5 tips for making the best out of a bad craft show

OK, so we've all been there. You sign up for a craft show, spend weeks getting ready, you get there, set up and then.............. nothing. If you're lucky, you make your space fee back, plus a little extra, but then there are times where you just don't sell a thing. It's even worse if it's a craft show that you've done well at in the past.

So, what do you do? Quit? Go home early? Stop doing shows? No. You make the best of it. Here are my top 5 tips for making the best out of a bad craft show:

1. Work on new pieces. This has 2 benfits. The first is you get somework done instead of just sitting around all day. The second is people can watch you work on your creations and a lot of times this sparks interest. People like it when they can see that what you selling is handmade by you. Even better when they've watched you make the piece they bought.

2. Research - Customers. Listen to what people are taking about when they are looking at your goods. What pieces get the most compliments? What pieces get overlooked? What colors are people drawn too, etc. Listen to your target audience and what their needs are so you can work on filling that need.

3. Research - Displays and packaging. Take a walk around and look at other people's displays and packaging. Find inspiration from that for your own displays. Take some time to consider your displaying needs, what works in your booth now and how you can improve it for the next show.

4. Find your "hot spot". Every booth at a craft show has a "hot spot", that one place where people always seem to notice first in your space. That spot that, whatever you put there, people notice it and it draws them in. Once you've found that spot, try changing the pieces that are there every so often and see which draws people in the most.

5. Network. This is the perfect time to network with other crafters in your area. Talk to the other vendors and found out about future craft shows, contact info, suppliers, etc. These are people that you will most likely run into again and again at local shows and it doesn't hurt to get to know them a little bit.