How to Promote a Craft Show Last Minute
If you participate in enough craft shows, you’ll end up at a slow craft show that desperately needs to attract shoppers. It doesn’t matter how well the event organizer or you, the vendor, prepare, some things are out of everyone’s control.
Whether the lack of attendance is due to poor marketing by the organizer or bad weather, don’t throw in the towel just yet.
It’s easy to feel upset and start complaining with other vendors but it’s better to keep a positive attitude and try your best to attract shoppers to save your sales. Here are 5 things to try.
1) Use your social media to promote the event
That’s the beauty of social media; you can reach a large audience immediately and influence their plans. Take some pics or videos of all the awesome items they’ll find at the event and be sure to use hashtags to tag the city/neighbourhood/building you’re in and any other keywords you think people may search when looking for something to do that day.
2) Work together
Strength in numbers! Chat with the other vendors to try and get everyone on board and come up with a plan to promote the craft show. If everyone sends out a tweet and Facebook post letting their fans know not only that they’re at the show, but what other great vendors are there, you’ll all benefit. Email may not be quite as effective but could still be beneficial. Check out #3 below and if there are businesses that have a newsletter list, they could send out a quick newsletter blast with “Today only” in the title.
3) Create an incentive to attract shoppers
Is there something you, the other vendors, and the organizer can put together to give away? Maybe everyone can donate an item to create a gift basket shoppers can enter to win. You can even make sharing part of the conditions for entry.
Get each person who enters, to send out a tweet or Facebook post about the show.
If you can’t group together for a prize, consider offering a discount on your items for that show and post it to social media. The organizer could offer a discount on entry fees or even make a run to a local bakery and offer free cookies or hot chocolate to those who come through the door.
If it’s a Christmas show, see if the organizer can get one of their helpers to pick up wrapping paper, scissors and tape, set up a table, and offer free gift-wrapping. Once the incentive is decided, be sure everyone does their part to share the news on social media.
4) Get in contact with the media
Use social media to find local influencers who may be interested in attending or promoting the event. For example, a local blogger who focuses on family-friendly events and activities may love to know about the craft show. Tagging or messaging them gives them content for their social media account.
A local radio station may also be interested in the event and be willing to mention it on air.
The key to getting media coverage is giving them a great story, not just advertising yourself, so be sure you think about what’s in it for them to cover you.
5) Make signs to attract shoppers
Take advantage of the foot traffic by making signs letting people know what’s inside. Find some areas to tape them up (make sure you don’t violate any local laws) or even take turns or find a volunteer to walk around with a sign or hand out flyers.
If there are local businesses around, the craft show’s organizer (or one of their helpers) could pop into several and ask if they’d be willing to hand out a few flyers to their customers.
At the end of the day, it’s important to keep a positive attitude and make the most of each customer that stops by your table. If you don’t sell as much as you would have liked to, all you can do is chalk it up to a learning experience and look on the bright side; you have lots of stock for the next sale!
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Hey, I’m Erin 🙂 I write about small business and craft show techniques I’ve learned from being a small business owner for almost 2 decades, selling at dozens of craft shows, and earning a diploma in Visual Communication Design. I hope you find my advice helpful!
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