Charity Events – Promoting Crafts Effectively

Laura, from Etsy’s Tutreasures, recently shared an amazing idea for offline promotion with our editors of HandmadeMarketing.org.  If you are seeking local promotion for your handmade shop, Laura suggests contacting charities in your community.

“I have been creating and selling my handmade jewelry and altered art now for about 2 years through many different venues,” Laura said.  “My main venue is the Internet and my online store at Etsy.com.”

Laura explained why she made the move from Ebay to Etsy.  “I started selling on Etsy when I got fed up with never making more than .99 cents for my hard work on Ebay,” she told us.  “I sold a few things on Ebay, but no one seemed to want to pay more than the starting bid and I could not afford a store or the listing fees that Ebay would charge for buy it now listings. I also did not see the benefit in trying to keep a store there because the costs way outweighed any profits that I would have encountered.”

Laura said she likes to sell handmade at Etsy because there is little overhead.  “I can afford to have a store on Etsy.  It is much less than Ebay or ArtFire, or even the new one Trendyindie.com.  The people who work for the Etsy site seem to do most of the work for me when it comes to store design and product listing. I really appreciate their pay as you go way of doing business, as well,” she said.

In addition to Etsy, Laura said she has also been involved with local craft shows.  “Craft shows present some immediate results, but never seem to go a whole lot further in sending but a few people to my Internet store,” she said.  Even though craft shows resulted in some online sales, Laura wanted more offline promotion options for her Etsy shop.

“I have found another venue that actually does help me to get more exposure to people that seem to have disposable income for luxuries like jewelry and goodies that are not considered necessities, especially in these hard economic times,” she told HandmadeMarketing.org.  “This is a venue that, so far, I have yet to see mentioned by any of the many marketing experts that I have read, and I do try to read them all because I am always trying to improve my business, as to stay in business.”

Laura is referring to charities and charity events that utilize auctions as a great promotion venue for handmade sellers.  “Live, silent, and Internet auctions raise money for charities. I have found that for a small donation of a piece of my work to charities, I not only find lot of people to see my work, but the auctions get a lot of those people to “fight over”, if you will, and seek out your products.”

“In most cases,” Laura explains, “the auctions are designed to get people to bid against each other to obtain whatever item they are trying to buy while benefiting the charity. There are many win-win situations due to these auctions, especially since your donations will be sold to the highest bidder.”

Laura outlines why promoting at local charity events are a wonderful way to gain exposure and benefit the organization:

• Little Cost for Sellers.  “Depending upon what you choose to donate,” Laura tells us, “that donation probably did not cost a lot for you to create, with the excaption for maybe some of your time.  However, this is time in which you would already have spent creating anyway.”
• Maximum Exposure to New Potential Buyers. “By participating in charity auctions, you will have just been exposed to all those bidders or benefactors who will continue to desire your work,” she said.  Laura thinks this is especially if they do not win the auction.  “In most cases, even the winner of the auction for your product will desire more of your work.  Most of the bidders will also want to know the business participating in the auction.  They will start to ask about you or search for information about you and your business.  You will then be on people minds and in their conversations, which is always the best form of advertisement out there – word of mouth.”
• Tax Deduction. Laura explains that most charities will not only give you a receipt to use to write off the amount they received for your donation, but they will also advertise you and your work.  “Advertisement happens both before and after the charity event for those who donate to their charity,” Laura explains.  “Most charities will gladly give you lots of exposure simply because they are so grateful that you cared enough to donate to their cause. With one little contribution to a charity, you will receive many dollars worth of advertisement and exposure and the majority of that exposure will be free.”

Laura says that promoting at charity auction events will help handmade sellers promote more effectively (and with less effort) compared to promoting yourself.  “In turn, this means more revenue for you and more time for you to create while someone else advocates you and your business,” Laura says.

Our team at HandmadeMarketing.org wondered if Laura had any tips for how to find a charity in the community, as well as if she had any advice on how to go about donating for a live or silent auction.  It turns out that Laura’s charity connection actually came to her, rather than seeking it out.

“I actually got lucky on this one and the charity that I work with the most found me,” Laura said.  “I wasn’t even sure she was serious until she finally contacted me outside of the venue in which she found me.”

“I just happened to be at the flea market selling some garage sale stuff for my father.  I only put out one of my creations, just in case and the Chairperson of the Champions Kids Camp happened to see my work and fell in love with the piece I displayed,” Laura said.  “She spoke to me for a few minutes about my interest in donating a piece or two for a chance to be exposed to all her participants. I didn’t have anything to lose, so I gave it a try.  I found that I got more exposure and desire for my work than any venue I ever tried. Not only did people want my work after the auctions during the benefit, but I got more people contacting me and my store later on as well. I have also been invited back every year.”

If a seller has not been approched by a charitable organization, Laura suggests looking to blogs and sites.  “Most of these organizations post their needs on their sites and blogs,” she told HandmadeMarketing.org.  “I got lucky with the one I mentioned above.  However, another charitable organization I found was a friend on my MySpace page.  They announced their need in their status bar. I just happened to see it one day and read their blog about their need and then wrote to them for more information.”

“My suggestion to handmade sellers would be to seek out the charities that they would want to be a part of, or may already be a part of, and see how they obtain their funds,” she said.  “I know that most charities will already be looking for donations and most all charities give those that donate some kind of exposure, both before and after the events. Sometimes they will advertise the donors in order to obtain bidders. Perhaps if someone is involved in a charity, they will find their charity doesn’t utilize auctions for fundraising.  They can suggest one, or even help to organize one, and volunteer to donate crafts.  Then, they can ask to be able to set up a booth.”

Laura says she currently either writes or calls the causes that she is interested in being a part of to see what they may need or what requirements they have for their auction events.  “I always request exposure as well,” she told us.

Once inside the charity’s event, Laura suggests using the exposure to market your shop.  “If you do choose to acquire more exposure by means of donating a product to charity auctions, make sure that you send along plenty of your press (cards, flyers, brochures, etc.),” she said.  “These will be the key to receiving more hits or visits to your store or business.  After all, the only way anyone will buy your work is if they know about you in the first place.  If no one knows you exist and what you have available, you will never sell anything.”

Laura is now in the process of donating to the Charity of Dreamcatchers for Abused Children.  The organization is currently taking donations for both a silent and internet auction happening this year.

“It is a good cause that aims to break the cycle of abuse once and for all.  They hope that, one day, no child will become a victim of abuse.  Their request for donations is posted under their calendar page,” Laura explained.

Thank you for the great promotion idea Laura!  If you want to learn more about Laura’s work promoting her handmade shop at Etsy,  follow her on Twitter or visit her MySpace page.

Have you ever been involved with charitable events?  Do you think donating to a charitable auction would be good exposure for your Etsy, ArtFire, or 1,000 Markets shop?  How do you promote your handmade work offline?

Share your ideas with HandmadeMarketing.org!  HandmadeMarketing.org articles are generated from tips submitted by sellers like you.  If you are seeking extra press for your shop, tell us your marketing tips for selling handmade online.  If we publish your ideas, we’ll link to your shop, blog, or website in the article!