by Maria Brophy
Instead, display a consistent theme or medium, something that ties all of your works together as a whole. This will make a clean presentation and attract buyers.
13
LIVE SELLING
When I was in the insurance industry, we used the phrase “get out and press the flesh” often. We knew that no matter how many flyers we mailed or advertisements we placed, the best way to sell was to get out and meet people in person.
To sell your work, you have to get it out in front of people, go outside of your comfort zone and meet people.
Maybe you’re thinking that you want to only sell your work online. Selling online is good, but it’s just one piece of the puzzle. It will only get you so far. If you want to see your career take a quantum leap, you need to get out of your workspace and show your work, live.
Live selling is crucial to your growth as an artist. You can develop life-long relationships with buyers when you meet them in person. This is key for long term income growth. You also get instant feedback on what is going to sell and what isn’t, and you ask people their opinion on the spot. With that feedback, you can quickly make corrections and adjust your offering.
LIVE SALES CHANNELS
Art fairs and festivals: Two friends of mine, Hannah and Nemo (artbynemo.com), left their professional jobs years ago to focus on creating and selling art. They sell their work exclusively through festivals throughout the U.S., traveling in their RV and living an adventurous lifestyle.
You can earn a great living exhibiting at the better festivals. Some festivals focus only on fine art, some on arts and crafts. Choose the ones that fit with your long term goals. Do an online search for fairs and festivals across the country. Some are good for sales, some are not. Figure out which ones are good by researching, asking other artists, and by trial and error.
Trade Shows: Sell your work at one of the thousands of trade shows happening all over the country.
For example, Owen Garratt, an artist from Canada, has had great success selling his oil rig drawings to the executives at oil industry trade shows. If your work would appeal to interior designers and architecture firms, you might exhibit at a design show such as West Edge Design Fair in California. If your work would appeal to the Cannabis industry, exhibiting at the Champs trade show might be good for you.
Think of what market your work would fit in, and find a trade show in that industry. There are many art industry trade shows to consider, such as the Art and Frame Expo and the Art Expo New York.
The downside to having your own booth at a trade show is the high expense. You can spend anywhere from $5,000 to $20,000 to cover your booth costs and travel expenses.
But, there are ways around that. The way I like to do trade shows is by getting someone else to pay for us to be there. Find an exhibitor that has a mission and products that align with your work, then offer them value to have you in their booth doing a live painting or decorating their space, and in return, you get paid and/or get to show and sell your work.
Private Home Shows: In my small town of San Clemente, California, there is a very talented and well loved oil painter named Rick Delanty. He’s also a dear friend and mentor of mine and Drew’s. Rick has been holding shows for twenty years in his own home. Every year, he and his wife transform their home into a gallery and hold a weekend art exhibit. He sells many of his beautiful oil paintings at the show each year. One of the contributing factors to their success is being consistent and holding their show every year at the same time. He’s built up a strong collector base and his fans and collectors look forward to it.
If you don’t have a home that is big enough to transform into a beautiful gallery space, then ask someone else to host your show in their home. You could gift them with a beautiful art print reproduction or a painting as a thank you.
Live painting at tourist locations: One of the best art books on selling that I ever read is called Breaking into the Art World by Brian Marshall White. It’s a self-published book and written from the artist’s heart, sharing his tried and true method of earning a living with his art. The book is a bit outdated now, but worth a read if you live in a tourist location.
White has earned a living selling paintings and reproductions through the Hawaii tourist market by setting up his work outside of busy restaurants and stores. He would strike a deal with the owner of the business to be able to set up his easel and paint outside their entrance. His live painting would bring more people to the business, which was of great value to them. And, the tourists would marvel at watching him paint and want to buy his originals and matted art prints. This method works great in high traffic tourist areas.
Cooperative Galleries: A cooperative gallery is one that is owned and operated by artists. Every member artist contributes time and money to keep the gallery running. As part “owner” of the gallery, each member artist has a democratic say in how it runs. If you don’t have a cooperative gallery in your town, consider starting one.
Group Art Exhibit: Exhibiting your artwork along with other artists at a group exhibit will expose you to many new collectors, as all of the artists together will draw a larger crowd. A group art exhibit can be held anywhere, it doesn’t have to be a gallery. You can rent a space for a month or strike a deal with a local business owner that has plenty of space to host a group exhibit. Real estate offices and banks make great hosts as they tend to have beautiful, large spaces and their clientele have money, and, they often are looking for something to make their space the place to be.
Unconventional Places: Be open to the possibility that there are many unconventional ways to sell your work. You will come up with ideas as you brainstorm them. Sometimes the best place to sell your work is right under your nose!
