The start of a sale at any art fair begins with getting customers to notice your booth. What is the best way to attract customers to your booth? Here's just 6 tips that could work for you.1. Flowers. Nice landscaping can go a long way to sell a house. Flowers on a tables in restaurants put people at ease. So why not use flowers to your advantage. Last year I have used 2-4 planters with real planted flowers as anchors for my canopy. The idea came to me as I couldn't stand looking at cinder blocks or milk jugs while I sold at fairs. When I started using the planters - the first thing customers saw "Oh, what beautiful flowers" and came closer to take a look. Guess what happens next - they look in the booth and and enter it. So, perhaps planters aren't for you, what about a simple bud vase with your state flower, rose, wildflowers placed in areas you want to draw people's attention or fake flower garlands draped around an easel of your best 2-D art work?2. Large format photography. Ever find yourself driving and NOT take a second to see what a billboard advertisement was all about? The same idea can be extended to those who walk up and down aisles at fairs. Anything big draws the eye and for artists, this works like a charm especially for those who sell jewelry or anything small in size. For about $20, take a good photo of your best selling piece to a Ritz Camera (or other photo developer) and or get it framed or made into a banner and you are set.3. Good lighting. Remember the saying, "like moths to a flame"? Well good lighting in any show booth will draw customers in like moths to a flame. Darkness, shadows, and dim spaces is a natural deterrent - gets customers thinking about dark alleyways where danger could be around the corner. If people can't SEE what you make and sell, then isn't it only natural to pass one booth up for one that is well lit? Desk lamps, strings of Christmas lights, clip-on display lights, good display lamps, etc. all can work and some work better than others all depending on what you sell. Although some fear the money to fork over for electric, hauling lights and so on is too costly, I can tell you it will at least increase your sales 25-30% if not more - I am one of those who can vouch for this tip .4. Color. Commercial products in today's market place have great bright color branding - Yankee Candle, Victoria's Secret, Coca-cola, etc. I often see "cookie cutter" booths at every show - white canopy, white backdrops, white table coverings... While we can't help that fairs require white canopies and they are so easy to find, something as simple as colored table coverings, flower garlands hiding the legs to a booth, colored curtains/backdrops, simple colored scarves accenting jeweled toned necklaces, painted wooden shelving, and so on all are simple, inexpensive ways to add color to a booth. A splash of color in a sea of white (or black) will surely catch customers eyes as long as it is soft and not too bold.5. Banner. Banners do not have to be big, full of color, or expensive. Office supply stores who have a copy/print area or places online like Vistaprint can help help you make up any kind of banner you want all in the name of getting noticed. Two lines of writing such as your business name and website or tagline can truly make a booth stand out. It has a billboard effect, but also tells customers in a matter of 3 seconds I SELL POTTERY (photography, oil paintings, candles, jewelry...). This will help weed out lookie loos and drive serious shoppers into your booth.6. Demonstrate. Every show I have attended where someone demonstrates how their work is made - it draws a crowd. This idea appeals to the "mob" mentality where if one person stops to watch, others follow suit because they see one or more doing it too that it must be something interesting. Demonstrating is also a simple way to start selling without customers catching on. To show and tell a show patron how pottery is shaped and molded, watching a painter make a blank canvas flow with color, or how the sound of a hammer striking metal to form iron work is something people just don't see every day. Doing so also authenticates your work - they will never question "do you make this or is it handmade"? Can't demonstrate at a show - see point #2 - a large format photograph of you in action working away in your workshop also works just as well.I wanted to add this tip as I have had people asking me this question and recently posted it on my blog. I thought others here may benefit from the knowledge. If you like this post all I ask is to leave a comment on my blog - www.quickcraftartisttips.blogspot.com . I want to encourage everyone though to share their tips. Have you tried any of these tips and they did or didn't work - I (as well as others I am sure) want to hear it. Thanks so much for reading!- Michelle, By the Bay Botanicals, www.bythebaybotanicals.com
Definitely useful tips! Especially the Demonstrate one -crafting while at shows has an appeal- I have made many sales that way! Children especially, will stop to see how it's done, and this makes Mom or Dad pause too!
