Hey Tori! Answering Your Digital Marketing Questions for Creative Entrepreneurs
You've got a fiber arts business—quilting, knitting, embroidery, sewing, whatever you make—and a marketing to-do list that makes you want to close your laptop and get back to your work. Hey Tori! is where digital marketing coach and fellow fiber artist Tori McElwain answers the real questions creative entrepreneurs are asking—from "where are my customers actually coming from?" to "do I really need to be on Instagram every day?"Each episode breaks down one marketing topic into a clear framework you can actually think through: what's really happening, why it matters, and what one thing you'd do first...
Social Media? Email? Wholesale? What do I focus on?? Coaching Leanne Parsons
Pattern designer Leanne Parsons of Devoted Quilter came to the Hey Tori! podcast with four questions: how to grow her email list, how to grow on social media, how to get quilt shops to stock her patterns, and where to put her focus.
Tori coaches her through them live, starting with the one bothering her most: wholesale. They talk about why cold emails to shops often go unanswered, how a single distributor relationship can open doors, and how to make the most of a booth at H+H. The conversation then turns to what is actually making...
Hey Tori! Do I Actually Need Help? Let's Check.
When is it a good idea to hire a coach?
You’re doing all the things and nothing is moving. Is it time to hire a coach, or is the problem somewhere else? In this episode, Tori McElwain walks through how to decide whether you’re ready for coaching, why most business owners get stuck in one of three gaps (accountability, knowledge, or strategy), and how to test whether a coach is the right fit before you spend money. You’ll also get a readiness checklist to work through first, and a reminder that coaching is an invest...
Email Coaching with Krista from Timeless Treasures Quilts
Krista Russell, owner of Timeless Quilt Studio, is moving her in-person Learn to Quilt Foundations course online. In this live coaching episode, Tori works through Krista’s email list and welcome sequence: how new subscribers choose what they want to hear about, why the first email should invite a reply, how often to send, and whether a discount is the right welcome gift for a quilter who just downloaded a pattern.
We also look at Krista’s current email numbers together. Krista is a Digital Marketing Magic Coaching Program member, and she shares what she’s getting out of...
Hey Tori! I don't know where all my time is going. Help?
You're not going to like this advice.
Your next launch, pattern, or book feels bigger than the time you have. Tori explains why you won't find time, you have to make it, and walks through a time study that maps your goals, commitments, and weekly tasks. Learn how to automate, delegate, or delete what drains your week, and build a schedule that holds up when your energy and calendar change.
Mentioned in the Episode:
Rhonda's Podcast Episode "Growing Your Audience" : https://www.heytori.tech/post/what-to-do-after-you-launch-a-live-coaching-conversation-with-rhonda-canning
Enjoying the show? Leave a...
All About Email Marketing with Ashleigh Wempe
We talk all about email marketing - you're going to love it.
Ashleigh started her knitting pattern business the day after leaving the Air Force. Today she runs two memberships, her last virtual summit drew 7,000 knitters, and her email list does the heavy lifting. She walks Tori through the system behind it: three 52-week evergreen sequences, opt-in forms that let subscribers sort themselves, and why your best pattern should never be your freebie. Quilters (I know I have many of you here), this one's for you too.
In this episode, Ashleigh shares:
...Hey Tori! How do you reuse a blog post?
How do you reuse a blog post? If you have years of tutorials, free patterns, and finished-quilt stories sitting in your archive, you may be wondering whether a Pinterest graphic is all you can do with them.
Tori answers a listener's question with five steps: choosing the right five to ten posts, polishing them, breaking each into pieces of content, giving every piece a next step, and putting it on the calendar. She also shows how the Break-It-Up Bot inside the DMMC handles an older post.
Break-it-up Worksheet...
Hobbyist to Professional: Tech Editing, Books, and Taking Up Space with Whitney Steen
In this episode, knit pattern tech editor and graphic designer Whitney Steen walks us through what tech editing actually does, why it matters for indie pattern designers—and why you may want to publish a book. We talk math errors, why books never expire, and the uncomfortable truth: our craft industries deserve to be taken seriously, and it starts with adding that professional edge to our products and services.
