Business Mistakes Artists Make...

oh wow! How many of those have been said time and again in this very forum. Sage advice indeed

There's some good advice, but remember not one size fits all. Not all art businesses have to follow the same model. For example, there are plenty of artists that make a living without engaging their local art community at all.

i don't do much with the newsletter. but considering only 50% is ever opened, and i think many join because they think they will get a discount right away if they join, i don't think they are really expecting anything. and if its a discount, i have to explain how it works again. i never really got into that part.

as far as people saying i like your work - how that translates to a sale i don't know. considering most people say that when they don't want to pay for your work and only want to say something nice. then for you to chase them and hound them, hunt down their address and spam them... i don't agree with that advice. now if they said, i would love to have your work on my wall, that would be a different story.

i guess they like cats in that place...


---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

Mike, 50% of the population opening your emails might be a good response. Some of averages I'd been seeing were much lower than that so hope that makes you feel better. This is what confuses me: the sales supposedly are never immediate and I've never figured out a good way to measure a campaigns effectiveness either. The discount code is one way and a catch phrase or something the customer has to do is another way. But how does it work if it frustrates the customer? Or if they wind up purchasing anyway and forgetting about the little measures, how can someone tell which form of advertising is more effective? Maybe someone with professional marketing experience can chime in?

I've made a few of those mistakes so thank you for the advice!

As with everything, this is a "take the good and leave the bad" kind of thing. Maybe there's something that helps someone.

I know for me, having a local place to show is the foundation of my online business, and taught me more about marketing/pricing/contracts than any other experience. I think it's valuable even if it doesn't have a huge impact on your bottom line. It's good experience.

My email campaigns get opened a little over half the time. I get about an 11% engagement response, meaning that 11% of the 50% actually read the email and click on something. I have seen an increase in sales in the week or so following an email. I've undervalued my email list in the past, and am really starting to use it now for regular communication with the folks who are interested in my work.

partly i only get 50% because many sites simply erase the mail from here. comcast destroys it and then denies they do it. aol is tricky. out of the 50% (at the time i think there were 30 names), i had one person use the discount, despite getting sales, i don't think anyone either used it, or saw the newsletter. but i'm not a news lettery person, i have no idea what to put in those things.

i don't know if i should simply post the new uploads for this week kind of thing. or toss in discounts, or what.


---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

There is a difference in email campaigns that are looking for direct sales response and more of a top of the mind awareness, educational campaigns such as a news letter.

The newsletter is not going to get you the instant sales that everyone wants. It can, but usually it will not. That is why so many people stop doing newsletters. They want instant sales. They fail to see the big picture going forward.

50% readership on either one are great numbers, and over time will garner results. What will not work is a hit or miss campaign. With either program you are trying to train you people to look for your emails.

You do not have to use discounts or coupons, in fact I never do either. I simply newsletter that includes maybe hand full of you new images and some good ad copy talking about them is all you need.

If you do a blog, you already have the meat of a news letter.

Most of us get the FAA monthly newsletter. That is very well done except one thing, imho. Too much information. Any one of those articles can read like War And Peace.

The other thing that hampers a mailing campaign is raw numbers. To really get any rel significant responses, you have to have significant numbers. If you only have 20 names, that is not likely to get you much results vs if you have 2000 or 20,000.

Problem is, if your selling is limited to FAA, you have no really good way to build a list because FAA does no supply us with buyer information.

Direct mail is a numbers game more then anything else. The more eyeballs you reach, the more success you will have. Assuming you are sending the right message.

That is a great read Cynthia! Thanks for that.

Cynthia, I forgot to say thank you for the post because it does remind us of some of the things we should be doing. When you say you learn from having a local presence, is it because you have a visual representation of who is buying your work and perhaps a better idea of how to pitch to your specific audience? Or are you more likely to receive direct feedback regarding your work which makes it easier for you to tailor production to appeal to your audience? And is your experience with contracts more about licensing or have you had to be more thorough with outlining details about a commission?

