These are marketing tips a few of my customers have shared and some I've learned from 22 years of selling my artwork.   Most of the tips relate to bottle stopper sales but a lot of the suggestions will work for most any artwork.   If you have a tip, send it to me so I can add it to this collection.  The more we help each other, the more we all sell. 

First two suggestions regarding bottle stoppers:
 
If you use my bottle stoppers, feel free to take any wording from my site to promote them.  People understand FDA approved kitchen-grade solid stainless steel, guaranteed to never pit or chip from acids in wine or vinegar and they understand it will cost a little more.  Most also love to know your item is 100% made in America. 

Also for people who do not drink wine, have a sign saying these stoppers can be used for oil and vinegar bottles or cruets.  Have a vinegar cruet with a stopper in it in your display and people will get the idea and maybe even think of other uses and it might mean more sales.   

If you make bowls, vases, etc., check with fine furniture stores.  They have rooms arranged with desks, bookcases, etc.  A glass artist in Utah does extremely well with sales in this type of store.  Your work is not competing with a lot of others and people can picture that art piece in their home.  Also they are not price shopping with other artists, they accept that piece is that price.

Make an "exclusive" design for each specialty shop.  They will promote their very own exclusive  design.  This would not apply to consignment or gift shops.  For example, I do my apple stopper for a local winery that is in the middle of 100 acres of apple orchards.  I told them I would not sell that design to another winery within 50 miles.  If you have 4, or even 15, wineries within 100 miles, that is a nice number of "exclusive" designs to sell.                 

Home builders might like to give their customers a nice salad bowl or wine bottle stopper made to match the kitchen cabinets.  The glass artists can offer stoppers to match the color scheme of the home.   Stone workers can make a stopper from the kitchen counter material.
       John Schick of OH did these stoppers to match marble counter tops.

If you have a website, try to link with fellow artists, vendors and collectors.  Don't add links just to have a lot of them.  After going to a few irrelevant links, people move on to another site.  Your links reflect you and your art.

Try gourmet kitchen shops or flower shops that make gift baskets.  They can sell your items separate or make a gift wine basket or gift bowl with flowers that will be used long after the flowers have died.  You probably won't sell a lot of items but it is another venue.  Remember, market your stoppers for oil and vinegar cruets as well as wine bottles.

For your booth at a show, tie a  stopper to a bottle of wine with a fancy ribbon.  Put a small sign saying something like "wonderful way to give an heirloom stopper to a favorite wine lover."   Using the word "heirloom" suggests future gifts and adding to a collection.

Many libraries, banks, community centers and visitor centers have monthly displays in their lobby or entry hall.  See if you can either do a display or contribute to one.  For example; the local Extension Service was going to have a "Native Trees of PA." display.  They had books, pictures, a few leaves and some bark from each species.  I offered to turn small items from each wood.  Every library patron saw my work with my name for a month.  The library advertised the exhibit including my turnings.  

Make a "pair" of stoppers, same design one light, one dark or one taller and promote as gifts for couples.   Wedding gift, anniversary, engagement or new home gift.  You can also make sets; stopper and bottle coaster of the same wood.  For glass artists, a bottle stopper with glass tags with the same color pattern.
   Terrific gift for a couple, done by Michael Pierceall of AZ.

Have an empty wine bottle in your show booth so people can see how nice a stopper looks in a bottle.  Many designs are more attractive in the bottle than either laying on the table or in a display stand with a dozen other stoppers.
 For example; I make a door-knob shape stopper that isn't exactly an attention getter in the display but when people try them in the bottle, they look nice and are very hand friendly.
It's a quick, simple design that you can add cabochons, coins, buttons, inlays, etc. on the top to create unique or individual designs.

If you do wood stoppers with a wood display stand, paint the stand white.  Each stopper will stand out more.  Too much wood on wood can be distracting. Notice how the stoppers on the white display stand out.
   

