problem that hurts indie pattern designers, authors and teachers the most, especially those of us who aren’t comfortable financially. How can we make a living when folks have been taught that a pattern, article or tutorial doesn’t have any value of it’s own?

The image shows the crown of my Bellefleur pattern. It features the post title “Reconsidering the Value of the Work we Create”

When the ‘ink to link’ revolution came to the yarn industry it opened up whole new options for customers. It meant that those designers could manage book errata and keep knitters in the loop about revisions. It meant knitters could have the choice of both to suit their needs - a hard copy for the bookshelf and a digital copy to print and make notes on, or use on their device when out and about. There are many upsides to offering the digital alongside the tangible because there are many benefits to the digital product itself. Yet it wasn’t without drawbacks.

Some concerns speak to the wider issue of classism in the fibre industry, in terms of not having the financial privilege it takes to invest in your business or new trends and therefore fail to grow at the same rate as your peers; and in terms of expectations from customers and being compared to other indies when those privileges, or lack of, aren’t acknowledged.

Those issues aside, I couldn’t help but wonder why these books were being promoted as coming with a free PDF when we’d spent so much time and effort building up the notion that our PDF patterns were a product of value in and of themselves. Why undo all of that work and make it harder for the rest of us? I’m sure that wasn’t the intention but that was the impact all the same.

When it boils down to it, despite the differences in preference and the logistics of using each, the fundamental difference between a digital book and a physical book is the amount of paper one has. The content is exactly the same, yet one is considered more valuable than the other because of it’s tangible qualities.

In my mind it comes back to the same thing that yarn companies build on - tangible items are considered more important than intangible items because of the materials and direct costs involved. The work involved in creating and developing and designing goes largely unseen, and therefore undervalued. We know the materials cost money because we’re told that all time, but we’re not told the same about the actual work. It’s a default position in many industries but it seems particularly prevalent in creative industries.

As indie designers we don’t design patterns to sell yarn, we design patterns to sell patterns. We don’t write books to sell paper, we write books to sell the content of our books. Our work provides hours upon hours of entertainment. It teaches new skills and techniques, it provides insight into different perspectives and helps us grow as a community.

Our work absolutely has value so how do we shift this perspective? How can we as an industry and community support our talents without relying on privilege?

One thing we can do is change our language and reframe how we present our content, or for want of a better phrase, our intellectual products or digital goods. Each time a pattern, article or tutorial is given away for free, that emphasis on the “free” makes it harder for us to ask a fair price for our work.

Instead of saying that a book with a download code has a “free PDF”, start stating that the price is for both. Give the digital item the same weight as the tangible item. The ordering of items can have an impact, too, as we subconsciously expect to the see the more important items listed first.

I long since gave up on print as I’ve never been in a position to pay for a print run on one book let alone all of them, and I’ve been a big proponent of POD - print on demand - because of this. When I set my book prices through Magcloud whenever possible I get it set so that I earn the same on a print book as I do a digital book. Why should I earn less on those sales purely because paper comes into it?

I’ve a lot of free patterns and tutorials on this website, a LOT. Yet without the support of my Patreons I wouldn’t be able to continue producing them let alone host them. On each blog post you’ll see a message that publicly thanks my Patreons for their support. That message also serves as a reminder that these patterns and tutorials aren’t without cost; that they’re paid for, and are paid for through patronage.

This is something that can be used by folks who want to continue providing free patterns, tutorials or articles because they don’t feel that they can, or don’t want to, charge for them for different reasons. Patreon may not work for everyone, and different business models exist. The vast majority of folks who give this kind of content away for free know it isn’t free to produce so why not say that? As I said in my recent Twitter thread about this it’s all well and good for companies to say their staff have been paid fairly for their work, but that does little to give an actual value to our time and skills when it’s routinely given away for free.

Language that could be used along these lines might include “this free pattern is sponsored by sales of our yarn” or “this article has been supported by our club members”. These simple statements add transparency and bring some of the hidden costs to the forefront. And I think for this to really be of benefit it doesn’t want to be said once on a mission page or similar, it wants to be said each and every time. It needs to be implicitly tied to the actual content that’s being consumed.

If you want to give back to the community, rephrasing that as “in exchange of the time and skills shared with me by my fellow knitters, I’m offering this pattern without charge” or “as a thank you for the invaluable knowledge shared by this community, I’m donating this tutorial” might work. Or how about “as a thank you for the time and skill it took to write this pattern, can I ask that you make a charitable donation?”. I’m not the greatest wordsmith, numbers and sequences are my thing, but it seems wise to me to not conflate ‘cost’ with ‘charge’ if you’re happy to give your work away for free. Words such as ‘exchange’ or ‘donate’ carry implications of value that ‘free’ doesn’t. This is something each of us can think about and add our own spin to, yet these little changes could go a very long way.

If you’re a yarn company or yarn store, instead of offering a pattern free with a yarn purchase, perhaps stating that the price is for both would help make it clear that there’s more than one item of value in the purchase, or maybe reframe it as a kit. It’s that idea of giving the pattern equal weight at the point of sale again. Instead of “buy this yarn and get this pattern for free!” could “$9 discount when you buy this pattern and yarn together!” work? If you’re thinking well, I’ve already factored the costs of the pattern into the yarn price, maybe don’t? Maybe consider the yarn and pattern as separate items with costs and charges of their own?

