This time of year, most communities are fraught with holiday craft markets and pop-up shops specifically designed for small vendors and crafters to sell their unique goods. If you sell handmade items, art, or vintage clothing and accessories, fairs and markets are a great way to promote your business and make a little extra cash for the holidays.

Finding markets

Search the ever-helpful internets for “(your city) holiday market”, check with your local etsy street team, Yelp, and Craigslist, event listing sites like Festival Network Online and FairsandFestivals.net, or even your local Chamber of Commerce.

Fees and traffic

Most markets charge a fee to participate, usually anywhere between $15-$700. Smaller markets will charge a lower “booth fee,” while larger, more established events–which usually draw more traffic–charge more. If costs are high, see if the event will permit you to share a booth and split the rental fee. Ask the market organizers to provide statistics about past and projected attendance and average vendor sales if available.

If you’re in the US, you may also need a license or permit to sell–check with the local government to determine the requirements.

What to bring

Besides merchandise to sell, there are other things you’ll need to bring to set up your area.

Set-up

Most markets that take place this time of year don’t require a tent, but a table and chairs, rolling racks, and collapsible shelves are inexpensive basics for setting up. Make sure to bring bags for customers to carry your products home in!

Administrative

Since this is a sales venture, you should bring plenty of business cards, a calculator, pen and pad, a cash box and cash (for change). Each individual piece of merchandise should be clearly priced, and it’s a good idea to bring a mailing list sign-up so you can keep in contact with people interested in your stuff.

Help

You’ll need at least one other person to help take care of customers and watch the booth when you need a break. Portable snacks and a water bottle always come in handy, too.

Make it look good

This is the fun part! The type of merchandising permitted may change depending on the market’s rules and the amount of space available, but remember to stay true to your branding–use your logo and the colors on your site in your decor.

Signage

Make sure your business’ name is clear and legible from a distance. Try to hang the sign with your business name and URL above your table or booth so it’s visible regardless of the crowd.

Displays

If you sell clothing and accessories, display pieces on a dress form or mannequin, or prettify your set-up with colorful table cloths, baskets, boxes, or a backdrop. The more it looks and feels like an inviting boutique, the more people your booth will attract.

Stand out!

Nancy of brick-and-mortar shop Talk of the Town Vintage started out by attending markets and fairs, and often received attention for the hats she’d wear. People would stop by her booth just to see “the Hat Lady.”  You don’t have to have a gimmick, but a unique feature that draws attention never hurts!

Follow up

You’ll make contacts with customers and potential customers, in addition to connecting with other vendors–who can keep you in the loop about future opportunities. Keep in touch with your fellow vendors! Send a follow-up email, comment on their blog, friend them on Facebook, follow them on Twitter, or arrange to chat over coffee. Networking contacts are invaluable.

Mailing list

If you collect emails, add them to your mailing list and send a message welcoming new subscribers and asking them to join you on social networking sites. It also helps to remind new subscribers that they’re on your mailing list because they signed up at XYZ market.

Special projects

If people ask you about custom orders or special projects, make sure follow up with an email or phone call. They could turn out to be your best clients!

In issue 10 of Style Sample magazine, there’s a handy list of the 5 things you must include in your media kit. However, there’s always room for more! Other information you may want to include:

Editorial Calendar

Give potential partners and advertisers an idea of the type of content you create and which types of media you use (ie posts, videos, etc.) so they can see how they’ll most naturally fit into your content. Listing these options out–giveaways, product review, ad, etc.–can be helpful as well.

Rates

If you have an idea of your pricing structure, you have the option of including rates for advertising, sponsored posts, giveaways, text links, product reviews, and whatever other options you offer. Unless you have a lot of traffic–well over 100,000+ uniques per week–it’s best to sell your ad space based on flat weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly rates.

Press

Any press you’ve received–especially from well-known media outlets–is seen as social proof and general reinforcement of your awesomeness. Include positive quotes as well as screenshots and links (if the article is online) and scans (if the piece was in print).

Affiliations and social networks

Include and link other sites you write for as well as the social networking sites you use. You may also want to include any other pertinent experience or accomplishments that relate to your site or the industry you’re a part of. Anything that adds cache to your personal brand–for example, interning for a PR firm or design house–is a plus.

Contact info

This was one of the five must-haves listed in the issue, but it bears repeating: You must include contact information.

Include your name (people want to know how to address you) and email address or phone number in the media kit, on your site, and set up a Contact page as well. Offer both options to make it convenient for potential sponsors to get in touch with you!

