Art Career Experts » M Theresa Brown

Should I announce that I am raising my art prices?

ace — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 14:07:38 +0000

A question on our forum:

“I want to raise my prices on my art. Should I announce this in my newsletter? “

This is one of those good questions that we have seen before and where there are as many opinionated answers as there are repliers! Since we pay every bill with the sales of our art, Steve and I think carefully about such changes and the possible repercussions in any decision concerning prices.

We DO have something to lose by following the wrong advice, well meant as it may be….but conjecture without facts can be foolish.

So, in our opinion and in practice with our art business, when we raise prices, we do so quietly, without advance notice.

Our increases are always small but certainly manageable so we see no reason, especially in challenging times, to possibly give our prospects one more reason to put off a decision

After all, art is a want, not a need. Remember that!

There are good, sound marketing reasons why manufacturers and distributors have not said a word about the shrinking of their product packaging while the prices increase (ie:consumables such as coffee, tea bags, 1 lb bags, etc.)

This is not new. As a kid I remember 36 birthday candles in a consumer box. Then watched it drop to 24, then 18 and now I think it’s 12? LOL-tampons used to be 12 in a small box now it’s down to 8, and the number of sticks in a package of gum has certainly dropped…etc. Unless you use a product regularly (coffee comes to mind) you do not notice some of the small changes.

And NO one announces these changes by the way…they usually come through some expose’ in an afternoon TV show

Having commented on the shrinking product, Steve did the identical thing when he kept his well known $100 price tag for one group of his popular oils by decreasing the size of what that amount purchased. Same quality, same price, smaller package.

There will always be that school of thought that says announcing an increase in prices will result in a flurry of sales “before the increase”. Our experience has proven that it is not quite that cut and dry.

If you study marketing and do your own due diligence, you will see that with “end of year” sales, inventory sales, etc, etc, there is a pattern that all the businesses use and imitate. You would do well to follow the patterns of successful businesses and see what the trends are (they all have invested big bucks into market analysis) before randomly deciding to increase or decrease something as complex as pricing.

If you go back through the newsletters you will see an article I wrote for our Art Career Experts and shared with other online magazines/blogs about pricing art. (Help me Sell my Art)

I repeat a key point here-it is NOT some magic number that will help you sell your art-it is your whole package. Having the “perfect price” will not sell your art. Perfecting your image and your art package will

JC Penney ending sales? What does that mean?

ace — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 01:28:09 +0000

As the economy rolls on, all businesses are faced with decisions that were not in a long range business plan! Even the big boys are struggling to make sense of changing customer needs and have had to come up with creative and innovative marketing ideas to stay afloat.

So this article in the Associated Press caught my eye. Are we really so different from other retailers?

J.C. Penney Says ‘No Sale’: Cuts All Prices, All the Time to Simplify Bargain Hunting

J.C. Penney (JCP) is permanently marking down all of its merchandise by at least 40% so shoppers will no longer have to wait for a sale to get the lowest prices in its stores.

Penney said Wednesday that it is getting rid of the hundreds of sales it offers each year in favor of a simpler approach to pricing. On Feb. 1, the retailer is rolling out a three-tiered strategy that offers “Every Day” low pricing daily, “Monthly Value” discounts on select merchandise each month and clearance deals called “Best Price” during the first and the third Friday of each month when many shoppers get paid.

The plan is similar to Walmart’s (WMT) iconic everyday low pricing strategy except that Penney’s goal isn’t to undercut competitors. Instead, Penney aims to take the guesswork out of shopping in its stores by offering customers fewer sales and more predictable pricing.

Penney’s plan comes at a time when stores are struggling to wean shoppers off the profit-busting bargains that they have come to expect in the weak economy. The move is risky because shoppers who love to bargain-hunt may be turned off by the absence of sales.

See full article from DailyFinance: http://srph.it/Aml32Y

An artist’s business plan and a bottle of wine

ace — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 13:56:23 +0000

So what would an artist business plan and a bottle of wine have in common?

We have an artist’s only business plan template on our site designed by us, for artists, for a $4.99 investment. It is an immediate download.

Now why, you may ask, is it not free?

