Art Career Experts » marketing art

Working with the wholesale market

ace — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 15:39:02 +0000

Depending on what your art product is, the ability to find wholesale outlets can be a challenge. Partnering with active organizations or having an arts council that can do that is, as they say, a “win win” situation for all concerned. The critical point is that this organizations “gets it.” There is always more impetus to create art when there is a buyers market. Although this is Kentucky-long a crafters market and with a long term understanding and clearer vision than many states of what attracts visitors to the state, there is a lot of good information here that should get the brain cells perking! It is continued in the link.

Arts Council Announces Kentucky Crafted Retailer Designations

Nineteen businesses in three states have been designated Kentucky Crafted Retailers by the Kentucky Arts Council, the agency announced today.

Each of the businesses – 17 from Kentucky and one each from Ohio and Indiana – met specific qualifications to be part of the initiative, a new endeavor of the arts council. The retailers are listed online in the Kentucky Arts Council Web directory.

“We had an excellent response to the call for participation in this program,” said Lori Meadows, arts council executive director. “We are excited to form new partnerships with businesses that work daily to strengthen the bonds between art and economic development in their communities. Kentucky Crafted Retailers have proven they have the capacity to promote the state as a leading producer of high-quality art and craft.”

http://surfky.com/index.php/news/kentucky/15656-arts-council-announces-kentucky-crafted-retailer-designations

Do your own Creative Research!

ace — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 12:09:25 +0000

Creative research sounds like an oxymoron (jumbo shrimp) but actually that is exactly what you need to do!

So just what is “creative” research? It’s a combination of reading, not jumping on every bandwagon, analyzing real facts and risk taking. What is important is to look at what YOU are doing in your particular art area.

The truth is, in this new economy, with the constantly changing social networking sites and new consumer thinking, the “blogging experts” are simply casting their bait into the same waters you are and hoping for a bite! Their job is to keep you thinking they have all the answers.
Your job as a selling artist is to do your own creative research and start thinking like a fish instead of reading “all about the new bait guaranteed to catch a fish!”

We are constantly exploring, tweaking and testing not only the avenues that have worked for us all along but the new ones, those that, in our long experience, show the most “common sense” promise. We continue to do well in our art business and what we share with you are the results of our Creative Research .

Think of all the time some of you may be spending daily on the computer reading other people’s blogs and devote some of that time to your own creative research. Sometimes you just have to get out there and do it!

What is most valuable to our members on this free site is factual information.
Share YOUR results based on what YOU have experienced. And hey, it’s OK to have less than stellar results We have fallen on our faces a few times too but that’s how we learned to walk
Start your creative research today!

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

50 Things under $50.00 to promote your art

ace — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 15:11:46 +0000

Great article by Penny Sanseverini who promotes ways to sell BOOKS! LOL-Now you think selling art is difficult? Try selling books where the author gets…what, a few dollars for each book sold? Talk about getting out and hustling!

All of Penny’s contact info is at the bottom of the article-just substitute “art” for “book” and you see that it’s all the same!

Theresa

Fifty Things Under $50 Bucks To Promote Your Book

These days it seems like everyone’s book marketing budget is a little tighter. If you’re feeling the pinch, or if you’re just looking for some great free stuff to do on your own, here are some tips that could help keep you on track.

