The ABC's of Doing Art Fairs - I is for Informative and Introduction

Greetings once again and welcome back the series on the ABC's of doing art fairs.  We're in February and just yesterday had a trunk show at a local shop in town which made me quickly realize I can't wait for art fair season to start up again.  Trunk shows are a great way to get your work out into the community.  The trunk show helped inspire this post.  Why?  Because as we have just started getting into the "I's", one of the important aspects with dealing with customers is to be informative, really knowing your work inside and out, as well as the art of properly introducing yourself and your work.  Let's get started.

Informative.  Having a visual masterpiece of an art fair display/booth is a great tool to attract customers at an art fair, however you must follow up with enticing info to reel them in.  Today good, informative content is king.   Many equate content as something reserved for blogs, websites and social media, (and rightly so) but those who do well at art fairs bring this knowledge into the art fair realm.  So, what does being informative mean and how can someone be more informative?  My advice is look at yourself and see yourself as an expert, THE "go-to" person on the topic of your art medium.  If you don't see yourself as this, start doing so now.  To live up to the title of expert you must have knowledge - and for the sake of this blog, knowledge about your medium.  Those in the art show community label me as the art fair advice girl because I like to share the advice on doing art fairs (10 years of experience being in the field mixed with even many more years of retail experience) and the advice makes sense.  I share my knowledge because all I want is for others to not make the same mistakes I made when starting out selling at art fairs.  You don't have to be sterotypical old professor to be an expert, just someone who has a passion about about your medium, hobbies, and the like, you may find yourself like me, an expert in many fields.  It doesn't take long to develop a following where people seek you out for info about your medium, other art fairs, how to take care of jewelry, how it is made, etc.  Establishing yourself more than an artist but an expert in your field adds value to your work where customers will realize they aren't just buying art or an object. Some examples include buying a piece of history (like a photograph of an historic landmark with the history lesson that goes along with it), a sense of accomplishment (helping in a hands on demo), inspire (encourage a customer to achieve their dreams - if you can do it perhaps he/she can too) , or creating an emotional attachment (explaining why you choose to donate 15% of your earning to breast caner awareness).  I encourage you to seek ways on how you can be an expert, a truly informative person that engages your customers and you will find the rewards will be endless.

Introductions.  It is custom, when hosting a gathering - a wedding, dinner party, etc. - to introduce yourself and others in the group.  It puts individuals at ease while at the same time connect with strangers.  In the past it was common to ask a friend to introduce them to a colleague for either business or social purposes.  Today social media is the tech answer to "introduce" ourselves with others who we follow or fan based group members.  At art fairs, introductions are also in order - not just as an artist, but our art.  Yes, I said it... our art.  The moment a person enters an art fair booth they're like a stranger at a dinner party - unfamiliar territory.  Make them feel at ease by introducing yourself stating your name and let them know what kind of art you specialize in.  Next, the most important thing is step back and let them "enjoy the party".  Once customers feel at ease, they will open up by asking questions about the show or your work leading to opportunities to up-sell your work.  Don't push it though, remember it's all about the customers, not you!  Don't get into a lengthy monologue about how much you know about your work after introducing yourself if no one asks - you can easily loose customers and sales. 

What are your thoughts on the topics of Informative and Introductions?  Do you do these things?  Think you might try it?  Share your opinions via the comment button below.  Next time... more "I" words!  Have a nice Valentine's Day and wish you much success at future art fairs! 

- Michelle Sholund, www.quickcraftartisttips.blogspot.com  www.bythebaybotanicals.com

The ABC's of Doing Art Fairs - G is for Goals

Happy Monday!  I just realized I have gone backwards in doing this series.  I know I should be on H, however with the last post and today's, I realized there are still a few more G words that need to be included.  The big one, goals.  For me, I can't get enough info on anything marketing, retail and advertising related for craft businesses.  What baffles me is there isn't enough attention on the importance of having good goals.  I even talked about this at a conference geared towards building ones own art and craft business.  So, indulge me and read on as to why having goals is important to keeping ones art/craft business alive.

Goals.  When it comes to the word goal, what comes to mind?  Great, another chore!?  What's the point?  Who needs them?  I have a few goals in mind, but don't know where to start?  Sound familiar?  To me they do sound familiar.  These are the reactions I get from owners of businesses who either lack motivation, don't care, or just starting out (having lots of great ideas but never know where to start).  When it comes to having one's own art/craft business many aren't prepared or know what it is like to have such huge responsibilities like running ones own business.  For many people, they think goals = success and if success isn't the end result then they have failed and there is no way you can pick up the pieces because of the feeling of self defeat.  I am here to tell you goals are tools.  They're a wonderful thing and should be thought of as mini accomplishments to not just build self esteem but build a better, more successful business.

