Show week is here again as we get ready for our market weekend at the Stillwater Minnesota Flea Market this weekend and I’m trying to prepare myself for the hot temperatures. As a creator, sweating for my art is just another part of the job. Come join us this Saturday and Sunday if you want to walk around in the sun and see over 100+ vendors. We’ll be mixed in with other antique sellers.
At this point of the summer, I’ve been trying to figure out how I’m going to scale everything when I’m in multiple places. I’m in The Art Shoppe in Midtown Global Market and a few other online platforms, plus my own website. This sounds crazy but these days it’s a must. Many of us who sell our own books or art have learned that it’s a necessity to be on more than one platform.
For example, many of us are on the largest publishing site, such as Amazon and then we have our own personal websites. It’s good to have both because you have the potential for more exposure on one site plus a trusted site that makes it easy for someone to purchase and then you have your own for your own audience or when you go to shows. There are commission fees for using Amazon, Etsy, or other publishing sites but when you have your own you don’t have to worry about giving a percentage to anyone else but yourself.
When I speak with other people who run their own business they try to do the same, have some items on a larger site that most people trust and then their own private. Yes, you are losing a percentage with one but their platform is your competition and building up your own site is going to take time.
That leads me to one of the reasons I decided to begin events again. Seeing people in person help build your audience. I always see an increase in my traffic after a show because people like to see who you are and what else you have if they buy from you. Anyone who’s good at sales will tell you that seeing someone in person increases your numbers because people get to see who you are. You have a better chance at a connecting with someone. You also get to tell your story in person.
So, tell your story in person. Sign up for a book reading event to get in practice. Join a fellow artist at a table. You could always offer to give them bathroom breaks or help them with sales for a corner spot on their table.
I’ll be busy this week getting everything ready again. I’ll do my best to post but there may be a few days off so that I can get more things done.
My posts are Monday through Friday.
Imagine Inspire Create: 52 Weeks of action and gratitude is available at: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09S6XCLFY/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_Q7MHM9CFBSASDG56YMJQ
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Writer's Block Inc 