As an artist you spend most of your waking hours, and many of your dreaming ones, either painting, looking for ideas to paint or looking at paintings you’ve done and trying to sell them.
When you are a self-employed artist, it’s easy to get wrapped up in the idea that making more art will create a better art business for you. I’m afraid there’s a little more to it than that. Having magnificent artworks adorning your walls, or stacked in a store room won’t make you any money unless you find the right market to sell them.
If you are in the business of selling art, you need to take time out every year to look at your marketing plan and with New Year just a few days away, why not make it your resolution to sit down in the first week of January and look at you ‘art business’.
Here’s 6 magic things you can do right now to help your business grow…
1. Get your brand together.
Review everything about your business in terms of your brand, how you are perceived by the public when they see something with your name on it – web site, business cards, invoices, DL flyers, thank you cards etc. Is there a solid theme that makes it easy to for them to recognise who they are dealing with? If you were to work as much on your marketing as you do on your painting, you would be amazed at how much more successful you would be.
2. Update and improve your web site.
When was the last time you looked at your own web site? Does it show current images? Do all the links still work? Ask two or three people who you trust to look over your site and give their opinions, find spelling or grammatical errors, and even test the sales process if you have online shopping to make sure that everything works. If you are using Facebook, there are ways to link your blog, if you have one, with Facebook so when you post on your blog, it automatically gets posted to FB, saving you time. Can’t figure these things out? We know people who can help if you need it.
3. Update your portfolio.
Does your portfolio show your current and most exciting work or are there images in there from 20 years ago? How are you showing your work – photographic prints you’v made yourself that show off-colour, uncropped blurry artworks or do you use the proof prints we provide when we photograph your art, showing a true representation of the work? What about your web images, are they the best they can be?
4. Update your CV and Artist Statement.
When you read your CV and artist’s statement – be honest, are you really impressed? Does it clearly define you as an artist . Does it show an artists who is actively involved in the art world or are you still flogging shows that you entered in the 90′s? If you don’t like what you read, change it. People want to deal with people who are proactive in their chosen profession. If you are half-hearted about your business, why should they get excited about your business?
5. Book an Exhibition.
Nothing gets people working harder than when a deadline is involved. If you set a date for an exhibition, book the venue, lock it in… then start painting! Paint like your life depends on it. Paint with passion but create new work and start now so you aren’t carrying wet art to the opening night!
6. Create your Yearly Goals.
Decide what you want to achieve with your art business and your life in 2012. Think about setting a sales target figure – how many $$$ worth of art do you want to sell this year? Then break that down to monthly goals, then figure out what you need to do each week to reach those goals. Set all those other important goals as well, lifestyle, family, holiday, personal. What about planning to attend one marketing seminar for every art class you attend?
I hope this helps you have an amazing 2012 and I look forward to hearing about your successes.
