Craft shows are an excellent way to let individuals know about your business. For many craftspeople, the crafts show is the primary way they earn income from their craft. Craft shows are held all over the country all year long. Craft shows can be held as an event in themselves, or as part of a larger event.

At a craft show, you, the craftsperson, purchase a space. On the day of the event, you set up a display of your products for customers to look at and purchase. At a craft show your earnings are limited by how much you bring to sell, by how many people come to the show and by the number of people that are interested in your products. Handcrafted bath and body care products are a natural for craft shows because they are inexpensive and they are items that people are familiar with.

Finding out about craft shows

Finding out about craft shows is very easy. To find out about shows all across the country, visit sites like Festivalnet.com, and read publications like Craftsmaster News, Art and Craft Show Yellow Pages, and Sunshine Artist. These sites and publications contain listings for shows in almost every state. Some craft shows are not promoted nationally, but just on a local scale. To find out about these shows, call your local chamber of commerce and read your local newspaper. You can also visit the local craft mall (if you have one in your area) and look for one of the free publications like The Country Register that contains listings for upcoming craft shows and events.

Advantages and disadvantages of craft shows

It is possible to earn a substantial amount of money selling handcrafted bath and body care products at craft shows if you go to the right shows and if you go to enough of them. Since you are selling directly to your customers, you get to keep the full amount of your sales for yourself. However, for some people, craft shows are tiring because of the time spent packing up for the show, traveling to the show, sitting there to sell the products, taking the display down and driving back home.

Enhancing your sales at craft shows

Here are some tips for enhancing your sales at craft shows:

• Have testers for people to sample (if possible). Testers give you something to talk about with people who are just casually looking at your products. When you see someone pass by your table that seems interested in your products, offer them a sample from one or more of your testers. I know from personal experience that having testers can turn casual onlookers into customers, especially if your products are scented.
• Package and display your products attractively. This is important, especially if there are other vendors selling products similar to yours. Attractive, unique packaging will help your products stand out in the minds of potential customers. In fact, many customers at craft shows like to look at all of the craft booths before they make a purchase. If your products are packaged nicely, it will help these people to remember you when they are ready to buy.
• Have a brochure or business card. Tuck this into the bags of your customers after they purchase from you. Make sure your brochure or business card has enough information in it so that your customers can order your products after the fair.
• Start a mailing list. Collect contact information from your customers (with their permission) so that you can mail them notices about future events where you will be selling your products.

Tags: craft shows, marketing