Summer might not be the craft show season in India owning to the heat but it is ” the time to sell crafts” in most countries. As I was going through Facebook jewelry groups, I came across a lot of posts with people asking for tips about how to be successful at a craft show. Though it has been a while since I did shows, I thought I would share some of the ideas that worked for me when I did. I do not claim to have “Sold out” at any of my shows but I have pretty close most of the times. Here are Six tips of mine on how to sell out at Craft shows.
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Six tips to sell out at Craft shows
1. Invite your existing customers
This is the simplest thing that as a business owner we could do but many times we forget to invite our current and past customers to a show. This a good opportunity for you to meet your customers (who shop online from you) face to face and get their feedback on your designs. Even if you make no sale, you still get pictures of them trying out your jewelry which you can post on Social media and tag them. This is a great non-obtrusive way to advertise your brand.
2. Invite your friends and family
I often shy away from friends and family to an event thinking that they might hate me for calling them every time I have a show. But, my mom who is also my PR expert, always makes sure that she personally telephones a chosen set of relatives and family friends to invite them to the show. She picks them depending on the location, duration of the show, and whether the collection that I am presenting would appeal to them. It usually works well for me as these invited relatives often bring in their friends who in turn become my customers.
3.Have enough stock
I understand this sounds like a no-brainer but not many people follow it. I hate to buy at a stall where they have very few pieces on display. Minimal aesthetics shouldn’t really mean scarcity. Women like having a lot of choices to pick from so have enough stock. However, there is no magic number that would help you sell out at Craft shows. What I do is, I take the minimum amount that I want to make at a show (X) = cost of my jewelry (materials, labour, overheads, design and photography charges {even if done by myself} + cost of the exhibition (transport, setup, decor, fees, publicity) and triple it. That would be the total value of products (Y) that I take to the show. * This formula ensures that you need to sell only 2/3rds of your stock to make a good profit. You can even do upto 1o times depending on the place where you are selling it.
Y = 3X upto Y = 10X
x =wholesale price of jewelry+ cost of the exhibition (transport, setup, decor, fees, publicity)
* This is based on my experience in India where crafts particularly costume jewelry is priced considerably lesser than western countries.
5. Alter your display according to your crowd
There is a plenty of information on the internet about craft show displays. Experts claim the setup must be coherent, unique, tasteful and must match the aesthetics of the brand. It is all true to an extent. There have been instances when I have displayed tastefully in high end boutique atmosphere and sold almost nothing and instances where I have simply dumped pieces on a table which have sold out in minutes. Do not fret too much over your display. No amount of visual merchandising will make people buy medicore products. Keep it simple and clean and impress people with your jewelry. Use a white/off white background to display colorful pieces. Avoid grays and browns as much as possible as they will make your work look duller. The only exception is dark brown for brass/gold finish jewelry.
5. Inform and Invite the local press – TV, newspaper, magazine and influencers
Do not assume that the organisers of the event will publicise the event in the media. There have been many instances where the organiser has told me during the show that if I wanted press publicity, I should have contacted them beforehand. So if you know a host of a TV show or a reporter from a newspaper or a magazine or even a blogger, invite them for the show. Also, send them a press release. Your PR must be a bit different from the event’s PR. It should primarily about yourself, your brand and the collection you are displaying along with key details about the event. Include where, when, and by whom along with a picture of your designs.
6. Post an ad in the newspaper
Post an ad in a leading daily newspaper about your show and give a reason for people to come see you. Offer a small discount (5 to 10%) or a drawing for a piece of beautifully handmade jewelry. The only problem with such ads (other than the fact that they are expensive) is that a lot of people read the newspaper online or in the evenings after work. They might want to come see your event but it would be too late by the time they see the ad. So give the advertisement a day in advance for a better return on your investment.
Additional Tip – Customize your invitation message
Send Email invites, Social media messages or sms. Always customize the message if you want them to come. There is nothing more off – putting than a mass marketing message.
These are some of my tips to sell out at Craft shows. Please share yours in the comments section. Have you followed any of the above mentioned ideas before? How have they worked out for you?
I hope you found it interesting
Cheers
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