For the totally self employed artist, the past few years have been a huge challenge. If big businesses have failed with all their marketing expertise and service businesses have failed with their consumable products, then what possible chance does an artist have of surviving the lean years? To be frank, no one “needs” your art. No one “has” to have it. Art is a want, not a need.
So just how do you survive financially? And how do you cope emotionally when no one is buying your work? And just how are we, Theresa and Steve, staying in business and paying all of our bills (ie: mortgage, car payment, health insurance, utilities and everything else!)

Above all, we do what successful artists have done all along-we get creative!
Creativity encompasses not just artsy inspiration but creative marketing and the willingness to explore options. The key to our survival during this dry spell has been versatility. Artists have always been told to focus on one aspect of their art. Good advice until it stops selling. But was it all for nothing? No. Nothing is ever “for nothing.” It all joins together to create what it is you identify with as an artist. Picasso is a good example of an artist who used his wits to re-invent himself every time one phase stopped selling. The phrase “growing in my/her art” is so overused. The reality is that you can offer your collectors more of your artistic abilities-not just one thing! If you need “proof” of the many artists who were amazingly versatile and offered clients many options within their abilities to collect more than one form, type, medium of art, spend some serious time studying art history. And if you want to be successful in this challenging economy you need to be able to offer your clients the opportunity to add YOUR art to their collections with more than just the one form you have always offered! Not only does it generate new interest (and sales) but if they have already purchased work from you, they will again!

Encompassing your new found decision to explore other art forms means getting rid of whatever emotional baggage or education has held you back!
Giving yourself permission to step out of the box you or someone else put you in as an artist is serious emotional power! And it is the hardest thing you will do in your journey for versatility. Working on another art form, medium, genre…..you are experimenting, sharing with your collectors, seeing what is working, what is not. It is art entrepreneurship at its finest. It is creativity at it’s finest. And it is perfectly all right to do so! Shake off any negativism. It takes determination and courage to stand up to or ignore the opinionated “wanna be’s” out there who feel their job in life is to make you doubt yourself. Don’t give them that power!
If your slow sales the past few years have left you discouraged and uninterested in creating your art, the huge positive in your versatility explorations is discovering (or re-discovering) a new excitement in creating your art. You will find new enthusiasm in experimenting, thinking about and researching your ideas. And it will show in your work!
For us, now half way through 2013, our niche of the economy is showing signs of a comeback. People are slowly loosening their purse strings and allowing themselves to feel it is OK to make a “want” purchase. Our collectors enjoy seeing what new things we have created and that adds to our encouragement and explorations of new art forms.
Perhaps the best bit of advice we could share with you is simple: “Nothing works if you don’t try it!”
Until next time!
Theresa and Steve
http://www.artcareerexperts.com

I have noticed that many art organizations post their upcoming shows on Craigslist. Usually they’ll be under “artists” and/or  “art and crafts”. So I added to the posts with an encouragement to PARTICIPATE in a few of these shows. See the ad below:

New to art shows? Don’t know what to expect?
For those artists seeking new places and areas OFFline to sell their art, there have been several art and craft shows listed in on Craigslist that you should take the initiative to research further and participate in to gain the experience and skills necessary to learn to sell your art!
The one listed in Granville County is FREE and held under a large picnic type pavilion so no tent it needed. Hillsborough is close by as is Fuquay, Holly Springs, etc. The point is to BE THERE! The one guarantee is that nothing will happen if you don’t try!

You gain experience through practice and repetition. Learn and start to master what it takes to represent  your art and  yourself. Any of these small shows are excellent ways to experience and learn the techniques necessary

Judging from the artist art for sale on Craigslist many of you have some  engaging art products you have created yourself.  Even if you participated and sold nothing (it happens) what have you got to lose? You gain priceless information and experience on what to do better next time You’ll remember to bring the  cooler, sunscreen or bags or the best way to reply to that common question….the point is to TRY.
Need selling information or help? Pop over to http://www.artcareerexperts.com and join our online forums. Read the free articles and see what you need to do for shows.
So grab a friend, inspire each other and enter these local shows!

One of our recent newsletters was part 1 of participating at an art/craft show. Sure there’s a lot to learn and a lot to remember but don’t let any artist advise you against a particular show! Your experience may be different OR your art product may be the hot item at the show. Juried art shows do not mean “better sales.” We have had vast experience with both! WE have done great at both and we have done poorly at both. There are no guarantees!

SO. Check your area for the small shows. Look on Craigslist or check out your local Chamber. We have some online magazines for shows on our links.  We would love to hear your experiences and what you learned, accomplished or would do better next time!

But to get back to the point.

I got an email today about a program to take the artist step by step to do what it takes….etc. etc. whatever. The kicker was that I was being offered at 60% discount. Yeah, that’s right 60%

My reaction was…It must be really overpriced if you can offer a 60% discount.

Look, we offer tools that you can use and we continue support with free online forums.  You can also email us with questions or comments. For free.

Well I have to go, it’s time to take the studio trash to the dump.

If you have been thinking of making your own prints from your artwork without spending a fortune or investing in a lot of expensive equipment, and you are not sure how to start or what to do, then our April 14th workshop is for you! We will not only cover everything you need to know about creating your own giclees but the best ways to market your prints after you have created them!

We have mailed out postcards to our clients for years! And the results have always been better than a “bought list.” It is  easy to get lazy and rely on the convenience and cost savings of the Internet but if you have a client list, you need to read this and absorb it. More later on artist postcards for marketing!

