These last few years have seen many of us forced to start selling resin creations online, which has had its benefits, and will very much continue in peoples lives as it can be a very simple way to share your resin creations and make a living from it.
However, nothing beats the connection you get with potential customers than talking to them in person!
There's something very special to a customer about getting to meet the person behind the artwork, to talk to the person who made the resin creation about how they made it, the love they put into it, the time it took them to make such a bespoke creation.
No amount of internet marketing can compete with that when it comes to sales.
We’ve seen many of our resin artists sharing their success now they’ve gone back to in person events ready for this Festive season, and we know many of you could have that same success too, by generating some in person sales once again.
That's what we’ll be discussing in this weeks blog, helping you sell your creations in person…
Come Out Of Hiding:
First of all we know how daunting selling face to face in public might be to some of you, especially those who started their resin business during the pandemic. You started your business during the screen era and you never had to talk to people face to face or even share your face if you didn’t want to.
Making the move into in person selling is going to be an adjustment and will be quite nerve wracking at first. But it can also be exhilarating.
Online people can be mean and hide behind their screen name when commenting on your posts, but in person people are a lot less likely to give negative feedback, so you’re actually more likely to get a great response from people in person.
Hearing people who pass your stall and look at your creations and comment on how amazing they are can really boost you as an artist. There’s something special about hearing positive feedback from people you don’t know about your work face to face that makes you believe it more than you maybe would from a stranger on the internet.
This grows your confidence as an artist and builds the belief in yourself that you are actually incredible and your resin creations deserve to be seen by the world!
So get brave and get out there, just like Ayanna from @prescription_resin has been doing showcasing her incredible work in person at local Festive events:
Where To Find Local Events:
You’ve taken your brave pill, and you’re ready to get out into the world and start sharing your creations in person, but where and how do you find local events to exhibit your work at?
This list could be massive, there are so many ways in which you can hear about events. The best advice is to keep your ears open and your eyes peeled throughout the year. The more open you are to exhibiting at events, the more events will pop up for you, what you focus on grows, so focus on wanting to find events.
Social Media - Facebook/Instagram. Lots of events are now advertised on Social media, follow local pages, local craft groups etc. You’ll soon notice events being advertised and even other members tagging you in the events because they know you create amazing items that would be great to sell at the events.
Friends/Family - People know you create resin creations, they know you have your own small business, they will tell you if they see any great events pop up. Maybe tell them all you’re looking to sell in person, ask them to keep an eye out and let you know if they see any events you might like pop up.
Websites - Start following local event websites, most locations have them and when you follow them they usually give you the option to sign up to email newsletters where events will be shared. Follow these and events will jump out at you.
Past events - If you’ve been to an event once, the chances are that you’ll get invited again year after year. You’ll also have a chance at events to network with other sellers, ask them if they know of any other great events that are also happening locally.
Newspapers/Magazines - Local newspapers and magazines can still circulate in some areas, browse through them regularly and look out for upcoming events advertised in them.
These are just some of the ways you can find local events to attend. If you can think of any more ideas please comment below this blog to let others know where they might find events in their areas.
Prepping Your Stall:
So you’ve booked your stall, you’ve got a spot in the perfect location and you know it’s going to be a great event for the items you showcase. Now it’s time to have a think about prepping for your stall. You want to do this as soon as possible if you can. Resin creations take time to make, cure and package and so the event can creep up on you before you know it.
Please note that you won’t always get everything perfect at your first event, it’s ok if you don’t. The first event is a great learning tool. You’ll forget things on the day and learn that these would be great to have next time. No event is a failure, every event is a learning curve, you can only get better and better.
When preparing for your stall you want to consider the following:
The size of your stall - How much space will you have to display your items? Will you need to get creative and display on stands etc?
The location of your stall - Will your stall be mixed in with lots of others, or will it be in a prime location easy for people to spot?
Who will be attending the event - You want to think about the potential customers you’ll have passing by and what items they might like?
The season the event will be held in - Do you need a theme or a certain product offering that matches the season, such as Christmas items, Valentines goodies etc?
The creations you have already made - What have you got surplus in your craft room, what items have you already created but haven’t sold yet, could you sell them at this event?
The creations you’ll want to make for this specific event - What extra creations do you want to make and sell at this particular event? When will you need to start making these, how many will you need?
The signage for your stall - You’ll need to think about showing people your creations along with pricing for the items, maybe signs with your information on like website/social media handles etc?
The branding for your stall - What colours is your brand, could you have these colours on the table covering, on the stands etc? What feeling do you want people to have when they pass your stall, what colours items will you need to create this feeling? For example at a festive event you might want a small Christmas tree, maybe with some resin baubles with your logo on them as an idea.
How will you get your items to the event - Think about the items you want to take as per the above points and what bags/boxes you need to carry these and protect them in, will these items fit in your own vehicle or will you need to borrow or hire a van etc?
If you prepare your stall in advance this will help you feel more confident and in control, meaning you’ll be less nervous and stressed as the event gets close and you’ll be able to enjoy the experience more.
Displaying Your Items:
So you have all your items and signage etc ready to go from the planning phase. At this point we would recommend creating a version of your stall at home and putting all the elements together as close to how you would on the day itself.
You can then check before you leave that you have everything you need and that it looks like you want it to.
When displaying your items on your stall you want to think of your branding and having things like table covers matched to your branding and your logo visible, but you also want your stall to stand out. So think of building layers to it using stands to create different levelled displays for your different creations.
Every resin stand will be displayed differently dependent on what you sell so it’s hard to say exactly what to do at this point, but you need to ensure all your creations are clearly visible from where your customers will be standing.