We have discovered that the value of our advice, just like art and a bottle of wine, is often determined by price.
Think about it. A bottle of wine at a dinner may range from $9.99 to $299.00 and although you may not know wine, the first thought in your mind is, “Wow that $299.99 bottle must be something special!” It’s a natural response
But it is also surprising how many people will sip both wines and determine the $9.99 actually tasted better! (I was privy to that blind taste drama once and the results were exactly that-royally ticking off the connoisseur!)

So if you are serious about laying out your 2012 business plan and do not know where to start, we promise that the taste test won’t flop! Our template is designed to get you thinking about your 1 year plan in art. We want you to think BUSINESS and all it entails.
Take it seriously-as though you had to make the plan for a bank loan, THAT will force you to look at goals, costs, needs and how to get there!

If you read our advice on creating your artist’s business plan and think “but I just want to be an artist” or “so and so’s online advice seems easier”, then you are buying into the fantasy world that non-working artists are promoting and will have to make some intelligent choices .

Writing down your goals takes some thought. Making it happen takes some work. Set 2 bottles of wine aside somewhere in your studio. Use them as a reminder that price often determines value….think your business, your art…..but in the end, when you have thought out and completed your plan, you will feel like celebrating…..and guess what? You will really know what being empowered feels like! And sure, open one of those bottles to celebrate!

The 3 things your business plan must have!

ace — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 13:43:50 +0000

It is always good to see what professionals in other businesses are doing and when it comes to the elusive “business plan” maybe the best way to encourage an artist to create one is to bring in additional articles!

We created the “Artist Business Plan” template to help artists over this hump. Just $4.99 and you’ll have an instant download!

Additional helpful information can be found (as we mention in the introduction) at both the Small Business Administration (SBA) and SCORE is a sub-chapter of this organization.

Rieva Lesonsky

At the end of the year, most people are in dual modes of looking back at how their business did over the past year and looking forward to what can be improved in the New Year. It’s probably time to blow the dust off your old business plan and see what’s missing. Most likely, there’s room for significant improvement. Here are three ideas to craft a fresh and effective business plan for 2012……….

http://www.score.org/resources/columnists/rieva-lesonsky/three-things-business-plan

The Fast and Easy Shortcuts to Success?

ace — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 11:00:43 +0000

ACE Newsletter (teaser!)

The Fast and Easy Shortcuts to Success?

by M.Theresa Brown

An interesting discussion began the other day when, on a yahoo group message board, a list of the 12 ways to be successful as an artist were published. The 12 steps were “OK advice” but pretty generic and from a popular Internet art marketing site and I responded to the post with the following:

“Oh my, real world experience counts for a lot in these discussions.

It is telling that the most often asked question in our art marketing seminars is “How do I price my work?” The artists who ask, regardless of what they just heard from me in the seminar, are searching for an easy, magical formula for instant success. And top of their list is the thought ” skip the rest-just tell me how to price my art so I can sell”

Those artists are not understanding or accepting that there is no single answer. I tell them it is the “whole package” which is the key to pricing their art. But even putting the “correct price” on a piece of art will not sell it!
From what I have seen and heard, very few artists today are willing to work as hard as it takes to develop that package

They pop from one guru’s message to another looking for the yellow brick road and a way to the top with as little effort as possible:-) And along the way, they go nowhere because there is always the underlying voice telling them “but that’s a lot of work” or “I don’t know if I can do that” and off they go looking for a message that sounds more in keeping with what they’d like to do.”

Want to read the rest of this insightful article? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletters and enjoy articles from us and our knowledgeable guest artists by signing up for our FREE newsletters at Art Career Experts.

BTW-did you notice the “teaser” form of writing? This seems to be the era of a new news form of Internet writing. Gone are the days when the summary of the whole article was in the first paragraph. Now most headlines when you turn on your computer are questions. “Did the man jump from the building?” “Did the war end?” The old time newsmen would roll over in the grave.

Accepting compliments gracefully

ace — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 13:05:27 +0000

Just how DO you respond to compliments about your art? Or yourself? DO you smile and say “Thank you!” or do you immediately go into an explanation and reasons about why the compliment can’t possibly be for you or what you do?

What we learned about dismissing or negating a compliment was that you are essentially telling the person giving you the compliment is that “his/her tastes are not very good.”Think about that and it will make sense!

