Saturday, March 6, 2010

EB Friday Hotlist: Free Craft Fair

The name FreeCraftFair.com might sound a little cheesy (at least it did to me), but it's got some features that may help you out as a seller.


Since it's late and I'm tired, I'm going to try and hit the highlights and leave it at that.  I know, a brief post!  Let's see if I can do it.

1. Crafting Information: On the site you'll find jewelry, knitting, sewing, and paper craft tutorials in the form of YouTube videos.  You'll also find product reviews and ideas from other crafters that may inspire you.

 

2. RL Business Info:  RL stands for real life.  There are tips about how to prepare for an in-person craft show and even a search so that you can find shows locally.  You can find information about offline advertising ideas, where to get business cards, how to develop a business plan, what you should to to keep great accounting records, and more.  Many of these tips can also be applied to online selling as information about advertising, accounting, etc. are just as important online as off.




3. Online Directory: While the Free Craft Fair directory does require participation in the form of linking back to the directory from your site, it does still cost my favorite price - absolutely nothing.  Directory listings are in text format and include your shop link and a description.




4. Project Wonderful Advertising:  If you've read my Hotlist post about Project Wonderful, you know I regularly use them for advertising because I'm able to set my own budget and sometimes even get free ad views depending on current bids.  Free Craft Fair utilizes Project Wonderful advertising on their site so you can get extra exposure by bidding on a graphic ad space if you wish.

5. Feature Opportunities: Free Craft Fair also runs features on artisans who do all different types of crafts.  In the interest of full disclosure, I will say that I saved this benefit for last because I'm really not sure how the artisans are selected for the features.  However, I'm sure that question could be answered and even a feature possibly lined up by simply listing yourself in the directory and then dropping a line to the owners via the contact form.



I hope though this week's Hotlist post was less wordy that you still found it informational.  I definitely recommend you checking out Free Craft Fair in more detail over the weekend.  As always, please leave any thoughts you may have in the comments!

Until next time,
Elle

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