If you work with wood, have a "process" display; a square blank, a partially turned bowl, box or anything you make. Have a few tools, too.  You know you are going to be asked "How did you do that?"   Showing, rather than just describing your process will impress and help make sales.

After your booth is set up, walk down and around another isle and observe booths that attract your attention.  Don't look at what they are selling, rather how the display looks to you as a customer.  As you approach your booth, try to see it as a customer.  Things to consider; color and openness (welcomes browsing), extra stock stacked in the back rather than on one table (too much to look at).  Also consider moving a few things around in the afternoon, items previously overlooked might get someone's attention.  If the customer doesn't see something to attract them in 5 seconds, they walk on by.

A great suggestion from another artist; try to have vertical displays with hanging items, things people can see at eye level as they are walking past.  Have a folding "wall", 3 or 4 boards hinged, put a small shelf or two on each "wall" and put a sample of your best work there.  This is a directory of some of your work.

This is from an article in Crafts Report.  Make what the customers want to buy.  Sounds simple but a lot of woodturners (just for example) make items that are woodturner's challenges but not really practical for the average person.  Take a small trinket box, a vacuum-type fit is perfect for the turner but the user has to lay the items to go in the box down to use two hands to open the box.  They want to pick up the lid with one hand.  

Give the customer a reason to buy your product by giving suggested uses.  "Popcorn bowl"  "

Tags are a necessary item, make them as attractive as possible.  Don't use white string, use quilter's thread just not white.   You can use Microsoft Word to make quite nice tags.  On stoppers, tie the tag on the stainless steel just above the first o-ring so it's not on your creation.

   The tag on the scoop has a full description, the tag on the left has "Woodturning by Ruth Niles" on the right side, folded in half with price inside, a small hole for the thread, which is quilter's gold thread. 

There is a void in the wine world, namely a display for the artistic bottle stoppers in the home.  People keep them in a drawer or on a shelf in a cabinet.   Have a stopper with its own little stand.  Design a stand for 2 or 4 stoppers for that person you gave the idea to start a "bottle stopper collection"!  If you make wine racks, create a curved or an arc on the top to hold a stopper collection.

I read this marketing tip in an article by Michael Kusek in Crafts Report.  A great suggestion was to call the person at your local newspaper who covers the arts.  They are always looking for articles about what, when, where and how of local artists.  If they say no, you haven't lost anything, at least you tried and they may come back for your story in the future.

Think outside the gift shops and craft shows; go to wineries and tasting rooms with wine accessories like the stoppers, bottle coasters, glass tags, etc.  Have your work where the wine people shop.  One customer sets up his stoppers when his local library hosts a wine tasting party or "Wine and Greet" where the library has a guest author.   A percentage of his sales is donated to the library.  That's free advertising plus potential customers.

Look into etsy for sales and customer recognition at shows.  Etsy is listed on google in "shopping" and that's extra traffic to your website and etsy page.  You might want to try Facebook, too.

The following are pricing suggestions (and theories) that some successful craftspeople agree on.

Do not under-price your work.  Most people know quality, handmade items made from quality materials are going to cost more and they will last longer.  If you price at $55 item at $40, people will think it's only worth $30 but if you price it at its real value of $55, people may think its worth $50 but $55 is fair.   Pricing is a little about psychology: ie, years ago I had a fabric shop and a Small Business counselor was helping/teaching me about retailing and prices.  When we see $42, our brain thinks $40, but when we see $43, our brain goes to $45. 

It is a bad idea to reduce your prices the last day of a show.  If your work is worth $100 on the first day, it's worth $100 on the last day.  If someone pays full price and comes by your booth at the end of the show and sees the price reduction, first he's going to feel cheated and, second, they will wait until the last day to buy at future shows.  Prices should only be reduced on items that are out of style or that you will no longer be making.

When a customer asks "why is this so expensive?"  Do not take it personally, rather tell them why it cost more.  It's made from exotic wood; the detailing takes hours; the product comes with a guarantee, etc.  This is showing respect for your customer.