Streamlining creativity can be a super touchy subject, but if you bear with me, I KNOW streamlining will make a HUGE impact on your sales!
As Creative Producers, Makers, and Artists, it's easy to feel our creative need to make more - more versions, more options, more styles, etc.
However, what can happen by doing this is that it confuses your potential clients. It's a lot more work for you, and so many choices can make it harder for them to come to a buying decision.
Whether you are preparing to do a festival (like myself currently), opening the doors to your shop, or presenting your work online, keeping the message clear and the options easy to understand makes ALL of the difference.
And if you have already been doing all of the above and haven't been feeling the sales, keep reading.
The number one way to activate income is freshening how things have always been. So if your numbers are low, these tips below can help. And I do understand esthetics and your missions for how you use your creativity.
Streamlining your creativity is not about clipping your creative wings. It is about seeing your creativity support your life.
For this article I am focusing on having a booth at an art festival. Use these ideas for any place you showcase your work (brick-and-mortar locations and online shops).
When you have a booth displaying your products as an artist, it can feel like you want to explode with creativity and give them everything.
But what converts into more sales for you is a clean, streamlined, easy-to-digest shopfront. One that has enough "punch" to bring them in but is engaging for them to stay and shop with a clear POV.
And this can be challenging for a creative business owner!
I get it.
We have so much creative energy and enthusiasm for what we do, and when we have a venue, it's easy to get caught up in that.
But from my experience, I noticed the difference when I cleaned up my pop-up shop. I experienced the biggest ROI ever.
Here's what works for me. See if you can use some of these ideas in your displays at your next venue.
1. Something to POP at the front that will draw them in. Last year, when I did this event, I had hand-dyed pastel rainbow-colored hats as my booth entrance. These hats were entry-level priced hats.
2. More space - less overcrowding of product makes what you have more lux. You can have your extra stock stored and re-fill display as things sell, but giving a clear, easy shopping experience will make it easier for your customer and bring a higher price tag and end-of-event sales to you.
3. Display Idea - Create an environment and an experience. One way to keep the eyes of your potential customers on your work and not the chaos of what's around is to create an environment pleasing to the senses. It's all about making the product you are showcasing stand out. I found that simple sheers did the trick. It softened everything yet kept it open to the light.
4. Have variety but cluster in groups to make it easy to choose. Creating micro collections and grouping them lets your customer pick from what they want. Here's a sample of some of the collections I am working on for the festival I am doing this year. You can see a variety of styles but also congruency. Rather than having 40 completely different hats - I am choosing to have 6-8 micro collections, and I may not display them all at once.
A way to bring in a fresh option without the energy last year's rainbow of dye-jobs. This year, I chose to do one dye bath of indigo and play with "how" they were dyed. Gives the same "pop" of interest with less effort than multiple dye baths and extra colors.
I still love a good rainbow effect. It's eye-catching and when done in tones of colors, very pleasing to wear. So this year, I am doing this effect with ribbon trims. But the styles are simplified, so it is cohesive as a collection.
This photo shows two styles of hats (short brim/wide brim), three color options but ALL the same collection. Easy to understand, with options for customers, making it easy for them to choose.
5. My wise friend always says, "You can't be everything to everyone." Keep your POV, claim your inner designer/artist/message, and highlight WHY your customers will want what you do.
With a clear point of view, sales are much easier to make. And I know it may be hard to feel like you are limiting what you have to bring to the world, but think about it this way:
You can be a five-course fine dining experience where each dish is memorable, and you can't stop talking about it. Or you can be a buffet line with a paper plate, a scoop of everything that looks so yummy, but the plate buckles a bit, and when you start to eat, everything blends into the next thing, and eh/meh. It's good but not exactly memorable.
If you intend to see your creative work be a source of income for you, then always put your potential clients in the forefront of your mind.
Picture how they will feel and experience your work.
Less is more, and re-stocking is everything.
Oh, remember that first pic I shared here? This was my view later during the show.
And that's always the goal!
How can you streamline what you offer for maximum impact?