feeling stressed!!!!!!!!!!!!

I had such a high from my July bookings I guess I forgot about the up coming months =( I managed to get a reg fri night gig at the races,but 1 st week was good ($235) last week not so good ($45) and I pay 20% vender fee.
Anyway nothing scheduled the rest of the month. I hit the pavement w/ my flyers yesterday ,today I will be on the phone.Wish me luck, say a prayer,or any pointers would be welcome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THANKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I feel the same way. The summer started it off rolling and now it's getting slow with calls and booking. I'm going to have to step up on the marketing game as well. Your off to a good start with flyers and phone calls. I find those to be very effective.

I know I'm going to start working on Halloween designs. my goal is to get in with people who host annual costume parties, or the pumpkin patches/cider mills.

I know alot of people detest markets,,BUT it is getting out there again and reminding people that they really need a face painter at their next event.. ...I have been booking up to Christmas at the moment by ringing everyone that is having an event and asking them if they would like my services,,this has brought in heaps of business.. Stir them up again!

I have been going everywhere with paint on me and my kids - that is working magic! I have also been calling (as Melinda suggested) all sorts of other vendors - bounce houses, DJs, Balloon Twisters and telling them about my services and setting up a partnership with them. I LOVE the idea of calling current events to get booked, I'll have to get on that myself!

Great reminders and ideas!

Time to suss out the Halloween and Christmas markets... hard to believe when it's still so hot outside!

one of my calls yesterday was a pumpkin path she gave me some hope =)waiting to here back from some others ,just hope to pay the bills
( and order more paint=) )

This is a great time for painting gigs! Summer festivals, fall festivals, harvest festivals, apple festivals are going on now in my neck of the woods, then come october, halloween parties and parades, haunted houses, hay rides, corn mazes. They are everyone's last to-do before winter and it's nice and cool instead of hot and sweaty for those of us in the states.
Go to your city or town website and check the events calendar, and check festivals.com (it's free for "limited" information, so you have to find an event and google it separately to get any contact information, but it works).
Also contact the school district now, as the school year is starting and events will be getting planned through the PTA.
Ask your local Fun Zone (or your city's equivalent) if you can set up outside on their sidewalk. I have a steady weekly gig from doing that; it doesn't pay the bills, but it keeps me in paint.
If I think of anything else I will let you know.

ooh ooh I just googled some and Cedar Rapids has an apple festival! Ours draws 20,000 people, you might look into yours too.

I found this for you
EVENTS

Cedar Rapids plays host to several festivals each year. Due to the large number of festivals and other activities in the city, the tourism board recommends checking the official city website for current festival dates.

* Ushers Ferry Folk Music Festival, which features a lineup of several bands playing a variety of music.
* Freedom Festival, which includes water skiing events, live concerts, and fireworks.
* Houby Days, a spring festival that includes craft fairs, music, and a classic car show.
* Fairytale Festival, a celebration of stories that centers around trolls, fairies, ogres, princesses, and knights, along with crafts, games, and music.
* Hawkeye Downs Fair, a fair with a carnival, food, fun, and music held at the Hawkeye Downs Speedway.
* Apple Festival, an apple festival and craft show with wood-stove cooking demonstrations and other activities for the entire family.
* Bluesmore, a festival celebrating blues music.
* National Bohemian, Moravian, and Slovak Folk Dance Festival, a music and dance festival.
* Svaty Mikulas Day, a celebration of Saint Nicholas with a puppet show, a puppet-making workshop, music, and Christmas trees.
* Wild West Weekend, which celebrates all things wild west.
* Jazz Jubilee, a music festival with an emphasis on jazz.

and there are a BUNCH of events links on this page too. http://www.cedar-rapids.com/events Definitely check it out.
The corn festival would have been good, tomorrow is the last day, maybe you can swing in?

Thank you guys for all these ideas! I am not good at marketing... I like my business to find me! LOL... so not realistic I know. So this is all good info and at a good time too... this week I'll start coming up with some marketing and get the ball rolling.

OOOO.... One idea I can contribute... although it is a bit late in the season. Get into local city parades. It is typically free (I believe) to book a spot in a parade, and it's just a few hours of your time. My parents are in their local parade every year for their daycare and this year I panted myself and my fiancee and handed out my cards. I only brought about 500 cards and ran out less than half way thru! I guess 1500-2000 flyers is what they typically hand out. It does cost a bit for the printed materials, but getting your info in the hands of a couple thousand people at once is bound to turn a few gigs up! I plan on making a list this winter and get in about 1 a month next year, in the more affluent communities.