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Are You Considering Using A Daily Deal In Your Food Business?

Daily Deal sites like Groupon and Living Social have been around for a few years now. You've probably heard many arguments as to whether these programs are good for the independent food business owner. I admit that there are many pros and cons for using these and other types of coupon-ing or discount deal methods to attract customers to your business. I also think that the success or the benefit of using these programs depends on the preparation taken before you sign on.

The costs for taking part in a daily deal can be overwhelming for food business operators. Basically, if you choose to offer a daily deal, you will pay at least half of your sales to the Daily Deal companies. Then you must add-in any extra employees (yes, you may need this because many buyers will wait until the deal has almost ended before showing up-that could add up to a lot of extra customers in one or two days). Of course, you have your food cost to take into account as well. When you look at these numbers, you could view the daily deal method of marketing as a losing venture.

Do Daily Deals work for food businesses? It has been proven that you will increase the number of customers who will walk through your door. If you are not prepared for this onslaught of coupon- waving deal participants, it could be devastating to your business (as seen on the video).

Read more here!

Adding your event for free in the FestivalNet.com database is a great first step! You're on your way to getting noticed in a big way as we get over 750,000+ monthly visitors! Be sure your listing has a great description and your event details are accurate and complete. Here are some additional ways to increase your exposure.

Co-Promote with FNO

We offer some sweet co-promotion opportunities! You scratch our back, we scratch yours! You get free Featured Event exposure for your event in exchange for promoting FNO! Learn more here.

Featured Events

Place your event at the top of the FNO general search results and on the FestivalNet.com Featured Events Map. Learn more here.

Advertising

You can also buy advertising like Banner, Button, or Newsletter ads. View our very reasonable rates and learn more here.

Read more here!

Jeri Goldstein Copyright 2012 The New Music Times, Inc.

Getting into your festival of choice is not an easy task. There is so much competition vying for just so many performance slots. So how can you make yourself look more attractive to the artistic director?

First spend some time on the festival site and get familiar with what the festival is about. Get a real understanding of the scope of the festival and what the director is trying to accomplish with their programming. Look over last year's schedule and read all the workshop titles and who performed in those workshops. See anything familiar or performers that you know? Can you do something like what is being promoted here? Take a look at all the stages if it is a multi-stage festival. Those smaller stages are probably the right place for you to enter the festival if you are a first timer. As you view the main stage time slots and acts, can you see potential time slots that might be good for you to get your foot in the door that are not the prime time evening slots if the festival runs night stages?

Read more here!

FNO Shop Plans Basic -Up to 5 items, 10% of sales, no monthly fee Pro -Up to 10 items, 5% of sales, no monthly fee, Pro members only Advanced -Unlimited items, 3% of sales, $9.00/month Ultimate -Unlimited items, NO 0% of sales, $14.00/month (Access these options from 'My Account' - 'Upgrade/Renew' - 'Change Shop Plan')

One of the most difficult challenges that new food concession operators face is how to find venues such as fairs, festivals, and other events and then how to convince the management of those venues that it is in their best interests to have them attend.

Fairs and festivals are always looking for new and somewhat unique items to have at their venue. After all, they want increased attendance and fairs and festivals that are always the same have a tendency to see attendance slowly drop from one year to next.

If you, as a new food concession operator, are providing nothing more than a "me too" menu with nothing new, exciting, or out of the ordinary, you will definitely have an uphill challenge to obtain space. New and exciting does not have to mean some exotic food, although a new or unusual food concept is usually a fair management grabber. It can mean a well or uniquely decorated trailer, or unusual outfits for the staff. Always be careful if you are trying to promote anything that is audio oriented, theme music can be a negative as far as some fair managers are concerned.

Read more here!

1) Reach back in the past and cast out a huge safety net into the future, confidently confirming what we already know.

2) Step into the "unknown" and create something new, out of the endless field of all possibilities.

"The biggest obstacle to creativity, innovation and freedom is the false idea that "I know." - Anand

Most opt to reach back and repeat the past. Creating ORDINARY, again and again. It's safer, proven, time-tested, familiar and often very profitable. That's why music and art is so repetitive, and products and services are mostly copycats. And often, those who have plenty of "experience," those that think they "know" just fool themselves into thinking they're creating something new- but they're not. They're just refreshing the same screen over & over again.

Read more tips here!

If you are an event director as happy, positive, and colorful as your festival, chances are you've picked the right job. When your staff digs the mission too, probably the event is a successful one. "Live Life Like LEAF", that's the philosophy of Jennifer Pickering; executive director and founder of the LEAF (Lake Eden Arts Festival) in Black Mountain, North Carolina.

