January 25, 2010
ACE Newsletter
Information Overload - Feed Your Client
One Spoonful at a Time
by M Theresa Brown
Hi
[[firstname]]
The advice on selling art is so numerous on the Internet
nowadays that the generic word of mouth advice artists used to hear from friends and neighbors has
gone from "You'll starve" to the Internet version of "it's easy and this is all you do!"
The experts are everywhere. With so much "advice" popping up at every link, it is easy to get information
overload. There is way too much information coming rapid fire at an artist, leading to the panicked
feelings of "There's not enough time!" or "I just can't do all they ask!"
The interesting thing about the changing economy and businesses
as a whole is that for years everyone sold their products without the benefit of the Internet, Twitter, Facebook
and websites. In the case of artists, that was considered impossible. Yet some were successful. Now
artists have all the Bells and whistles of electronic media and despite the technological advances, most still are
not selling. So what's going on?
The Information Overload affects not just artists, but your potential
clients. Your client is also getting bombarded with too much information. It's like having too much
food thrust upon you and being forced to eat it all. You and your client are hit daily with
professional ad campaigns to buy this, buy that and your life will be perfect. You are worth it. You deserve
it. Press the easy button. It's like a big pot of soup. Now add to that mixture the constant media
bombardment of bad news and stir that up a bit. But wait, to add a little seasoning, turn on your TV, cell
phones, Twitter, laptops, anything electronically connected, and there is, remarkably, a pill to cure what ails the
viewer. Now, the catch is that if you listen to the ad long enough you'll have the privilege of hearing
the potential negative side effects of the miracle pills. It is little wonder that we have a tough time
digesting everything in that pot of soup. One more bowl?
You would be far more willing to sample that pot of soup if it
wasn't being forced upon you with so many negative ingredients. Better to let it sit on the stove and you go
by it a few times. Maybe lift the top and smell it. And when you are ready to finally sample it on your
terms, you can digest it better, spoonful by spoonful, rather than the whole bowl poured down your throat at one
sitting. It may even taste better that way! Now what you are experiencing is Information, not
Information Overload.
So think what a breath of fresh air you will be to your
prospects when you do not try to shove something down their throat. To an outsider, the life of an
artist (never mind Van Gogh) seems therapeutic. A slice of heaven. Our artwork is part of that
imagined world. There is no easy button for success. There is no magic pill. The only ingredients in any pill that
you, as an artist, take for art should be perseverance, dedication and optimism. And there are NO negative side
effects to that pill. Imagine that for a moment.
In all of your methods of corresponding with your clients, let them
sample your art and your world, one spoonful at a time. That's the easy button for you. It's
digestible for them. And before long they will be asking for the bowl and maybe even the whole pot. And sure,
by that time, you'll deserve it!
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