Starting Where You Are
Does this sound familiar? “When I get a little extra money, I’m going to . . .” The irony of this, especially with marketing your art, is that to get the little extra money, you have to do whatever you are putting off.
We all do this, including me. I have quite a few marketing campaigns that I use this excuse on. The second runner up is time. “When I get a little extra time, I’m going to . . .”
So, are you ready to put these excuses aside and start marketing to earn more money from your art? The secret is that you have to start where you are. You don’t need a fancy email program where people can opt-in/out. You can start with your contacts in your email program. Hopefully you have a few friends who love and support you and want to know what you are creating or what shows you are attending.
If you are on a social media site, like Facebook, create an event and share it with your friends.
So far, you have spent no money; however, you did have to find the time. Unfortunately this might cut into your creative time, but if you stay on target and don’t get distracted by old emails and/or your friends’ posts on social media, both can be done within a half-hours time.
I have seen both of these methods used and be very effective; however, as you start marketing and selling your art on a regular basis, you are going to want to acquire your customer information to reach out to them again when you have a new piece of art work they might like and/or show taking place.
It is helpful to maintain this information in some sort of database; however, again not necessary. I use Microsoft Excel and each column has a piece of information about the customer (name, address, email, what show I met them). This could be done in a Microsoft table or even kept on an Index card.
When I am participating in a big show, I create post cards to send to my mailing list, in addition to doing the other two items above. Yes, this does cost money for the stamps; however, if I sell a couple of pieces – the postage is covered. The postcards can be printed on cardstock at your local copy center. One sheet of cardstock can be cut into 4 postcards.
As you begin to sell more as a result of your marketing efforts, you might want to put the money you are making back into doing more. Upgrade to an email service that allows your customers to opt in/out. List your products on an art-focused website (like PotteryDaily.com) giving your customers 24/7 access to your latest work.
I could go on and on, as there are many ways to reach your existing & potential customers and often it is not just one method that will work, but a combination of several.
So, get started from where you are, today. Don’t wait for more of anything because it will not come . . . remember that the watched pot never boils.
© 2011 Heather C. Morrow. All rights reserved
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Heather C. Morrow, owner of Pottery Daily, helps emerging artists express their true value and get paid what they are worth. Her products and services show you how to make more money, save more time while enjoying the freedom in your art. For your FREE audio go to www.marketandsellyourart.com.