That they have access to all the information like pricing, what the creation is designed to do etc.
Also let them know on your display that your items can be made completely bespoke to their needs and that the creations can be made after the event in any colour combination they like, for example.
Packaging:
You can display your creations in or on top of packaging if this fits your creations and stall. Or you can have packaging separately near to your stall ready to package them for them to take home once they have chosen the creations they would like.
Think about how the packaging will protect the item for them on the way home. Potentially they may have purchased a few items at the event from your stall and others, so they might not have a lot of capacity to carry heavy boxes or items on their own. So have bags available to them for carrying ease. You can think about ethical packaging if this works for your brand, so paper bags instead of plastic etc.
Depending how busy you think your stall could be at special times like Christmas you could offer a wrapping service for a small extra charge and wrap the present for them there and then. If you’re good at wrapping! If you’re not, please leave this step out.
You could offer a delivery service for people, so they could purchase larger items on the day but then get it sent to them after the event so they don’t have to carry the item around the event with them.
Whatever packaging you choose for your creations, make sure it has your resin business details on it or in it somewhere so people can find you again long after your stall has ended. If they have purchased from you once, they are more likely to purchase again so make sure they have your details.
In order to gather the details of people who might not purchase from you on the day you could also offer a raffle of one of your creations. For a small amount of money they could enter the raffle and have a chance at winning the creation after the event has ended. In order to let them know if they have won they will need to give you their contact details, if you take an email from them they could tick a box to say if they are happy to receive marketing information from you and if they tick yes you could add them to your email marketing list. You could either keep the money towards the cost of your creation, or use this as a charity donation, many events are run for charity so you could then donate this to the events charity of choice or your own.
Payment Options:
When planning your stall it is important to think of payment options for people. If the event is a small local fate then you might be able to get away with accepting only cash payments, as many people will carry some cash with them. However being able to offer a card payment option will open up doors to more people buying from you.
There are multiple ways to accept card payments, you could have your PayPal details available on your stall and people could transfer to PayPal in seconds.
You could accept Bank Transfers, although this can take longer to clear, so make sure the money has gone in before handing over your creation.
You could purchase a card payment app and machine. These can be relatively inexpensive but possibly beneficial if you are going to be doing more than one event throughout the year. You will need to ensure the venue has good wifi to use the machine though, so have backup options just in case.
You could still accept only cash, however please make sure you have change available for people if you choose this method.
People could order from you, then you could contact them afterwards to pay. This can be good for items that you will make bespoke for them after the event. You could send them an email with further details of their order including the payment details after the event, but before you start making their bespoke items.
Public Liability Insurance:
If you are going to be selling your creations in public then it is always a good idea to purchase your own Public Liability Insurance, or check with the event organisers if their insurance will cover your stall too.
Covering not only your stall at the event for damage, but also your creations on the way to and from the event and also your items that you sell should anything happen while they are with your customer is always a great idea.
Here in the UK we know that it’s called Public Liability Insurance, if you are in one of the EU countries or the US then you might need a different insurance.
Utilise Your Social Media:
Even though the event is in person, you still want to utilise your social media presence. Before you go to the event advertise that you’ll be attending and have a stall there, share where it is and what timings it’s on so people know that they can come and view your creations in person and also talk to you face to face.
Lots of local events rely on local advertising to get the number of attendees up, so help the event organisers out by sharing to your audience too. Tagging the event will also increase your social exposure to their audience and this could help you gain online sales too.
Share your stall on the day on your social media channels. Share stories of you setting the stall up, or the other stalls at the event, of your creations you’re displaying etc. Give people the experience of being there with you even if they are sat on their sofas watching from their phone, all exposure will help with sales.
Share your social media details on your stall on the day or in your packaging. Make sure passers by know they can follow you, even if they don’t buy on the day they might do after more exposures through social media.
If someone buys encourage them to tag you on social media so that their audience also gets to see your creations long after the event has ended.
Make Sure People Leave With Your Details:
This leads us onto the last point, which we have already gone over a few times in this blog, but that's because it is such an important point!
Display your details on your stall so people can take a picture and then find you at a later date. Ask people who stop by your stall to follow you on social media so they can keep up with any future creations you share that they might like.
Create a flyer they can take with them with your details on and maybe a special discount to incentivise them to shop with you at a later date.
If you don’t make any sales on the day of your event it really doesn’t matter, if you have left them with your details. Think of your stall not as a selling machine, but as a front to your store. You’re planting seeds and the knowledge that your creations exist. Sales could happen on the day, or afterwards, once they have been exposed to your creations.
When people have your details and know about your offerings it will be a matter of time before people buy. So don’t be disheartened if no-one buys on the day, they could do in the future.
We’re really excited for many of you to make the move to in person events again. We can’t wait to see all your fabulous stall images pop up on our Social media channels. If you do have a stall sharing your Craft Resin creations in the future please make sure to tag us so we can see all your fabulous creations and how you’ve displayed them on your stall!
Topic Of The Week Giveaway:
We have attached a giveaway to these Topic Of The Week announcements on our Instagram platform, this is helping us to spread the knowledge of how to use epoxy resin further, but also enabling anyone who helps us share this information to win free resin and mica powders.
To enter the weekly giveaway please see the latest post #CRWEEK49 on our Instagram feed/highlights and follow the instructions to enter:
We hope you enjoy all the festive in person events and beyond throughout the year - We can't wait to see what you all your beautiful stalls over the next month and beyond!
Team Craft Resin
