These clear modular baskets stack to help you organize your small crafts.  Carry your crafts to the show in them.  Display small crafts in them or stick the basket under your table cloth to build height in your display.  Baskets are available in clear, blue, green, pink or orange to match any display.

My affiliate link is below.
Clear baskets do many jobs for your craft show display.

I’ve found another idea that would help make your craft show booth more professional.  The main factors to me have been portability, ease of set up and a clean professional look.

This shelving system comes from The Container Store.

This system folds flat for transportation and is made of hollow tube cast iron in a pewter finish.

Available in 3 shelf, 4 shelf, 6 shelf, 4 shelf media or 6 shelf tower there are lots of possibilities for your art or craft show booth display.

My affiliate link is below.

3 Shelf Folding Bookcase
Makes Portable Craft Show Set Up
Easy and Professional

While attending an art fair in my area a few years ago I visited with artists and crafters.  We discussed my newsletter, The Extravaganza Craft News, and if I should include artist and crafter reviews of shows.  I found this an interesting topic as I had never really considered all the pros and cons of show reviews before.

The only positive point I see to show reviews are that artists and crafts people hopefully don’t get suckered into doing bad shows where the promoter is not truly doing their best to advertise the show.

There are many factors involved in if a vendor has a good show.  Factors ranging from their financial  and emotional investment, what is happening in their lives-before, on the way to, during, and after the show, what they are selling, how they are displaying their items, their own marketing skills, their own attitudes and actions in their booth, to the purchasing habits of the customers at the show.  Even the placement of your booth and the weather (too good or bad) could affect sales at a show.

As the artist who prompted the conversation pointed out some crafters who know of really good shows wait years to get juried in.  They might not want extra competition either getting in or competing for sales so they might hesitate to tell you everything they know about the show.  On the other hand everyone who has ever experienced a bad show is pretty quick to tell you about it.

So how do you know if you can trust a show review?  I suggest using your best judgement.  Reviews by someone selling merchandise similar to yours should be more valuable to you than those by someone whose product sells in a whole different category, but then again they are your competitor.

Compare the number of bad reviews to good, remembering it’s nearly impossible to please everyone all the time.  Ask lots of questions about why people felt that way about the show and which factors might have played a part, while talking to crafters personally about shows.  When possible consider the values and motives of sources.

Better yet, attend shows as a customer if possible before entering as a vendor.  Look closely at the number of people attending, look at what booths are busy, what is selling, how much money is being spent.  If booths in one area of the show are making lots of sales while others aren’t see if the set-up allows for proper flow of traffic to all the booths.  Is your most likely customer in attendance, are people buying products that are the same style as yours and that sell in your price range?  How many competitors will there be in your category?

Remember while it is the promoters job to advertise the show, it is your job to advertise your product.  How much better would every show be if, every vendor told 100 other people about the show?

What do you think are art and craft show reviews worth their weight in gold?

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Shasta has always been an artist and crafter. She participated in craft shows since she was a child with her mom. She has sold her own art at shows since Dec. 2005 and has promoted The Extravaganza Craft Shows. She is now the publisher of The Extravaganza Craft News a newsletter to make artist’s and crafter’s craft show booths more profitable.

I’ve been keeping my eyes out for ideas to share with you that would help make your craft show booth more professional.  One of the key factors to me has been portability, ease of set up and a clean professional look.

I found this versatile shelving system from The Container Store and wanted to share it with you.

The supports and shelves can be set-up in any configuration.  Supports can be set up further apart or closer together, they can also be set up facing each other or facing away from each other.  Shelves can be added at several heights to bring your crafts up to your customers eye level and add interest to your display.

With extra pieces available you can add extra supports or shelves or subtract them from your set up to make your shelves fit in any size craft show booth.

With the right hooks art could be hung from the outside of the supports as well as set on the shelves.

Link below is an affiliate link.

A versatile shelving system that can
be set up in many different layouts
to create the perfect art or craft
show booth display.

Just as creating your art or craft is an art, turning a looker into a buyer at a show is also an art.  You want to encourage each looker to imagine themselves at home using or wearing your product.

First you need to recognize that every person is bombarded with advertising/marketing materials for hundreds if not thousands of items everyday.  They may need or want some of these items but don’t have time to sift through all of the information that they see to find the ones they need.    How do you bring customers who are most likely to buy your product into your booth?

Before the Show

Send a postcard to customers in the area who’ve visited your booth in the past.  Offer them a discount for bringing in the postcard and a friend.

AutoWebBusiness.com or Constant Contact is a good way to let customers know about upcoming events.  I highly recommend you check out these two companies if you don’t already have some kind of automated follow up/email system in place.

Signage

Your sign should be visible from all the sides of your booth that your customers will be approaching from.  It should be clean and in a clear font.  It should tell the reader exactly what you have to offer them (not your business name).

For example:
If your product is baked goods your sign should say, “Delicious home made muffins, pies, candies, fudges, cakes, and cookies,” not Lacey’s.

If you product is woodworking your signs should say, “Woodturned pen and pencil sets, handcrafted wood utensils, unique wooden dishes, and original knotty pine picture frames,” not Jake’s Crafts.

This way a customer who has never seen your booth before knows exactly what you are selling before they arrive in front of it.  By telling them exactly what you have to offer you remind customers interested in your product not to miss your booth from across the building.