“I love this art piece!” “Oh I was just playing around in the studio!”

In the art world I recently congratulated an artist at an opening on her long distance sale via telephone. I happened to be in the gallery when the owner received the call and the sale from another state after seeing the email with images! The artist’s response to me was “Oh that was just a very old friend from Florida who wanted to help out!” Now seriously. The best response to me would have been a simple “Thank you.” But to diminish the sale (after all it WAS a sale) by dismissing the buyer also put her confidence in her own art in question. Better for me to think that buyers were flocking to her art than only a close friend would buy my art. See the difference?

I have had students in art workshops who go on and on about how bad their attempts are until it becomes very trying for the other students! At one such event I finally said “OK. it’s not good.” There was a moment of silence but the other participants laughed and then I laughed too and said “I am the teacher. If it wasn’t good I would tell you. And I have told you it’s good! But you still don’t believe me so I might as well agree with you!” The woman laughed as well and agreed that she would accept my compliments as fact from now on. Silly story but it happens ALL the time. You might dismiss compliments because you honestly fell you don’t deserve them but to dismiss them because you’re fishing for more compliments is manipulative

Read the article and see whether or not you agree with it.

http://www.everydayhealth.com/emotional-health/why-you-cant-take-a-compliment.aspx?xid=aol_eh-emo_19-_20110905&aolcat=HLT&icid=maing-grid10%7Chtmlws-sb-bb%7Cdl7%7Csec1_lnk3%7C94744

The art school “cult.”

ace — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 11:04:35 +0000

The mother of a 25 year old student called me again yesterday. I had been on the phone with her the month before for over an hour as she poured out her concerns about what was happening to her son in college in his fine arts program.

“The changes have been alarming! My talented yet sensible son has changed his appearance, his attitude, quotes Lenin and promotes Marxism. I ask him about his job prospects but he just dismisses his father and I with some comment about “You don’t get it, It’s not about the money.” Yet he’s $45,000 in debt with school loans. How do we get him out of there? It’s awful-it’s like some kind of cult!”

During another hour long phone conversation I had to repeat my advice from before-there was nothing that she could do. It was not him calling me asking for advice; it was her. She had purchased our ebooks with the hope of him gaining insight but he had so far refused to even listen to them. Our August newsletter addresses the issues of what is happening in the Arts programs in our nation’s liberal arts colleges and universities. The leanings towards socialism, communism and Marxist views is certainly not new. The churning out of students unprepared to earn a living in the world with their painting or printing degrees is not new. The accumulation of tens of thousands of dollars of student loan debt is not new. The unhappy views of unhappy professors is not new.

So what is happening? The mother had been told that students’ brains were not maturing until they were in their 30′s today. What sort of bullshit is that? Parents and schools today are turning out a whole generation of whiny, dependent child/adults , thanks, in part, to their 24/7 hovering and dumbed down, federally funded education systems.

This blog is not long enough for the “rest of the story” so pick up the rest of it in our free newsletter!

Linkedin-is it helpful?

ace — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 11:01:47 +0000

One of our members emailed me to ask if I had found “Linkedin” to be useful.
My response is a No followed by a “not yet”
So do I expect it to be useful? Honestly, who knows?
I had (like many) started a Linkedin profile then let it sit and then a few months ago, someone whose business acumen I respect, asked to join my network. So I thought “What the heck” and did so and so I have done more “joining” in the past 3 months than I ever did the first 2 years of it.

If you follow the ACE blog, blurbs, comments at all you’ll know that I feel the best solution for all the networking sites is to simply participate in the ones you can keep up with. The advent of even more new social networking sites has most of us heaving a big sigh and thinking “what? Another?”

So yes I am on Linkedin as M Theresa Brown. I think I may be on there also as Theresa Brown…..really not sure (Now don’t you feel better?)
The point is, other than the initial activity “I’d like to add you to my network”, nothing else comes of it that I can see. I do not post, do not advertise on it so back to the question of is it beneficial?

