Thinking about being a vendor at a quilt or craft show? Trying to improve your booth?
Over the last couple years of being a vendor at quilt shows, here are my top 3 tips for a successful vendor booth.
Think of a way to draw people into the booth.
The more peoplethatare in your booth, the more people you will have in your booth. It’s human psychology that people want to have what other people want. No one wants to walk in to an empty booth, but everyone wants to see what other people are looking at and buying. So having a way to hook people and encourage them to comeinto the booth is essential!
So, what can that look like?
- If you have the space – put up a table and host a make-it and take-it craft using some of your products!
- Have a prize wheel anyone can spin and win some branded swag from you.
- Host a giveaway in exchange for email addresses (my personal favorite because I am always looking for a way to grow my email list).
- Even just having a unique and beautiful quilt or booth setup can be enough for people to want to come in and see more.
At QuiltCon 2024 Moda had a really eye-catching quilt in their booth and a make-it and take-it craft for everyone to enjoy. It was always packed!
They also had a really fun backdrop you could take photos at - another great way to encourage guests to engage with your booth!
Collect email addresses
I usually offer a gift card giveaway and people can enter by giving their email address in exchange for a chance to win. Having a way to contact your customers after the show is gold! Then you can also send out an “it was great meeting you” email with a special offer just for them.
At my last two shows people could guess how many safety pins were in the jar which was really fun and a great way to collect emails.
Show Your Product
Have lots of example in the booth for how people can use your product. Make it easy for them to understand who you are and what you’re selling – so if you are offering a quilt kit, then display the matching quilt. Pattern designer? Have the pattern made. If you’re selling bias quilt binding, show different ways you can use that binding – a quilt coat, a bag, a quilt, etc. Because otherwise people will walk in and go “what is this?”. Ask me how I know, haha!
In my booth I have a quilt coat, quilts and bags, all made with Bessie Pearl binding to make it really easy for guests to understand what I'm selling and how they can use it.
My Final Thoughts
Quilters and crafters are very tactile and want to touch everything. So the moreinformation thatyou can give themviasamples, showing them how theirprojects will look with your products, etc., the more buying confidence you'll give them. Andmore buying confidence equals more sales!
Happy Vending!
Karen
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