How To Show And Sell Your Crafts

The crafter's complete guide on how to display work at shows and make profitable sales.

Have you ever wanted to sell your handmade crafts or artwork at local craft fairs, but have no idea where to start? Or maybe you've taken the first step and have tried selling your art at a craft show or two, but now you're looking for ideas on how to sell more, how to make your booth more appealing to customers and where to find more venues to sell your handmade goods? You've come to the right place! I've been selling my own handmade creations, as well as the work of other artists, at a variety of craft shows and other events since 2004. I've learned a lot of lessons the hard way, and now I'm sharing them here with you so that you can learn from my experiences! In this book, I'll cover the basics of getting started selling at craft fairs, as well as how to design a great looking booth, how to give outstanding customer service & sell more and even how to find and create additional events at which to sell your handmade work. WHAT IT INCLUDES: - how to define your target market - where to find good shows - how much should I spend on a booth fee at a show? - how to make your booth look great - promoting your show & getting your customers there - my craft show tips & tricks - dealing with crazy weather & unexpected events - theft prevention - craft show supply checklist - how to give great customer service - how to use craft shows to create after-the-show sales - alternative venues to sell your work, beyond traditional craft shows - how to create your own events to sell at - tracking your inventory - how to create a personal & business spending plan - big hunkin' list of craft show resources WHO THIS BOOK IS FOR: This book will be most useful for someone new to selling at craft shows. I do cover more advanced topics as well though, including how to define your target market, visual merchandising, inventory tracking, and creating a business spending plan. The book includes worksheets along the way to help you. The information in this book is based on my experiences, selling in the United States, mostly in Louisiana. However, most of the information contained here is useful to anyone around the world who is interested in setting up a booth at craft shows, festivals or conventions. WHY I KNOW WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT: I did my first craft show in 2004. It was the Alternative Media Expo, put on by Antigravity Magazine here in New Orleans. I sold a few things, and learned a LOT of things. And I haven't looked back! I've done all sorts of events since then. I have sold regularly at the Frenchmen Art Market, and have done festivals around the New Orleans area including Bayou Boogaloo, Gretna Heritage Festival, Freret Market, New Orleans Earth Day Festival, and many, many more. As one of the founding members of the New Orleans Craft Mafia, I've even organized a variety of events, both with the group and on my own. As a group, we've created a monthly art market and the annual Last Stop Shop holiday market. On my own, I've also hosted home shopping parties, trunk shows and pop-up shops. In 2007, as one of the winners of Etsy's Upcycling contest, I even traveled cross-country to San Francisco to participate in Bazaar Bizarre at Maker Faire!

Want to sell your handmade crafts or artwork at craft shows, but have no idea where to start? Or maybe you've taken the first step, and have tried selling your art at a craft fair or two, but now you're looking for ideas on how to sell more, how to make your booth more appealing to customers, and where to find more venues to sell your handmade goods at? You've come to the right place! Comprehensive and indispensable, this book gives advice on everything needed to succeed in the craft-show marketplace. Easy-to-follow instructions make it a snap to select the best shows to attend, create an appealing booth, and offer good customer service. Each chapter in the top-selling guidebook has been completely updated to reflect recent changes in the craft world and the book includes new information on branding, creating products that can compete in today's marketplace, selling on the Internet, and taking promotional photos, as well as creating new marketing strategies for pricing and moving merchandise. -Easy to read, full of practical wisdom and entertaining stories -Up-to-the-minute information on internet marketing and branding -Proven advice

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Business advice for enterprising crafters, by crafters No one knows more about helping handmade businesses than Hello Craft, the nonprofit trade association for crafty entrepreneurs. Written by the directors of Hello Craft, Handmade to Sell is the most complete, up-to-date, and authoritative guide for DIYers seeking to learn every aspect of selling, marketing, and branding. Based on the Summit of Awesome, Hello Craft’s annual business conference, this book covers topics including: • Developing successful product lines • Copyrights and trademarks • Taking perfect product shots • Using analytics to boost your online sales • Selling at fairs, shows, and other retail outlets • Diversifying income through licensing and teaching • Hiring and outsourcing Throughout, you’ll find expert tips and invaluable strategies and advice from some of the most successful indie crafters and artisans. Whether you’ve only contemplated selling your crafts or want to grow an existing handmade business, Handmade to Sell offers essential guidance for anyone who has ever dreamed of making a living from what they create.

Want to take crafting to a new, entrepreneurial dimension? Let 'Craft Show & Sell' be your guide. Through highly visual, step-by-step tutorials and inspiring profiles on some of the world's most successful crafters, this book delivers all the advice and vision that today's crafters need to take their brand or business forward into a new realm.

"Sell Your Crafts Online" provides a roadmap to the best Internet places for makers of handmade crafts to sell, promote and get reviewed from. Discover over 500 promotion ideas. Get 21 ways to inspire trust on your site pages. Learn how to boost your craft site's search engine traffic with 24 Search Engine Optimization tips. Get the 12 best practices for getting link love from other sites. Find 85 places (including Etsy and eBay) to sell handmade crafts from. Learn where to sell your crafts to stores online from 10 wholesale sites. Promote your indie designed art and crafts from 42 online communities. Get reviews of your craft products on 51 shopping community and blog sites that seek unique products to write about. Syndicate your handmade crafts images, blogs, videos, and articles from 36 networks and discover 16 ideas for getting free publicity in magazines and on TV. Thought about starting your own t-shirt business? "Sell Your Crafts Online" covers 16 sites like Cafepress that let you sell your art and designs via on-demand products like t-shirts, mugs, caps and hundreds of other products. Save yourself weeks of research. Get ahead by accessing undiscovered but popular places for selling crafts online from. Author and craft artist, James Dillehay has written nine books and operates more than fifty Web sites. "James was a guest speaker on our Guerrilla Marketing conference call and he blew me away with what he knows about selling on the Internet," said Jay Conrad Levinson, author of the Guerrilla Marketing series, over 15 million copies sold. "Sell Your Crafts Online" is a completely updated edition of Dillehay's book "The Basic Guide to Selling Crafts on the Internet," of which Lapidary Journal said "An astonishing amount of usable information, crammed into so few pages! James Dillehay has an amazing talent for getting right to the point, with a minimum of "geekese." Of the entire list of computer instructional manuals I have read, this one would top the list. I would not hesitate to recommend it . . . even to my mom."

Get started selling handmade! This straightforward book walks you through the process of preparing your goods for sale, pricing and bookkeeping, finding venues, marketing and promoting your products, and working with customers both online and off—all without quitting your day job. Clear, concise instructions explain everything you need to know to sell crafts effectively in your spare time, and help you decide whether to take selling to the next level. Learn how to: • Find out whether you—and your crafts—are ready to start selling • Set prices to cover your costs and make a profit • Establish a bookkeeping system • Manage dual inventories of parts and finished goods • Discover the best places to sell your crafts in person or on the Internet • Identify the right people to market to • Accept credit cards and process other forms of payment • Start selling wholesale • Stay out of tax and legal trouble • And much more!