Connct with Whitney Steen:
Website: https://wlsmakesstuff.com/
Wholesale: https://wlsmakesstuff.com/wholesale
Insatgram: https://www.instagram.com/wlsmakesstuff
...Special Release: Interview with Saremy Duffy: Do You Have a Book in You?
Saremy Duffy is a pattern drafter, author, and instructor in the home sewing space — with a background in fashion design, garment production, and eight years on YouTube. Her new book, Fitopedia: An Encyclopedia of Fitting Adjustments for the Upper Body and Sleeve, is a pattern fitting book.
In this episode, Saremy shares her publishing journey through the Self Publishing Incubator (https://selfpublishingincubator.com/) - from feeling like her expertise was invisible ("constantly trying to sell myself") to finishing a book that finally made her feel secure. She talks about the loneliness of writing, the ac...
Hey Tori! How can I build trust and authority that lasts? (Spoiler: a book!)
Learn what you could write about and what it could mean for your business.
Think about the quilters, knitters, and crafters you consider experts in your field. The ones with influence. The ones people recommend. What do they have in common? They share their expertise in ways that stick—through teaching, speaking, writing, and sometimes publishing.
But here's what builds authority fastest: long-form content. And there's one format that opens doors nothing else can quite reach.
In this episode, Tori breaks down why books ar...
Growing Your Audience Organically: Advice and Coaching with Rhonda Canning
In this special live coaching episode, Tori sits down with a Digital Marketing Magic Coaching Client, Rhonda Canning of Primetime Quilt Co, to answer one of the most important questions creative entrepreneurs face: what do you do after you launch?
Rhonda's story is one of resilience. After taking a three-year break from her pattern design business following her husband's illness and death, she decided to come back this year. With Tori's help, she launched her pattern "Twilight" — and now she's ready to grow. In this episode, you'll hear Tori coach Rhonda through the real strategies th...
Hey Tori! How Do I Create More Connection?
You pour your heart into every post. You share your story, your journey, your design choices. But your engagement stays flat. Here's what's happening: your readers are watching your story, not seeing themselves in it. Today we're breaking down the one-word shift that changes everything—and it starts with YOU. Learn how to reframe your copy so your audience feels like you're talking directly to them. (Spoiler: a DMMC member's reel went nearly viral when she made this one simple change.)
Jame's Wedmore's Conversion Cards
Chapters
00:00 Introduction to...
Hey Tori! How do I use collaborations?
You've mapped out your promotional calendar. You know when you're launching. But as you look at that plan, you realize: every promotion reaches only your own audience. Your own list. Your own followers.
How do you reach new people without spending money on ads? The answer is strategic collaborations—and it's one of the most underused leverage tools in the creative business.
In this episode, Tori walks you through:
Why collaborations belong on your promotion calendar (and why you're leaving money on the table without them)The "Why You, Why No...Hey Tori! How to Plan a Week of Marketing Content in Just One Hour?
Stop wasting time wondering what to post.
You open your laptop on Sunday night ready to finally "get serious" about marketing. Forty-five minutes later, you've reorganized your Canva folders, watched three reels about hooks, and posted absolutely nothing.
Or you panic and post three things that have nothing to do with each other—no thread, no strategy, just noise.
Here's the thing: it's not a time problem, it's a decision problem wearing time's clothes.
In this episode, Tori walks you through th...
Hey Tori! When Do I Do What? (Without Feeling Overwhelmed)
Stop scrambling. You have multiple things to promote—patterns, classes, workshops, services—and you don't know what to launch when. So you react, improvise, and feel overwhelmed.
Here's a proven planning method I've used in DMMC coaching for years: the promotion calendar. It's not rigid, it builds in rest, and it sets your entire content strategy without the overwhelm.
In this episode, I walk you through exactly how I build mine—the framework, the timing, why you keep abandoning planning calendars, and how this one works with your life instead of agains...
Hey Tori! What is a Launch?
You posted "It's here — link in bio," refreshed your sales page about forty times, and… it was quiet. A couple of sales from the same handful of people who always buy. You didn't do anything wrong. You didn't launch — you announced. And those are two very different things.
