Crafts Fairs
Crafts Fairs Made Easier
Success Tips for Having More Enjoyable and Profitable Craft Shows (find online crafts fairs here)
From
all crafts fairs you exhibit at, gather a mailing list
of your customers’ names and addresses. Whenever someone makes a
purchase or inquiry, enter their name on the list. When returning to the
same city later, mail them a postcard with details of the show’s
date and if you know it, your booth location. You can also use this list
to send out announcements of special offers, limited editions, year-end
close outs and other 'valued customer' news.
More Crafts Fairs Ideas
Increase your sales at craft shows with mobile credit card processing.
- Be prepared to wrap up the sale as soon as possible. At crafts fairs, the more time you spend with one customer, the easier it is for another one to walk away. Have bags handy.
- You will need a small space on a table to carry out the transactions. Keep extra pens -- they inevitably disappear.
- Have a receipt book. By writing a receipt for every sale, you have a record and a copy to give to the customer. Also, legally you must give a receipt for each sale.
- Have a supply of brochures or flyers about you and your craft to give with each sale or inquiry.
- Bring extra ones, fives, and tens for making change. Keep your money in a belt concealed under your clothing. Never show large amounts of cash at the shows or motels you stay at when traveling. Be extra careful when leaving the show to hide your money.
- Consider buying a carpet remnant or rug for your booth. It looks good and gives you and your customers some relief from concrete floors at indoor shows.
- Wear comfortable clothing; something you have made is the best promotion you can give your work. Also get a pair of comfortable sneakers.
- Bring a lunch. The fewer times you leave your booth, the better chance of making sales. If you have someone to help you, it’s easier to take breaks.
- It helps if a friend or spouse can assist you. Setting up the booth and handling sales go more easily with two persons, but be careful not to impede the flow of traffic into your selling space. At some point, you will want to take a break; this is impractical unless you have a partner.
- Get a toolbox to keep emergency tools and supplies like scissors, electrical and duct tape, hammer, nails, pliers, screwdrivers, string or flexible wire, and spare parts for fixtures or booths.
- For indoor shows, bring long extension cords, power strips, and clamp-on lights with bulbs. The better your lighting, the more you will sell. Most exhibit centers do not provide adequate light for good displays.
- Flameproof your exhibit materials such as table covers and fabric backdrops. Almost all cities have strict regulations enforced by fire marshals inspecting each booth.
- Make a checklist of the above items and go over it before you leave for the event.
- Read up on the history of the crafts fairs movement.
Many of the better craft shows offer prizes or cash awards for best display or best designer. Getting recognition is more than strokes for the ego, it adds value to your work in the eyes of customers when you post your awards in a visible area of your booth display.
Awards can also afford you speaking and teaching opportunities as a recognized professional artisan, another avenue for building demand of your work. Besides the publicity value, award winners may receive prize money. Many state fairs and some county fairs have juried events with large cash awards. Prestige you get from such awards will almost guarantee you feature articles in your local periodicals and newspapers that like to cover local events like crafts fairs.
Also check out how to find crafts for craft fairs