Craft Fairs & in-Person Markets

One of the most common questions we get is “How do I prepare for a craft fair?” That’s why today we’re bringing you a comprehensive guide for gearing up for a successful craft fair. We’re covering everything from the early prep work like deciding how much inventory to bring along to how to nail your presentation so your booth turns heads. We’re also dishing out our best tips for bolstering your success during the event. We’re covering things like how to mingle and create a welcoming environment that drives sales, how to encourage new customers to drop their email addresses so you can stay in touch, and so much more!

Let’s be friends! Find us on Instagram http://instagram.com/bizbirthdaybash @bizbirthdaybash. 

Grab your FREE Training — 4 Essentials You Need to Turn Your Biz into a Profit Party: https://bizbirthdaybash.com/free-training

How to Prepare for a Craft Fair 

[5:30] Decide how much inventory to bring.

First things first, keep in mind that there is such a thing as having too much product on display. You want your booth to look full but not cluttered or overwhelming. 

There are a ton of different methods for figuring out how much inventory to bring, but there is an average 1-2% conversion rate of how many people attend. 

When planning out your inventory, don’t forget to consider how much profit you want to generate! Think of it this way, If you sold EVERYTHING, how much would you be making? You want to have enough to make it worth your time, and if your product is $5 greeting cards, you’ll want to bring some larger priced items like boxed sets for instance too to make your average order volume higher and offset the cost of the show. My goal would be to at least 10 times the cost of the show because it is so much work!!

[11:00] Presentation is everything! Map out your booth display 

To make sure it is super easy for your customers to purchase items, be sure to price all of your items BEFORE the event and be sure that the price is displayed clearly. Not only does having your items clearly priced make the buying process smoother for your customer, but it also paints you in a more professional light and helps to stomp out any potential price haggling before it even starts. 

Be sure to map out your booth set up BEFORE the event. You’ll want to think about how much space you’ll have available and how your booth will flow from section to section. It’s a good idea to have around 5 different groups or sections. maybe you have a space for holiday products or perhaps the grouping is by color or gifts for plant lovers or even product category. This is going to make or break your booth, as harsh as it is!

Create signage for your booth. Especially if you offer custom work, it’s a really good idea to create a sign to advertise it! Maybe even display an iPad slideshow or flip through of your previous work!

Don’t lose touch with all of your new customers! Create an audience capture plan. To capture email addresses, you can do something as simple as putting out a cute notepad for customers to write down their information on. You could even get fancy and display a QR code that will automatically direct them to join your email list. Most importantly, be sure to give your customers some sort of incentive to drop their information, maybe you host a giveaway or offer a discount that’s exclusive to your email list subscribers. 

Plan out how you will accept payments. If you plan to accept cash, be sure to have a cash box and change on hand. If you plan to accept cards, bring along a card scanner. Maybe display your Venmo information as well. 

[25:40] Your Event Day Gameplan 

To create a successful craft fair experience, your space has to look inviting and so do you. Painting or doing your craft on the scene is a great way to start conversations with your customers that allow you to share your brand story. 

Be sure to keep your booth organized. Bring a table cloth so you can stash bins of extra inventory and supplies out of sight under your table. Bring a chair to sit in, you don’t want to stand ALL day! 

Practice and prepare for an efficient checkout process. Make sure that you have bags for your customers! You don’t want people to pass up buying your products because they don’t want to carry them around the craft fair all day long. 

Don’t sit on the sidelines. Make sure that you show up and sell! It is awkward for everyone if you don’t say a peep when someone is in your booth. Have a few lines planned out so you can make your customers feel welcome! Also be ready to educate your customers. You’ll definitely have people ask about why you price the way you do or how you do things, so just start thinking about how you’ll answer those questions now!

If you can, it’s best to bring a friend or significant other with you so you can actually take breaks and go the bathroom, have a snack, etc. Be sure to give them the details on how to make a sale while you’re gone! 

Don’t forget to mingle and make friends with other makers. Not only is it good for the soul but you never know what extra collaboration opportunities could come from it!  It could be as simple as sending customers to check out each other’s booths or as big as landing your first wholesale order as Cami did after taking the plunge and nervously introducing herself to Megan and Cedar of Paper Goat Post at a craft fair! 

Last but not least, make sure that you have a rain plan so that your products don’t get ruined if the weather takes a turn for the worst. It’s a good idea to bring a tent that has sides so you can zip it up if needed! Also, be sure to secure your tent with weights so it doesn’t blow away if it gets breezy. 

[39:00] The Craft Fair is Over, Now What? 

While your brand is still top of mind, follow up with customers that dropped their email addresses for you. Maybe even send them a discount code for their first order.

Do a comprehensive review of the outcome of the event. Take a look at what products sold well and which didn’t. Take a close look at your expenses that went into the event and the profit you generated.

Brainstorm about where you can improve in the future. were there any ‘sticky’ spots in your process? did one product not sell at all? Was there a specific product people kept picking up but not buying (this might indicate that the price was too high)?  Did you have feedback from customers that could lead to new products or improving current ones?

As you’re debriefing, don’t be too hard on yourself! Even if you didn’t make as much as you wanted, no craft fair is ever a failure!! There is SO MUCH to be gained from being able to witness in-person interaction with your products as well as exposure to a new audience. For me, I found it made it easy to see spots where I was “missing” stuff in my product line. BONUS TIP: Bring a notebook with you to take notes when you have downtime at the craft fair so you capture these golden learning opportunities in real-time and don’t risk forgetting them when the event ends! 