Well, rather than giving a flat out NO (my first thought) as you all know, I am a firm believer and experienced user of the “rule of seven” so I see Linkedin , at the moment to be one of those “hear, see, read, or experience” ways of getting your name out
And with that application, it only takes a minute to network here and there so in the course of daily activities, this one ranks low in possibly wasted time.
So immediate benefits? Don’t see any. Long term? Well I will not hold my breath but just to be sure, I’ll continue to add business contacts to my network ! So don’t hyperventilate over the multitude of online social sites. Handle only what you can handle. After all, at some point you have to find the time to create your art!

Theresa

What art to take to an outdoor show

ace — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 15:28:32 +0000

The following is my answer to a long questions about what to bring art-wise, hang a few pieces, a lot, display pieces, hauling it, etc…all good questions but a little impossible to reply to in just one post BUT the basics are here!

Go into any mall and look at the window displays. They did not drag someone off the floor to set up a window display-a professional does that.

Same with a grocery store. Sellers of the products to the stores will pay the store more to display at “end caps” and at eye level. It is also one reason that certain colors are used in products to market. Many years and lots of money goes into research that helps companies learn what attracts consumers.

So at an art show:

I make sure my walls have my art on them. Nothing displayed below waist high if possible. The medium and price are clearly marked (that does not mean they see them!) A small amount of space between them, but not much .

Prints in a separate rack, complimentary colors with any drapery in the booth. Ideally tables should be high enough so people are not bending over them (stick 6″ PVC pipe on bottom of legs to raise them ) Any written material set out clearly. You out of your chair and available to chat with prospects.

There is always a learning curve! We have been at beach shows where people remarked more over the horse paintings than the beach paintings.

Much will also depend on the show you attend. One or two paintings on each wall of your booth with high end lights, drapery, etc….may work fine in a very exclusive show. But frankly the average artist at an average juried show is there to sell and it does not unfortunately help to say “I have one at home in the studio.” The best decision is to make every effort to streamline your carry in/carry out. Hand carts are a must, plastic bins are a must…anything with wheels will make your day.

Finding a travel/show buddy is an excellent idea (as mentioned earlier) as two can spread the labor. I suspect that checking around will find more people than an artist thinks in her area that have wished for a sharing the load situation.

I cannot emphasize more bluntly than to say don’t put up a crappy exhibit. Make bags to insert your framed images so they don’t get banged up. Be able to alternate exhibits and always have your stuff “road ready”….which also means that you have to be the type of person who knows where your insurance info is, your bills, your client list, etc etc.

Know your organizational weaknesses and make a decision to overcome them because if you do not, then every show will become an ordeal……very often it is not the work that is the biggest issue but how we are seeing it and handling it!.

A show is work but taking your “gallery” to the public is an excellent way to become known….use common sense-hit the shows in your immediate area as much as you can!

Theresa

The argument against donating art to charity auctions…..

ace — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 11:09:43 +0000

An excellent, well written article from the Huffington Post by Matt Gleason and parodying what we promote! We too have arrived at the same conclusion that this writer has. And it is a brave stand as nothing ruffles feathers like telling an artist that donating CASH to a good cause rather than his art makes way more sense! It is what we do……besides, confess…don’t you usually donate that piece that no one has bought yet? Or the one you do not think will ever sell? Or convince yourself that it is feels better and grander to say you donated a $500.00 piece of art to a good cause rather than really pulling out “just” $25.00 or $50.00? Or better yet, donate your piece and buy it back for full price if you truly want to participate in a totally charitable way?
Below is an excerpt from the middle of the article…read the whole thing and you will see a well put together argument against charity auctions!

………….I would love to hear the story of the artist whose career rocketed to success because he or she donated a work to a charity auction and this act alone tipped the first domino toward an avalanche of success coming his or her way. This narrative is always implied. I’ve never seen it happen.

Charity art auctions are the emptiest of promises to artists: you give us your work, you get nothing in return except a party invite to an event where you are a second class citizen. Watch as the price of what you really will let your work go for is nakedly advertised to the select group of people to whom your work is meant to be seen as rare and desirable.

Suppose you want to at least deduct a donation of your art to the charity, guess what? The law only allows an artist to deduct the cost of materials. Meanwhile a collector can buy your work for the minimum bid, have it appraised at its full retail value and donate it to some other good cause for that top dollar amount…………

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mat-gleason/charity-art-auctions-_b_872953.html