Buy your domain name as soon as you have a title for your book. You can get domain names for as little as $8.95. Tip: When buying a domain always try to get a .com and stay away from hyphens, i.e. penny-sansevieri.com – surfers rarely remember to insert hyphens.
Head on over to Blogger.com or WordPress.com and start your very own blog (you can add it to your Web site later).
Set up an event at your neighborhood bookstore. Do an event and not a signing, book signings are boring!
Write a few articles on your topic and submit them onto the Internet for syndication. You can submit them to sites like ezinearticles.com and articlecity.com.
Check out your competition online and see if you can do some networking.
Do some radio research and pitch yourself to at least five new stations this week.
Ready to get some business cards? Head on over to Vistaprint.com. The cards are free if you let them put their logo on the back, if you don’t they’re still really inexpensive.
Put together your marketing plan. Seriously, do this. If you don’t know where you’re going, any destination will do.
Plan a contest or giveaway. Contests are a great way to promote your book.
Google some topic-related online groups to see if you can network with them.
Send thank you notes to people who have been helpful to you.
Send your book out to at least ten book reviewers this week.
Do a quick Internet search for local writers’ conferences or book festivals you can attend.
Create an email signature for every email you send; email signatures are a great way to promote your book and message.
Put the contents of your Web site: book description, bio, Q&A, and interviews on CD to have on hand when the media comes calling!
Submit your Web site to the top five directories: Google, MSN, Alexa, Yahoo, and DMOZ.
Write a great press release and submit it to free online press release sites like: PR4 – http://www.prlog.org/ , http://www.1888pressrelease.com/, http://i-newswire.com/, http://www.prfocus.com/
Write your bio and have someone who can be objective critique it; you’ll need it when you start pitching yourself to the media.
Schedule your first book event!
Start your own email newsletter; it’s a great way to keep readers, friends and family updated and informed on your success.
Start a Twitter account and begin tweeting. If you don’t think Twitter is significant, think again; it’s been a major part of our marketing strategy for over 2 years now (before anyone even knew what Twitter was).
Develop a set of questions or discussion topics that book clubs can use for your book, and post them on your Web site for handy downloads.
Add your book info or URL to your answering machine message.
Start a Facebook Fan page. Fan Pages are much better than groups because they’re searchable in Google.
See if you can get your friends to host a “book party” in their home. You come in and discuss your book and voila, a captive audience!
Find some catalogs you think your book would be perfect for and then submit your packet to them for consideration. If you’re unsure of what catalogs might work for you, head on over to http://www.catalogs.com/ and peruse their list.
Go around to your local retailers and see if they’ll carry your book; even if it’s on consignment, it might be worth it!
Add your book to Google Book Search.
Research some authors with similar subjects and then offer to exchange links with them.
Start a Squidoo page and make sure it’s linked to your Twitter Account and Facebook Fan page.
Make sure your blog is connected to Amazon via their Amazon connect program (yes, it’s free).
Ask friends and family to email five people they know and tell them about your book.
Leave your business card, bookmark, or book flyer wherever you go.
Subscribe to Google Alerts and make sure that you are getting alerts under your name as well as your book title(s), brand, and keywords.
Pitch yourself to your local television stations.
Pitch yourself to your local print media.
Work on the Q&A for your press kit. You’ll need it when you start booking media interviews!
Pitch Oprah. Go ahead, you know you want to.
Is the topic of your book in the news? Check your local paper, and write a letter to the editor to share your expertise (and promote your book!).
Stop by your local library and see if you can set up an event. They love local authors.
Do you want to get your book into your local library system? Try dropping off a copy to your main library; if they stock it chances are the other branches will too.
Go to Chase’s Calendar of Events (www.Chases.com.) and find out how to create your own holiday!
Going on vacation? Use your away-from-home time to schedule a book event or two.
If your book is appropriate, go to local schools to see if you can do a reading.
Got a book that could be sold in bulk? Start with your local companies first and see if they’re interested in buying some promotional copies to give away at company events.
Don’t forget to add reviews to your Web site. Remember that what someone else has to say is one thousand times more effective than anything you could say!
Trying to meet the press? Search the Net for Press Clubs in your area, they meet once a month and are a great place to meet the media.
Want a celebrity endorsement? Find celebs in your market with an interest in your topic and then go for it. Remember all they can say is no. Check out the Actors Guild for a list of celeb representatives.
Ready to get some magazine exposure? Why not pitch some regional and national magazines with your topic or submit a freelance article for reprint consideration?
Work on your next book. Sometimes the best way to sell your first book is by promoting your second.