Michelle- I think the flower pots work just fine for you because they relate to your products. The friend that does the water... is she more on the crafter side of things? I would really prefer for the art to be the focus as Katie mentioned. All of my display items are a backdrop for the art. They are not flashy and I don't think they should be. I have heard from many that when they put out something interesting like flowers or decorative eggs at Easter that people are drawn to those and the art that is for sale does not always get noticed.
I almost always have a booth where I can have 2 sides and face my merchandise outward to get the attention that I want. The booths that are walk in that seem to get the most people walking in are very airy feeling. They are not closed in- gridwall is probably fine as long as there is no sidewall up. That kind of thing.
At the last show I was at a friend of mine told me about her draw. Offering people a way to cool off either by offering free small cups of water or a place to sit and soak their feet in a tub of cool water. Who wouldn't want to stop and take a load off at that point especially if the show doesn't have many places to sit or offer cool water where there isn't offering it. More often than not people return the favor and shop at her booth - especially having a moment to sit and look around.
Kaelin, the pots are light plastic ones the look like the heavy terra cotta pots. These typically have a lip rip to them and have a heavy cord under the lip. Then with bungee cords, as mine have hooks, I hook one end to the lipped cord and then the other wrap around the leg of the canopy and hook the other end on the of the beams at the top of the canopy. I like the idea of this, but I do understand that some may not be able to do this as the container can take up room in the car and be heavy to carry and you have to water it every other day as potted plants seem to require a little more water than normal. There are items on the market that aid with watering potted plants - something worth checking out. Regardless if you set up a canopy on a street/sidewalk, the planters do help in adding beauty as well as weight for the canopy.
Side note - I did do my banner through Vista Print too however didn't get grommets in it - for some reason. I am using velcro at the corners of the banner and this helps - the other part of the velcro can go on the sides of a canopy, on table coverings... use your imagination. Thought I would mention that. But I have used the banner at several shows now and hasn't faded or torn or anything - not bad for the simple fee they ask for. - Michelle, www.quickcraftartisttips.blogspot.com
Thanks for the tips, Michelle, I've got my banner on order from Vistaprint as well as a product photo on vinyl. I had considered a potted orchid or something to help make the atmosphere more inviting, but I love the idea of flower pots as tent weights! How did you anchor them? I envision tying the corner ropes around the middle with a bow, but I don't think that's quite right... :)
Hey Michelle, good tips. Table covers can give your booth the color you are looking for---I found that having a solid color works the best as those with a pattern tend to draw your eye to the table cover and not to the items you are selling.
I make and sell birdhouses and they also add color to my booth. I use white lattice screens with burgundy drapes as the drapes makes the lattice "pop". I've kept my color scheme to 4 basic colors for my booth. White lattice screens, Burgundy drapes, and beige tablecovers with Hunter green toppers.
The other 2 things I do to lure people in is to have motion sensor birds placed on a birdhouse near the entrance of my booth. As people approach the front of my booth the birds will sing and draw them in. I also made a small sign that is prominently placed that says "Handmade in Frederick, MD"
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I almost always have a booth where I can have 2 sides and face my merchandise outward to get the attention that I want. The booths that are walk in that seem to get the most people walking in are very airy feeling. They are not closed in- gridwall is probably fine as long as there is no sidewall up. That kind of thing.
Side note - I did do my banner through Vista Print too however didn't get grommets in it - for some reason. I am using velcro at the corners of the banner and this helps - the other part of the velcro can go on the sides of a canopy, on table coverings... use your imagination. Thought I would mention that. But I have used the banner at several shows now and hasn't faded or torn or anything - not bad for the simple fee they ask for. - Michelle, www.quickcraftartisttips.blogspot.com
I make and sell birdhouses and they also add color to my booth. I use white lattice screens with burgundy drapes as the drapes makes the lattice "pop". I've kept my color scheme to 4 basic colors for my booth. White lattice screens, Burgundy drapes, and beige tablecovers with Hunter green toppers.
The other 2 things I do to lure people in is to have motion sensor birds placed on a birdhouse near the entrance of my booth. As people approach the front of my booth the birds will sing and draw them in. I also made a small sign that is prominently placed that says "Handmade in Frederick, MD"