Traffic is important!

If you don’t know your stats, install Google Analytics or another counter program, and use the three-month average in your media kit. You can also sites like Compete and Quantcast to help you determine your traffic.

Search engine rankings

Compile a list of keywords that you rank for that you can include in your blog media kit. Companies targeting those same keywords will be interested in partnering with you in order to improve their own ranking.

This is a guest post by Christina Jones. If you’d like to write a guest post for Style Sample, check out the guidelines and submit your idea.

Growing your blog’s traffic is probably your number one priority in the beginning stages. The best way to gain exposure and increase your blog’s traffic is through networking. Get to know as many people in your niche as possible, and exchange links.

Interview!

An effective method of networking and increasing traffic to your blog is interviewing. That is, reaching out to someone who has expertise in an area relative to your blog (like a fellow blogger, fashion editor, stylist, etc.) and ask them a few questions. Choose a minimum of five and maximum of ten (depending on who it is) insightful questions to send to them. Once they send you back their answers, post them to your blog for your readers.

Most of the time, the person you are interviewing will advertise the interview on their site or post the link to their social network. This not only allows you to make a new friend in the industry, it also boosts your credibility. Remember, the goal should be to:

• Educate your readers
• Make new friends in your niche.

If you don’t already have connections with fashion editors or the hottest new designers, look for editors of the popular blogs in your niche that you read regularly and connect with them via email. Begin the e-mail referencing a recent post or endeavor they blogged about, or your favorite feature on their blog. Make a connection by referencing something they have done that has inspired you, or connect what they do with something you do similarly.

When reaching out to prospective interviewees keep the following in mind:

Remain professional at all times.

If you are reaching out to a big name editor or blogger who is accustomed to interview requests, you do not want to seem like a newbie—even if you are. Keep it simple, however, do not treat them like a buddy—yet. They could be your contact for a cool internship or opportunity with their blog.

Edify the interviewee from start to finish.

Do some research outside of what is on their blog, and include the details in your introduction paragraph. Highlight all of the cool things they are currently doing, and how they have inspired you. Flatter them, and they will most likely want to work with you again!

Proofread and proofread again.

Sending an e-mail with a lot of contractions and typos will turn the reader off, and diminish your credibility. Remember to proofread both when you send the initial e-mail, and when you post the interview to your blog.

Ask questions that will elicit insightful and useful answers.

Remember, the purpose is to help educate your readers, not just to show them you can get a great interview.

Think outside the box.

You don’t necessarily have to e-mail your interview questions. The interviewee may want to meet with you in person or chat over the phone. Be flexible with their preference. If you can meet them in person, that is even better!

Have fun!

The purpose of interviewing is to move your blog forward, however, have fun in the process.  Soon enough, there will be an email in your inbox from a blogger who wants to interview you.

As bloggers, we spend a lot (a lot) of time online–which makes sense as that’s where so much of our work takes place. Unfortunately, that makes it easy to forget about talking about your online life with people in real life, but doing so is absolutely essential to growing your readership. While social media has made it easier than ever to connect with people on the web, there’s still nothing like a little face-to-face interaction.

Here are a few suggestions for getting out and making contacts:

1. Hand out business cards

They make you seem more professional and help serve as a tangible reminder of who you are and what you do. Someone compliments your outfit? Hand them a card and introduce yourself! People are much more likely to check out your blog if they’ve met you in person.

2. Cover events

Check your local calendar listing and see if there’s an event you’d like to cover. If you email the event organizers beforehand to let them know you’ll be there, there’s a good chance they’ll offer to let you hang out behind the scenes.
Note: Showing up with a camera and a notepad pretty much guarantees a certain amount of credibility–people will think you know what you’re doing, even if you don’t. Introduce yourself to these people.

Be sure to email a link to your coverage to the event organizer, and follow up with any connections you make.

3. Send promotional postcards

Again, these serve as a tangible reminder of your site. As a plus, you don’t actually have to be present to distribute postcards–leave them in your favorite coffee shops and bookstores, and mail them (yes, snail mail with stamps and such) to editors, journalists, boutique owners, designers, galleries, photographers–whomever you think would be interested in your site.

4. Participate in craft shows and street fairs

This is especially useful if you sell stuff–clothing, accessories, jewelry, crafts, even if you offer services. Summer and the holidays are prime time for street fairs and craft shows, so check show listing sites, gather your merchandise or develop a demonstration of your services, and sign up! Be sure to take plenty of business cards to pass out to prospective customers.