How would you like a free marketing evaluation of your book? Find out how by emailing me! penny@amarketingexpert.com

Wishing you publishing success,

Penny & Everyone at AME

Getting Ready for the Summer Art Shows

ace — Sat, 12 Mar 2011 12:49:48 +0000

Getting Ready for the Summer Art Shows by M Theresa Brown

If you are like us, by the end of February, beginning of March, you are interested in the arrival of Spring. Mother Nature may yet throw a curve ball at us and dump a few last winter storms but we remain, in North Carolina, hopeful that all the signs around us point to spring at last! However, we know for a fact, having driven clear across the US two years ago to art shows in California, that winter is not over in many parts of our country. In fact on our beginning journey at the end of March to that series of shows, we left a rainy but moderate NC. But enroute, we encountered such extreme weather as tornadoes, torrential rain storms, blizzards (that shut down part of I-40 in Texas) high winds and more snow before finally reaching our destination of Palm Springs. On our subsequent return mid April, we encountered more snow in Albuqueque, New Mexico. It was almost depressing . Although surprised at the weather extremes, we were prepared!

It takes preparation to participate in an outdoor art show (juried and non-juried) anywhere-near or far! We had applied to this show the previous fall. Some art shows send out their applications and information only a few months beforehand. But most have been around long enough to need your entries at least 8 months prior to the event.

Preparations for your show season should take place long before your first show! One promoter with Sunshine Artists Magazine, came up with their list for getting ready for the summer show season and we have taken and added to it to come up with 10 basic things to do ahead of time:

1. Finish up and finalize any show registrations and payments you may have. Many promoters are now accepting credit cards and payment plans. Something they never used to do!

2. Put your show schedule on your website, Facebook and blog.

3. Do you have enough business cards? Read our article on what you need on your business card!

4. Get your email blasts ready to go prior to each show. Let people know where you will be! Don’t rely just on email. CALL them (yes the telephone) and send postcards via USPS mail!

5. Make sure that your vehicle is road ready.

6. Keep making your art! Bring new art to shows if you are a seasoned show artist. Leave your older work for an “end of the year” show. Make sure you have enough.

7. Your tents, panels, signs, displays all need to look fresh and ready to go. Make any repairs or upgrades ahead of time.

8. Plan your route and hotels wisely

9. Make a “to bring” list (and get it ready long before the first show!) for all the small, easy to forget things such as portfolios, guest book, pens, scissors, price tags, tape, shopping bags, aspirin, etc.

10. Review your pricing. Now more than ever is the time to have work in 2 or 3 price levels so that everyone can find something at a price they are comfortable with.

An outdoor show is hard work and can be very rewarding financially if you have taken the time to prepare like a professional should. Our long list has saved us more than once. More importantly, it has helped us focus on what we should be doing at a show and why we are there-helping our clients invest in the art that we are creating!

Why you may not be ready to become a business

theresa — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 16:13:15 +0000

Oh wow-there is a long thread on another forum that I belong to with advice from many, various artists on “starting a fine art business” being thrown around like it was a recipe for biscuits! I am always amazed at how quickly someone will take advice from someone who may not be where they want to be! (think about that)
Finally after browsing through dozens of replies-all honest and well intentioned, but still lacking in real life functionality, I saw the real problem underlying all the comments and I have copied my reply here because it is so relevant to all artists.

There is nothing magical about the word “business”.So many artists feel that they must justify this somehow. It does not happen overnight and I constantly remind artists that it is hard work. It is a state of mind. Combining creativity and business is also a state of mind and you will be unsuccessful if you cannot switch gears to accept and embrace what needs to be done.:-)

Do you need to have a sales/use number in order to sell the occasional painting? No. But you sure do if you are going to “collect” any sales tax on that painting! Sales tax is not included in your gross profit. You are temporarily holding it for the State. And often artists rush out to get a sales/tax number and then are surprised to find themselves paying a fine at some point because they had a month of no sales and forgot to send in a report (any way).

