Results Of My Gallery Opening Night

"I promoted several times on Facebook, Twitter, Linked In, my blog, events and press releases at FAA, and by email. "

I am not sure how many friends and/or followers you have from you local area but I really don't see FB, Tweeter or other SM as local advertising media. How many total local people do you feel you reached in all of these SMs combined?

You said you sent press releases to the local newspapers and TV stations.

And why would you expect them to run these things for free? Was this a charity event? If this was a commercial endeavor the general policy for most papers, tv and radio stations when I did these sort of things was they were not going to give away free advertising via press releases. There is a way to do it, but you have to have a hook. There is a saying in the newspaper business: No story worth printing walks in the front door.

Was this a private gallery opening as in your own gallery? Or was it a one man show through a local gallery?

"Next up: a two day bazaar sale at the university campus with other artists. Advertising going forth again but now I am afraid to get hopes up."

What do you mean by advertising? Sending out press releases is not advertising, that is public relations. And as mentioned above, you have to have a hook. There has to be a story there to get them to run with it. You have to figure out a way to make a story out of it.

A bunch of artist getting together to sell their art for their own benefit is not a story. You may get some one to run a release or two if it is a slow news day. But you can not rely on it as "the" advertising.

I don't think friends or family even count. I don't count on them for sales. I don't even count them AS sales when they buy something. I take their praise with a grain of salt.

In my opinion, the only opinion that matters if you are trying to sell art are the opinions of stranger's money. If someone you don't know buys something from you, the work is good.

Who goes t galleries anymore? I don't think it is a reflection on you or your art. I know the entire industry is hurting. I talked to a guy that has one in a nearby town and he said over 95% of his money comes from custom framing. That he has sold 3-4 pictures this year. People can buy stuff on-line now. You need people to sell and if nobody is going to galleries, you simply aren't going to have the people.

The bazaar may be better. If it is like an art show it may draw in people. I have done 8 shows this year and have sold pretty well. Not a single piece was to someone I knew.

Thanks for the feedback. It was a local gallery, not my own, for a two-month, 1-man show.

Galleries here in Asheville - a big art center - do fairly well. Some do very well. This one is in the heart of downtown and downtown was hopping Saturday night. The local press does a lot of coverage of art shows in the entertainment section because art drives this small town (along with beer, food and tourism).

I have well over 1,000 followers on Facebook, 80% or more local. The 2,500 on Twitter are not as many local, but a fairly good number and they did retweet my posts. LinkedIn is also mostly local.

The "hook" on my show was "Uniquely Asheville" and that is what got the half page coverage in the "Laurel of Asheville" magazine - an arts mag widely distributed in Western North Carolina. My art was promoted as unique and local (as opposed to generic or "New York" or something foreign to this area).

The good news is that the show runs until January 3 and I will continue to promote it. The gallery is open, located well, and it is the holiday season. If the opening was a flop, that doesn't mean the next 2 months have to be.

I am learning and appreciate all the comments - I take each to heart.

The bazaar next weekend is local artists and the advertizing is being done by the university's Senior Center. My art there will be smaller and geared towards the expected clientele - Christmas shoppers and people with limited cash in their pockets. No huge pieces and only a couple big ones (mostly for show). Lots of cards and other bazaar kinds of things. It will be good exposure and I hope to pass out many brochures and business cards.

I'm sorry for your disappointment, John; it doesn't sound as though your gallery got very involved in 'filling the room'. If it helps for your next event, this is how I handled my first show, which not hosted by a gallery, but at a trendy coffeeshop/restaurant::

I knew nothing about press releases back then, so completely missed that potential opportunity. :-( Instead, I got my friends involved -- beginning with just one friend. Many weeks in advance, I had her make of list of herfriends that she thought might be interested in attending. I made a list of my own. The numbers were not very encouraging, but we went ahead with contacting those, select, people (about 12 -- many of them by phone) asking if they'd like to be invited to an art opening. We also asked them to please ask their friends if they'd like to join the fun . . . and so on.

After several weeks of this, we sent out 100 evites (email invitations) to people who'd already heard about the event from their own friends, and wanted to be invited. That solved the potential spam problem.

Of the 30 or so out of 100 who, eventually, responded positively to the RSVP, many of them also verified a 'plus one, or more than one'. On a blistering, September night (104 degrees, one hour before opening) about 65 people showed up -- which was more than I ever imagined. Of that 65, I personally knew only 9 of them as the doors opened. Because the crowd was big enough to look like a party, there were also quite a few 'walk ins', which just added to the fun. It was a night I'll never forget, and it worked because of the involvement of 'real' people.

