I have been doing art fairs for 4 years and I learned a lot by watching and talking to other artists. They were all happy to help and with time my booth looked good and things went pretty smoothly. However, I've never felt that I was doing a good job selling my art. I've done alright but too many people walked out without buying even if they seemed really interested. I saw some people who were great entertainers. They had crowds in their booths laughing and buying. I tried it and once in a while I could pull it off but mostly it didn't work for me. It just wasn't me. The worst part was how exhausted I was by mid afternoon. It seemed the only other alternative was to be passive and let people "discover" my art by themselves. Of course, that had a very low success rate. I have felt lost and frustrated about sales for most of the past four years.
Then I listened to the podcast Connie hosted a couple of weeks ago. I took detailed notes and studied them before my next show which was Art Fest Midwest in Des Moines, an unrated show with the downtown show going on at the same time. I had my third biggest show ever. Last weekend, I did Art on the Square in Madison, a very highly rated show. I was a little nervous because last year I sold one piece at that show and I hated the thought of doing that again. However, using the concepts from the podcast, I had my highest sales ever. That's two in a row. By the end of July, I'll have two more shows done and I'll let you know how they go.
Thanks Connie for doing that podcast and sharing some great information.
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