Keep this whole thing in perspective. There is no need for an artist to “justify” her expenses to anyone.(and I use “her” as this seems to be a predominantly female trait!) Not to her friends, not to her spouse, not to her relatives. Art is no more expensive than golf, video games, gardening, fishing, scrapbooking or any other hobby that someone chooses to have. Only in art does one’s hubby (and I see this with women ALL the time) say “you can sell this, Honey and make some money”. Well why doesn’t he take his fish to market and pay for the boat? Or his golf score last week to sell and amaze on Ebay? You see my point.

So relax. Only when you find your sales REGULAR and “real” should you even consider going the business route. Regardless of all the “easy” ways to sell your art that “experts” all over the Internet are selling or advising, use plain old common sense. There is no such thing as an easy business .

Now go have fun at your easel and don’t be pressured into a premature decision! Art and Business can be fun, exciting and stimulating but only if you accept the mindset AND your sales justify this decision!

Theresa
Art Career Experts

Re-energizing your Marketing Details

ace — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 15:00:34 +0000

February brings semi-panic to those artists who have not created any type of business plan or course of action for the year and are just about ready to throw up their hands and say “Forget it! This is just too hard!”

Well sure it takes time to think about your career but that’s part of real life and any profession. Planning a course of action is not such an unknown that you don’t know what to do.

This challenge is one of those procrastination events that frequent our lives. We all know, that the “thinking about doing it” is always worse than the “doing it!”

I am staff columnist for a writer’s group and the link below will take you to the last 3 articles that I have written for them (as will , ahem, OUR Art Career Experts newsletters!) The title articles are conveniently labeled below that! Now see how simple it is?

http://1stturningpoint.com/?cat=2056

Artist Business Cards—Four Tips for a Powerful Marketing Tool

Artists: Learn to Sell the Sizzle First, Not the Steak!

5 Ways to Get More People Reading Your Email Newsletters

Rainy Days…….and the artist life

ace — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 13:14:26 +0000

Rainy days and ……

It has rained steadily for two days. I’m not complaining. September in NC has been hot and dry. So the first day of rain saw us standing on the front porch with the wind blowing the rain in our faces and we enjoyed it to the max! Of course on this, the following day, the perspective changes a bit. I am now preparing to go outside and re-dig the trench from behind the ponies shed so that the water run off does not pool and run into their dry space. The goats are very unhappy. They do not like rain.

Still, the steady rain the second day has not dampened my spirits….in fact with Fall finally beginning to be felt, it is more that cozy feeling of expectations that always, as a kid, meant that all those glorious activities of the fall months were laid out in a long stretch!

It also means a heightened activity in the studio, with art classes, plenty of commissioned artwork and the general “getting ready for winter” feeling. I love it!

The dogs are a little confused. DaVinci, the Rottweiler, has an insatiable appetite and the dark afternoon has confused him into thinking that 3:30 means dinnertime. I ignore him. So he sits with his big head in my lap while I try to type, slopping a wet kiss on my hand if I put it near his mouth and his big eyes say “Feed me.”

An artist’s life in regards to hours and paychecks is not a real predictable affair. We work when other do not and do not work when others are at work. We get paid sporadically and in terms of income, it can be far more or far less than what someone who is not an artist may make.

It’s a good life in its unpredictability.

Steve on a sunny day!

pricing pet portraits

Steve — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 11:52:07 +0000

Re: [ArtCareerExperts] Pricing pet portraits

Stephen Filarsky

My reply to recent posts on our Art Career Experts forum!

_____________________________________________________________

I don’t advocate pricing by time and materials, price is so much a part of the perceived value of art and that has to be taken into account. But if you decide to go that way you need to take into account all expenses and time.. You need to know how much it costs to pay someone $10 an hour…..