The best way to look at the term, goals, is to understand it.  What makes a goal, well... a goal?  A goal can be big or little.  Whatever your goals are, they should have time frame of when you want to accomplish it, be realistic, tracked/measured, and clearly defined.  Many places have fun acronyms for this, but I am not going into that...

Time.  A good characteristic of creating a goal is that you should put a time frame around it.  If it is a simple goal think about trying to accomplish it within a day or maybe a week.  For instance, having a goal to clean off ones office desk should be easy enough to accomplish in one day.  I use this example as I just had this goal about 3 days ago and after starting and stopping, I was able to accomplish it in one day, and feel great doing so.  Others might need more time and there is nothing wrong with extending the lifetime of that goal!

Realistic.   Remember the saying, "Rome wasn't built in a day"?  Well, the same goes for goal making.  You have to be honest and realistic with yourself when making goals.  It's like those who want to loose weight - they want to lose it all now.  But realistically, it took a "lifetime" to put it on, and deep down inside you do know it won't go away over night.  When it comes to business goals something like building a website is a great goal to have - but not easy if you have never done this before.  The solution?  Break up such a goal into mini ones.  Using the example of doing your own website, over a span of a week take one mini goal it focus on what you want your website to be (informative or perhaps e-commerce?) and then draw the framework for that website, -  not to mention come up with a creative .com domain name. The next day devote the time listing pros and cons of whether you think you can do it yourself or hire someone to do it for you - online research will come into play here.  The day after that, continue that research and start contacting website developers or try some free DIY website and see how they work for you...  Before you know it by the end of the week you are closer or even started your own business website.   You will find the more realistic the goal, the easier they are to accomplish.


Tracking and measuring.  The progress of a goal should also be easily tracked.  Going back to loosing weight, each week you can weigh yourself to see how much weight you have lost.  Visually seeing piles of paper work go down on your desk as you clean off your desk is a another way to track progress.  Start using to do lists and cross off those items that have been accomplished, is yet another example of tracking. Knowing how much you have done and how much is left to go, helps you see how you measure up going from point A to point B. 

Clearly define your goals.  If you can't say it (or read it) and it doesn't make sense, how do you plan on finishing the goal?  Granted not all goals need to be written.  However, long term goals would be easier to remember if they were in front where you can see them on a daily basis.  A clearly defined goal incorporates all the elements listed above.  An example...  By the end of the day, an doing an inventory on stock and display materials must be completed.  Using a checklist, items will get packed into the car as it is checked off to be sure everything is packed for the art fair tomorrow.  It has all the elements! 

Here's a list of goals that every business should entertain on a regular basis:
   - advertising/marketing (how can I do more with my advertising and marketing),
   - organization (what can be done to be be more organized),
    - production (are there better ways to make my production time efficient),
    - staff (how can my staff be more educated to how items are made and sold - this includes volunteers 
       who help you at shows),
   - expanding (when the time comes, what are some ways I can expand my business) and
   - sales (what else can I do close more sales).
All business owners need to keep track of what is working and what isn't.  The better you are at goal making and keeping will aid you in staying on track for success. 

Did I give you a lot to think about?  I hope so.  The road ahead for craft artists is not a smooth one, and definitely not for the lazy.  In speaking of roads, the journey in this blog series will get back on track with the start of I words, having covered the H's already.  Thanks for reading and sharing this and other blog posts to your friends and colleagues.  If you have any suggestions for future posts - like I words, or just need to pick my brain drop me a line, mksholund@gmail.com ...  Hope you have a good and productive week!

Michelle Sholund, www.quickcraftartisttips.blogspot.com - www.bythebaybotanicals.com

The ABC's of Doing Art and Craft Fairs - G is for Google and Gratitude

Welcome to a new blog post on the ABC's of Doing Art and Craft Fairs.  It's winter time and it is easy to find yourself having a more laid back attitude when not doing art and craft fairs.  Of course the major exception are those doing shows in the south, say in Florida.  But for the rest who don't travel south to do shows, one thing is for certain, enjoy the calm while it lasts.  For me, I have been getting tax info together (I am not going to stress like I did last year...), organizing the workshop, doing some research online as to what my competitors are doing, as well as window shopping with my suppliers on what are some new things I can try for 2012 to enhance my current work and make it more marketable.  In the medium I am in, candle making, the scent landscape is always changing and I have to keep up.  So, with all this stuff, yes I am able to find a couple of moments to relax, however not loose focus to run my craft business.  With that in mind, I was inspired to jot down my thoughts for this blog post as we go into the G's of doing art and craft fairs.  Two big words come to mind, Google and gratitude, and here's what I have to say about both...