Layout and Traffic Flow

The next thing to consider is the layout and traffic flow of your booth.  Arrange your booth so that customers can enter (and exit) easily where they will be approaching from.  Is there enough room inside your booth that many customers can shop and move easily or will people feel trapped inside?

Selling large items or if you have a large variety of items to sell ask the show promoter for an additional half (or whole) booth.  You want to have plenty of space to display your items properly and still have room for your customers to move about freely.  You also need a place for customers to make purchases that is out of the way of shoppers but where you can keep an eye on your investment.

Look and Feel

The look of your booth needs to complement your products.  Use western style decor for western products, oriental style for oriental jewelry, if your make beach hats and bags you might use a beach cottage theme.

Color can add to or distract from your product so choose colors carefully.

Customers become attached to items through their senses.  They see something they like, touch it and feel the texture, and finally try it on.  Part of turning a looker into a buyer is to encourage them to see themselves using or wearing the item.

Encourage this process through your display by:
Selling wearables be sure and include a mirror in your display so they can see what they look like wearing the item.  Display items in a way that encourages people to try them on.

Selling furniture or home decor display your items as though you were decorating your own home with them.  The customer can now imagine how the items would look in their own home.

The smell of food is one of it’s biggest selling points next to a sample of the product.

Display your products with these things in mind and see your sales increase.

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First of all Happy Independence Day! I’m grateful for this nation and all the freedoms that we enjoy.

Today I was writing a note to my artists and crafters to wish them a Happy 4th when I realized I should just write a quick note for every holiday and include them in my auto-responders (I can set the day they will go out so they will deliver automatically). I used the same formatted note I just copied and pasted it to each one, then edited each one for the holiday it should go out on.

I will set up pages with a free article(s) for each holiday so when my customers get the note they will also get a free goody. The free
information will let them know that I care.

Reasons you can send a note to your customers telling them you care:
New Years
Valentines
St. Pattys Day
Easter
Mothers Day
Fathers Day
Grandparents Day
Secretaries Day
4th of July
Halloween
Thanksgiving -Send Thank You Note for being your customer
Christmas
Customers Birthday

You can also send information about your products or services as well as updates and exciting news about your business. Staying in touch with your craft show customers reminds them of your business when they are thinking about buying. Sending them a personal note builds relationships and trust.

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The body contains 6 parts they include:

1. Lead paragraph
- City, State – Month Day, Year – Your Business Name
- What is happening

2. Quotes – From previous newspaper articles, quotes from show promoters, other crafters, or previous customers about your product.

3. The Why and How paragraph – Tell the reader why you are attending this event, why you make your product, why someone should come see your product and how to attend the event.

4. Call to Action – Ask the audience to do something i.e. See me at The Extravaganza or at my other upcoming shows.

Include your schedule of events.

5. Corporate Summary – Include a short summary of your business here.

6. Contact Information – Name, Business Name, Phone Number, E-mail Address, Website

For samples of press releases look in your local newspaper, also examine the People in Business Section to determine the best place for your advertising.

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I was reading a post by Carla of Cobweb Corner and it got me thinking how she got her prospects (people in her craft show booth) into the buying mood making them buying customers.

Read her post here:
Jewelry Shows – There’s Something about a Sale

The internet marketing gurus I’ve been studying suggest creating a loss leader (a product you lose money on in the beginning to get people buying). They often offer a free product to gain the trust of the prospect and charge shipping on the product because if the customer would pay for shipping they are a qualified buyer.

The thing I didn’t see in her post was after she had her craft show prospects in the buying mood, what she did then.

The thing I’m learning as I study marketing is always offer an upsell or a downsell when a customer is making a purchase.

When you have a customer making a purchase always offer them a complimentary product (meaning a product similar in style or nature to the one they are already purchasing) as an upsell. You can even offer a product that is twice the price of the original one they are buying. Keep offering additional upsells as long as they keep saying yes.

When they say no, offer them a down sell. A down sell can be another lower priced product, a discount on the whole set, or a payment plan.

Tell me what you offer as an upsell or downsell.

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Welcome Everyone,

I would like to welcome you all to my Blog Let’s Talk About Arts and Crafts. First off I would like to thank you all for staying on subject, being considerate of each other, and being considerate of my business.

Now to get the discussion started, I was wondering what effects you think the falling economy will have on the Art and Craft Show Industry if any.

Thank you,

Shasta McLaughlin
The Extravaganza Craft Productions
www.extravaganzacrafts.com
Making your art, craft, antique, trade show, fair, festival or farmers’ market booth more profitable.

Note: There is a rating embedded within this post, please visit this post to rate it. ]]> http://extravaganzacrafts.com/Blogs/1/hello-world/feed/ 3 http://extravaganzacrafts.com/Blogs/476/share-your-art-and-craft-show-booth-requirements/ http://extravaganzacrafts.com/Blogs/476/share-your-art-and-craft-show-booth-requirements/#comments Tue, 28 Apr 2009 15:55:09 +0000 Shasta http://extravaganzacrafts.com/Blogs/?p=476 by Shasta McLaughlin
The Extravaganza Craft Productions
copyright 2009

The Extravaganza is working to promote an art and craft show.  We want to provide the best service possible for you (our artisans, crafters, and vendors).

Please help us plan accordingly by answering a short survey.  Just click on the link below.

http://www.extravaganzacrafts.com/index.php?pr=Craft_Show_Survey

Please ignore the email you will receive regarding confirming signing up for our newsletter.  I promise I won’t sign you up for any random newsletters, smile.

Thank you and have a great day,

Shasta

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