The heart of this festival beats a very positive vibration & emanates the spice of life, variety! It's not just the diverse international and local musical acts that make LEAF sell out in advance year after year. The interactive healing arts workshops, outdoor excitement like zip lining, canoeing, hikes, mountain side drum circles, an ever-expanding kid zone, and stunning arts and crafts vendors round out a very colorful, breathing, and loving festival so varied that you can't see everything it has to offer in one weekend, so you come back for more six months later.

The staff & volunteers wear LEAF's values on their sleeves; riding around in uniquely decorated golf carts, festively decked out and smiling. Positive energy is contagious; festival goers will feel it. Vendors feel it and desire to match it too. As leaders of an event, it is vital to blaze the path by example. The folks attending will catch on quickly and be transported to another dimension; one that as event producers, the framework is yours to build.

LEAF founder Jennifer Pickering offers these tips so you can enjoy your festival too

• TRICK YOURSELF TO BE ZEN. "I always try to breathe a little bit, bring my voice down, walk a little softer, and not use certain words to trick myself that I am calm and zen."
• DETAILS & MOMENTS. "Details count. People count. The little things do make a difference, and it is important to go out of your way to help people when you can- this can also drive your staff crazy."
• PREPARE. "Prepare as far in advance as possible so that during the event you can talk and adhere to the moments needed."

Jeri Goldstein Copyright 2012 The New Music Times, Inc.

There's no doubt that playing festivals can expand your audience within the festival market. There are so many to play and choose from as you plan your festival booking search. If you feel ready to pitch your act to the festival market, here is what I would suggest you do before picking up the phone or emailing a link to your Electronic Press Kit or your website to every festival on some huge list.

1. Set some touring goals as to the markets that are logical for you to tour at this time in your career.

2. Research the festivals that are prominent in that market and make a list, even if it's not the major, well known festival that "everyone is trying to get into." There are plenty of state, county and city-wide events that would be a great place to begin building your audience.

3. Spend some time on these festival websites and make a note of the following:

• a. The time of year those festivals occur
• b. The contact information
• c. Who played the festival last year?
• d. How many stages do they run?
• e. Do they do any kind of workshops in addition to the performance stages?
• f. Do they have a showcase stage for emerging artists and a separate submission process or contact?
• g. Do they have a children's performance area?
• h. Do they have novelty acts or acts that play during stage changeovers between artists?

Yes, believe it or not, there is such a plan.

A Business Plan That Always Works - from popcorn vendors to jugglers, musicians to artists, jewelers to carpenters - And believe it or not, you’re going to learn how to create such a plan, YOUR plan, in the next few moments.

Now for those of you who believe deep down that there can’t possibly be anything that always works - especially a plan – the following is going to be a bit of a stretch for you. The Business Plan That Always Works (or BPTAW for short) is so devilishly simple and straightforward, you’ll wonder why you didn’t see it before. Anyone who understands it can do it - which is to say, that if you can’t do a plan easily, there’s no point in planning. Despite what you’ve learned over the years, planning is only hard when it’s done the wrong way. And to do a plan easily requires that you approach the whole subject of planning in a completely different way than you’re accustomed to. But I’m getting ahead of my story.

The BPTAW is built upon one Fundamental Principle that all the plans that never work fail to understand. You know the kind of plans I’m talking about here. The kind of plans that create gobs of guilt because you don’t keep them? The kind of plans you make with great effort and tedium, only to find yourself later on doing something completely different than you had planned to do and wondering how you got there from where you began?

But let’s get back to that one Fundamental Principle I’m talking about that differentiates The BPTAW from every other plan that doesn’t.

I call this Fundamental Principle, the Heart-Centered Principle of Planning.

The Heart-Centered Plan is so distinctly different from its opposite, The Head-Centered Plan, that it’s important to define the distinctions carefully.

Getting Into the Minds of Festival Artistic Directors

Jeri Goldstein Copyright 2012 The New Music Times, Inc.

So, you would like to play some festivals?

So far they’ve seemed pretty illusive.

It would probably be a huge help if you began to think like a festival director. Since they have to knit together a cohesive, interesting, ticket-selling program, they are not just thinking about one act and how that act will sell, they are thinking about how to piece together multiple shows each day of the festival. They often start their creative process of thinking about the next year’s festival while this year’s festival is happening. They are constantly analyzing how the acts are working, how the audience is reacting.

If the festivals you are interested in playing also have workshop stages along with their multiple stage areas, then you need to pay attention to this aspect of the festival. Here is where artistic director really shows their creativity.

As you research each festival, review the most recent festival. Check out the previous year’s acts. But most of all check out the schedule, the way the festival is put together. See who followed whom and what the titles of any of the workshops are. This will give you the most insight into how the director thinks and plans.

