Craft Show Tips

Want to put on your own craft show? Here are some tips to get you going~

Planning an Awesome Craft Show

Are you living in an area that has limited craft and vendor shows? Have you ever thought about developing your own but wasn’t sure how to go about it? Well here is the lowdown on how to grow your show into a well attended event.

Prep work for an event takes place months in advance. One of the first things you need to know is what type of event are you wanting to hold. Do you want retail items or a mix of crafts and arts? Think about your target market. What type of event would they want to attend and what type of items do they want to see and to purchase? Having a Direct Sales business, we may tend to want to only have Direct Sales people there as well as retail type items. But in order to grow your event and have good attendance and interest, a good balance should be the goal. Here is a secret that I learned. Most arts and craft vendors that make their own products do not like having too many Retail items at shows. It discounts the value of their hand made goods and they cannot compete price wise with something coming out of China. That is a good rule of thumb to keep in the back of your mind when planning your show.

Next on your list of things to do is find a great venue. The location plays a big part in how many vendors you can have as well as how many customers you will attract. Parking is a big part as well and having a place for the vendors to load and unload.

Advertising is huge! When figuring your costs, make sure you take into effect some advertising costs. A lot you can do free such as signs and press releases. But sometimes an inclusion into the Classifieds is not a bad idea. Don’t forget online posting in craft show listings as well.

Finding your vendors should not be too hard to do. Attending other shows with your application and show information in hand and personally asking people to attend is a great way to grow your attendees. Mind your location and map out your spacing so you do not over invite.

Think about food booths and drink booths. Many shows I attend do not allow other beverages sold as the sponsor of the show sells those. Adding a food or beverage booth will depend on your hours, location, attendance and availability to support these types of booths. If you are planning events that say a church or non profit is hosting, most of the time that group sells the food and drinks as a fundraiser.

Use your good customer service with your vendors. Showing them that you care and want to make this experience a great day for them is very important. Remember the vendors are there to make money and that should be tops on your list. Take care of them and they will take care of you!

Another tidbit regarding your vendors would be to make sure that you do not place competing products next to each other. Place them as far a part as possible. Remember that each vendor is its own store. A retailer would not build a jewelry store next to a jewelry store so be mindful of your placement of your vendors; ie. Your customer.

Work on your next show right way. Invite your vendors to the next year’s show and ask for feedback to help you plan and make it a better function. Growing your show each year will mean a better event for everyone! Good luck and Have Fun!!!

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Copyright Chris Carroll All Rights Reserved
Chris Carroll is a sales professional that has made direct sales her business of choice and enjoys sharing with others. You can sign up for tips on managing and increasing your business at her site DirectSalesTalk. You can also find her at her business site ShopOnYourSeat If you would like to use this article for your newsletters or website, all links must be live and clickable.

Get That Contact Info by Using Craft Shows Part 3

One of the greatest benefits to setting up at craft shows is that you are exposed to all those potential customers within your target market. What an awesome opportunity to reach out and expand you customer base!

A lot of Direct Sellers use contact cards to capture the information of those that are potentially interested in the business or the products, fundraisers or hosting a party. But how are you going to get the potential client to fill out that card?

One of the easiest methods is to have a drawing for a prize that you donate. You are asking them in a non threatening manner to sign up to win that prize. You are, in turn, able to talk to that person about the products and more while they are filling out the card.

Another method of getting people to stop at your booth is to have something to hand out. A flyer, a mini catalog, a business card with a sample attached. As they accept the item you are giving out, you can ask about filling out a card to enter the drawing. You can also use a simple sign up sheet for future mailings or if they want to be on your sale notification list or to receive a catalog. Talk to the people walking by and do not forget about the other vendors!

Whatever method of obtaining their information is used, you want to make sure that you are using it. Don’t let those hard earned leads go to waste! You worked hard to get them now you must follow up within one week of the show. Send a postcard or email, depending on their preference marked, thanking them for coming to the show; that is was great meeting them. You want to offer a discount on their next purchase.

Follow up with everyone you have contact information for. And don’t just contact them one time. Every time you have a sale or a mailer going out, include these people. This is your warm list. They have been interested in your products, so include them as potential new customers. It is important to keep your name and business in the fore front. This leads to long term customer service and potentially great customers and That is what we work so hard for.

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Copyright Chris Carroll All Rights Reserved
Chris Carroll is a sales professional that has made direct sales her business of choice and enjoys sharing with others. You can sign up for tips on managing and increasing your business at her site DirectSalesTalk. You can also find her at her business site ShopOnYourSeat If you would like to use this article for your newsletters or website, all links must be live and clickable.

Making the Most of your Craft Show Display Part 2

So you have decided to promote your business doing craft shows but now you are wondering “how do I make the most out of my precious 10 X 10 area?” The key to this is to attract attention and bring those customers into your booth!

