Please. Artisans. Advertise Your Craft Shows!

Please. Artisans. Advertise Your Craft Shows!

Well, it seems I am just writing things that get my attention at any given time. Ha. So far it's working for me. Write when the inspiration hits!

So yeah, it's holiday show season right now. I thought this year, since I'm not vending at all (still weird to say out loud), I'd try to hit as many local craft fairs as possible. Just to check them out, see what's happening out there, since I don't usually do that when I'm working.

Here's the problem. I just missed I think 3 craft fairs this past weekend because I didn't see ANY reminders on facebook. I am on fb a lot lately, I follow many many artists and local groups. What. The. F. Okay it's not all on the artists, the organizers need to be advertising their shows for sure and getting the word out. But you can't count on only them! It takes so little effort to do a few things yourself, and costs nothing.

So I guess it's time for a little talk about promoting yourself. Here, I'm just going to stick to what you should be doing before the show. The bare minimum dude. Tell people!! Most of my experience is on facebook, so that's what I'll focus on.
 
First of all, if you don't have a facebook business page, get one. It's easy and free. Just do it.

Create or Add Events

Fb makes it really easy now to add an Event to your own list of Events on your biz page. People who visit your page can go see what events you have coming up. Super important.

Sometimes a show doesn't make an Event page or they wait too long, it's okay to make your own. Just name it something like "Bohemian Mermaid at the Arcata Holiday Fair", that way it's not confused with the actual event page (if one pops up). Although, I have made some without my name at the front, and it was shared a lot more because there was no other Event page for that show. I just add a link to the show info in the text. It's up to you, nobody ever gave me a hard time about it and I figure more advertising is good for everyone.

Share the Events!

I'm still annoyed that so few of the artists I follow have been sharing their shows ahead of time. These are not all newbies either! I saw a couple pics posted during the shows last weekend, but too late for me to plan to go. I just don't get it. I mean I kind of do, you're busy making and planning, yeah okay. But the *very least* you should do is post a few days before the event. Posting from the show is great and fun, and you might remind some people last minute. But that shouldn't be the first I am hearing about this show. I need a little time to plan my life. Ha.

You can simply share the Event page, that's easy. Or post a few pics of what you will have for sale, along with the show info. Don't forget the city!

You can schedule posts ahead of time on your biz page, it's really easy. Just make a few posts as soon as you know you're in the show and you're done. So maybe you post when you get accepted, schedule a post for a couple weeks before the show, and another a couple days before. Boom done.

On the Event Page

In all Event pages, there's a discussion area where people leave comments or ask questions. It is usually fine to post about your booth there. Just a quick blurb about what you sell, what special items you will have, and a few pics. Don't go crazy and post 5 times or anything, but once or twice is okay. I know I look to see which booths will be at the show. Takes 10 seconds to do it.

In fact, if you first make a post on your business page, you can just share it all around. Easy!

If you make the Event yourself, posting a couple times right before the show inside the event will notify anyone who has marked it as "interested". Again, don't annoy everyone with tons of posts, but do post. I might have clicked your event 2 months ago, I'll be happy to get a little reminder or two. 

Personal Page and Groups

You should definitely share away on your personal page. Who cares if they get annoyed haha. They are your friends! Ask them to share too while you're at it. Everyone loves craft shows, it's not like you are high pressuring them to buy stuff. They want to support you, right? What's the problem?

You can also go into certain local groups and share about your upcoming show. Make sure it's within the group rules, and don't be spammy. But that's what community groups are for!

Paid Ads

Just briefly, let's talk about ads. I'm not going to get too far into it, but I usually run paid ads before an event. I want people who know my business to know where I'll be. If they don't know me, they might be lured by my lovely photos. I have had people come to events just because they saw my ad, dinky events even. Something like that can save a show, seriously. I figure even if one person buys one thing from seeing the ad, it has paid for itself. And I got my name out there a little bit too, along with some promotion for the show itself.

What I like about fb ads is...

1) You can point them at exactly who and where you like. So you aren't hitting the whole state, but your town and maybe the 3 towns nearby. People who could actually go to the show. You can also choose sex, age, and other aspects to narrow things down even more. For my clothing, I like women  over 25. I don't' have to waste $$ targeting men or teens or whatever.

2) You set the max you are willing to pay. I usually set my ads 3-5 days right before the event. Maybe even running into the first day. At a max total of $10, I am cheap! I don't get thousands of views, but I get focused views from my best customers.



I know a lot of this is pretty basic, so maybe you know this stuff already. Or maybe you feel weird about sharing your events,  self conscious or pushy or something. I'm not sure why people don't share about their shows. I do know I *want* to hear about what craft fairs your are doing, and I feel I'm missing out if you don't tell me about them. Hopefully some of these tips will help you get the word out a little more often. Have fun out there!