Here’s what you should be looking and planning for:

1. Workshop titles and the acts that are lined up in each workshop.

2. Main stage and minor stage line-up.

3. Side stage line-up-the stage that might have brief performances while the main stage is being set up for the next big act. If you are a novelty act that can perform 2-10 minute sets, you might just be perfect on these stages and get to play in front of the main stage audience multiple times throughout the main show.

4. Ease or difficulty of load-in and set up.

5. The size of the act.

You may have seen this graphic in your inbox a lot this past month if you're a basic member.

The summer contest is now over and it was a great success. Welcome to all our new Pro Members and THANKS to everyone who shared the contest on our Facebook page.  

Congrats FNO member Kimberly Delvalle for winning our Summer 2012 Membership Special Contest!

 Kimberly gets to spend $100 in the

FNO Marketplace on us. Enjoy, Kimberly! 

Adding your event for free to the FestivalNet.com database is a great first step! You're on your way to getting noticed in a big way as we get over 750,000+ monthly visitors! Be sure your listing has a great description and your event details are accurate and complete. Here are some additional ways to increase your exposure.

Co-Promote with FestivalNet

We offer some sweet co-promotion opportunities! You scratch our back, we scratch yours! You get free Featured Event exposure for your event in exchange for promoting FestivalNet! Learn more here.

Featured Events

Place your event at the top of the general search results and on the FestivalNet.com Featured Events Map. Learn more here.

Advertising

You can also buy advertising like Banner, Button, or Newsletter ads. View our very reasonable rates and learn more here.

Social Media

Also, enjoy the benefit of our ever-growing Facebook presence. Feel free to shout out your show's website here: http://www.facebook.com/festivalnet - keep it conversational and personal and be sure to say hey! On Twitter? We will also retweet you if you include us in your tweet! Find us there as @_festivalnet

David Codr of MusicPage.com

After promoting or producing around 1,000 concerts, managing bands, booking tours and scouting talent, you pick up a few tricks of the trade. That's how I started doing artist development work. The gang at Festival Network Online asked if I would share a few of my artist development techniques in this newsletter.

Developing a New Market (Part 2)

Last month's article on Developing a new market was intentionally basic for our less seasoned readers. But now that the basics are out of the way, we can delve into real Market Development.

When an artist i am working with starts to develop a new market, one of the first things I have them do is make a list of all the "players" in that market. Usually the list consists of the talent buyers at the venues we want to play at, promoters, local music writers and reporters, DJs at stations that may play the artist, Program Directors for the same stations, area music website staffers, etc.

The idea is to identify all the people you want to work with there. Either to play with or for, or people who can help you get your name out to local music fans. Don't worry about how complete it is at first, its just a starting point. Your list should expand and grow as you become more familiar with the market.

After you have your list, create a document for every person on it. Doesn't have to be any specific program; Word, Pages, or even just an old fashioned piece of paper. Since I've been watching a bunch of old James Bond reruns this week, lets call it a Dossier.

Read more here!

This came in from new FNO member Jerry Britner:  

"Yesterday July 7th I did my first festival down in Purcell Oklahoma at their Independence Day Festival...and being a newbie I was lost as a fish out of water especially when the wind storm came rolling in, that is when I learned how blessed I was to have fellow FNO village member White Creek Creations from Del City Oklahoma set up next to me, they helped save my canopy, calmed newbie anxiety, and even helped find my grandson when he wandered off a couple of times..thank you White Creek Creations and FNO for the work that you allow all of us to enjoy"

Glad you survived your first festival Jerry, and thanks for the kudos!

If you own a mobile food vending truck, mobile barbeque stand, ice cream cart, small snack bar in a park, sell at a farmers market or participate in shows/festivals/ special events as a food vendor, then you are in food vending industry.

When doing research on the internet about food liability insurance or food vendor liability insurance you can find a lot of important information on forums, with questions and answers written by people like you. Let's then take a look into the most important details so that your food vending business brings you only profit and peace of mind.

First of all, let's establish what food liability insurance means. There are many types of insurance you may need for your food business, but as a vendor you will need liability insurance for sure! Even if you don't feel you are a huge liability factor, it's important to be prepared for any incident.

Read more here!

Money: Makin' it and Savin' it

Anton Cheranev of Profitable Marketing

10 Ways To Sell Your Festival Products Faster

1. Give people a deadline to order. This will create an urgency so they don't put off buying.

2. Offer people a money-back guarantee. The longer the guarantee the more effective it will be.

3. Offer a free on-site repair service for products you sell.

4. Publish testimonials on your ad copy. They will give your business credibility and you'll gain people's trust. It's important to include the person's full name and location with the testimonial.

5. Give people free bonuses when they order your product or service. The free bonuses could be books, jewelry, reports, newsletters, etc.

6. Allow people to make money reselling the product or service. Tell people they can join your affiliate program, if they order. You could pay them per sale, per click, per referral, etc.