Google.  THE biggest brand name with regard to the world wide web is Google.  It's more than just a search engine tool, but a place to get the news, read and host blogs, email, web browser (Google Chrome), images, ads, maps, and even a verb - "Just Google the term...".  What makes Google important for craft artists? It is the easiest way to spread word of mouth advertising so anyone, with a few key words, can be found in a sea information.  In the past, you weren't somebody unless you were in the Yellow Pages < insert the quirky quote from the movie The Jerk here > or were on t.v. or in print.  Granted there are a lot of other search engines like Bing and Yahoo, but if you can get to the top of Google rankings, then you have it made, and you don't have to have a website to do so - you heard me, you don't have to have a website to do so (but it does help).  Google works by taking all the info found on the web, organizes it and serves it on a silver platter... in a nutshell.  That means if you are talked about say in a newspaper article, another website, a blog post, etc., Google can gather that info and put it in front  of others searching for topics that relate to your name, business type, and so on.  The more people talk about you, the more Google notices (and other search engines too).  To get the high rankings, it's all about content - this is where having a website is important.  Why?  All the attention doesn't mean much if those who come across your info doesn't have a way to find you, then you missing out on potential customers.  Having just the basic of websites - covering a who, what, when, where, and why about you and your business is all it takes to get started.  Adding things like e-commerce (with good key words), a blog, articles you have written about how your art helps others, and more, is where content reigns supreme.  Having your business name, your type of art, and your name tied to that content, not only brands you, but makes Google take notice.  Today it is more about branding than you know it to play to where the playing field is now level with the other "big boys" out there.  If this wets your whistle and you want to learn more about good content vs. bad and Google, two books I am listening to right now (I like and use audible.com to listen to audible books for when I travel or work in the workshop) called Unmarketing by Scott Stratten and The Referral Engine by John Jantsch are great places to start.  In summary, Google is more than a search engine, it can be your best friend. 

Gratitude.  "If a fellow isn't thankful for what he's got, then he isn't likely to be thankful for what he's going to get" - Frank A. Clark  I just love that quote because it just reminds me of karma.  Don't we all ever think that those who bad attitudes will get their come-up-pins one day (like the speed demon who passed me the other day...)?   Gratitude is just one of those simple things all people, not just craft artists, can do to make a positive impact on others.  For those who are craft artists showing just an ounce of gratitude can come back to you, as much as ten fold.  I say this because acknowledging people and thanking them, for commenting on your facebook post, include a thank you note in an order, or reward those who have done nice things will deepen the connection between you and whoever you interact with.  When at art fairs, helping people put up a canopy can return the thank you by keeping an eye on your booth if you have to quickly use a rest room.  A thank you and a smile to a customer who didn't even buy from you at an art fair shows you are genuine and not pushy as others might be at the same fair.  Today, when customer service seems lost for many shoppers - those thank you and smile moments add up.  Those shoppers will remember you and down the road will buy from you, give you free word of mouth advertisement to a friend/colleague, or open a new door of opportunity you never knew existed.

I work at specialty shop, for those who don't know this, part time.  I am pretty much the only person working there during the week, mind you it is a small shop in the middle of no where, yet on a well traveled road.  I know it is my duty to be the "voice" of the shop in order for it to thrive - much like our own art/craft businesses.  I know that greeting people as they come in, just isn't a nice thing to do, but sets the tone for their shopping experience.  It can deter a shoplifter as well as make a person feel at ease whether it is their first visit or 100th.  Letting people know that if they need anything, they just merely need to ask (and leaving them alone to shop) shows trust and space to shop freely.   The cherry on top is to let each customer know, when they leave, to thank them for not just taking the time to come in and look/buy but I - me, myself, and I - look forward to seeing them again soon.  I am not half heartedly going through the motions because it is my job.  I do it because I honestly love my part time job.  I treat people the way I want to be treated if I were in their shoes.  It  only feels natural for me to apply all of this to my own craft business to boot.  I have even had people who come to the part time shop make the time and effort to come and see me at an art show just to talk to me and learn more about me and yes buy...  Going the extra mile and know people do appreciate and see them reciprocate makes it worth while. 