One artist that I work with is a bartender, and her goal is to transition to a full time artist. She sells one or two original paintings every week. Not bad for a part-time artist! I asked “where are you selling it, how are you reaching your buyers, and who are they?” What she told me next just blew me away.
She sells art to the sport fishermen that come into her bar. When she mentions that she’s an artist, many will ask “What do you paint?” That’s her cue to bring up images on her phone and show them. At that point, someone will ask “how much would that piece cost?” She answers, they arrange for delivery the next day, and boom—sold!
This artist hit on a winning formula. She is in a location that attracts her buyers (sport fishermen), she has their undivided attention (they are relaxing at the bar, having a beer), and she sells art that is perfect for them (fishermen love fish).
You could say this artist is lucky. I say she’s brilliant. Many artists wouldn’t try to sell art in this way; they would be too shy to show photos or even mention that they are an artist. And if they did, many wouldn’t follow up the next day with the potential buyer, thus losing the sale.
This artist’s success comes from the following:
MARKET: Knowing who her Right Buyer is (fishermen with money to buy art)
LOCATION: Being in a place where her target market gathers (a bar that caters to sport fishermen)
PREPARATION: Knowing her prices in advance and being prepared to show photos
SELLING: Presenting her art to them in a friendly, non-pushy way
FOLLOW UP: Quickly following up and delivering the art the next day
What impressed me the most was that this artist wasn’t afraid to take the opportunity to sell her art in the most unconventional of ways.
This method of selling her work gave her immediate feedback as to which images and sizes sell the best. Now she can take this success and grow it exponentially by exhibiting at boat or fishing events, where she will reach larger numbers of her right buyers. She can start collecting emails from her fans and grow her sales through newsletter mailings and online sales as well.
EXERCISE: Grab your pen and paper and brainstorm three unconventional ways to sell your art, using the above examples as inspiration:
&
nbsp; Now, write down one concrete step that you will take towards one of the ideas you wrote above:
Now, write down when you will take that step. Give a specific date and commitment:
SCRIPTS FOR LIVE SALES
There are some very simple things you can do to create a better art-selling atmosphere. Below are prompts and scripts that will help you to interact successfully with buyers at a live venue.
Always greet every single person as they enter. This gives them a warm feeling of belonging.
When they leave, thank them for coming. The idea is to make people feel welcome so that they have fond memories of being there.
Converse by asking open-ended questions to get them talking about themselves. Never assume, based on the way someone looks, how much they can afford to spend on art.
Talk less and listen more. Say things like:
“Welcome, thank you for coming. Where are you folks from? What are your names?”
Reply, “glad to have you here, Renee and Joe.” Say their names out loud right away so you connect on a personal level (and to help you remember their names).
Or, if you know the person, say: “Welcome, I’m so glad that you came! Have a look at the art and I’ll check on you in a while to answer your questions. Enjoy.”
You can also ask, “How did you hear about this event?” This helps you know which of your ads or efforts got people there.
To get them talking about themselves, and also have some insight into what kind of art they like, you can say, “Tell me about some of the art you have collected.”
Ask them which of your pieces is their favorite. If the piece is not too large, pick it up and place it into their hands. Point out something they should notice. “Look at the fine detail” or “See how it shimmers in the light” or “Look at how well it is printed.” By placing it in their hands, you are helping them to feel ownership of it.
If they show great interest in a piece, don’t take them away from that one to show them other options. You will confuse them and lose momentum (and probably the sale). Stay right there with the one they want, and don’t move away from it until they either buy it, or decide they want to look at others.
Here are some more questions you can ask:
“Why does this piece appeal to you?”
“Where do you envision it hanging, in your home or work space?”
“Tell me about the wall you will hang it on.”
Then ask for the sale. Most art sales are lost because the artist forgot to ask for the sale! Don’t let the customer leave without giving you a yes or a no. Don’t accept a maybe. When someone shows interest in a piece, assume the sale and ask them:
“Do you want to take this home today?”
“Will you be taking this with you or would you want me to ship it to you?”
“Do you prefer to pay by cash or credit card?”
Part of the work of selling art is handling objections. Don’t take the first no for an answer. Find out what is really troubling them. Often, we think it’s the price, and many times we are wrong.
If someone is showing interest but won’t commit, ask them why. “If you love it so much, why don’t you take it home today?” This simple question will help you get to the heart of their hesitation, and once you know what that is, you can find a solution to it.
If they say it’s out of their budget, ask “If I make it more affordable, would you buy it?” And then offer monthly payments. Get a 25% down payment and let them make monthly payments to pay off the rest. They can take the art home with them right away, so they are excited about their purchase.