For this to work on a larger scale folks are going to need to start thinking of the intangible as equal to the tangible. Yet we can bring about the changes needed by thinking about the impact of our own actions and words. There are many ways to present our work and say a similar thing without continually devaluing our ideas and skills over and over. Wouldn’t it be amazing if we, as a community, got to a point where folks could openly and confidently question whether a designer, teacher or author has been compensated fairly when they see something offered for free?

eta/ I don’t particularly like the word ‘content’, although I’ve used it here as it’s the current catchword and it seems relevant in these discussions right now. I’ve even changed the post title and main image as the word was grating on me. Can please lift us all up by calling our work what it is - designing, writing, teaching, editing, creating?

Post Webinar Discussion

If you attended our recent webinar on Considering Classism in the Fibre Industry you’ll have heard us suggest continuing the discussion online, especially on Twitter, using the suggested hashtag of #YarnIsForEveryone. There’s already a few folks spamming the tag but for the most part, the discussion has been lively and interesting and welcomed. If you couldn’t attend please don’t feel you can’t join the discussion because you absolutely can!

Please do bear in mind that neither myself, Karie or Shannon are in any way able to have this discussion come into our inboxes. And honestly, neither should it - this is something we need to talk about amongst ourselves, out loud. It doesn’t just affect us three, it affects everyone - whether you work in this industry or not.

Please also note that we’re not asking for feedback on the webinar itself, but instead are asking that we all discuss the issues raised. Right now there isn’t a public link to the webinar, that’s something I need to work on and my to-do-list has a life on it’s own, but you can follow the discussion via the hashtag and share your thoughts there.

The image shows the crown of my Muratura pattern. It features the post title “Post Webinar Discussion, #YarnIsForEveryone”

I started a Twitter thread of my own on the topic, but as I often fall out with Twitter or hide my account for a while when my head crashes, I thought I’d share my expanded thoughts here. I hope this’ll help folks who aren’t able to, or won’t, use Twitter.

By all means comment below or share your thoughts via the hashtag. I will be moderating comments - talking about money and the cost of things isn’t easy and it can bring out some unpleasant opinions. Unfortunately I’ve already needed to block a few people who feel that me pointing out how difficult it is to earn a living in this industry means they get to tell me to get a different job, or that my patterns are too expensive or my work not what they expect, which is classism in action.

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Designers with financial privilege charging lower prices for their patterns because they can isn't "just business", it's capitalism and classism. IMO it's an unethical business practice at worst, ignorance at best, but either way it's a race to the bottom. #YarnIsForEveryone

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For a long time I kept my pattern prices on the lower side of average 'cos I couldn't afford patterns either; I wanted to be financially accessible. I eventually realised the one person I was hurting more than anyone was myself. Lower prices aren't the answer. #YarnIsForEveryone

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For me, Patreon is amazing. My supporters help fund so many free patterns and tutorials, and more. Each free pattern or tutorial states that it's funded by my supporters, which thanks them publicly but also makes the point that it isn't without costs. #YarnIsForEveryone

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One of the biggest battles we face is the devaluation of the work we do - from the fascist's anti-intellectualism to the capitalist's insistence of giving intangible content away for free to drive sales of tangible products. #YarnIsForEveryone

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If we can make it clear that designing and writing patterns, or writing clear tutorials and articles, is skilled labour we're on the right path. And we can do that by adding a monetary value - stating sponsorship does that as does asking a fair price. #YarnIsForEveryone

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I wrote this article nearly 8yrs ago and it helped fuel a discussion about pattern prices and how much work designing is. I'm a big fan of transparency and while understandably not everyone is comfortable with that, it's mighty helpful. #YarnIsForEveryone

Article link: The True Cost of a Pattern

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There are more articles here, tho' not all of them are linked from this menu - I'm hoping to get that done soon. And as I'm unable to do nothing and actually rest, I might mess around and sort the post images out 'cos they bother me. #YarnIsForEveryone

Article links: Industry Talk

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And as a reminder - when we talk about financial accessibility we need to talk about it not just as consumers, but as creators too. It isn't an Us vs Them situation. There are folks working in this industry who are just as poor, disabled and marginalised. #YarnIsForEveryone

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Yes, the industry is dominated by white middle class women. And yes, we want to talk about ways of making sure that the industry is more accessible to folks who aren't financially privileged. But we also need to remember that we're already here. #YarnIsForEveryone

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I'm a bit tired of messages and emails telling me how they're making crafts more financially accessible to knitters and crocheters whilst ignoring the fact that most of it relies on the privilege of the person working in the industry or producing the content. #YarnIsForEveryone

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Classissm shows up as assuming we had a choice in the job we do. That we have a choice to do a different job. Or that we've money to invest. And in assuming the person you're talking to shares your financial privilege just because you work in the same industry. #YarnIsForEveryone