One of the most common questions we get is “How do I prepare for a craft fair?” That’s why today we’re bringing you a comprehensive guide for gearing up for a successful craft fair. We’re covering everything from the early prep work like deciding how much inventory to bring along to how to nail your presentation so your booth turns heads. We’re also dishing out our best tips for bolstering your success during the event. We’re covering things like how to mingle and create a welcoming environment that drives sales, how to encourage new customers to drop their email addresses so you can stay in touch, and so much more!

Let’s be friends! Find us on Instagram http://instagram.com/bizbirthdaybash @bizbirthdaybash. 

Grab your FREE Training — 4 Essentials You Need to Turn Your Biz into a Profit Party: https://bizbirthdaybash.com/free-training

How to Prepare for a Craft Fair 

[5:30] Decide how much inventory to bring.

First things first, keep in mind that there is such a thing as having too much product on display. You want your booth to look full but not cluttered or overwhelming. 

There are a ton of different methods for figuring out how much inventory to bring, but there is an average 1-2% conversion rate of how many people attend. 

When planning out your inventory, don’t forget to consider how much profit you want to generate! Think of it this way, If you sold EVERYTHING, how much would you be making? You want to have enough to make it worth your time, and if your product is $5 greeting cards, you’ll want to bring some larger priced items like boxed sets for instance too to make your average order volume higher and offset the cost of the show. My goal would be to at least 10 times the cost of the show because it is so much work!!

[11:00] Presentation is everything! Map out your booth display 

To make sure it is super easy for your customers to purchase items, be sure to price all of your items BEFORE the event and be sure that the price is displayed clearly. Not only does having your items clearly priced make the buying process smoother for your customer, but it also paints you in a more professional light and helps to stomp out any potential price haggling before it even starts. 

Be sure to map out your booth set up BEFORE the event. You’ll want to think about how much space you’ll have available and how your booth will flow from section to section. It’s a good idea to have around 5 different groups or sections. maybe you have a space for holiday products or perhaps the grouping is by color or gifts for plant lovers or even product category. This is going to make or break your booth, as harsh as it is!

Create signage for your booth. Especially if you offer custom work, it’s a really good idea to create a sign to advertise it! Maybe even display an iPad slideshow or flip through of your previous work!

Don’t lose touch with all of your new customers! Create an audience capture plan. To capture email addresses, you can do something as simple as putting out a cute notepad for customers to write down their information on. You could even get fancy and display a QR code that will automatically direct them to join your email list. Most importantly, be sure to give your customers some sort of incentive to drop their information, maybe you host a giveaway or offer a discount that’s exclusive to your email list subscribers. 

Plan out how you will accept payments. If you plan to accept cash, be sure to have a cash box and change on hand. If you plan to accept cards, bring along a card scanner. Maybe display your Venmo information as well. 

[25:40] Your Event Day Gameplan 

To create a successful craft fair experience, your space has to look inviting and so do you. Painting or doing your craft on the scene is a great way to start conversations with your customers that allow you to share your brand story. 

Be sure to keep your booth organized. Bring a table cloth so you can stash bins of extra inventory and supplies out of sight under your table. Bring a chair to sit in, you don’t want to stand ALL day! 

Practice and prepare for an efficient checkout process. Make sure that you have bags for your customers! You don’t want people to pass up buying your products because they don’t want to carry them around the craft fair all day long. 

Don’t sit on the sidelines. Make sure that you show up and sell! It is awkward for everyone if you don’t say a peep when someone is in your booth. Have a few lines planned out so you can make your customers feel welcome! Also be ready to educate your customers. You’ll definitely have people ask about why you price the way you do or how you do things, so just start thinking about how you’ll answer those questions now!

If you can, it’s best to bring a friend or significant other with you so you can actually take breaks and go the bathroom, have a snack, etc. Be sure to give them the details on how to make a sale while you’re gone! 

Don’t forget to mingle and make friends with other makers. Not only is it good for the soul but you never know what extra collaboration opportunities could come from it!  It could be as simple as sending customers to check out each other’s booths or as big as landing your first wholesale order as Cami did after taking the plunge and nervously introducing herself to Megan and Cedar of Paper Goat Post at a craft fair! 

Last but not least, make sure that you have a rain plan so that your products don’t get ruined if the weather takes a turn for the worst. It’s a good idea to bring a tent that has sides so you can zip it up if needed! Also, be sure to secure your tent with weights so it doesn’t blow away if it gets breezy. 

[39:00] The Craft Fair is Over, Now What? 

While your brand is still top of mind, follow up with customers that dropped their email addresses for you. Maybe even send them a discount code for their first order.

Do a comprehensive review of the outcome of the event. Take a look at what products sold well and which didn’t. Take a close look at your expenses that went into the event and the profit you generated.

Brainstorm about where you can improve in the future. were there any ‘sticky’ spots in your process? did one product not sell at all? Was there a specific product people kept picking up but not buying (this might indicate that the price was too high)?  Did you have feedback from customers that could lead to new products or improving current ones?

As you’re debriefing, don’t be too hard on yourself! Even if you didn’t make as much as you wanted, no craft fair is ever a failure!! There is SO MUCH to be gained from being able to witness in-person interaction with your products as well as exposure to a new audience. For me, I found it made it easy to see spots where I was “missing” stuff in my product line. BONUS TIP: Bring a notebook with you to take notes when you have downtime at the craft fair so you capture these golden learning opportunities in real-time and don’t risk forgetting them when the event ends!