In most cases, your job as a business owner is to make customers’ lives easier. Easier to understand your product. Easier to shop. Easier to pay. Easier to feel confident in their purchase. But there’s one area where you actually want to make things more difficult. You want to make it difficult for shoppers to…

My handmade business started the way many do — at a craft fair. I signed up for shows that fit my schedule. I made products I enjoyed creating. I built displays using baskets from around my house, and printed signs the night before. Every decision made sense to me. But here’s the problem: A successful…

The longer a craft show shopper needs to think about a purchase, the less likely they are to buy that day.  Doubt can start to creep in and when making a decision is hard, the easiest option is to make no decision.  They’ll walk away and “think about it”. To avoid this at a craft show, you…

At first glance, bringing less to a craft show sounds risky. Fewer products feels like fewer chances to sell. But in reality, a smaller, more focused selection often leads to higher sales, better margins, and a calmer booth experience. Here’s how offering less can actually make you more money at a craft show.   1….

When I first started selling at craft shows, I wanted to make all-the-things. I had many ideas for products, and for each product, I had several ways to alter it to give options. I wanted my craft show table to appeal to as many shoppers as possible…for obvious reasons. Appealing to more shoppers means more…

When someone slows down or stops at your table, you’ve already won the hardest battle: their attention. But what happens next is where most vendors lose people. Many craft show setups unintentionally give shoppers two options: Buy Don’t buy And when buying feels like too big of a commitment in that moment, walking away is…

Running a handmade business and selling at craft shows can be exhausting. Every dollar you earn is tied to your time: designing, making, packaging, loading your car, setting up, selling, and packing it all up again.  That’s why many craft show vendors hit a wall. One way to ease the pressure, increase profits, and make…

If you’re like me, you don’t like selling at craft shows. You feel like you’re being pushy, no matter what type of sales pitch you try. But there’s a better way to sell at craft shows, that really doesn’t feel like selling. It’s what I call a hidden sales pitch — where shoppers get something…

To make your craft business and your booth stand out, it’s important to choose a niche and stay in your lane.  When you apply to a craft show with aprons, then show up with some aprons and a bunch of bags, organizers won’t be happy.  And when shoppers browse your booth and find aprons, bags,…

Craft show shoppers enter with open minds, but can easily feel overwhelmed from aisle after aisle of beautiful handmade goods. That means the way you present your products—and the psychological cues you use—can significantly influence whether someone stops, engages, and ultimately makes a purchase. Below are ten powerful, ethical psychology tricks craft show vendors can…

You can have the most beautiful booth at the craft show, but if shoppers don’t feel comfortable approaching you or don’t instantly trust you, they won’t hang around long enough for you to make a sale. Craft show shoppers decide within seconds (often before they even approach your booth) if they trust you and your…

Holiday craft shows are almost always the busiest. But that doesn’t guarantee strong sales. Holiday shoppers are often trying to stretch their budgets while buying gifts for everyone on their list. Although budgets may be tight, many consumers want meaningful handmade gifts. With a few strategic adjustments, you can appeal to both budget-conscious shoppers and…

Online, you can use tactics such as blog posts, social media posts, newsletter freebies, etc. to draw shoppers to you. At a craft show, inbound marketing (shoppers come to you rather than you having to go out and find them) is just as important. This article shares ways to get more craft show shoppers curious…

At a craft show, you meet more people who love your products and don’t buy, than those who do buy. And that’s because most craft show shoppers arrive as browsers, not buyers. They’re not searching for anything specific, but rather, are exploring. However, you can turn their curiosity into a sale but getting them to…

Outbound marketing is any effort you make to go out and find potential new customers and get your business and products in front of them. It’s all the ways you try to make contact with people when they didn’t ask you to. Although it’s the most common form of marketing, it tends to be less…

If you’re preparing for your very first craft show, you’re probably busy making products, planning your display, and figuring out how to take payments. >> Here’s a checklist for some other things to think about for your first craft show But there may be some things and details you don’t think about. Every experienced vendor…

Craft shows can be profitable, but they require planning. It’s not enough to just show up with your products, place them on a table, and wait for shoppers to buy. There’s a lot to think about, from how much stock to bring to how to display all that stock. But every craft show vendor starts…

It’s bound to happen at some point. You’re chatting with shoppers, feeling good about your setup, and then someone picks up an item and says: “If I buy two, can you give me a deal?” Or worse… “I saw something just like this at [insert big-box store] for half the price!” Even though most shoppers…