Entrepreneur’s Journal: Done Right, Mailers Can Get Results
Posted Mar 14th 2010 5:40PM by Tom Taulli
In my columns, I usually focus on new technologies that can help boost your business. But sometimes the old-fashioned approaches can still work quite well.
Yes, this includes mailers.
OK, it’s true that people still throw away much of their mail (and, it even looks like the U.S. Postal Service will cut back on its deliveries). But if a mailer is done right, you can get a nice return on your investment.
Take a look at the case of Joan & Ed’s Deli. In business for more than 30 years, the restaurant had built a list of 2,000 frequent customers and wanted to provide them gift certificates. By using a mailer, there was an impressive return of over 800% and the response rate was 11%.
“Until recently,” said Mindy Sanderson, who is the marketing manager for Joan & Ed’s Deli, “we almost ended our mailer program. The reason was that the response rate was low.”
So what changed? Sanderson used a third-party provider: VistaPrint (VPRT).
With its online tools, she was able to easily design a professional mailer. Next, VistaPrint managed the mailing, using discounted rates.
“It can be time-consuming when putting together a mailer,” Sanderson said. “But VistaPrint made things very easy. Just handling duplicate names and bad addresses was a big help.”
Sanderson realized that she needed to design a mailer that would catch the attention of the person picking up the mail. To this end, she used strong colors and a clear message. “Using words like ‘discount’ and ‘money off’ can be effective,” Sanderson said.
It’s also important to give the mailer a personal touch. So, Sanderson put a picture of the husband-and-wife team of Joan & Ed’s Deli on the mailer. “Having your logo on the mailer can also be helpful,” she said.
So far, Sanderson has plans to have two mailers per year. Although, she wants to eventually expand things by using email offers and perhaps even social media. But, there is little doubt that traditional media can still make a difference.

Theresa demonstrating her techniques for the DVD

The “profit” part comes from developing your style, speed and accuracy and then learning HOW to sell your art product to your clients.

Before you know it, you’ll be on your way!

It is hard enough to go to a show with a labor intensive art product and wait for prospects. It may have taken you 6-12 months to create enough art work to be able to participate in the show, yet just a few booths over you watch people line up at a booth with an apparent “slap dash” style and you begin to question why you are there.  If the need to add to your finances is not there, then perhaps this scenario would not bother you. But if the need is there, it is a cause for doubting your chosen field. On the drive home, with virtually no sales,  it becomes a cause for doubting the viability of continuing to create your particular art product.

The answers to the original post about “what to do? I am too old to worry about compromising my style. I simply need to earn some money, etc…..”  were varied to say the least!  But there was a pattern that emerged and it was divided into two camps.

One camp pretty much said “Sure, try something new and go for it!You have nothing to lose.”

The other camp said “No, do not change! You will be compromising your artist integrity, stay with your style!”

Both sides brought good suggestions to the table. And both sides were right in their own way.  The problems with offering advice and suggestions to another person about their direction in their career, is that none of us ARE that person. We do not have their background, their history, their experiences nor, their temperament. We may have had similar concerns, questions or challenges in our own lives as the person we are advising but because we are not a clone of that person, we can only comment on what WE would do.

In other words,feel free to share your opinions. But also encourage that artist to do what he/she feels is best for  HIM/her.  We are here to offer advice but above all, encouragement. And that is a powerful thing!

How often have you started on a particular marketing venue for your art and in just a matter of days, or a couple of weeks, especially if the results were disappointing,  or you could not see the value of it, you just dropped it? Does that mean that you cannot do it? Does it mean that you don’t want to reach your goals badly enough?

No, we are all human and we all get discouraged, disappointed, tired or too busy and let our initial efforts fade away.  But there is a way to channel your energy and enthusiasm and keep the level up there long enough to see positive results! And positive results, as we all know, breed continued enthusiasm. The key here is to concentrate in ONE marketing area. Just one. Give yourself a time limit of say one month. But in that one month, give it ALL you’ve got.

Let’s look at an example. You have decided to sell your art on Ebay. You have listened to us tell you to research, research and research your particular art product and see who and what is selling. So you have done that. You have found several artists who are earning anywhere from 800-1500 a week selling their art and you are excited! You feel that what you could do will sell as well. Piece of cake!

Now if you have been creating all along, you will have anywhere from 8-12 items ready to list on Ebay.  Assuming that you already have a sellers account set up, as well as Paypal, the initial part is done.  If you have never sold on Ebay however, you need to delve a bit further. This link to Ebay will start you in the process!   http://pages.ebay.com/sellerinformation/index.html

But this post isn’t so much about getting started on ebay as to what you need to do to stick with it. We, and I mean as in “I” have been guilty more than once of selling moderately well on Ebay and then I fizzle out…yes, even me! I have tried new art forms just for fun but obviously wasn’t inspired enough to stick with it…so this post is a reminder to me AND you, that nothing works if you don’t stick with it!It’s easy to be satisfied with moderate sales and far harder to make that extra effort to produce great sales!

So if you have your 8-12 items posted on Ebay and nothing sells, does that mean you have it all wrong? No. There is a learning curve to everything…that time where you worry and agonize over it and spend too much time on it and then suddenly, one day, you realize that you just breezed through posting those items or writing that description and it only took you minutes!  So see how many times your auction was seen. Is it in the right category? What about your starting price? Your description? This is where your research will have paid off. And remember this-it seems that virtually any art can sell on Ebay. The key is to get it out to the public and STICK with it!

This perseverance and persistence will pay off. Whether you are selling on Ebay, your blog, on the street …anywhere. Success is measured not in one big swoop but in increments! The ones who succeed will do so, not because they are the most talented artist or craftsmen but because they stuck with it through the good and the bad. That’s what success is all about!