How to sell your art - marketing advice by Robb Scott

Robb Scott teaches you how to sell art on a shoe string budget. With over 10 years experience selling art, Robb has learned creative ways to build a following and turn your hobby into a full time living. His passion is helping others develop important business skills required to do the same. He encourages you to contact him with your questions and feedback.

"To give is to receive"
Selling your art - (Article #4)

Giving freely of yourself without asking anything in return often returns more than you could have asked for. This is true not only in life, but also in business. Here are five great ways to practise the gift of giving. Follow them, and your business will grow faster than you could have imagined.

1. Radio station promotion give-aways:

Radio stations know a lot about the art of giving. They routinely give away prizes in order to reward and retain their listeners. So where do these prizes come from? They come from people like you! Contact the head of promotions and ask to donate your art. The 30 seconds of mass exposure will be well worth your donation.

2. Volunteer your skills:

Go into schools, community centres, workshops or other organizations that teach courses and ask to volunteer your talents. This is not only an effective way of spreading your name throughout the community, but it can also provide valuable feedback that can improve your abilities as an artist and business person.

3. Volunteer your knowledge:

Contact the editors of newspapers or online blogs and offer to write articles that teach others about your expertise. The return you’ll receive from of a weekly, bi-weekly or monthly column will be well worth the few hours it takes to write a column. This is a great way to tap into a large audience and build up name recognition.

4. Donate to charities and auctions:

Give till it hurts. Properly targeted charities and auctions can serve multiple purposes. First, you’ll build your reputation as a community person who cares about others. That in it self will do wonders for your business. Secondly, you’ll ride the wave of free advertising that comes along with these events. Always try to attend the events if possible and bring your business cards as well.

5. Give away promotional materials:

If you frequent craft shows, trade shows or other events where you sell your work, be sure to bring promotional materials. These items should not be expensive but they should include your contact information and website. Ideas could be postcards, key chains, magnets etc. Giving away an item to someone who hasn’t bought anything will create goodwill and give them a reason to talk about you to others.

"Learning to see"
Selling your art - (Article #3)

Famed American-Lebanese poet Kahlil Gibran once wrote, “The optimist sees the rose and not its thorns; the pessimist stares at the thorns, oblivious to the rose”. If this quote was written to describe the visual artist it would have ended by saying, “The visual artist sees neither the thorns nor the rose, but an intricate web of lines and shapes."

Here is a technique that will help train your eyes to see more clearly. Find a photograph you want to draw. Divide the length of time it will take you to finish this drawing into four equal time segments. For each segment, draw the photo from a different angle beginning with the right side up. After devoting your allotted time to drawing this way, turn the photograph and your drawing upside down. Then turn it on its side and so on. With enough practise this will train your mind to see past the surface of your subject and into the deeper detail that gives the subject its true life. Soon it will become as normal to draw upside down as it does drawing side ways.

Drawing is the backbone to most forms of visual art. If your goal is to improve your drawing ability, than you must learn to stop and smell the roses. Or in this case, stop and observe the roses. When you learn to see things as they are you’ll come to understand that a rose is much more than a few thorns, a stem and some pedals. It’s in fact a multitude of shapes, lines and circles which combine to give the rose its outward appearance. Without this intricate web of shapes the rose could not exist in the form that we perceive it. It would have no foundation in which to be a rose.

I've often wondered why of all the professions in the world it's only the artist that's been given the label of 'starving'. Heck, I've been trying to coin the phrase 'starving carpenter' forever now but it just doesn't seem to be catching on. The truth is anyone who isn't particularly adept at the important aspects of their job will eventually fail. So why has the artist been left to starve while other professions flourish?

I have a few suggestions. First, for others the 'starving artist' makes for great imagery and adds to the romanticism of their profession. We've all watched the musician playing their heart out in an empty bar, or the artist painting on a busy street corner, and admired them for doing what they love. Secondly, the right brained skills so prominent in the artist, such as imagination and intuitive problem solving, are in stark contrast to the organized and well planned mind that characterizes the left brained business person. Lastly, I believe that many artists set themselves up for failure through the belief that business and art should never mix, and in turn lose valuable opportunities to advance their careers; leading to frustration and failure.

