BB Business Tips

06/22/2017

5 THINGS A SHOPPER SHOULDN’T SEE AT A CRAFT SHOW

Craft shows are a relaxed atmosphere and that’s what makes them such a unique shopping experience. Shoppers get to connect and have an engaging conversation with the owners of a small business.

Although this setting allows the more casual side of business to come through, you still want to be sure you keep a professional vibe and represent your brand properly. Doing so will reflect positively on your sales.

I had my share of craft show don’ts when I started out. I thought you could benefit from me sharing some of my mistakes and lessons learned.

1) ITEMS THEY COULD ASK ANOTHER VENDOR TO MAKE

If your items don’t have anything truly unique about them, you’re not creating your own unique style or giving shoppers a unique experience, it’s easy for them to go to someone else or forget about your business once they leave the craft show.

2) EVERYTHING YOU CAN MAKE

I dreamed up a dozen of product ideas before every craft show. Conveniently, my “best” ideas came the day before an event and left me up until 2am making “just one more”.
Not only is expanding the different types of products exhausting, it also dilutes your brand/message/expertise.

3) DISPLAY FIXTURES BORROWED FROM YOUR LIVING ROOM

Don’t do what I did for my first few craft shows: empty out baskets, picture frames and strip your dining room table of its cover to piece together a display.
It’s likely, that unless your home is decorated in the same colors and style as your brand, your household items won’t work as both home decor and display fixtures.
You don’t have to go out and spend hundreds of dollars on craft show display props, but do make a trip to the dollar or thrift store and find some items that all have the same style or that you can re-paint, re-cover or re-purpose to build a cohesive display.

4) A DISPLAY WITH NO STORY

The first craft show table I set up said: here’s some stuff I made…and there’s also some photos my friend took on the other side of table.My second craft show table took a different direction and said: here’s a bunch of purses I made…oh and a few photos my friend took on the end.
I was showing people that I sold purses. But I did nothing to help them realize why they should buy a purse.
What type of woman were my purses for?
What type of style did she have?
Where would my purses be worn?
What would they be worn with?
How would someone feel when they wore one of my purses?
I didn’t have a clue. I just wanted someone, anyone, to buy my purses. And thus, my craft show display was a don’t.

5) A VENDOR WHO DOESN’T KNOW WHAT TO SAY

No judgement. I spent my first few craft shows meekly saying “hi” and awkwardly watching people shop. I didn’t feel good about being so awkward, I’m sure my shoppers didn’t appreciate it and my sales numbers certainly weren’t thanking me for my efforts.
You’re not annoying people by selling your work.
Hey! Come over here!! Have you heard about my fabulous purses? No?! Well let me tell you why you need to walk out of here with one today! might annoy people. But I’m sure you’re not looking to become that type of seller.
Telling people about product features they can see for themselves, is not helpful.
Watching people shop and saying nothing while they’re at your table is awkward.
Looking at your phone or talking to other vendors while they shop is a little rude.
You have to uncover the features people care about and share your story. People buy handmade because of the authenticity that comes with it. They’re not buying 1 out of a million, made in a factory by someone turning items out as fast as they can.
Give them an experience, teach them something they didn’t know and leave them with a story they can retell friends and make them more interesting.

From
https://www.madeurban.com/blog/5_things_a_shopper_shouldnt_see_at_a_craft_show/2129/

06/22/2017

10/25/2015

some great christmas ads ! sometimes simpler is better

10/22/2015

Pinterest marketing for beginner pinners …

Make sure you feature your business name on your profile for maximum exposure. Use your business name as your username, or change your profile name to your business name after your profile is set up.
Add a paragraph about who you are and what you’re interested in to the “About” section on your Pinterest profile. It will show up right under your photo, and will be one way that users can find out more about you.
Connect your account with your Facebook and Twitter accounts. Not only will it help you gain followers, but making this connection adds social media icons under your profile picture that link to your Facebook and Twitter profiles.
Don’t forget to add your website URL in your profile, too!
Pin lots of stuff. Pin content steadily, instead of in huge bursts, to maximize your exposure and engagement.
Come up with creative and interesting board names. They get shared whenever you pin something, so make them enticing. But be creative — you need to keep your board names short. There isn’t a lot of room for long descriptive titles.
Tag other Pinterest users in your pins by using “” in your descriptions. Network with other professionals and vendors in your field by using this feature. Not many people are doing this yet, so it’s a great way to build your following and stand out.
Comment on other people’s pins. Just like with tagging, this feature hasn’t really caught on yet, so use it regularly to really engage with other users. Obviously, use the same good manners and common sense you would when commenting on a blog or other social media site.
“Like” other people’s pins to give a thumbs-up when you want to recognize great content.
Pin from lots of different sources, instead of just from one or two sites. Variety is important on Pinterest.
Mix pinning your own unique finds with doing lots of “repinning,” which is repeating someone else’s pin to your followers (just like a Retweet on Twitter). The person whose image you repin gets notified via email, and they also get a credit on your pin, which increases their following.
Feel free to pin your own blog posts, but don’t over-promote. Follow the usual etiquette rules of any other social media site, and don’t be the boorish one at the party who only talks about himself.
Pin videos! Pinterest has a special section just for pinned videos, and there are far fewer videos than images on Pinterest at this point, so use them to distinguish yourself. Any YouTube video is easy to pin.
When you pin an image, add a description under it. Be smart about these descriptions — a good description will stay with an image as it gets repinned all over the Pinterest world. If the image is something from your own site, definitely use your business name in the description.
After you pin a new image using the very handy Pinterest browser bookmarklet (a great tool in its own right,) use its built-in social media prompts to re-share your pin on Twitter and Facebook, too.
Use Pinterest’s embed option to publish pins as content in your blog posts and website pages. Note: As Pinterest is catching on, you may need to tell your users that they need to click on a Pinterest image to get to the original source. When I tried this last week, a reader wrote to me and asked, “Is there more to that Pin thing? Or is it just a pretty image?”
Get the Pinterest iPhone app, so you can repin on the go, pin from your camera and add a location to your pins so others can find your images.
Optimize your website content for Pinterest sharing (Part One): Use images in every single post you write, so your post can be shared on Pinterest. When you find yourself getting lazy about this, remember –- not using an image in your post means no one will pin it. And remember — the prettier the picture is, the more it will get pinned. The images that appeal to Pinterest members are powerful and emotive, so keep that in mind when choosing your pictures. That combination tends to work well for your blog readers, too.
Optimize your website content for Pinterest sharing (Part Two): Consider watermarking your images, or adding text to them. If you’re using your own images on Pinterest, one of the best ways to help your image stand out is by adding a clear description to the image itself, or adding a watermark with your business name. Make sure it’s clear, but that it doesn’t block out the main subject of the photo.
Create seasonal or holiday boards that relate to your brand. Example: New Year’s Resolutions, Fourth of July, etc. Users love these.
Add a prominent Follow Me on Pinterest button to your website to advertise that you’re a pinner!

05/18/2015

Hey vendors !! On sale at Target!!
this weeks ad shows a great deal!