On that note, thanks a bunch for reading this rather lengthy post - you're a trouper.  I also hope this advice I have given (today or other), is something you can apply to your business or even daily routine.  There are more G words to cover so, check back soon.  Help spread the word and share this with others too!  - Michelle Sholund, www.quickcraftartisttips.blogspot.com and www.bythebaybotanicals.com

ABC's of Doing Art and Craft Fairs - H is for Human and Herd

Greetings to all craft artists and welcome to 2012!  Hope all have recovered from the holidays.  We're back and marching forward through the alphabet.  Today we are rounding up the H's with a quick discussion on heart and herd.  Words you wouldn't typically think of pertaining to doing art and craft fairs, but here me out...

Human.  Have you ever been to a show and you see craft artists around you seem more like robots than humans?  I truly believe craft artists are loosing their human touch and no wonder why with so much technology it is more of a norm to shoot off quick texts, encounter pushy high sell websites full of ads, and let's face it no heart behind it.  This is visible when artists interact with customers whether this is at a show, emailing or even through social networking.  How can one be more human?
1.  Listen don't hear.  A person who hears does not care about making a personal connection with a customers.  Much like a discussion between a teenager and their parents, no one really tries to see things from the others perspective caring enough about what the other is thinking or feeling.  Yet a person who listens thinks about what the person says and acts upon it.  Here's an example... a customer acknowledges that they love your work telling you what they like about it, but alas can't afford it, yet wants to get a piece for a friend's birthday.  A person who listens will say I have a similar piece just like it over here, that might be within your price range (shows the piece) and asks the customer, what does he/she think?  The person who hears will ignore the customers comments and continue to push the more expensive piece because he/she still has to make booth space and so on. 
2.  Be personable and genuine.  In other words treat people the way you want to be treated.  Rarely do people warm up to a gentleman in a business suit say at a social event, however have no trouble chatting up with a casual person you may meet in line at a check out.  Why?  One represents a politician or boss type while the other an average "Joe" who you might be able to relate to.  Artists can come across as smart - maybe too smart, knowing anything and everything about their medium, but if the customer isn't on the same page as that artist , well that customer can be pegged as someone who "doesn't deserve to buy my art".  Then there are artists who are simply down to earth, can relate to the 9-5 workers (an average customer at an art fair), yet have a talent they want to share with others and if that artist can make a buck or two, great!  The question is which one are you?

3.  Offer educational and/or entertaining content at shows and on your website. "Buy me now" or "Buy one get one free" is not the approach that will get people to buy art.  What helps is content that will either educate your customer on the finer points of your work (the story behind your work for instance) or entertain the customer say a video of how you make your art work.  You may find content in the form of how to make, fix, photograph something you are knowledgeable in (regarding your medium) or even testimonials may attract people to your booth and/or website.  This content can be shared via social media sites which can be picked up by a lot of people which can drive traffic to your website or get people to come to art fairs you will be attending. 
4.  You aren't expected to be perfect. To be human you also think with your heart not just your brain. An artist who cares will come down on a price or acknowledge they were wrong if a customers points out a mistake.  I have had a customer point out a pricing error in which I gave them the cheaper price as a thank you - it made their day!  Artists are not perfect and that is what also makes us human.  In the battle of big box stores verses Main Street gift shops and artists at art fairs, we have the ability to show we value our customers and today if you can earn a customers respect - you have a customer for life and can't wait to tell others about the great customer service they just had.

In summary, be yourself and genuinely want to get to know your customers.  That is what being human is all about.

(Don't follow the) Herd.  Sure there are times it is wise to follow the herd - like if you are being hunted by a wild animal or trying to escape from a burning building.  However in today's society it is more wise to stand out from the herd.  Why?  How else will someone recognize you in a sea of others like you like a sea of artists at an art fair that goes on forever?  Or perhaps if someone types in the key words "black and white photography" into a search engine?  Scary thought, right?  It doesn't have to be.  The best way to learn how to stand out is know what others in your field are doing.  This means doing some actual research and seeing how others designed their booth display at art fairs or how some design their websites.  It isn't about being obnoxious with loud, offensive colors or music, but what your display (or even website) say about your work.  Having just the right balance of colors (two to three is right on), the booth space look like a gallery vs. a junky garage sale, and with everything being neat and inviting (with nice lighting for instance) - these are the basic necessities for standing out at an art fair.  There are some great books and articles (even past blog posts I have done) if you want to go further into this subject regarding merchandising and booth display as well as website design too, but just don't have enough time for discussion in this blog post.  The key is always know what your competition is doing and using your own personal style or touch to make yourself stand out in the crowd. 

