What it’s like doing markets
When I first started, I didn’t know what do expect. I searched ideas on Pinterest to see what kind of set ups people do at markets since I’ve never been to one nor done one.
After many sleepless nights, I finally had some ideas in mind that wouldn’t cost a fortune. I grabbed some wood from our wood pile and screwed some boards together to create a display I hoped would be worthy of using.
At the time, I didn’t have a tent either. I borrowed one from a good friend and gathered all the display pieces together.
While all this brainstorming was happening, I was also frantically searching how to make art prints. I ended up ordering most of them from a local print shop until I could get a good printer of my own.
After everything was set up at the market, I anxiously waited for customers to arrive. By the end of the day, I made about $400 (this included what my family bought). I was quite exhausted by the end!
Even though I didn’t make a lot and my display was way too much work to set up and take down, I didn’t stop there.
The Transformation
As each season went by, my booth looked better. I focused on vertical displays that would be easy to set up and take down.
One day I was browsing my local thrift store and came across two tiered book displays used for kids books at school. As soon as I saw them, I quickly snatched them up! Those displays usually run for $300 each and I grabbed them for $25 each!
After that purchase, my sales significantly increased. With each market I do, I analyze what catches people’s eyes. I have noticed that If I have all the prints within viewable range, they sell faster. It's also a great way to capture their attention from a distance. I try not to carry too many props since the whole point of a market is to sell the products not to look too fancy.
In the beginning, I had the idea of utilizing the whole tent so customers can walk in and shop. I liked it in the beginning but I noticed that the visibility wasn’t great if you’re walking by.
In this past season, I simplified my display to only 2 tables pushed up as close to the front as possible along with a print rack and easel to display my originals. I at first thought there wouldn’t be enough room for buyers but I was wrong. It actually kept the browsers (the none buyers) moving faster and brought the real buyers in. My sales increased once again, and I don’t have to set up nearly as much!
Marketing
It’s super important to provide contact information through any means possible. This could be anything from business cards to labels on the product. I utilize both options and more.
QR codes are the future of communication!!!
It’s super simple to make too. I use this website here to generate qr codes for things like my youtube channel or my website. I then put these on stickers on the gift bags, back of the products, and even in frames to display at the booth.
Originals
I always like to share my originals with others but I was worried about them getting damaged from the weather. I at first had them on a clip board but that kept falling over! I’ve pretty much ruined a couple originals…
I came up with a solution to put as many originals into one of those portfolio cases with a nice plastic sleeve to protect them. Not only that but now I can share more of my work because they can be flipped from one page to the next!
Biggest Seller
Put your biggest seller up front!! My Smokey dog print sells the most so of course I display this in the print rack that is right up front so when people walk by, that is the first thing they’ll see.
Bonus
I went above and beyond and purchased a cheap tablet to run a short video on repeat and placed that inside a picture frame. This is to advertise my youtube channel and to catch kids attention. The children absolutely love watching it!
To summarize:
Markets can be super intimidating, especially if you don’t have enough inventory to really sell. But after some time, it gets easier and easier. I’ve enjoyed not only getting to talk to my customers face to face but also the whole process of analyzing what displays work and how can I improve in all aspects.
I’m an introvert at heart so doing the markets took a lot of courage for me. I’ve learned that I don’t have to always chat with the people that come into my booth. I politely greet them and introduce my art and any sales that are happening and then I let them decide how they want to interact. I’ve learned it’s about letting the conversations flow, each person is going to be different so don’t treat them the same.
I started out over dressing (my clothes were all cutesy) and over doing my booths (too many props) to dressing decent like everyone else and keeping my displays simple so the products show for themselves. The key to selling is to be a normal person just like everyone else. You don’t have to constantly smile or use your “customer service” voice. It’s all about being relatable and everyone isn’t perfect so it’s okay to make mistakes and show that you’re human.
Key points to a great booth set up:
Simple set up
Vertical displays
Up front as much as possible
Esthetically pleasing
QR codes
Put your biggest seller in visible spots