I've become thoroughly disillusioned with the idea of getting any serious results from social media. For one thing, most of the people I 'know' on social media are nowhere near my actual geographical location -- so I don't expect them to be active participants in anything 'real'.

Social media works really well if you're already well-known, and even better if you're famous (or, infamous). I'm none of the above (well . . . maybe a little infamous), so my marketing and promotional efforts are becoming more and more focused offline; just like they were in the good old days of a decade ago. ;-)

John, hopefully you have time before your upcoming event to re-work your approach. Get out your pencil and paper, and encourage everyone you know to get involved, or to recommend someone who'd like to get involved. Here's the E-vite link:

http://www.evite.com/#home?gclid=CJPYqe_u7cECFUUcaQod6AsAyA

As always, I wish you only the best! (Every show is a learning experience!)

P.S. I love the cartoon you've used in your OP. :-)

John, I just read your second post, above.

You have a LOT of time to still promote your gallery show. I usually hold a smaller, 'second opening' halfway through any show. It's a great opportunity to engage more people, especially the new friends and patrons you encounter along the way. :-)

John,
A lesson learned....You should have had a talk with the gallery to see how THEY planned to promote your show...where were THEIR lists of patrons ans what kind of promoting did THEY do. And why wasn't the responsilibty on THEM to make your opening a success?

Their percentage on sales must be in line with the work they put into making your show a success...then it is a win-win for everyne.
Sounds like all they gave you was space....I sure hope their percentage is minimal.

Thanks John for getting back with us. As mentioned in another thread the first shows are a learning experience and making adjustments. It seems you have valuable information on how things work for the next time and as you mentioned the show is not over.

I know that was disheartening, John, but as you said, this is the holiday/buying season and perhaps, hopefully, those who didn't make it to the opening will still come and want to se and purchase your art. If I lived closer than an hour away, I would have come! I think there have been good suggestions here, and I especially like the way Wendy handled it, and Marlene's point about the gallery. I wish you the very best as you set up for another showing.

Rebecca

I'm a little disillusioned about galleries. One here, in a prime location and seems to do well, asked me to be one of their "artists of the month", where I would have a medium size wall facing the door to hang my art. Also, pay a $200 fee for the privilege, and also foot the bill for the reception for the monthly Gallery Crawl held on the first Friday. At first I was flattered, but as I gave it some thought, it didn't sound so thrilling to fork out that money even if it were just wine and cheese (water and crackers?) when there are a couple hundred people who do the Gallery Crawl.

Rebecca,
The right galleries handle their artists the right way...any gallery asking you to foot the bill while they offer the space and take a cut, isn't anything more than a rented space, imo

Marlene, that's pretty much the conclusion I came to! Thanks.

Rebecca

I think that our expectations run so high that we lose sight of reality.

The first clue I see is that it is a two-month one man show. Gives plenty of time for folks to go in and look at the work and takes away the sense of urgency... unless they are focused in on meeting you personally.

Advertising and press releases are fine... but they have to have a reason for coming in that particular day to make it special, unless you are celebrity. Say a free signed print to go along with every purchase that day only.

Building a following is important. It takes time. If you are a local it may even take more time. People are funny in that way. If you have traveled from Paris to be there... they think that you are that much more special.

When we had a represented artist come to our gallery we would label it an event. And it really turned out that way too. We set the last week prior to it as a push. Advertising (TV,Radio,Newspaper), phone calls, flyers, word of mouth, invitations sent out via mail. It was the strength of the artist that was the final nail in the structure. Name recognition was very important. Even at that, I had nationally recognized artists fly in from Texas for two day shows that were sometimes great... and sometimes just lots of drinks and food hanging around with nobody to devour them.

I think your work is good work John. If this is your first dance with an gallery exhibit and show... you just became aware of the sober reality that it was for sowing rather than reaping.

John, now if all 6 “close friends” and the other two, purchased something (print or framed work) then congrats, it shows they all really support you as an artist. Or even half would be good if they could afford it. If you got absolutely no sales at all, they came to pat you on the back and eat / drink and look at pretty pictures not to appreciate artwork.

Now to be a bit harsh, if there were really ONLY 8 people who showed up in the two hours, then the Gallery did not do their job in attracting patrons for the opening and did not do their job in helping to sell your artwork to “earn” their commission.

