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Incentives To Shoppers?


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Do any of you do any sort of promo items?  I was at the printers getting a stamp and some more business cards today, and there was a big case of promo items on display.  Got me thinking...Have you ever done items with your logo or studio name on them, like pens or hats or .......  I'm thinking items to put in bags of shoppers who have made big purchases.

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I like to give them an object made from clay for free.

These small items easily fill the small spaces in your kiln and promote clay rather than imports.

Make a small spreader for cheese, a small ring dish, tiny chopstick rests, a simple tree ornament, a cute small worm for an indoor plant pot, a simple spoon rest ... Just a small thing no one else gets is guaranteed to get you a smile.

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I don't sell enough probably to warrant this little contribution, but I've been thinking about the same thing as I'm just beginning to do some craft fairs and such in my area.  I sometimes make little mice out of scrap clay that I call Scrappies (not very original).  They sell for $3.50 in a couple shops.   I've been thinking about offering one for free with a purchase more than $25, or a ring keeper (sells for $7.50) for more than $50, etc.  If you came up with something that reflects your potting personality and that you wouldn't mind giving away, that would be better than unrelated things.  You know your market better than I, so that might not be a good suggestion for you.  What about small clay pendants with your signature or logo stamped on, and a hole punched in to tie a colored ribbon for a book mark?  Easy and inexpensive. 

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I seem to be very inept at using this site.  How do I attach pictures?  I thought I'd done it, but everything disappeared including the lengthy note!  I'll figure it out later.  Sorry.  Make the mice as little or big as you like.  Mine will fit three side-by-side on a fork's tines.  I just discovered that when I went to my studio to take a picture and had nothing else to use for perspective.  You don't have to attach tails.  You can just impress a line up the back suggestive of one.  I make a pear shaped lump and bend the pointy end a little bit for its nose.  I attach flattened little balls of clay, pinched in the middle around a needle tool, for the ears.  The suggestion of feet can be impressed with a tool or scratched in with a needle tool.  Sometimes I make indentions with a pencil or stylus tip for eyes and put little drops of black glaze in for color, or roll tiny balls of clay and stick those on.  Some of those get black glaze, or just iron oxide the whole thing.  Every one is very different.  You could even give them stories.  "I'm tailless because of a run-in with that blasted cat!" or something like that.  Or name them.  Let your imagination run!  I'll try to send two pictures to your email since I don't know how to do it here.

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I have reusable grocery bags with my logo printed on them. I used them at my holiday open house to pack up all the sales. Now I use the leftovers at shows for any purchase over $100. I don't advertise the free gift at all, the customer usually lights up when they realize they got a grocery bag. Around here, we get taxed for using plastic grocery bags so the reusable ones are very popular.

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I have offered two freebies. One is to help get people into my booth checking out my work. The other is to build a returning customer base and to cultivate referrals.

 

Freebie #1: Fresh Lemon Water

I made a water crock for a 3 gallon jug to sit in/on. Wood fired to cone 10, salt, with a garden hose hookup spigot for dispensing water. It's a piece I'm quite proud of. It, a stack of small disposable cups, and a small handwritten sign encouraging people to help themselves sit on the corner of one of my tables at most shows I do. It brings a lot of traffic to my booth, especially on hot days. Some people are just thirsty, but for others, it's a great icebreaker to get them looking, asking questions, and buying.

 

Freebie #2: Screen Printed Ad Card

Last year I screen printed a run of 5"x7" cards to give away at shows. One side featured an image of a bottle I'd thrown (Photoshopped down into two colors) and the other side had my contact info, website, Instagam handle and a list of shows I'd be participating in throughout the summer and fall. One side was essentially an expanded business card, the other a small piece of original art. I got a lot of positive feedback about the cards last year and I'm planning on a new run with a new image for this year.

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I made a bunch of "worry stones" out of little balls of scrap clay, impressed (and squished flat) with my mark. They'll get a quick face-dunk of glaze and fill in kiln spaces. I figured I could easily have enough of those to hand out to anyone. Not really useful for anything, but sometimes it's nice to have something textured in your pocket to fidget with. (Plus I do a lot of LARP and reenacting, and little kids LOVE to have something to carry around in their belt pouches.)

 

That said, I have never done any booth sales, so I have no idea if anyone will like them as an "incentive" or not. But that's why I made them, so I figured I'd mention them :)

 

I like the lemon water idea! That would surely draw me in!

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I have a swing tag with my logo and business name on front  and on reverse, my address and contact details. Inside is blank so that purchaser can use it as a gift card.

I attach these to sizable pieces, and have some available for pick up if I  am doing markets.

As I also work in fabric, I have material bags, similar to GEP which I sell or give away with larger purchases.

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In response to two people, I put the mouse pictures in My Gallery along with a paragraph with each picture.

 

I make worry stones, too!  I like them.  There's a gallery here in Northern Arkansas where I've seen a dish of labyrinth stones that the potter sells for fifty cents each.  They're about the size of an old half dollar and are stamped with a simple labyrinth design.  One of my clay mates got one for me when she took sculptures there for consignment once.  Love it.

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I make small disc beads or charms whenever I'm trying out new glazes. I save the cord scraps from necklace making and use one to tie the bead through a hole punched in a business card. I don't give out lots of cards made up this way but when I do people seem to like it.

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