First, if you are figuring it takes me so long at such a price per hour and materials are this much, you are pricing the cost of manufacturing. So double that for the final price. (This is what you would give to a gallery etc to market, advertise and sell your work.) If you are doing this, you will need to get paid.

Second. Your overhead; studio rent, utilities, heat and ac phone and internet. (Even if your studio is in your house, you will be spending money to light and heat and cool it when working there which you wouldn’t if you weren out working somewhere else) equipment depreciation. You will have to replace that computer, those brushes. Upgrade software Vehicle, cost of use and insurance etc. Insurance, health insurance. No one has offered me free insurance yet. PO Box rent. the list goes on. Paper for the printer, postage and envelopes.

Time, how much time is spent working but not creating, Bookwork, research, picking up supplies. Delivering work. If you are doing commissions, you can include meeting the client under marketing markup, but time photographing clients, sorting photos, time spent cleaning your studio. Janitors get paid too. Answering phone calls. etc etc.

Don’t forget the days that you get sick or can’t work…You need to bring in enough when you are working to cover when you can’t.

Back in the 1980′s when I had a sign business, I took a workshop on the business end and we went through the overhead costs and figured them to an hourly basis…..an eye opening experience. And that was before all the computers and printers and cnc routers and vinyl cutters, just brushes and paint and plywood.

So 10 hours at the easel with a twenty five dollar canvas and ten dollars of paint doesn’t add up to the price of creating your piece of artwork

Steve

The Refreshing Art of Entrepreneurship

theresa — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 00:10:09 +0000

The Refreshing Art of Entrepreneurship
by M Theresa Brown

They started early in the morning, long before most of the tourists were up and about. From the balcony of my sixth floor room I saw the sellers park in the distant empty lot by the ocean and trudge through the sand with their goods. A few had umbrellas. They needed the umbrellas on this beautiful but hot sandy strip of shoreline where the Sea of Cortez mingled with the distant Pacific Ocean.
Cabo San Lucas resorts in Mexico are justly proud of their pristine beaches and go to unusual means to keep them beautiful, clean and safe for the huge tourist industry. There was a low rope stretched across the entire length of the beachfront property with guards posted at either end to keep the sellers from harassing the tourists. But of course if the tourists stepped over the ropes and went to the sellers, well, what could one do?
Virtually anything they thought that tourists would want from Mexico was being offered for sale. Wood carvings, scarves, woven textiles, straw hats, jewelry…some was souvenir junk. But some of the sellers were the artists and they had some beautiful silver jewelry and painted carvings. They would sit patiently all day behind the rope barrier and wait for curious tourists to come to them. Some would walk the beach holding up their goods and waving them to catch the attention of diners on the terraces.
When I stepped over the ropes, I was in their territory and they all saw, with certainty that I was indeed a buyer. Their initial prices were high but they had learned that what was “too much” for one buyer, was nothing to another. They had nothing to lose so why not start high? Everything was negotiable. What I found myself admiring was not so much what they were selling, it was the persistence and perseverance that I admired. I knew that this scene was being played out virtually everywhere, someplace, in the world. People and artists who needed the money and would tackle the public every day in the hopes of bringing in a steady income. No embarrassment, no excuses. They all gathered around me because it was just possible that after I bought from one, I would buy from another. They did not sit quietly hoping to be noticed. They made sure that I knew they were there! The transactions were energizing, flat out fun and an inspiration to reticent artists everywhere.
There is a direct correlation between need and motivation. None of these artists had motivational issues. Excuses did not enter into this picture. They had families to feed, bills to pay and they were delighted to have buyers. None of them pondered the academic world of artist angst. None of them wondered if they were “one with their art.” Or if they were feeding their souls or growing in their art. They created their art, they sold their art, the sales paid their bills…..and for them, that meant life was good.
So why do we, as “educated” or trained artists, make the whole process so introspective and complicated?