If they say they aren’t sure it’s the right color or if it will fit the space, offer to take it back in a week if it doesn’t work for them. If they say they have to check with their spouse or another person, encourage them to text a photo right away and get an answer.
If they ask for a better deal, and you are tempted to give them one, say “I’ll tell you what; I’ll cover the sales tax for you. Does that sound good?”
Don’t let anyone haggle your prices on the actual artwork, as that lowers the value and it’s not fair to your previous collectors.
Some artists offer a special “collector’s discount” for existing collectors who already own a piece of your work. If you choose to do this, tell them that after they buy their first piece from you, they are now considered a collector. Collectors get a 10% discount on all pieces they buy after the first one.
If they say, “we need to think it over” ask if you answered all of their questions about the piece. If they say yes, then tell them you’ll give them a few minutes to think it over. Leave the room and let them have their privacy for a few minutes before returning. When you come back, ask “what did you decide?”
If they say they’ll come back later, say “I can’t guarantee it will be available later. Most of my work sells quickly.” Then ask for their email and phone number, so you can let them know if someone else shows interest in the piece they like.
After a purchase, follow up a week later with a hand written thank you card. Let them know you appreciate them. Keep in contact with all of your collectors through email blasts, holiday cards or occasional phone calls.
14
SELLING YOUR WORK ONLINE
“Artists can now do practically everything
online that galleries once had to do for them,
and often in much larger ways.”
—Alan Bamburger, ArtBusiness.com
We can thank the internet for the massive shift that artists have experienced in the last decade. Previously, art galleries had the power to make or break an artist’s career. Not anymore. The internet has given complete control back to the artist.
When you tell people you’re an artist, one of the first things they will ask is where they can see your work. It’s convenient to be able to give them a link to a website. If you don’t have your own website yet, don’t worry. Eventually, you’ll want to get your own, but in the meantime, there are other options to display your work online such as social media sites and third party marketplaces.
There are many details to learn when setting up online platforms. The information I share in this chapter is very general. To cover everything on this topic I would have to write another book, and the answers are constantly changing. Before implementing any of the suggestions in this chapter, please go online and do greater research on the topic for the most up to date information.
WATERMARKS ON IMAGES
I cringe when I see a huge, obnoxious watermark stamped across an art image. It not only takes away from the art, it literally ruins it for me.
But shouldn’t you place watermarks on your online images? This is a question many artists agonize over. They worry that their work will be stolen or copied. This is a reasonable concern. I’ve had to fight a few companies over the years who were trying to sell Drew’s artwork on their products without permission. To date, I’ve fortunately been able to stop every single one of them, and one ended up paying us fees for their infringement. But it’s a stressful thing to have to deal with.
If your work is good, people are going to copy it. You have to accept that. This is just one part of business that you have to deal with. You can’t let your worries stop you from posting your images online. The art business is a visual one; you have to show the world your work for you to be able to sell it.
There are ways to protect your work from copycats and art thieves. The most important is to file copyrights to your artworks. This will give you legal leverage if your work is stolen and being used commercially. I cover this more in the chapter on copyrights.
I recommend placing a subtle copyright notice or your signature or logo or name somewhere on the image, where it’s not obstructing the beauty of the art. A few examples of copyright notices are:
“Artwork (c) 2017 Drew Brophy”
“Artwork (c) Drew Brophy”
“(c) Drew Brophy”
“(c) Drew Brophy, a
ll rights reserved.”
We have Drew’s signature logo placed small in the lower corner of most of his works before posting online. This watermark claims the art as his, which is useful when someone “grabs” the digital image and shares it without giving the artist credit.
For extra protection, you can include in the description posted with the image a copyright notice such as: “Artwork (c) Drew Brophy.”
SOCIAL MEDIA
Social media sites are an easy and free way to display and offer your artwork online.
The disadvantage to depending solely on social media, instead of your own website, is that you can’t rely on a third party website to stick around or keep things the same. When a third party site changes their algorithm or rules, it can harm your sales. This happened to a lot of people with Facebook. There was a time that anything you posted on your Facebook page was shown in the live feed of the fans who followed you. Then one day Facebook changed it, and now only a very small percentage of your Facebook page followers will see your posts. For the artists who relied on Facebook for marketing, this change lowered their art sales significantly.
The best long-term plan is to have your own website and your own domain name (i.e. www.sarafranklindesign.com). Social media sites are best used as a supplement to your own website. But if you don’t have your own website right now, social media sites are great for the short term.
The huge advantage that social media sites offer is the ability to show the world your work and your personality. Buyers want to know the artist, and social media is a platform that makes a personal introduction.
The artists that get the most from social media are those who consistently post photos or videos of them creating, sketching and showing their personality. Getting a glimpse behind the daily life of an artist is of great interest to others.
