Business

Most of us, as artists, often don’t know where to turn to sell our work. If we had our way, we would just paint and hope that checks come in the mail or money just shows up in our bank accounts, but this is rarely the case for artists. And since it’s not the case for most of us, we have to have a plan to generate income.

I believe every artist should consider a five-tiered marketing strategy in order to have a consistent and well-rounded income. Those tiers are:

1. A lead collection strategy
2. A local sales strategy
3. A national sales strategy
4. A new business strategy
5. A repeat business strategy

Rather than starting at the top, I’m going to assume that a lot of the people reading this are already doing the first four things.

Most business and marketing books are focused on new business and how to get it. And that is critically important even for established artists, because the average artist loses 10 percent of his or her collector base every year (and in a bad economy, it could be 50 to 70 percent). So you need to be replacing old customers with new ones. But rarely do business advisers talk about finding the hidden sales, the gold mine, that is repeat business.

Think about it for a second. Getting a new customer is expensive. You have to find ways to get noticed, advertise, reach a lot of people in hopes that one or two or a few will like your work, and then you have to repeat that over and again in hopes that they will go from seeing it to liking it to buying it.

Usually the first sale is the only sale. Unless, of course, you’ve got a good gallery that focuses on repeat business (very few actually do), or unless you get lucky and have a collector who wants to keep collecting your work.

But what if you could take actions that would bring you more repeat business?

People who already have purchased your work have demonstrated that they like your work enough to own it, and have the money to buy it. Those are the two biggest hurdles to overcome.

So how do you get repeat business?

It’s a simple process. (Simple, but not easy.) It requires a system and some discipline. It also requires, in most cases, gallery participation and an understanding with the gallery that you won’t sell direct and burn them.

1. The back of your painting: This is a gold mine of opportunity too often ignored. First, the back should be as professional as the front, which builds confidence. The back needs to contain the following elements:

• The story: Stories sell paintings. I do a whole chapter on stories in my Art Marketing Boot Camp, but the essence is to make the story of the painting part fantasy, part reality (there is a very distinct reason for this), and put the story on the back, on archival paper. The collector will repeat the story to friends. It makes your painting stand out and be memorable.
• Critical information: the name, the title, your name, your copyright.
• Your contact information: It may be as simple as your website, but can contain phone and e-mail (keep in mind it might be used 30 years from now). This is something your gallery will need to agree to.
• Your gift statement: “Thanks for buying my painting. I have a gift for you, simply e-mail me at: ____.” When the buyer contacts you, send them a set of gift cards of their painting. Be sure to put your name and website on the back, along with the name of the painting and “Part of the [buyer name] collection.” They will send these cards to their friends. Before the last card, put a re-order (free) statement on where to get more. You want buyers sending out your name to others.

2. A follow-up note after purchase.

Work with your gallery to allow you to send a follow-up note, even if the gallery doesn’t give you the buyer’s address and they mail the note for you. Make it a nice, handwritten note on a notecard of the painting. Make sure your info is on the back of the card. A personal touch will make you stand out. Of course, you can offer the gift here as well, or you can send the gift with the note.

3. Remind them of you.

You and I don’t want to hear this, but chances are buyers won’t remember our names, especially if they are not big collectors who know artists’ names. But you want them to remember you and have frequent contact with you so you can put new paintings in front of them.

Here’s how:

1. A newsletter. Pretty much all artists do them, and most do them badly. Most make the newsletter all about themselves, when it should offer more entertainment and info that the reader is interested in. Put your self-promotion last. Come up with something interesting in the opening, something they can learn from. Then the second thing can be “What’s New on the Easel.” And then, after that, discuss your life of travel and interesting things. Always provide a link to buy whatever is new on the easel.
   
   
2. Direct mail is a powerful and rarely used tool. A large postcard to previous buyers once a month, with a new painting announcement or a studio sale or a holiday party, will keep them engaged. Be sure to remind them that paintings make great gifts for birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, and other special occasions. If you’re really good, you’ll send them birthday cards and holiday cards, and find other ways to remain visible.
   