5. Join a blogging group

Blogging is pretty widespread, and if you live in a reasonably-sized city, there’s likely a group of bloggers that meet to share tips and advice and generally hang out. If there isn’t one in your area, see if you can find a few local bloggers and start one. Search the blogrolls of a local food/relationship/mommy blogger and see who you can connect with. You could also try searching for Tweetups (somebody’s bound to blog) and local social media groups on Google or LinkedIn.

Bonus: If your group grows large enough and happens to include a few people with connections, there’s a good chance you could receive media coverage!

Now get out there, shake some hands, and kiss some babies!

In Part I of How to Write a Media Release, we talked about the basic format for writing press releases and different types of media to include. Now, let’s talk about what to actually do with what you’ve created.

A few options

Once you’ve written your release and created accompanying audio, video, or imagery to go with it, you need to make it public! There are a few ways to do this:

• Send it directly to people or publications you think would be interested in your news

• Submit it to a press release distribution site

• Post it online for increased Google juice

Send it!

If you know who you’re trying to reach with your news, the most effective way to distribute your media release is directly, usually via email. Send an email to specific writers and editors at blogs and publications that regularly cover your area of interest.

A few tips:

Include a good description in the email subject line.

You may want to include the “FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:” with a brief description of your news so the receiver knows that you’re sending a press release without having to open the email.

Include the release in the body of the email

Don’t send the release as an attachment as most people don’t have time to open documents. It’s also best to include a short, personable introduction and a brief reason for sending the release in the email. For example:

Hello NAME,

I hope you are doing well!

YOUR NAME/COMPANY, a popular fashion blog(ger) in CITY, is proud to announce YOUR NEWS. It’s a great PRODUCT/SERVICE that FEATURE, BENEFIT, BENEFIT [include 3-4 features your product/service includes and the way in which those features help your target audience] .

See press release below.

I would love to speak to you about this exciting new PRODUCT/SERVICE since you are an integral part of the NICHE industry.

Please feel free to contact me at PHONE NUMBER or EMAIL if you would like more information.

Best,

YOUR NAME

–Start media release text–

Don’t send email blasts

It’s unprofessional to send the same blanket message to every single person you’ve ever contacted. It looks careless, and we all know how annoying it is to receive irrelevant emails…so don’t send them, either.

Follow-up

If someone does contact you, get back to them in a timely manner. They’re doing you a favor, so be professional and stay on top of it.

Submit it!

Another way to spread the word about your news is to submit your release to media release submission sites. These sites accept submissions across different industries, and may serve as a place for journalists in need of story angles to search for news. There are a number of paid services, but we like free stuff around here. A few reliable sites include:

PR.com You have to register, but this site distributes releases to several online news sites and allows visitors to subscribe to RSS feeds for new releases.

PitchEngine is a social media press release builder and allows for easy integration of images, video, and audio alongside your text release.

PR Log Lets you include HTML links in your media release, as well as an SEO dedicated webpage and PDF version of the release.

Free-Press-Release.com The site looks like Digg, and the most-read releases that are part of paid plan rise to the top of the site.

iNewswire Free submission service that requires registration

Online PR News You get one live URL within the release, and there’s no expiration date.

A note on submission vs distribution:
Submission sites basically allow you to build Google rank by posting your content on several different outposts, and help people find your news by including it in an aggregator.

Distribution includes publishing the release to multiple syndication channels, pushing releases to subscribed editors and journalists, and more traditional wire services like Associated Press and Reuters.

Post it!

If you have a blog or are part of another online community, why not post your release there, too? Your readers and fellow community members (if the community allows it–check the guidelines first) might be interested in using your product or service, interviewing you about your news, or pointing you towards their cousin who happens to be an editor at Vogue. You never know, right?

A media release (or press release, as they’ve been called since ye olden times) is an announcement issued to the news media and other targeted publications in order to let the public know about news and developments.

Many enterprising fashion and style bloggers are starting their own independent ventures–from online shops, to personal styling services, to marketing consultancies–and everyone deserves a shot at success. Part of that includes treating your small side business like…well, a business, and letting your target audience know what you have to offer.

When might you need a media release?

If you’re opening a new shop, offering a new service, partnering with another blogger or company on a project, or engaging in any other newsworthy activities, a media release might be just the thing to help spread the word.

Traditional media release format

A traditional press release usually includes background information about your company or blog, the announcement about your new product or service, quotes from the people in charge, boilerplate text, and contact information.

