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Promoting a Business Online Vs. Fairs


     I crochet for a "living".

     What does that mean?  It means I do whatever I can to get my name, The Crocheting Mom, out there in the world.  A lot of my time has to go into promoting, or my husbands time that is.  He's the one who does most of my marketing and such.  There are two main outlets that we use to promote my business; online sales, and craft fairs.



Online Sales - We are so lucky to live in the age that we do.  There are so many social outlets that a small business can thrive on.  How many times have you seen a picture go viral?  Meaning everyone has seen it, has millions of likes on facebook, and it shows up everywhere you look online.  Every business strives for that one picture to get their name out there.  Sites like Facebook, Twitter, Etsy, and Craigslist are huge.  Even those who rhetorically "live under a rock" know about these sites.  Then there are the less known sites, such as google+ and square up.  There is no excuse to not be able to sell items online, as long as you are providing a service or product that people actually want.

Craft fairs - Craft/ Vendor fairs are great to actually meet your customers face to face.  It is a more personal way of selling your items.  You can talk with your customers and form a sort of relationship with them that you are not able to do by only having online correspondence.  Also, I have found, this is the best way to see which of your items are the most popular.  If you are in the same type of feild that I am, you have to make your items in advance, and with such a wide variety, figuring out which ones to have on hand can be a challenge all its own.  Even if people don't buy, they will walk by, pick up items to look at, ask you about what they are looking for, or even mention something that they saw somebody else had.  It's a great way to find out what is hot, and what you should have as ready inventory.

     Both of these outlets are equally important.  Online stores are convienent because you are able to make to order.  You don't have to guess what your customers may like, because they are already telling you, before you have to make it.  Craft fairs require you to have inventory available so that people can see what you have to offer.  Although choosing what to have displayed can be tough, craft fairs are a great for seeing what people are really interested in.

Is there a way that you promote your small business that works best for you?  I'd love for you to comment below so myself, and my readers can benefit!

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