And if you sat and twiddled your thumbs for two hours, instead of interacting with the visitors, then shame on you. If you don’t interact with the visitors, how do you expect them to become “patrons” of your work and help pass the word about your work and you as an artist? Yes, not every one is comfortable in talking in public or with new people.

I was a green thumb 4 years ago, felt uncomfortable around new people at first until I felt confident. Now I go to openings every month, interact with fellow artist and visitors, pass out my business cards and even have a gallery show or some event a few times each year and I am asked to come back. Yes often there are very low sells at some events, but because I did interact with visitors, I have more sales and more commissions than if I didn't.

As Marleen said. A lesson learned; and there are more to come from your own experience and others.

By the way to everyone else, fine art gallery shows during these two holidays, from my experience anyway, won't produce much sales at that time (people spend their money on bling bling for others or themselves), but it is a good time to "display" your artwork for future sales and commissions.

Okay John... now I am depressed... it sounds like there was a lot of things that were done right here and it still didn't work the way you wanted it.

One thing for sue John, you can not, in any way, take this as a lack of appreciation of your work. Your work from what I see on FAA is superb!

I used to do similar things for artist all the time. Most were well attended. Some better then others of course.

But I had a formula that worked well for the most part. But I did paid advertising. Radio, newspaper and direct mail invitations to several thousand past customers and the wealthy areas of town.

With the paid advertising I make it understood that all of my press releases on the event would be run. Yes, that is considering pandering. But nearly all media will do it and then deny that they do. lol

The question I would ask is did the gallery owner do anything at all of this nature?

i think its the wrong time of year. winter may be better because less things are open, and less things are going on. but there has to be a reason for people to want to go. just seeing art isn't enough. free dinner would get people there. live entertainment. it's not often that a press release is needed but how it's trumped up. i know that if i was invited to a gallery - i would not show up. there isn't anything in it for me.

---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

If its a two month show you still have time to create some attention. Call the paper and see if they would be interested in an interview. My local paper is full of artist stuff one day a week.

Thanks again for all the excellent and thoughtful contributions! Your experience and ideas are what make this a wonderful community. I am so grateful to each of you!

I will be applying many ideas and will let you know how things turn out.

Bless you - each and every one of you!

Well I've done a lot of gallery shows and such and one thing I don't think anyone has mentioned is that you have to make it look fun. You can't sit around and twiddle your thumbs. People will feel strange if you look like you're ready to eat them if they walk through the doors. Even if there is no one there be busy doing something where folks don't feel like they are interrupting or crashing a deal (crashing a party is fine but not a private conversation). Having a half dozen folks stop talking and stare at the guy that just entered the room is not something you like, so don't do it to people.

I've been known to sit outside the gallery on the sidewalk and setup my easel. I'm like the drum player that like hiding mostly behind my instruments. But you are so much more approachable (at least outside of NY) if you can entertain people, rather than just wanting them to buy. How many situations have you passed by because you didn't want to be hassled?

You're putting on a show and it has to look like it's going according to plan even if its not. That everyone is thrilled to be there and you lucky dog (drop-ins) didn't miss it. If you look all ignored and sad, it's bad.

Galleries are all about location. There are a lot more people passing by than are on the galleries client list. Use that location for your stage and do something that looks like fun. It's the best advertising you can do. It's instant, essentially free, and capitalizes on what people are doing rather than getting them to do something.

PS after decades in the buz, can tell you that you never know what your reception will be.

-- mary ellen anderson

John, with it being a two month one person show, you'll want to be sure you are there as often as you can so people who come in can meet and talk to the artist. Set a schedule to be there and give the owner that list so they can let customers know days and times the artist will be in.
One local gallery here requires the artist to be there minimum of 3 times during a one month show. The gallery also has volunteer docents who baby sit the gallery during the week in shifts. When I am not in a show, I'll volunteer to "watch shop" 1-3 times a show to help the visitors and artists sell.

When I am part of a show, I am there once during each week and at least once on the weekends. I'll bring in my art supplies and work on something trivial, just so I keep busy, and people can see "the artist at work".

Key thing is, if the docents don't know anything about the artist, their works, or mediums. How can they truly answer questions and help the gallery and artist make sells, except be there to accept payment and keep the gallery open.

Hopefully our incite and experiences will be helpful for you to implement during this show and I hope it works out well for you.

The only thing that can over come a bad location is a good advertising budget and knowing how to use it.

My first gallery was in a depressed area of town, in a run down building and some what sleazy neighbors all around me.

From that location sprung the profits to open up one new store and buy out a new one that had only been opened a year or two.