Have you ever wanted to sell your handmade crafts or artwork at local craft fairs, but have no idea where to start? Or maybe you've taken the first step and have tried selling your art at a craft show or two, but now you're looking for ideas on how to sell more, how to make your booth more appealing to customers and where to find more venues to sell your handmade goods? You've come to the right place! I've been selling my own handmade creations, as well as the work of other artists, at a variety of craft shows and other events since 2004. I've learned a lot of lessons the hard way, and now I'm sharing them here with you so that you can learn from my experiences! In this book, I'll cover the basics of getting started selling at craft fairs, as well as how to design a great looking booth, how to give outstanding customer service & sell more and even how to find and create additional events at which to sell your handmade work. WHAT IT INCLUDES: - how to define your target market - where to find good shows - how much should I spend on a booth fee at a show? - how to make your booth look great - promoting your show & getting your customers there - my craft show tips & tricks - dealing with crazy weather & unexpected events - theft prevention - craft show supply checklist - how to give great customer service - how to use craft shows to create after-the-show sales - alternative venues to sell your work, beyond traditional craft shows - how to create your own events to sell at - tracking your inventory - how to create a personal & business spending plan - big hunkin' list of craft show resources WHO THIS BOOK IS FOR: This book will be most useful for someone new to selling at craft shows. I do cover more advanced topics as well though, including how to define your target market, visual merchandising, inventory tracking, and creating a business spending plan. The book includes worksheets along the way to help you. The information in this book is based on my experiences, selling in the United States, mostly in Louisiana. However, most of the information contained here is useful to anyone around the world who is interested in setting up a booth at craft shows, festivals or conventions. WHY I KNOW WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT: I did my first craft show in 2004. It was the Alternative Media Expo, put on by Antigravity Magazine here in New Orleans. I sold a few things, and learned a LOT of things. And I haven't looked back! I've done all sorts of events since then. I have sold regularly at the Frenchmen Art Market, and have done festivals around the New Orleans area including Bayou Boogaloo, Gretna Heritage Festival, Freret Market, New Orleans Earth Day Festival, and many, many more. As one of the founding members of the New Orleans Craft Mafia, I've even organized a variety of events, both with the group and on my own. As a group, we've created a monthly art market and the annual Last Stop Shop holiday market. On my own, I've also hosted home shopping parties, trunk shows and pop-up shops. In 2007, as one of the winners of Etsy's Upcycling contest, I even traveled cross-country to San Francisco to participate in Bazaar Bizarre at Maker Faire!

Business advice for enterprising crafters, by crafters No one knows more about helping handmade businesses than Hello Craft, the nonprofit trade association for crafty entrepreneurs. Written by the directors of Hello Craft, Handmade to Sell is the most complete, up-to-date, and authoritative guide for DIYers seeking to learn every aspect of selling, marketing, and branding. Based on the Summit of Awesome, Hello Craft’s annual business conference, this book covers topics including: • Developing successful product lines • Copyrights and trademarks • Taking perfect product shots • Using analytics to boost your online sales • Selling at fairs, shows, and other retail outlets • Diversifying income through licensing and teaching • Hiring and outsourcing Throughout, you’ll find expert tips and invaluable strategies and advice from some of the most successful indie crafters and artisans. Whether you’ve only contemplated selling your crafts or want to grow an existing handmade business, Handmade to Sell offers essential guidance for anyone who has ever dreamed of making a living from what they create.

A simple step-by-step process for breaking any writing project large or small into bite-sized chunks and then turning them into the desired finished format at lightning speed. A must-read book for all levels.

Want to take crafting to a new, entrepreneurial dimension? Let 'Craft Show & Sell' be your guide. Through highly visual, step-by-step tutorials and inspiring profiles on some of the world's most successful crafters, this book delivers all the advice and vision that today's crafters need to take their brand or business forward into a new realm.

With more than a decade of successful online book selling experience under their belts, the authors explain how to promote a book effectively onlineNthrough techniques that primarily are free.

"The Craft Fair Vendor Guidebook: Ideas to Inspire" is the go-to guide for people interested in personalized selling from newbies to veteran vendors. Chock-full of photographs from actual craft fairs and other vendor events, this book offers unique ways to display merchandise, simple solutions to save time and make money, and practical advice on a myriad of subjects. The author's specialty is wire-wrapped jewelry, but the book is not limited to one field. The display ideas may be applied to many crafts, as well as to various commercial products. This guidebook starts with business basics and expands to cover a wide range of topics from set-up to sales, including selling beyond the typical craft fair venue. Offering hands-on techniques, learn how a child's art kit can be transformed into a lovely jewelry display case or how PVC pipe can uplift your displays. Throughout the book, the author shares her experiences to encourage and inspire others. A quick read highlighted with colorful photographs illustrating the information, this book should spark ideas and motivate vendors to create their best booths ever!

"Sell Your Crafts Online" provides a roadmap to the best Internet places for makers of handmade crafts to sell, promote and get reviewed from. Discover over 500 promotion ideas. Get 21 ways to inspire trust on your site pages. Learn how to boost your craft site's search engine traffic with 24 Search Engine Optimization tips. Get the 12 best practices for getting link love from other sites. Find 85 places (including Etsy and eBay) to sell handmade crafts from. Learn where to sell your crafts to stores online from 10 wholesale sites. Promote your indie designed art and crafts from 42 online communities. Get reviews of your craft products on 51 shopping community and blog sites that seek unique products to write about. Syndicate your handmade crafts images, blogs, videos, and articles from 36 networks and discover 16 ideas for getting free publicity in magazines and on TV. Thought about starting your own t-shirt business? "Sell Your Crafts Online" covers 16 sites like Cafepress that let you sell your art and designs via on-demand products like t-shirts, mugs, caps and hundreds of other products. Save yourself weeks of research. Get ahead by accessing undiscovered but popular places for selling crafts online from. Author and craft artist, James Dillehay has written nine books and operates more than fifty Web sites. "James was a guest speaker on our Guerrilla Marketing conference call and he blew me away with what he knows about selling on the Internet," said Jay Conrad Levinson, author of the Guerrilla Marketing series, over 15 million copies sold. "Sell Your Crafts Online" is a completely updated edition of Dillehay's book "The Basic Guide to Selling Crafts on the Internet," of which Lapidary Journal said "An astonishing amount of usable information, crammed into so few pages! James Dillehay has an amazing talent for getting right to the point, with a minimum of "geekese." Of the entire list of computer instructional manuals I have read, this one would top the list. I would not hesitate to recommend it . . . even to my mom."

Since 1973, Storey's Country Wisdom Bulletins have offered practical, hands-on instructions designed to help readers master dozens of country living skills quickly and easily. There are now more than 170 titles in this series, and their remarkable popularity reflects the common desire of country and city dwellers alike to cultivate personal independence in everyday life.

"Using the workspaces, shops, salons, and 'through-the-keyhole' profiles of some of the world's most successful crafters, readers will learn the best ways to merchandise and sell their items online, at craft fairs, markets, pop-up events, exhibitions, and in shops. Plus, you'll learn how to build a personality-driven brand, create a ... blog or website, improve your photography skills, and analyze your results to help move your business forward into the future"--