"Promoting the Event"
Background
Welcome to the second in a series of short articles about how to organise a craft fair. This time I will look in more detail at promoting the event.
Again, I would like to point out that these are my personal thoughts and comments based on my own experiences of organising fairs. In telling you about them the hope is that you will be able to make more informed decisions about your own event and thus avoid some of the pitfalls. However, I certainly don't even pretend to know everything ...so please see these articles simply as guides.
Introduction
There are many things to consider when organising a craft fair but I believe promoting/advertising the event is one thing you just have to get right. Think about it …you only have a short time (4, 6, 8 hours?) to get as many people through the door as possible. A shop is always there for people to call into as they see fit, a one or two day fair won’t be so you have to encourage visits from as many people as possible while it is. The success of the event can rest on this one factor alone.
So, now that you know how important I think it is you will understand why in the first article I said to promote your event …EVERYWHERE AND ANYWHERE YOU CAN.
Here are a few suggestions on how to …
Posters - around the area
Advance notice – approx two weeks before the event …
The intention here is to give as much advance notice to the local people as possible (without it being so far in advance that they forget about it again!). It will help them plan their activities on the day to include visiting you. If you only advertise on the actual day you may lose visitors because they already have other plans.
If you ask nicely most shops/business owners will be happy to help by showing a small (max A3) poster in their window for you. Be careful about approaching shops that sell similar things as your fair …like card and craft shops! …they may not be too happy about the competition …retailing is a tough business!
Other outdoor places you can locate posters are …railings – bus stops – street signs (don't cover the official sign though!) - railway stations - notice boards - carpark entry/exits - road crossings ...infact wherever people congregate!
On the day …
This is where the organiser really earns their money! …you need to be up and at it early. You could simply rely on the ‘advance notice’ posters, but I feel that refreshing them will make people re-look at them or even see them for the first time. So, you will need to go round again and replace them all (and even put more up!) with ‘here today’ posters. Get as many as possible up before the event opens. It is also a good idea to have them up in advance of the crafters arriving as well as it not only helps ‘guide them in’ if they don’t know the area, but also assures them that you have done your job and are advertising the event for them. That’s partly what they are paying you for!
TIP - To save time on the big day do this job the evening before if you are confident the posters will stay in place overnight.
And then after the event …
A big thing to remember here is that any posters you put in a public space (not the shops, they will remove them themselves) should be taken down again after the event. To not do this will show you up as an inefficient organiser to both the public and your crafters!
Also, watch out for local council laws on what is effectively ‘fly posting’, many don’t like it but will tolerate it if you remove them afterwards …it is always best to get them on your side by talking to them first.
Your own car window
This is such a simple idea. When you park up in the vicinity of your event (on the day or on your advance visit) put signs up in the windows …a mobile advert! Park strategically in the car park so that as many people as possible will walk past it. It’s all part of the drip feed of getting your event into peoples minds.
Notices on supermarket community notice boards
Do an A5 version of the posters and place them on these boards that many supermarkets have these days …it’s their way of being part of the community they service …so, as you are having an event in the community, make use of this service!
Local paper classified/what’s on ads
This will of course cost money, but if the paper has a good circulation in the local area it offers a quick way to get your advert to lots of local people. Check first though as some papers are more expensive to advertise in than others. Regular craft fair visitors often trawl the local papers looking for events coming up. If you have a choice, put your ad in a couple of days prior to the event, say on Thursday for a Saturday event. Use this link to find local papers in the area of your event …
http://www.newspapersoc.org.uk/Default.aspx?page=1228
Local paper article
If you fancy trying your hand you could approach the local paper with a story about your event. Sometimes they are looking for ‘column fillers’ and will run a story for you if it has an angle. I achieved this once by giving them the story about re-starting a ‘much missed’ craft fair in the town. This was true, I was told about it by the venue owners when I was checking out the area for suitability. This is priceless advertising as people will read articles about their local area.
Local radio what’s on
You can sometimes even submit events online. Try the local BBC station, they like to be seen as supporting the community. Do this a couple of days prior to or even on the day if possible …people might be listening to the radio whilst wondering where to go! Some local BBC stations are more supportive than others …find the station local to your event using this link …
The Venue’s what’s on publications
Quite often a venue such as a town hall will have its own what’s on guide. Find out how you can get your event listed in it. They will quite often cover a few months so you may need to do this well in advance of the event which can sometimes be a problem if you haven't finalised all your details.