This week we get clear on what a launch actually is, where the whole idea came from, and why sending one email and calling it done leaves so much sitting on the table. Tori breaks down the launch as an event with a build and a coun...
Hey Tori! Do I Need Another Class? Why You Keep Buying Marketing Classes
Four classes on email marketing. A Pinterest course you never finished. And 41 people on your list who haven't heard from you in months.
Nothing is wrong with you. But something is going on, and this week we name it.
I'm telling on myself a little in this one. I used to sell a course. I pivoted to coaching on purpose, because I watched too many people buy a whole program when what they actually needed was one person telling them which single thing to do next.
<...Krista's Five Year Journey from Maker to Teacher and Shop Owner
Krista Russell went from her first sewing machine to running a long-arm quilting business, writing patterns, teaching classes, and operating a quilt shop—all in five years. She's the kind of person who sees an opportunity and figures it out. But building that fast creates a specific problem: you keep moving without designing. That's where accountability changed everything.
In this episode, Krista shares how the Workshops Unleashed book club kept her moving forward during a massive life transition (literally moving provinces mid-move), why deadlines matter more than inspiration for action-takers, and how she went from in...
Special Release: How Tonya Dunning Went From “Someday” to Teaching Fidget Quilts
My first-ever guest! Tonya of Memory Barn Studio makes fidget quilts for people with dementia, Alzheimer's, autism, and stroke recovery — and for years, people kept asking her, "Do you teach?" In this episode, she shares how she went from "someday" to eleven students signed up for her first class at a regional quilt show.
We talk about why she went through the Workshops Unleashed Book Club twice before she was ready (and why that's not failure), the free test class that gave her real feedback before anyone paid her, the library community room that solved he...
Hey Tori! How do I Market My New Workshop? Two Paths to Start
Your workshop is built — now what? Tori breaks down the two real paths to filling it: the Program Path (borrowing an audience through guilds and events) and the Content Launch and Newsletter Path (building your own). Plus a look at where to find the launch framework in the book Workshops Unleashed and in the Digital Marketing Magic Coaching Program using CELA, who drafts a full launch sequence. Join the Workshops Unleashed Book Club by July 18th.
Links Mentioned
Get the Book, Workshops Unleashed: heytori.tech/workshopsunleashedJoin the Free Book Club: heytori.tech/wu...Season 2! “Someday” Is Today: Why Teaching Is Your Fastest Path
You've said it before: “Someday, I'll teach a class.” In this Season 2 opener, Tori kicks off a 3-part series built around her book, Workshops Unleashed, breaking down why teaching is one of the fastest ways to turn your craft skill into income — and what's actually inside the book to help you do it.
Links Mentioned
Get the Book: heytori.tech/workshopsunleashedJoin the Free Book Club (July 18 – Sept 5, 2026): heytori.tech/wubookclubFree Workshop Guide: heytori.tech/freeguideDigital Marketing Magic Coaching Program: heytori.tech/dmmcWorkshops Unleashed: The Community (Facebook Group): facebook.com/share/g/1DwRGr4uDq/Subm...Hey Tori! What do I know what to focus on? Season 1 Finale
What does a complete digital marketing system actually look like for a creative business? In this season finale of Hey Tori, Tori McElwain lays out the three pillars every quilter, crafter, and creative entrepreneur needs - Lead Strategy, Nurture Strategy, and Launch Strategy - and shows how they work together to grow your business sustainably. Plus a look inside the DMMC Program Navigator and real results from program members. If you have been piecing your marketing together and wondering what the full picture looks like, this one is for you.
Links Mentioned:
...
Hey Tori! How Do I Make Sure That Writing My Email Newsletter Doesn't Take All Day?
You know you need to send a newsletter, but every time you sit down to write one it takes two hours and still does not feel right. In this episode, Tori McElwain breaks down how to build a reusable newsletter template based on your goals and values, so you can stop starting from scratch and start sending consistently. If you are a quilter, crafter, or creative entrepreneur who wants a newsletter system that actually works for a one-person business, this one is for you.
Links Mentioned:
Click here to see...
