One of the first things we need to know when considering an arts and crafts show is the attendance and it is amazing how many promoters fail to understand logic behind knowing how many people will be passing our booth.
It really is not that complicated. We need to know if it will be worth our wild to spend our time producing, packing, setting up, staying for the show, tearing down, packing up, driving home and unpacking.
It is almost as if some promoters assume we are doing this williy nilly with no forethought or consideration. Let me tell you, even when we plan carefully we are taking more than enough chances with weather, travel mishaps, economy, remember we sign up for these many months in advance.
So it really is important to know we will be seeing the right number of people to insure a profit. Some people may be in this for fun and I have heard, more times than I can remember, “you can’t expect to make money for your time” but we are not in these groups. Rather we are among the group that works hard and knows that the only way to make a profit, and this includes a fair wage for our time.
Think about it. Would stores like Target, Bed Bath and Beyond set up business on a back country road, hoping that potential customers would just find them? Why should it be any different for a crafter. Many of us do this for a living and we must eliminate as much chance as we can.
So to the promoter who doesn’t think we need to know, we need to know. Good crafts persons will want this information and you will attract better wares if you provide these numbers.
To be fair, attendance might not be at the top of the list for a promoter, especially if they do not charge admission. But they must remember that good crafters need good attendance and it is impossible to have a good show without good crafters.
For the promoter who needs to know how to arrive at these numbers here are some suggestions that work. Naturally if there is a gate fee this number is easy but not all shows charge the public.
1. Limit access to a few points of entry and count the people who enter. Use a hand held counter to keep track.
2. Offer a door prize or raffle and give one numbered ticket to each entrant. Ask vendors to donate an item as a prize.
3. Offer a door prize and hand out cards that must be punched at several stations to qualify. Collect the cards in a box and count them to determine the number of entrants. This method is also useful to make sure visitors visit all locations, especially useful where the show is spread out over a school campus.
4. Have 2 or 3 volunteers count the passing crowd at several locations. Determine the average by adding the totals and dividing but the number of counters. Again use hand counters and try to have enough volunteers so that no one has to count for more than an hour or so with out a break.
Try your best to come up with a number but no matter what, do not overestimate the crowd. Promoters who try to fool crafters end up with the bottom of the barrel, or buy sell and other trash. The crowds will dwindle. This can actually help kill a good show.
So do us all a favor and try to come up with good estimates, for all our sake.