The basic template is shown below. Obviously, you’d want to replace the text in capitals with information that applies to you and your product or service, and the tips in brackets would not be included!

Headline with keywords people looking for your product/service might search for
Interesting sub headline further describing your news

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: CITY — Month Day, 2010 — YOUR NAME, of COMPANY OR BLOG that DOES THIS STUFF, is proud to announce NEWS. NEWS will become effective as of DATE.

The release of PRODUCT/SERVICE is intended to PURPOSE OF YOUR VENTURE.

[Now you'll explain a bit about your history and include relevant facts/statistics]

YOUR NAME, a YOUR PROFESSION, created COMPANY OR BLOG after seeing an opportunity for HOW CUSTOMERS WILL USE YOUR PRODUCT/SERVICE [it helps if you can relate this to a well-known current event/news item]. Today, the COMPANY OR BLOG has FACT, FACT, STATISTIC [include 3-4 facts and statistics regarding traffic, readers, buyers, clients, etc. about your blog or service.]

“QUOTE FROM YOU ABOUT YOUR PRODUCT/SERVICE,” says YOUR NAME.

NEW SERVICE/PRODUCT was created to fulfill the need for WHAT YOUR PRODUCT/SERVICE DOES and help YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE improve their WHAT YOU OFFER. FEATURE, BENEFIT, BENEFIT [include 3-4 features your product/service includes and the way in which those features help your target audience] make your PRODUCT/SERVICE an essential destination/opportunity for people in need of KEYWORDS.

[Include a bit about future plans:]
Additionally, the PRODUCT/SERVICE plans to include BENEFICIAL FEATURES in the future in order to further help people DO STUFF.

“QUOTE FROM YOU ABOUT HOW/WHY PEOPLE NEED YOUR PRODUCT/SERVICE.”

PRODUCT/SERVICE is available at LOCATIONS [online or in real life].

–

[This is where your boilerplate information goes. A boilerplate includes basic information about your blog/company that answers the who, what, where, when, and why of its existence:]

COMPANY/BLOG is a fun and informative site focused on WHAT YOU BLOG ABOUT. Founded by YOUR NAME in MONTH YEAR, COMPANY/BLOG addresses the interests and desires of YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE. Created as a platform to provide style inspiration, shopping tips, and a sense of community, COMPANY/BLOG fulfills THESE NEEDS. For more information, please visit YOUR SITE.

[This is how people that want to know more can get in touch with you or your agent:]

INQUIRIES
For more information, please contact:
NAME
PHONE
EMAIL

###

Make sure to:

• Write professionally. Spelling and grammar mistakes won’t cut it. Proofread, rewrite, and have someone else look it over for you. Then rewrite and proofread again.

• Include the full URL for links. Some services don’t allow embedded hyperlinks, so mentions of your blog or related sites should be followed by the full URL, for example: YourSite.com (http://www.YourSite.com)

• Identify the source of the information. People want to know who’s “talking” to them–if it’s you, include that information. It builds credibility.

• Tie your announcement to recent news, social issues, or trends if possible. Current events make it easier for the writer to find a hook.

• Show how your newsworthy product or service solves a problem. Don’t expect the reader to make the connection between what you’re doing and how it helps people, even if it seems obvious. Make it easy and tell them.

• Include the pound signs (###) at the end so the reader knows that’s the end of the release. Try to keep it to one page or less.

Adding media

Now that you have a basic media release (undoubtedly the most important part), you can choose to add additional types of media.

Social media releases allow you to add download-able images, logos, audio, or video related to your product or service. You might:

• Include a crisp, high-resolution image of your logo.

• Upload high-resolution images of your product, or of you hard at work.

• Create a video showing off your merchandise or explaining how your service works.

• Conduct an audio interview with a client or customer in which they endorse your product or service.

• Include a shortened URL and 2-3 Twitter-ready statements of 120 words of less to make it easy for people to re-tweet your news.

• Add social media sharing buttons so people can Digg, Stumble, share on Facebook, add to Technorati, and subscribe to your RSS feed.

It’s easier than ever to spread your news, it just comes down to taking the time to do it–and it does take time. Set aside 2-3 hours this week, try your hand at writing your own release, and let us know how it goes!

In Part II, we’ll go over some of the best ways to distribute your media release online and to publications and individuals who would most likely be interested in your news.

Style blogger Jessica Schroeder of What I Wore just announced some great news: she got a book deal!

I’m sure there are plenty of other bloggers who are aspiring authors, and while working with an agent and an established publishing house is the most desirable way to write a book, there’s also another option: self publishing.