Hey Tori! How do I Market My Quilting Business With Limited Time?
What do you do when you only have 30 to 60 minutes a week for marketing - and you can't even share what you're working on?
In this episode of Hey Tori, digital marketing coach Tori McElwain answers one of the most common struggles she hears from creative entrepreneurs: how do you keep your audience warm when life is just full?
Tori breaks down the difference between nurture and lead growth, explains why separating those two jobs is the key to working smarter with limited time, and walks through how to...
Hey Tori! How Long Should Your Social Media Captions Actually Be?
You have been writing captions, but is anyone actually reading them? In this episode, Tori McElwain tackles a real listener question about caption length, the difference between Instagram and Facebook, and how to figure out what YOUR specific audience actually prefers. She shares general advice about social media and her 3-3-3 rule. If you are a quilter, crafter, or creative entrepreneur who has ever wondered whether your captions are worth the effort, this one is for you.
Links Mentioned:
Blog Post for the Episode: Click here to read the Captions...Hey Tori! How do I Market My Quilting Workshops and Programs to Quilt Guilds Online?
You have an amazing workshop and you know quilt guilds would love it - but how do you actually get booked? In this episode, Tori McElwain walks through six strategies for marketing yourself to guilds, from building a dedicated landing page to optimizing it for search with the SEO & GEO Webpage Assistant inside the DMMC. If you are a quilting professional who wants more guild bookings, this one is for you.
Links Mentioned:
Click Here for the Blog Post for this Episode
Submit Your Question: Click Here for...
Hey Tori! Trailer | Who I Am, What This Show Is, and How to Send Me Your Questions
You started a creative business because you love making things. The marketing part? That is where Hey Tori comes in. In this short trailer, digital marketing coach and quilter Tori McElwain introduces herself, explains how the show works, walks through the episode format, and tells you exactly how to submit your marketing question for a future episode. This is a 10-episode mini-series built specifically for quilters, crafters, and creative entrepreneurs - dropping every few days until March 31st.
Subscribe now and send in your question.
Links Mentioned:
Su...Hey Tori! What Makes a Good Landing Page?
Your workshop page is getting traffic, but nobody is signing up. In this episode, Tori McElwain breaks down what a landing page is, explains the difference between a page that works for a warm audience versus cold traffic, and walks through the CLEAR formula for building a workshop landing page that converts. Plus a demo of Barb the Builder, the DMMC's custom AI tool for landing page copy. If you are a quilter, crafter, or creative entrepreneur who has ever hit publish and wondered why nothing happened, this one is for you.
Send in...
Hey Tori! Where Do My Customers Come From?
You are doing the marketing, but do you actually know which of it is working? In this episode, Tori McElwain walks you through her Three Channel Framework for identifying where your best customers come from, introduces a simple Marketing Research Tracker to track your sources, and shares four AI prompts you can use with Claude or ChatGPT to turn your data into a smarter strategy. If you are a quilter, crafter, or creative entrepreneur who is tired of guessing, this one is for you.
Subscribe now and send in your question.
<...
Hey Tori! How Do I Grow My Business Outside of Social Media?
Tired of building your entire business on a platform that can change the rules tomorrow? In this episode, Tori McElwain walks through her Growth Ecosystem framework - four channels that create a stable, sustainable business beyond social media - and shows how to use the Break-It-Up Bot (inside the DMMC) to repurpose one piece of content across every platform without starting from scratch. Plus four AI prompts for Claude or ChatGPT you can use today.
If you are a quilter, crafter, or creative entrepreneur who is ready to build something that actually belongs to yo...
Hey Tori! What the Heck is Digital Marketing, Anyway?
Marketing does not have to be complicated, but somewhere along the way, someone made it feel that way.
In this episode, Tori McElwain gives you the simplest, most honest definition of marketing she knows, walks through the full spectrum from a Facebook group post to a full SEO funnel, and introduces the SEO & GEO Webpage Assistant inside the DMMC - including four AI prompts you can use today to start getting found on Google and in AI search results. If you are a quilter, crafter, or creative entrepreneur who has ever felt like marketing...