Library notice boards
Local libraries are a great place to promote your event. Craft fairs and libraries seem to go together somehow. They nearly always have notice boards for you to put a poster on.
Tourist Info
A bit like libraries, if you chat to the staff here they will often be able to help. As for libraries, if you have produced A5 leaflets, leave some here for people to take away.
Cafes
This is where people sit and relax …and often gaze around the walls ..think about it …you’ve probably done it yourself. Make sure there is one of your posters there for their eyes to come to rest on! Everywhere and anywhere!
Street ‘promo squad’ giving vouchers/leaflets out
This is an ‘on the day’ tactic and can be very effective …but it takes manpower ...and a bit nerve! …so if you’ve got a willing band of helpers why not get them out into the public handing out leaflets announcing your event …”here, today …come and visit” and maybe even …”free tea or coffee with this leaflet” …just a thought!
Email posters to attending local crafters
Because I designed my own posters I was able to email them to the crafters I knew were in the area local to the event. I asked them if they would mind printing them off and putting them up around where they lived. Many were pleased to do this as it helped encourage customers to the event ultimately giving them more people to show their wares to.
What to Use to Do It
Paper posters
These can be produced quite cheaply if you can design them yourself on a computer. They should be fairly simple in design. If it’s complicated people won’t bother reading it. Keep to the facts …what, where, when.
Then all you need to do is print off a high quality master copy and take it to the likes of Staples where you can run off as many photocopies as you want for approx 5p per A4 copy. OK, they are in black and white but they will get the message out there for very little cost. You can go bigger and have A3 for approx 10p per copy. This is the ‘use the photocopiers yourself’ way of doing it. If you want to use colour you can always talk to the staff about them doing them for you …but this will of course cost more!
You will need to keep some of the posters rigid so that you can attach them to things like railings, lampposts, signs etc, etc, so you really need to mount them on some kind of backing. If you have a handy man (or woman!) to smile on then get them to make you some boards out of hardboard that are a bit bigger than the poster and prit-stick the poster to them. The best way to attach the finished article to railings/posts etc is with cable ties. These can now be picked up cheaply in many discount stores. Some rolls of with sticky tape are also handy for outdoor notice boards.
For my first ever fair I actually cut up a load of cardboard into A4 sized boards from boxes I scrounged from shops. I took me ages to do, but they were a cheap option.
TIP – There’s no point paying a lot for good quality items (such as cable ties) that will last for ever when cheap ones from £ shops will do just as well for the short time they are required.
If you are going to place the posters outdoors you will need to consider the weather! It’s surprising how much rain they can stand without the ink running, but if you are concerned (or very bad weather is forecast!) you could always cover them with that clear plastic covering you get on rolls quite cheaply these days.
Corrugated plastic signs – a heavy duty outdoor solution!
When I ran a series of events in a single venue I decided to invest in some of those corrugated plastic boards you see (like the ones estate agents use nowadays). They are light and waterproof and if you use simple strong wording in eye catching colours they will get the message across very effectively. It was a few years ago now but I paid approx £10 each for estate agent size board and approx £6 each for A3 size. I used them around the local town centre attached to lampposts, road signs, railings etc etc with heavy duty cable ties. I did lose a few along the way but all in all they were well worth the money. In case you are wondering, I got round the different dates problem by having a blank box that I filled in each time with a white board marker!
Don’t Forget To Do Your Homework!
When planning the date of your event bear in mind what other events are taking place on the same date. Will they take potential visitors away from your event? I don’t just mean other craft fairs, but also local sporting events, gala days, fetes etc etc. If they are established or offer some kind of attraction to the public then you may lose out to them. If you can avoid things like this then maybe best to do so.
If there are other craft event organisers in the area check out what they are planning. Clashing events won’t do either of you any good. And if you are new to the game, you will come off worst!
You could always make use of the Find-a-Fair service I offer on this website to check for craft events in your area. It’s really aimed at crafters finding events to attend, but it would work just as well for an organiser planning events. It should be mentioned though that only events that have been listed on the database will be revealed in a search …there could be others …but at least you will know when to avoid for sure if you get a positive match!
Summary
I hope you found this article of some use. I would be delighted to receive any feedback you may have on it ...and if you have any suggestions for further articles please let me know. You can email me directly from HERE.
Thanks for reading.
Best wishes and good luck with your events!
John.