7. Offer free 24-hour help with all products you sell. Allow customers to ask you questions by e-mail, by toll-free phone, by free fax, etc.

8. Provide free shipping with all orders.

9. Give away a free sample of your product.

10. Offer a buy-one-get-one-free deal. People will feel they are getting more for their money and order quicker.

How to Save Money When Traveling

Expenses at craft shows can quickly reduce profits. Here are some things you can do to help cut costs.

Here's How:

1. Ask for exhibitor discounts when making lodging reservations.

2. Keep receipts for all expenses during your trip.

3. Purchase beverages and snacks before leaving.

4. Keep snacks and drinks in a cooler for the trip.

A Different Way to Promote Outdoor Events
Eugene Loj

If you have an outdoor or weather dependent event you are most likely familiar with the associated anxiety of the weather forecast. Months of planning and hard work for your event can be devastated by an unfavorable weather forecast. It could be as simple as, “chance of rain this weekend.” Those words spoken by a local weather forecaster can cost organizers thousands of dollars in potentially lost revenue. The worst part is that the weather forecaster doesn’t even need to be correct. It could be a perfectly sunny day and yet the mere implication of bad weather can keep people away.

They’re Thinking About Weather

If you have an outdoor event; you can bet that weather is either at the top in terms of reason why someone might not attend. How many times have you asked yourself “what if it rains or the weather is bad – are we still going to go?”

The Damaging Admission

There is something you can do about the weather. In the direct response marketing there is something called a damaging admission. You are admitting to your target market that there is an inherent flaw with your product or service. In the case of outdoor event organizers, you’re admitting that your event might potentially be impacted by the weather. For some people making such an admission can be completely counter intuitive.

Read more here...

How to set up for an Art/Craft Show- Checklist
Victoria Case

There's nothing worse than setting up a great booth, and right before show time, realize there's something you have forgotten. So, I created a checklist for myself which I recommend to anyone planning to attend an event. Of course, depending on what you sell, yours will have other items to add.

My list begins with money and promotion (after all, that's what it's all about). I usually bring $100 worth of bills/change in a small box or "fanny pack". And the following items:

• receipt book
• business cards (don't forget to advertise your website!)
• large sign with name and/or logo
• easel for large sign
• two lined paper pads for writing orders, names, phone numbers
• several pens
• calculator
• bags for items sold (with a business card inside each one)

Next is my display(some items are adjusted for indoor or outdoor shows)

• 10 x 10 tent (I recommend a white tent)
• buckets with sand for weight
• pre-formed concrete-filled buckets for tent poles (especially useful when setting up on asphalt)
• safety pins (for anything)
• large white sheet/material for sun protection pinned to tent's back wall or sidewall (if needed)
• display tables
• material to cover display tables
• small broom/dust pan
• several garbage bags
• Windex and other cleaners (jewelry, wood, etc.)
• card racks or picture holders (mannequins, boxes, items used to hold your crafts for sale)
• display signs with item categories and prices
• tape (for anything)

A Marketing Plan for Your Craft Business

James Dillehay

Do you have a marketing plan for your craft business? I am not speaking of a business plan, which is a more formal lengthy manuscript used mostly when attempting to raise money from lenders or investors. Instead of a multi-page document, the marketing plan consists of seven sentences which guide your progress in the coming months and years. The seven sentence plan can be drafted on one or two pages.

1. What is your most desired result to be achieved from your marketing activities?

The first part of creating a marketing plan is envisioning what you want the success of your craft business to look and feel like. Start by writing down exactly what you want your craft business to accomplish and by when. If you want $5,000 in sales each month within the next six months, write that down. If you want to get 20 items listed on eBay in the next sixty days, that’s a target. Go ahead and make that list right now.

2. What benefits does your work provide?

The second step is to list the benefits of your art or craft. What do people get by purchasing what you offer? Be careful not to focus on the features of your products. Features differ from benefits. For example, feautures of art and craftwork include dimensions, weight, colors or materials. Benefits to the buyer include escalating value, gratification, confidence, pride, good taste, and satisfaction from owning an original work by a reputable artist. Get specific and write down what makes the benefits of your items unique or different from other artists. What makes your items stand out? What’s in it for the customer? The more benefits the better.

3. Who is your audience?

If you think it’s everyone, guess again. Even if everyone is a potential customer, you can’t possibly reach them all. The purpose of step three is to zero in on your target audiences, thus allowing you to carefully plan how to promote to their specific needs. Experienced artists selling their work already know that women are responsible for most purchases of handmade items. Creating marketing material that appeals to women then becomes a clear necessity. Get as specific as you can about identifying who is your most-likely-to-buy audience(s). Define them by age, sex, race, income, hobbies, purchasing habits, and any other demographic fact that helps you describe them completely.

Read more tips here!