One thing you can do when you start a greeting card business is to market your business as well as sell greeting cards is to have a booth at craft shows and fairs.

Craft fairs are a fun and popular way for people to view your greeting cards and it is a creative outlet for you to use in marketing your product.

The shows often have a variety of booth sizes and types, which you can use to create an “atmosphere” for your potential customers. You can use this to create an environment that is similar to your physical storefront, create displays that follow seasonal themes, or create displays that simply show off your work.

Craft Fair Preparation

The following is a list of tasks you should do when preparing for a craft fair. Remember that this is a general list. Preparing for the details of a craft fair should be taken very seriously as hundreds of customers could potentially view your greeting cards, business name, and logo in just a few short hours.

1. Prepare a list of the greeting cards you wish to sell as to display.

2. Prepare any signage you wish to display (e.g., standing display boards, flip charts, table linens with signage, etc.). Note: This is usually the part of the preparation process that takes the longest.

3. Prepare samples of your greeting cards you wish to take (e.g., several portfolios where the greeting cards are protected, but can be viewed).

4. Prepare a list of the price of each greeting card.

5. Prepare any catalogs, brochures, and other marketing materials for those customers who just want to take information home.

6. Prepare a business card and at least 100 copies of the business card.

7. Prepare/Provide any coupons that can be used at certain times during the show or provide by one get one half off incentives.

8. Prepare a list of all things you need to bring to the fair booth including, but not limited to the following:

a. Receipt book

b. Cash on hand for change

c. Tools, software, a laptop, and credit card scanning device for payment processing and collecting information on customers.

d. Plastic gift bags

e. Coupons

f. Newsletters and other promotional materials

g. Greeting cards to sell

h. At least a certain number of greeting cards to sell and a certain number of displays in the portfolios and display boards.

i. At least a certain number of customer greeting cards displayed in the portfolios and on the display boards.

j. Forms that customers can use to create a wish list of cards they want from what is displayed or from what they want to create.

k. Table cloth and table signage for the size table(s) you will have at your booth.

l. Cell phone number of the craft fair organizer during the show.

Before you have your tasks list started, you must verify the booth details with the craft show organizer. This is usually an iterative or ongoing process as the craft show event will usually have frequent changes before the event occurs.

When working with the craft fair organizer, make sure you at least have the following items defined:

You can get the list of items on page 60 of the e-Book. You can order your copy here and download it to your computer instantly. Click Here to Order .