Craft Show Tips for Beginners Series (Part 2...Pricing, Branding, and Advertising)

Alright I'm back with more craft show tips for beginners.   Since we got down the basics on picking the right first show; what to make, craft and sell; how much inventory you'll need; and making a mock set up now we're ready to talk pricing, branding and advertising.

Alright let's discuss pricing first. It's one of the most commonly asked questions by crafters who sell their creations.  There are equations and even smartphone apps for figuring out what a fair price is to sell crafts and homemade goods.  Plug your costs and time spent into either a number will be spit back at you suggesting a price.

Another way to price items is to look on sites like Etsy to see what similar items sell for. Just be sure you're comparing apples to apples.  The problem with Etsy is that you will find that prices are all over the place for certain items - just because someone else sold a similar item for just over what it cost you to make it, doesn't means you should set that as your price, too.   Just remember you do not and should definitely work for free -- your time is valuable. Don't sell your items at cost....then you're basically saying your time is not valuable at all....you're also driving the local market down and not only hurting yourself, but other local crafters who can't compete.   Would you work for someone else for $0 an hour? Then why work for yourself for that?
 
For me, the easiest way to price is to total all of my costs for an item and multiply by three.  Nope, nope...I know you had the vinyl on hand or the spool of thread goes a long way, but you gotta add that in.  You bought it at one point.  Ninety percent of the time this Cost x3 method works out to a fair price for both the potential buyer and for me: the seller, creator, marketer....

Now...here's the thing.  Let's say you do the Cost x3 and the price comes out to what you could consider way too high for your market.  Then adjust down slightly.   I can guarantee you you have another item on that table that Cost x3 is actually is actually on the low side....so adjust that item up a little bit to compensate somewhat.

For example, I sell ring dishes. They are hugely popular as gifts for pretty much any occasion. I sell them for $10....it only costs me about $2 to make...but everyone that buys them says $10 is a great price and I could go higher.  Then I have some large floating frames that cost x3 would be out of many people's price range - especially for a craft fair. I adjust them down slightly to closer to cost x2.5 or cost x2.   I am still making money on the items. 

One final point on pricing - personalized stuff sells at a premium.  Try to offer personalized items - monograms, names, birthdays, wedding dates, etc - on select items. Remember, these will also be custom orders so keep that in mind because they will ALL have to be filled after the show and if you're doing holiday-time show people are going to expect it in time for Christmas most likely.   Read more on why I won't offer every item I sell at my craft fair. 

Did I mention...don't sell yourself short?  Okay good glad we've got that squared away.

Speaking of squared - get a Square reader.  It's the little credit card slider that you can plug into your phone and download the app so that you can accept credit cards. You will make a lot more sales - and a lot more large sales if you accept credit card.  You can actually get the Square reader for free or purchase on Amazon and apply for an instant full rebate. 

Once you have decided pricing for all of your items, you need to make price tags. I don't price all of my items individually, although you can. Instead, I made up little pricing signs that sit on my table or are taped onto my displays.  I designed the pricing signs in Silhouette Studio and then used chipboard to make some stands. 

 You might even put right on the pricing sign some suggestions to prompt buyers to think about if they need a gift for anyone...perhaps there's a bride out there shopping and now she has an idea that she needs 6 of these for all of her bridesmaids. Cha-ching I just sold 6 when she very well may not have considered them as gifts otherwise.

You'll notice that my pricing signs are all branded.  I have injected my shop's brand wherever I can.   I put the same logo on my business cards (you do have business cards right?) as I did on my custom order form as I did on my pricing tags as I did on my earring holders. 

I'm also making stickers to put on brown kraft shopping bags and so on...let people know you are a legit business and you take yourself seriously. And let them know, most importantly, who you are and how and where to find you for post-show orders.

Think about making a sign with your business' name on it and putting it up high.  In my mock up display (which is ever evolving) I have my sign on the front of my table...but this is not an ideal spot for it and I will not keep it there for the show.  When people are standing in front of my table looking at my items, the sign would be blocked from others.   Ideally you want the sign up high for all to see.

Branding is a really great way to advertise and you want to not only advertize your business at the show by handing out cards, but you want to advertize before the show.  Let your family and friends and their friends know that you'll be selling at a local craft fair.

About two months before my show I sent out this Save the Date by creating a Facebook Event.   It included some pictures of my items, the date, time and location.

I not only invited my family and friends, I also put it as my FB status and tagged my husband, mom and mother in law so that their friends - who are not mutual friends of ours - would also see the event.  I was pleasantly surprised at how many people actually confirmed with a "Yes" and many of these people were those that I hadn't seen in a long time or don't keep in touch with regularly.

Now, that you know how to price, advertize and brand get back to crafting!!! You've got a craft show to prep for!  I'll have a third installment in a few more details with more on the finer details of craft show prepping such as creating an inventory list and standing out in the crowd so people buy your stuff.

Note: This post may contain affiliate links. By clicking on them and purchasing products through my links, I receive a small commission. That's what helps fund Silhouette School so I can keep buying new Silhouette-related products to show you how to get the most out of your machine! 

Thanks for coming to class today at Silhouette School.  If you like what you see, I'd love for you to pin it!