How to Plan a Successful Craft Show Booth

After spending hours crafting beautiful projects, you're ready to set up a craft show booth and begin selling. But what are the best strategies for displaying your merchandise in order to draw customers in and make a sale?

Make your booth welcoming! Most craft shows offer tables and chairs for a crafters use. That's great, especially if you are just starting your craft sale career and have limited funds. I caution you though, don't just throw a tablecloth over it and pull up a chair. If you have put a lot of effort into constructing your crafts and want to sell them, then display them in a way that draws people in. Do not set up like you are having a yard sale. You have basically rented a store. Set up and display like a store would.

Visit local boutiques to gather ideas on how to display merchandise that will get attention. What were the first items to grab your attention when you walked through the door? What props were used to set off the merchandise? Mentally take a picture and pick the display apart. You don't have to use the exact same props, this exercise is mainly for you to construct a rough image for your display.

Large shelves that come apart easily for transporting are a good base. You might even use the craft show tables and set smaller shelves on top. If you don't think the design or color is right for your merchandise, drape it with fabric or paint it. The idea here is to draw the eye up. You rented square footage so don't waste all that vertical real estate.

Allow your customers access into your booth by leaving the front open to the aisle. If they come in they will take time to look around and shop. If you block the front with no access, they are more likely to merely window shop or breeze on by.

Ladders, plant stands, stacked crates, chairs or even large pieces of merchandise you may be selling can all be useful to display items on or hang things off of. If your display pieces don't match or seem to disjointed, unify them with fabric draping or paint. After all you are creative!

If you choose to use fabric, consider any upcoming holidays or the products you are selling. If it is in the fall near Halloween or Thanksgiving, you may benefit from using browns, oranges or other earthy harvest colors.

Once you have determined a layout for your props and have left ample front access into your "store", you will need to adjust an area for business. I prefer a spot in the back corner, but you may want an area closer to the front. If you do set up a transaction station in the front, keep it off to the side so as not to block customer traffic.

Will you sit, or will you stand? This is a question only you can answer, but I'll give you my thoughts on this. You aren't going to be able to stay on your feet all day, especially during the slow down periods of the day. So yes, a chair is most likely a necessity. Once you are sitting in that chair, you will need something to occupy your time between customers. Reading is okay, but I would definitely put it away when a customer arrives or you will seem disinterested and unwelcoming to your "guest". A fantastic occupier is working on crafts in progress. It draws people in, gets them talking and allows them better insight into what goes into the final product you are selling.

Craft shows are fun and can be very profitable. It can be very discouraging to create the product and sit for hours watching customers make their purchases at another booth. I've seen many crafters trying to rectify this at the last minute by slashing their prices. While a bargain at the end of the day might bring in a few sales, if you couldn't get the customers in your booth to see your prices to begin with, what's going to draw them in to see the lower prices?

Preparation ahead of time is key. You aren't just selling a craft, you are opening a business. Most jobs start with a resume or an application that states why you are qualified for the job you are applying for. Your booth design is your resume. It immediately shows customers whether you are qualified to make and sell your particular craft.