   
3. Create interaction and a relationship. If you can turn your note into a call, and develop a friendship, it will help. Don’t abuse it, of course. Ask buyers where they hung your painting, or offer to hang it for them (and bring some other paintings along in the car for them to see). Or ask them to snap a picture of the painting hanging with the buyer beside it, then seek permission to put it on social media and your newsletter.

This is a simple yet effective strategy. People using this strategy are having great success and selling as much repeat business as new business, which is a great way to keep buyers coming in the door. Though this takes time and effort, all good things do.

Most artists are overly concerned about being too visible, too annoying. You have to walk a fine line for sure, but for most, you could stand to be more visible.

How did Ashley Longshore get 217,000 Instagram followers? How did Zaria Forman land 111,600 Facebook followers?

These are the kinds of questions that keep me awake at night, and I try to use reverse engineering to answer them. I’m talking about combing the Internet for great artist success stories like these, then digging through the artists’ websites and other sources to figure out how they got where they are today.

Here’s one of the most valuable lessons I’ve learned from this process: The artists who have huge fan bases—thousands of fans and followers, which undoubtedly translate into healthy sales—have all earned lots of media exposure. In other words, they’ve landed features and sometimes cover stories in magazines, on TV, on the radio, on podcasts, and in online magazines and blogs. Media exposure has introduced these artists to far more potential collectors than all the social media and networking they could ever do. It’s true. The longer I’ve worked in art marketing, the more I have come to appreciate the exponential power of the media, especially now that “the media” is so digitized and diversified, giving us more opportunities than ever before. (Thank you, Internet.)

Now here’s the kicker: In the early days, Ashley and Zaria didn’t sit back and wait for the media to find them. They sought out media coverage, and they kept doing it until they became so well known that the media now comes to them for coverage. This means it’s entirely possible for you to get this kind of media exposure for yourself. Like them, you can take the initiative and take your work and your story directly to the producers. Media writers and producers are always looking for great stories, and they will welcome you with open arms if you have a compelling story that’s a match for their audience.

Which brings us to the first step in the process: researching venues. Start thinking like a media producer or editor, and ask yourself which media outlets—magazines, blogs, podcasts, etc.—have audiences that would be interested in your story and your art. Yes, art-related media venues are the obvious first choice, but naturally, you’ll want to narrow it down to those outlets that feature the kind of art you make. For example, if you paint traditional still lifes, don’t bother trying to get featured on an ultra-contemporary art blog.

Now start to think more broadly. What audiences might be interested in your story or your subject matter, as well as your art? For example, have you been living and creating art in the same community for many years? Your local news outlets and local or state business-related media might be interested in the “hometown entrepreneurial success” story. Did you start your career late in life? Maybe AARP would be interested in featuring you. Do you paint subjects that would interest a certain demographic, such as sailboats for sailing enthusiasts? I think you get the idea here. If you can find a creative reason why a media venue’s audience might be interested in your work, you’ve got the basis for a pitch letter. Start with smaller venues first, then work your way up.

Next step: Identify the owner/editor/writer/producer of the media venue and send him or her a pitch letter. For more traditional media, you might send an actual cover letter with some printed pictures. For more modern media, such as blogs and podcasts, an email with attachments is preferred. The key to getting exposure is to convince that media mogul that a story about you will be great for his or her audience. You do this by sending a pitch that explains a) the original “angle” or subject that you can provide, b) how the information will benefit the audience, and c) why your credentials make you worthy of coverage. Tip: Do not write, “I would love to be featured because I could really use the publicity.” Again, look at this from the media producer’s perspective and explain how featuring you will inform or entertain his or her audience.

Now, there are several ways you might end up getting coverage. Ideally, you’ll be interviewed, possibly even live on camera or over the air. However, you could also offer to write something for a blog or other publication. Just make sure you discuss the requirements with the media producer before you move ahead with writing something. It would be a shame for you to invest a lot of time and effort into creating something that ultimately does not meet the producer’s needs and therefore doesn’t get used.

Probably the hardest part of this process is waiting for a response once you’ve submitted your pitch. It’s not unusual to wait weeks or even months, depending on the popularity of the venue, before you get a response. If you haven’t heard back after a decent amount of time (two weeks at a minimum), you can and should follow up by email or phone, possibly more than once. If you’re polite and persistent, you just may land the coverage you crave.

