Kudos to you, small business owner! If you are here that means you have decided to take the plunge and participate in your first ever craft fair or pop-up. Now that you have selected the perfect event for you to participate in, you are probably wondering where to begin in your preparation and participation. It can be stressful – you do not want to pour money into an event and then get nothing out of it. We are here to help you! Here is some advice for your first craft fair or pop-up.
Get Into The Right Mindset
How you interact with people is going to have a huge impact on your success during these events. You do NOT want to be that vendor that sits behind their table, not talking to anyone, and being unapproachable. These types of vendors can make people uncomfortable, and even to wonder if that vendor even wants to be there.
The best thing you can do before an event is to give yourself a pep talk and decide the type of vendor you want to be. To make the most of craft fairs or pop-ups, you want to be interactive, be inviting, and just show event goers that you actually want to be there.
Pro tip: if you can, offer samples! This allows people to interact with you AND your product firsthand, and is a great conversation starter.
Think BEYOND The Event
If you are focused on your sales during the event, that’s fine. BUT, you are limiting yourself if you do this. A craft fair or pop-up is a great way to create connections and build a community with event goers. Creating a sign-up sheet, or an email sequence after a purchase is a great way to keep yourself front of mind for (potential) customers. Even simply having a display of your social media account handles is a great way to build a community with those who are interested in your small business.
Engagement Equals Sales
We get it. Making a point to interact with everyone who stops by your display table can be exhausting…BUT doing so will help increase your sales. If you’re feeling a little self conscious about making small talk with event goers, then go ahead and practice before the event! Over time as you participate in more events, you will get more comfortable with interacting with people.
While your goal is likely to make a lot of sales during the craft fair or pop-up, remember that it is also important to build up those relationships and to create a community. Engaging with event goers will allow you to easily do this.
If you are looking for more help and tips for event marketing and participating in craft fairs and events – check out our other videos and resources!
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Feel free to share your thoughts with me, I can be reached at vivian@theseasonedmarketer.com!
Looking for more free marketing tips and content specifically for small business owners? Check out our podcast, S.O.B. Marketing Podcast. Every Wednesday we discuss a new topic to help small business owners take on marketing on their own. Listen to our episode of the S.O.B. Marketing podcast wherever you get your podcasts or watch on YouTube! Have a topic you want us to discuss? Email us at Help@TheSeasonedMarketer.com!
Interested in elevating your event marketing game? Check out our FREE mini training course! Learn 3 mistakes you could possibly be making that are impacting your participation in events, craft fairs, and pop-ups. Not only is this training course FREE, but you will get a special discount at the end for our new course, ROCK YOUR FAIR! Click here to check it out.
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