There are several ways to advertise your art and craft event to vendors. The idea is to find the most effective ways and stick with them. You must test and record the results of your advertising to know what was most effective.

Advertising is best done when it reaches a target audience. Your target audience is artists and crafters who sell merchandise at art and craft shows, advertise where they are most likely to see it.

Places artists and crafters look for shows include (but are not limited to) Art and Craft Show Publications, local Chambers of Commerce, visitors centers, fairgrounds and events centers, bulletin boards, the internet, newspapers, radio, and TV. Have a successful show already? Maintain a mailing list. Art and craft vendors also ask other artists and crafters at events they are attending if they know of other great shows in the area.

Art and Craft Publications
Art and craft publications are also known as craft fair guides, art and craft show listings, and many other names search the internet using the right keywords and you will find more than a few.  Art and craft publications contain many listings of art and craft shows. They also usually contain some advertising for event insurance, outdoor canopies for shows, displays, and art and craft supplies. They usually cover a specified area such as one state, several states, a region, or the nation. Some will also contain hints and tips, checklists, book and product reviews, display ideas, etc.

Now for a quick message from our sponsor, smile:
My favorite, The Extravaganza Craft News, covers Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, North Dakota, and South Dakota.

Local Places Artists and Crafters Look for Events
Local places artists and crafters look for events include the Chamber of Commerce, visitors centers, civic centers, fairgrounds and events centers, basically any where an art and craft show might be held. Ask when booking your event if they will include your event on a calendar of upcoming events. Be sure they inform their employees of your upcoming event so they will be ready to refer artists and crafters your way.

Bulletin Boards
Artists and crafters will also check bulletin boards in grocery stores, gas stations, art and craft stores, on college campuses, in salons, at local restaurants, and many other businesses.

Hang posters, postcards, or business cards on bulletin boards everywhere you go. Be sure your advertising has a headline guaranteed to get the attention of artists and crafters who want to sell their merchandise. Don’t forget the basics a date and time for your show and a way to contact you including (at least) your name and phone number.

The Internet
The internet is a great resource and you don’t have to spend a fortune on a webpage or webdesigner anymore. You can buy a website and everything you need to run it for under $100/year. You can get one that has a WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get editor) so that you can design and run it yourself or hire someone to run it for you. A website is a great place to tell artists, crafters, and customers about your upcoming shows, and to upload your applications. Need simple instructions for building a webpage visit Build a Website.

Newspapers
The problem with advertising anything in newspapers is actually reaching your target audience. Reaching thousands of people who don’t sell their art and crafts at shows probably won’t help your business as much as reaching 100 people who do.

Newspapers do have other resources available other than paid ads. Call the paper and ask about their policy for press releases, people in business, guest written articles, and calls to artists and crafters. Ask who you send them to and the correct address. Send a press release and call to artists to many local newspapers. The free resources will probably benefit your business more than paid advertising at this time, but if they won’t run your articles ask if they offer a deal on paid advertising with submissions.

Ask if they have a (printed/online) calendar of events and how soon your event will begin appearing on it. Don’t forget your contact information.

Press releases are informational articles sent to the newspaper. They inform the public of events (art festivals, craft shows, bazaars, musuem openings, and so much more) happening in the area. They are free and printed in most publications as space allows (so send yours early and often). Read Press Releases for Art Festivals and Craft Shows.

Radio and TV
Radio stations often offer a discount on large numbers of ads. Ask them if they can offer you a deal if you order ads now to advertise to artists and crafters and again later to advertise to customers. They also offer package deals for onsite advertising. Ask the radio station if they would like to sponsor your event and have their logo included on all your advertising.

I have never used TV advertising but I hear that cable ads aren’t that expensive and can be targetted to reach people in the area of your show. Again ask a TV station if they might like to sponsor your event. Feature a happy artist or crafter in your ads looking for vendors.

Don’t ask more than one radio station, TV station, or newspaper to sponsor your event and ask them if they only work with specific people i.e. ABC Radio only works with XYZ News.

Mailing List
Tell artists and crafters which publications they can find your listings in. Contact art and craft exhibitors who have attended your show in the past. Keep them happy and they are likely to return. Keep your list updated so you don’t waste money mailing to bad addresses.

Email autoresponders from AutoWebBusiness.com or Constant Contact make it easy to stay in contact with vendors. 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.

AutoWebBusiness.com Increase your sales by 100% GUARANTEED! CLICK HERE

Word of Mouth
Many artists and crafters still only hear about shows through word of mouth. Keep your vendors happy and they are more likely to tell others only good things about your show.

List your show with The Extravaganza Craft News now!

Visit Omak Western and Native Art Show in Omak, Washington happening Aug. 9 to 12, 2012.

Contact Ester Hinger at 509-422-2826 to reserve your booth for this Juried Art Show now.  Please thank her for listing this show with The Extravaganza Craft News.

List your art and craft fairs in Washington in The Extravaganza Craft News at www.extravaganzacrafts.net/promoter.

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.

AutoWebBusiness.com Increase your sales by 100% GUARANTEED! CLICK HERE

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.

For all of our readers who like to garden, who love to have all the books on gardening but don't have space to keep every one there is a new solution.

There are tons of free Gardening Books for Kindle on amazon.com.

I love Kindle for PC (as I don't have a Kindle) and love having all the free cookbooks, books on gardening, etc. I must have downloaded a hundred free books by now-wonder when I will have time to read them. I haven't yet looked for books on arts and crafts, what was I thinking?