Okay, yes, I admit, getting media coverage takes a lot of effort. You’ll discover and then reject many possible venues in the process of finding those that are right for you, and you’ll be refused many times along the way. But the payoff is huge. Zaria, whose stunning artwork is featured in these images, has a massive following, thanks to her persistence in landing media coverage. You can do this, too!

Why creating your own art marketing flywheel is crucial to the success of your art career.

As the Chief Marketing Office for BoldBrush and FASO, I’ve had the privilege to work with hundreds of professional artists over the years. In that time I’ve met many artists who struggle to sell their art, and others who seem to have no problem selling their art as soon as it’s available for sale. As I dug into why some artists seem to succeed while others struggle, it was not surprising to find that the reasons behind this difference had almost entirely to do with the artist’s approach to marketing.
The successful artists that I worked with had learned how to build what I call an art marketing flywheel that had a transformative effect on their art careers. It helped them to sell their art on a regular basis and provided the financial stability that they needed to keep them focused on growing their art careers. Before I explain what I mean by an art marketing flywheel, it’s important that I introduce you to some marketing principles that will help explain why it’s so important for you to build this important tool.
The first principle that I’d like to discuss with you is what I call The 99% Rule. This rule states that 99% of the time when you meet a collector in the real world, they are simply not ready to buy your art. There’s a good chance that they will buy a piece of art sometime in the next 3-6 months, but no matter what you say or do they won’t buy from you now.
The second principle that I’d like to discuss is a corollary to The 99% Rule, and is called The Rule of Seven. This rule states that no matter what it is that you sell, it typically takes an average of 7 meaningful interactions with your brand in order to turn a prospect into a customer.
When you put these two rules together, it begins to paint a picture of why so many artists feel frustrated and discouraged by the direction of their art careers. It explains, for example, why many artists feel frustrated when they put on an exhibit or attend an art fair and end up selling very little art. No wonder, that’s The 99% Rule at work. It also explains why marketing channels like search advertising can be so expensive and ineffective for artists. One interaction through a Google search, for example, is not likely going to convince a collector to buy your art. Also, the cost of reaching that collector through Google search seven times is prohibitively expensive. That’s The Rule of Seven at work.
Now that you understand how these two important principles of marketing can work against you, let’s talk about how you can overcome them both by building your own art marketing flywheel. In engineering, a flywheel is a heavy revolving wheel in a machine that is used to increase the machine’s momentum. An art marketing flywheel is an approach to marketing your art that’s specifically designed to overcome The 99% Rule and The Rule of Seven by building marketing momentum over time. The hub of the art marketing flywheel and what makes it work so effectively is email newsletter marketing. Everything else that you may do that’s marketing related all becomes about getting qualified collectors to sign up for your email newsletter. The image below illustrates how this works.

Now I know what you’re thinking. Email is an old technology. It’s been around forever. Why is it so central to creating my own art marketing flywheel? Why not try something newer like social media or video advertising? Here are three reasons why this approach is so effective:
Email newsletter marketing is a channel that you completely own. No one can take it away from you. With other marketing channels like search engine marketing or social media, the rules often change. This makes it harder and more expensive to stay in touch with your audience enough times to overcome The Rule of Seven.
Email newsletter marketing is extremely inexpensive. Essentially, all it costs you is the time it takes to produce relevant content for your collectors. That makes it realistic for just about any artist to affordably stay connected with their collectors until they are ready to buy.
People have formed a habit of checking their email all the time. In a recent study, people where found to check their inbox over 50 times a day. That’s more frequent then they check social media, and way more frequent then they tend to visit websites and blogs. Because of this, collectors are almost guaranteed to read your newsletter, helping you to keep top of mind with them until they are ready to buy.
Success in email newsletter marketing boils down to two things, namely building your email list and producing a steady stream of relevant and interesting content. In my next post I’ll share a step-by-step checklist that you can use to get your email newsletter off of the ground and start building your own powerful art marketing flywheel.