What is self publishing?

“Self publishing” is just the term for when authors produce and distribute their written work themselves, instead of working through third-party publishing specialists. Self publishers are usually able to keep a larger portion of their profits, in addition to having more control over content and promotion. The web, blogging, and the increasing number of media channels have spurred the self-publishing movement, and several services make it easier than ever to create your own book!

Print on demand technology (similar to the service we use to create print editions of Style Sample) is probably the best bet for independent authors and bloggers without a lot of capital to invest. You’ll want to look for a company with low-to-no set up fees–which vary depending on the size of the book, number of pages, binding, and cover (hardcover vs softcover).

Book binding options

Some of the most reputable services include:

Lulu

Lulu is one of the longest-running printing and distribution services online, and offers free publishing (no set-up fees) as well as paid marketing and design services. You choose your book’s binding, size, and paper, upload your files, build a cover, set the price, and start promoting!

Blurb

If you have a lot of high quality images you’d like to turn into a photo book, Blurb is your best bet. You can download their free BookSmart book-making software (or do it yourself if you’re comfortable with page-layout programs), add graphics, text and images, and place your order for as many as you’d like. I’ve seen some great results with Blurb.

CreateSpace

Formerly BookSurge, CreateSpace is owned by Amazon.com and allows you to upload a PDF of your book to their site. You can create a cover using their cover creator, choose distribution channels to sell your book (including Amazon.com, of course), and they’ll provide you with a free ISBN.

A word of caution

Beware of vanity presses, which charge exorbitant fees (up to $10,000) with the promise of printing large quantities of your book (likely more than you need) and distributing it to big box retailers. These presses are similar to the “modeling agencies” that charge hundreds of dollars for headshots and modeling classes–you don’t need all that if you create a valuable product.

Other things to consider:

• ISBN: You may want to look into applying for an ISBN (International Standard Book Number), which allows a title to be searchable and listed for sale on websites. It’s the barcode you usually see on the back of the book.

• Design: You shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but let’s face it, people will (especially aesthetically-oriented fashion people)! If you’re not a designer and can’t afford to hire a professional, keep it simple and use a high-impact image or text for your cover image. You’ll also want a nice photo of yourself for the author bio page.

• Promotion: If you already have a blog, you likely already have an audience. Make sure your readers know you’re publishing a book, put a prominent link on your site, contact other blogs, sites, and publications and offer to do interviews, find a podcaster in your niche and do an interview, contact your local indie book retailer and offer to do an in-store reading, set up a booth at fairs and trade shows…there’s a lot you can do, so be ready to work!

• E-publishing: Keep in mind that the iPad, Kindle, and other e-reader devices are opening doors for independent publishers. If you’d prefer to stick with an e-book (a book available in electronic format, usually a downloadable PDF), try SmashWords.

The barrier to entry for book publishing is diminishing as technology advances, so I encourage you to put in some work and get your piece of the pie!

In the last issue of Style Sample, Alicia of Instant Vintage shows us how to set up an online shop step by step. Setup is relatively simple, but once you have your store up and running, you have to get out there and promote it! Here are some easy and (mostly) free ideas:

1. Put a link to your shop in your email signature, blog comments, and forum and message board signatures.

2. Create a Facebook fan page for your shop or line. Post pictures of customers wearing your products, links to articles about your shop, and info about how you create your merchandise.

3. Create a behind-the-scenes video like this one about The Brush Factory. Post it on YouTube, Metacafe, MySpace, blip.tv, Vimeo,  and others using an all-in-one video posting service like tubemogul.com.

4. Use descriptive keywords in your item description so people searching can find it easily. Instead of “vintage dress”, try “red cotton vintage sundress size 6.”

5. Post classifieds on free sites like Craigslist and Kijiji.

6. Send email newsletters announcing a new line or collection. If you have a small list (under 500 subscribers), try a free service like MailChimp.

7. Promote offline, too! You can get inexpensive business cards from Moo.com or OvernightPrints and hand them out to friends, family, and potential customers.

8. Participate in area craft fairs or trunk shows. Hand out those cards!

9. If you’re interested in selling offline, create postcards to mail to businesses and publications who might be interested in selling or writing about your products. Be sure to do your research when preparing your pitch.

10. Write press releases when something big happens–a new collection comes out, you snag an investor, or you’re carried at a new store. Submit your release to writers who would be interested in your story and online newswire services like iNewswire and PRLog.

11. Join an ad network–as an advertiser.

Besides blogging, how do you promote your store?