So how do we overcome these obstacles and find success as ARTrepreneurs?Unfortunately there isn't enough space in this column to adequately address this question. The needs of a working artist come in all shapes and sizes with no generic plan to fit every one. However, there are basic fundamentals that should always be followed no matter what your chosen profession. To be successful at anything in life you need a plan. A plan based on small attainable goals which eventually lead to a greater achievement. As an artist you should know where you want to be in ten years, and set many small realistic goals to get there. You also must be willing to make sacrifices. How far you want to take your career will depend a great deal on what your willing to sacrifice. Some sacrifice their social lives. Others, their favorite TV show.

If your willing to sacrifice nothing to make your career happen then chances are your career will not last. Hard work is possibly the most important fundamental you need to follow. As I’ve grown older I’ve learned that hard work will always get you farther then talent alone. If your willing to outwork others in your field you can expect to surpass them, even if their talent is greater then yours. Finally, I believe you should be willing to learn from your mistakes. Successful people who learn from their mistakes never truly taste failure. Always be willing to learn, always be willing to adapt.As artist’s we’ve volunteered to become business people whether we like it or not. Until your lucky enough to land your dream job, or find an agent willing to market your career, all aspects of keeping your business afloat are on your shoulders. Build a plan for success through attainable goals, work hard, be willing to make sacrifices and learn from your mistakes. That is a recipe that any ARTpreneur can use to find success.

Congratulations! You’ve bravely bared your soul as an artist and now you’re ready for a solo gallery show. As ARTrepreneurs our goal as always is to produce great results from a limited budget. For $250 or less, you can plan an exciting two-day exhibit that will make you money, build a following and leave people wanting more. So how do you go about it?

Ideally you should plan three months in advance. Your first objectives will be booking a location and setting a date. The location cost will be your greatest expense, but don’t exceed $150 if possible. Search out an area that provides walk in traffic allowing you access to potential customers unreachable through your advertising. When setting your date, plan for the middle of the week and avoid the summer months. Unless you’re in an ideal tourist location you’ll miss a large portion of your potential audience to vacation. Once completed you’ll then develop a theme for your show. Always present your exhibit in a way that leaves visitors with something they’ll remember. For example, if much of your art is about beaches, oceans or waterscapes, plan your decorations with that in mind. Bring in buckets of sand, seashells and rocks. Add a beach chair with towels and an umbrella. Play ocean sounds in the background, and wear shorts and a t-shirt to top it off. If you’re having fun, others will notice and respond positively.

After you’ve developed a theme, you’ll need to get the word out. ARTpreneurs love no budget marketing and you’ll be surprised how much free advertising is available. However, we’ll want to set our budget at $40 to allow for printing costs. Print 100 or more fliers announcing your show and distribute them to businesses and community bulletin boards throughout your area. Plan to have this completed a month before your show and take advantage of the free advertising provided by community cable, radio and newspapers. You can give your information online or through a phone number provided by these services.

Finally, contact your local newspaper(s) with a press release. Provide the who, what, when, where and why for your show but make it interesting. Editors want stories their readers will be interested in hearing, not sales pitch. Add your contact number and send it to the editor. You can research sample press releases on the net for proper formatting. Make sure you have this done a week in advance to allow the papers to fit you in. Hopefully you’ll be contacted to do an interview, but there is no guarantee. Feel free to independently contact journalists if you don’t hear back within a few days.

So now you’ve booked your location, set a date, developed a theme and advertised your show. Now is the time to tie up the loose ends in the final week. Plan to spend $30 for finger foods and beverages. Don’t go gourmet, but don’t be cheap. Show your customers you care about them, even if they don’t make a purchase. Make sure your art is completed and ready to hang and everything priced properly. Something I highly recommend is writing the history behind each piece of art, along with the name, price, size and medium, and posting it next to work. Again, people want to buy more then your art, they want to buy the experience of you as an artist.