How Other Craft Fair Vendors can Increase Your Sales

I often looked at other craft show vendors as my competitors. They could potentially take sales away from me.

But there’s another perspective you can have that may help you increase your sales at a craft show.

Think about how you can work with your fellow vendors to promote each other’s products.

Cross-promote with another craft fair vendor

This isn’t about simply sharing a table with a friend at a craft fair; they get one side to display their products and you get the other. I’m talking about finding a vendor whose products complement yours and can be displayed together. Creating a one-stop-shop for your ideal customer. Finding the peanut butter to your jam.

BEFORE YOU TAKE ANY ACTION

You must first check with the craft fair organizer to ensure they allow two vendors per booth and are down with your idea. You should never show up to an event you’ve already been accepted to with an extra vendor and handmade products you did not submit with your application.

Also be sure you’re following all laws that apply to your business:

• LAWS FOR SELLING HANDMADE

BENEFITS

Here are a few perks of sharing a craft show booth with another vendor:

• Lower costs – if the organizer allows you to share, you’re splitting the price of the craft fair booth or table.
• Increase sales – if you follow the steps below and choose the right handmade vendor and products, your products will complement each other and encourage more sales.
• Attract more shoppers – your products may help attract shoppers the other vendors wouldn’t and visa versa. Plus, you have two vendors with two different audiences sending out invites. Shoppers may also be attracted to the additional selection, as long as it’s curated and displayed in a way that isn’t overwhelming. Once you have shoppers in your craft fair booth, it’s obviously easier to make a sale than if they’re simply walking by.
• Good company – you have someone to chat with during the day, help take the pressure off and cover lunch and bathroom breaks.

How To Cross-Promote at a Craft Fair

STEP 1

Define your ideal customer; are they male or female, younger or older? What interests do your customers have in common? Are they environmentally, health or trend-conscious? Maybe the majority of your customers are parents, college students or people who love to travel.

You need to have a clear definition of who you’re targeting before you can start thinking about other products that would work with yours in a craft fair booth.

STEP 2

Once you define your target market, you can begin brainstorming who shares the same customer with you. These will need to be handmade businesses that sell products or services that complement or complete your products, not compete with them.

If two jewelry designers pair up, their products are going to be competing for sales.

But if a jewelry designer and a clothing, handbag or hat designer pair up, their products aren’t competing, they’re complimenting. A shopper looking for a new hat may want to complete the look with a pair of earrings.

A great example of businesses cross-promoting outside a craft fair is juice bars and gyms. They both attract customers that are interested in improving their health but have very different offerings so a sale for one business does not discourage the sale from another.

The gym may allow a juice bar to advertise in their space or even set up a shop to sell their juices directly to the gym’s customers. The juice bar advertises the gym on its counters, usually by placing signup forms and a box for their customers to enter to win a free gym membership.

Here are a few common categories products are sold under at craft fairs and product ideas for vendors to cross-promote with.

ART

Vendors selling photography, paintings or prints are targeting customers looking to decorate their homes. They may consider partnering with handmade vendors selling:

• • Blankets
  • Pillows
  • Furniture
  • Plant arrangements
  • Home décor items (e.g. baskets,
    pottery, wall accessories, etc.)

ACCESSORIES

Vendors selling knitted hats and scarves are targeting customers interested in staying warm and looking stylish. They may pair up at a craft fair with handmade vendors selling:

• • Mittens
  • Slippers
  • Handbags
  • Hand warmers / heating bags
  • Broaches

BATH & BODY

Vendors selling bath and body products might be targeting customers interested in natural skincare, relaxation during bath time or decorating a bathroom. They may pair up at a craft fair with handmade vendors selling:

• • Candles
  • Relaxing bath time products (e.g. teas, wine or wine accessories, etc.)
  • Bathroom accessories (e.g. soap dishes, bath trays, bathroom jar sets, toiletry cases, etc.)
  • Personalized towels

CHILDREN

Vendors selling hair accessories for little girls are targeting parents with young daughters. They may pair up at a craft fair with handmade vendors selling:

• • Children’s clothing
  • Children’s art
  • Children’s photography services
  • Baking (e.g. cupcakes, candy or a cake-baking service)
  • Toys

JEWELRY

Vendors selling jewelry might be targeting females and may pair up at a craft fair with handmade vendors selling:

• • Hair accessories
  • Nail polish or makeup
  • Clothing
  • Scarves
  • Gift-giving products (e.g. cards, flowers, chocolates)

STEP 3

You’ll want to build a relationship with the vendor and make sure you and your products will be compatible. If you’re unfamiliar with the vendor and their products, or even if you know them well but want to test out the idea, start small with one of the ideas below:

• Introduce their products to your audience online. Write a blog post featuring the artist and their work, post a couple of their products for sale on your website or simply share a photo of their work on your social media pages. They can do the same for you. 
• Exchange a few items so you can each sell them at your next craft fair. For example, if a vendor selling knitted scarves partnered with a vendor selling broaches, the scarf vendor may take several broaches to display on their scarves and to sell. The broach vendor may do the same, taking a few scarves to display with their broaches, and to have for sale. You may want to work out a commission agreement with the other vendor so they have a little more incentive to sell your work (e.g. they receive 25% commission).
• Work a smaller craft fair together. Instead of diving in head first, try a shorter, less expensive event to test out sharing a craft fair booth or table. 

STEP 4

If you find it’s a good partnership, consider each of you developing product lines that work together. 

For example, the scarf and broach vendors may decide to work on a jewel-tone collection using rich teals and purples. The scarf designer would choose a couple of yarns to work within the deep tones while the broach designer would choose teal and purple stones/jewels to use in their broaches. When displayed together at a craft fair, they make a strong impact and each item compliments the other, encouraging more sales.

Here are a few of my favorite and most popular articles/ebooks to have your best craft fair yet:

• LAWS – LAWS FOR SELLING HANDMADE
• DISPLAY – WANT TO STAND OUT AT A CRAFT SHOW? TRY THESE DISPLAY TRICKS
• START TO FINISH GUIDE – https://www.madeurban.com/Make-More-Money-at-Craft-Fairs/

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Erin (Creator of Made Urban)

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!