Update your online presence before recruiting festival vendors

Fall festival organizers are busy this time of year recruiting vendors. A great way to do it is through festival publications, such as Festival News. Keith Robinson is the publisher and a good friend. Many vendors subscribe to his publication to find out about new festivals. Note, his paper targets festivals in the SE portion of the United States. You may have a similar publication where you live.

Another good way is to work through arts councils. They will pass along information to their members about upcoming opportunities for them to make some money.

You need a really good press release to entice vendors. They are a pretty particular group, wanting to ensure they pay money for a festival which will bring them a lot of traffic with money in their pocket to spend, great location and lots of advance press.

Make sure the Internet is full of information about your festival before you send out vendor requests. Media links and photos can help sell your place as a great festival for vendors, particularly those making handmade crafts.

MARKETING TIP: Get your online presence bold and strong before recruiting festival vendors.