I always see so many posts about doing shows, so I thought I would add my two cents! Did I mention that I have over 10 years experience doing corporate event planning?!?!

So hopefully I can offer some insight, here are some FAQ I have seen (I will do several posts on this subject - so stay tuned!):

WHAT TYPE OF SHOWS ARE THERE AND WHAT TYPE IS BEST FOR ME?

Craft Shows- these are the most common and are great for most home businesses. They are often held at schools and most are done to raise money for the school or location it is being held at. They are usually pretty affordable to get into and bring in a fair amount of people. These are not high dollar shows and sales are typically on the low side. I do not recommend a craft show for a high dollar item. I highly recommend sticking with shows that have been happening for many years as those shows have loyal followers that will attend every year. These are usually noted in your local paper-but always ask around at your local schools, churches, synagogues - many are on a “who you know” basis! Also, many of these shows require that you donate an item or service that they can raffle off to make some additional money for the organization. Cost is typically under $100 for a 8×10 or 10×10 space and these shows probably bring in a couple hundred of people.

Art Shows - This is my target market. These shows are typically juried shows and it is not always easy to get in. They usually limit the number of vendors in each category (ex. they may only allow 2 jewelry vendors)…but this is a huge help to the exhibitors. These shows do bring in the people with more expendable income and those that are looking for “different” or the “latest and greatest”. They are more expensive to get into and can cost several hundred dollars, but again if this is the market you need to market to it is worth it right? Art shows do typically bring in several hundred people (geographics play a part here though–I had over 1,500 people at an art show I did last fall)

Street Fairs - this is an awesome way to just get your name out there! A mish mosh of thousands of people cramming the streets, seeing the sites and eating food. I do not find that people go to actually spend money-but they do love seeing new and unique things and they will spend money if they love what you got! I would really only recommend a street fair to someone who has a really unique item that will stand out among the hundreds of vendors that may be there. Thee is often 20 jewelry vendors at a street fair making it hard for any one specific to get noticed….these usually run about $100 or so to get into and there is no special criteria to get in to one.

WHERE DO I FIND A SHOW IN MY AREA?

1) www.eventlister.com

2) www.smartfrogs.com

3) local newspaper events calendar

4) check with local schools and churches

WHAT IS A JURIED SHOW?

A juried show is one where you will have to submit images and descriptions of the products you will be offering at the show. A committee from the show will determine whether you are accepted into their show. This is typically done in finer shows that really depend on the quality of their crafters to attract what is considered the “right” shoppers.

I AM A BRAND NEW BUSINESS-CAN I DO A SHOW?

A craft show at a school is a GREAT way to either launch a business or get feedback if you have a viable business. That is how I launched Expressions…I took a few collages and a book I had made for my daughter to a show to see what people would say (I was wearing my hard hat that day thinking people would hate it…) well the opposite happened…my booth was packed and I even got 2 customers from that show…that was almost 5 years ago! So, if you are just starting out–try a show…for a low cost you can see what other people HONESTLY think of you ideas……

That is all for this excerpt……so start looking for those shows and get your name out there!

Some other things I will BLOG about will be:

-cost effective marketing for your show

-ideas for displaying at shows

-what to do at the show

-what to do after the show….

If you have any questions please feel free to post and I will answer all questions!!!!!

Jill Caren, owner of Expressions Photo

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 22nd, 2007 at 7:12 am and is filed under Photographer Mom. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.