Planning out your booth before hand is a key factor to the successful layout of your booth. Using items found at home is an inexpensive method. Look for unique pieces to incorporate into your display; furniture pieces, shelving, Items with visual interest. Layers and stacking product keep interest high.

Color plays a big factor as well. What decorations are you using? Is it holiday themed? Tie decorations around that. Harvest time? Easter, Valentines, Bridal? All of these have certain colors associated with them. Of course you do not have to go that route. Complete opposite decorations are attractive as well. Shocking pink or bright yellow would definitely set you apart from the crowd. Make sure that you incorporate your products however and pick up color schemes from them.

Interesting fabrics are a great tool to use as well. Be careful of clashing prints though. You do not any busy displays. People cannot focus on any one thing and will walk away.

The flow of traffic in and out of your booth is important. You don’t want it to seem crowded but you do want to utilize your space completely. You want to be able to have someone come in and talk with you, see your merchandise easily, fill out information sheets. Comfortable and inviting is the ambience that you are striving for.

Your mix of product is equally important as all of the above. You do not have to bring your whole inventory, just a representation of your line or the products geared to the event theme. Taking orders is definitely ok to do at these shows. Don’t feel you have to bring everything. That will be too much work for you and you will be less inclined to want to continue these types of shows.

Keeping your event set up simple yet attractive will ensure interest from your potential customers. Being a unique vendor in set up and display will encourage a great shopping experience for them as well. Above all, Have Fun!

Copyright Chris Carroll All Rights Reserved
Chris Carroll is a sales professional that has made direct sales her business of choice and enjoys sharing with others. You can sign up for tips on managing and increasing your business at her site DirectSalesTalk. You can also find her at her business site ShopOnYourSeat If you would like to use this article for your newsletters or website, all links must be live and clickable.

Why Use Craft Shows in Your Direct Sales Business? Part 1

The greatest thing about home businesses and the direct sales type of business is the flexibility in how you can market your products. We are not relegated to one type of selling so therefore the opportunities are endless! Brick and mortars stores are somewhat limited as they wait for the customers to find them. We on the other hand, go and find ours.

One of my favorite ways to increase customers, hostesses, business partners and newsletter signups is through craft shows and expos. Looking at the venue of the show, it becomes apparent that this IS your target market ~ Female; usually with extra disposable income And looking for unique products. All of these attributes fit our business perfectly.

Choosing the right venue will be important to your success. Make sure the show is in your market area. Traveling 50 miles to do a show looking for customers may not be a good idea if you have to deliver products after the show. Think about parties as well. If your hostess is an hour away and then her guests are a no show Or maybe you get 5 bookings, Are you willing to keep driving to that area to service those customers? Set yourself a radius of how far you are willing to travel.

Another thing to check out when choosing the right show to do is the amount of the booth. Figure out how much you have to sell to re coop your expenses. If you are doing a one day show for $150 and you sell $2 - $5 items, you are going to have to move a heck of a lot of items to break even.

Make sure that you are selling product that goes along with the theme of the show before writing that check for the entry fees. Specialty shows like scrapbooking or quilt shows may not be the best return for you if you are selling makeup. Several years ago I did a Home and Garden type of show and while my product line fit in wonderfully; there was a cosmetic company there. She was not moving a heck of a lot of product and did not do very well at all. I am actually surprised the promoters allowed her in. So make sure you are not wasting your time with the wrong show.

Check to see how long the show has been in existence. What type of turn out do they get? Sometimes doing a newly formed show is a good risk if it is a local show. Traveling great lengths to go to a new venue may not be something I would recommend. Also check on how they advertise the show. Very important in that you can have a huge amount of vendors attending, but if the event is not publicized well, you will not so well.

Overall, craft shows are an awesome tool for your business if they are researched and handled properly. Building your business in unique ways is the key to the longevity with your business.

Copyright Chris Carroll All Rights Reserved
Chris Carroll is a sales professional that has made direct sales her business of choice and enjoys sharing with others. You can sign up for tips on managing and increasing your business at her site DirectSalesTalk. You can also find her at her business site ShopOnYourSeat If you would like to use this article for your newsletters or website, all links must be live and clickable.

HI crafty followers!

My club is getting our notices out for our annual craft show to be held in November 2009. Here is the link to last years post. The info is about the same. Calling all crafters in Central Valley. Let me know if you would like more information for your booth setup.

Thanks! Chris

I am so sorry for not posting. I am sure you thought I feel off of the earth or something. Truth is I forgot my logins and couldn’t get in here. I guess I should have asked ther spammers. They seemed to have hacked in here, no problem!

But alas, I am back and getting ready for fall. There is a show in town Tomorrow, 4th of July, but I am not showing at this one. Just no time to get ready but I am gearing up for fall and the holidays.

Chat with you soon!