Next time we convene, we'll get into the "I" words.  I hope you have been able to get a lot out of this ABC of Doing Art Fair series.  If you enjoy it, why not subscribe to the RSS feed if you haven't.  This way as soon as a new blog post comes out, it will be immediately available to you to read.  I encourage comments and questions too - don't be afraid to ask anything - as long as it is related to art fairs and the like using the comment button below as well as rate the post as to whether you thought it was helpful or not.  It's simple and doesn't take more than 2 seconds to do.  Thanks for reading and hope your future art fairs will be successful ones!  - Michelle Sholund, www.quickcraftartisttips.blogspot.com and www.bythebaybotanicals.com

ABC's to Selling at Art and Craft Fairs - H is for Hard

Greetings to all again and just in time to wish you a Merry Christmas - 2 days and counting at least.  Just as we all have wrapped up the art fair season, it is easy to slip in the ahhh stage of finally being able to put one's feet up and sigh and perhaps enjoy the holidays (after playing catch up with decorations and so on).   With that being said now through the beginning of January is when we all start looking back on what worked and didn't work this past year as well as pushing towards applying to more shows come the new year.  It is amazing how the cycle really doesn't end, right?  Well, I believe we all can come to the agreement that the life of an art fair craft artist is hard which brings me to our today's H word of the day - Hard.  There is a twist...  "hard", in today's blog post, will encompass a few variations.

Hard work.  Enough said, right?  Well, there is more to it.  Aside from the normal creating of the art and setting up (and selling) at shows there's the behind the scenes stuff that some artists forget that also takes hard work.  There's marketing, taking care of one's health, staying organized, and finding time to stay current (as in doing research in making your art better than your competition).  When you think about it - going to shows and selling is the easy part because finding time to get to the doctor for a routine check up or even taking the time to having a healthy meal is not easy.  How about staying organized - ever seen an organized workshop?  Right now I am typing at a desk that is piled with papers that need to be filed as well as catalogs that need to be sorted and either tossed or set aside in the "keeper" file.  With regard to marketing - taking the time to post news on which art fair you will be in a week via your art business facebook page, send out thank you emails to recent people who bought from you (at an art fair), and updating your website (or even start a website) is all apart of marketing - yes, hard work there too.  What is the answer?  You have to make time and there is no time like the present.  For example, get up 10-15 minutes earlier to get started working 10-15 minutes early and use that time to file a few papers or post something new on your facebook page.  Start weening yourself from distractions - facebook games, tv shows, etc.  Take the time to keep your work organized when closing up after a show to be more prepared the next time you get ready for a show - for example label totes/boxes, use folding crates, or line up your fully pack display and work before taking it to the car for easy loading.  If you go by the saying, "work smarter, not harder" you will find being an artist doesn't have to be hard work.

Hard decisions.  There are a lot of decisions to make as an artist - which shows to do, what to say to potential customers, and how to price ones work comes to mind.  Some of these decisions can really make or break your business too.  The best thing to do, when faced with a tough decision is sit on it for 24 hours.  It is after those 24 hours you will see a clearer path to take.  Another way to help make a tough decision is to use your gut.  For example, if you receive an application but there is a lack of important information to make a reasonable decision, use your gut and common sense to help you make the right choice.  Above all, when it comes to hard decision, you can learn from bad choices that might not pan out. 

Hard ball.   Craft artists are generally lovable and easy to get along with, however there are times we do have to play hard ball.  One example, a neighboring artist starts to encroach on your own booth space and you are forced to confront them about the issue.  Another example is dealing with competing artists in your medium by letting customers know YOUR work is a better choice and an "expert" in your field moveover your competition.  There are times we have to play hard ball - act strong and aggressive with an issue with someone.  As a reminder, playing hard ball doesn't mean you have to be arrogant or difficult, but someone who refuses to be bullied and not a push over to command respect.

As we start planning for the New Year I hope these tips will make it easier for you to deal with all the hard stuff us craft artists have face on a day to day basis.  Please, share this blog with others. I can't wait to meet back here again to cover even more words on our journey through the alphabet when doing art fairs!

Michelle Sholund, - www.quickcraftartisttips.blogspot.com and bythebaybotanicals.com