Good point about some sites deleting group emails, Mike. Some sites (I want to say AOL, but honestly can't remember which) used to post information about how many people you could BCC so some people solved the problem by dividing their emails into smaller groups. That might work with the local knitting group, but how does someone handle larger numbers? Would there be a script dedicated to that process?

Floyd, if you don't include discount codes, would you be noting sales numbers like Cynthia or do customers speak to you about content in your newsletters? Or do you just note the gradual buildup of readership. If so, do you post to blogger or some other site that would help keep track of numbers?

Vanessa, yes to all of your questions about showing/selling from a gallery. You get feedback, opportunities to discuss your work, you learn the parlance and nuance of dealing with galleries and representation, you see what sells and what doesn't and when, you develop a profit/cost method and track your actual numbers.

My experiences with contracts are all licensing. I work with 3 licensors now, but I don't do commissions. I don't enjoy them. :/

Most of my emails are sharing new images or some other content that will be interesting to my list. I'll do a 'new products' or a highlight of a product type a couple times a year, and I'll include a discount with those (usually a $ off amount for here). The emails always have a link to my FAA page and to my website.

Cynthia,

Thanks for the article. I can apply all of it over the next few months. It is a comprehensive way
of seeing the whole thing.

I am now offering a monthly email to my subscribers from my primary website bridburg.com
not the AW. To those who join I offer a 20% break on my mark up, discount code. The list is a MailChimp list.

I very informally this morning asked another museum if they would like to exhibit my work. I have no idea what they
will say. I sent in a link to my website, very little said, and was told to wait a few weeks. This was
a major museum without an emerging artists program, but that does not stop them. The museum will
make decisions as they see fit.

If I ever get into any musuems, big if, my marketing efforts would obviously go into a different gear. Not effort
wise, but response wise.

The only part of that article where I really fall down, is my half involvement with my potential clients. I have
some interactions, but I am not offering my email subscriber list on an ongoing basis. Mistake.

The Whitney is moving, the MoMA is moving, the Wadsworth is building a huge new space.......I can only really
stretch from here to PA or up to Maine. I need to stay with my museum hopes within my area.

Who knows? I may never get anywhere in my life time, but I am better off trying. I am happy.

I am a blow hard to keep learning more. An old boss of mine used to say, "to make an omelet you need to crack a few eggs".
Wall flowers do not learn much in this life time. The article is very good and informative, thanks.

Dave

Thanks. Cynthia. Some of my friends feel the same way about commissions :)

I have sold my work through non traditional venues so only got an idea of numbers through what had sold from one count to another. the direct feedback you received is lacking in my case. I do track expenditures through spreadsheets but still haven't a clue what would sell next through these numbers alone, so maybe a gallery would be the next step. Would you recommend a cooperative space or try to interview to exhibit in a traditional gallery? I've been reading how some people recommended starting with fairs rather than juried shows since those venues help with speaking with the public while the former supposedly helps meeting other artists. Others seem to have the opinion that the breadth and depth of work alone are more likely to make someone appealing to traditional galleries. On the other hand, cooperatives had gotten a poor rep from the bad days of the 90's. What is your take on any of it?

Licensing seems a very appealing option to me. Did you approach them or did they approach you? If you did approach them, would there be any recommendations for presenting sales figures? I don't have any but a vague idea of the typical age group/gender of my audience so perhaps that won't be an easy prospect?

Vanessa,

I am joining the Canton Art Guild just a town over from where I live.
The guild needs to jury my art later this month.

Women and wine and art, interesting combination. I never would have thunk it.

I dont expect anything out of this as far as sales go. But I expect to gain in knowledge
and feedback. Person to person instead of on the internet is very different. Always will be.

Part of joining as an artist is offering volunteer time to the guild every month.

Dave

Women, Wine and Art…there's a t-shirt slogan in there somewhere, Dave. But the guild approach is a good idea. The local one here doesn't have a formal gallery space, but perhaps I should get more involved beyond just showing up. Your guild sounds rather strict with the portfolio review and am wishing you best of luck (you'll be a shoo in).

Vanessa,

I wanted to go into the T shirt biz with an affiliate marketing company later this year. I was going to go with Christmas
or Christian or Religious websites. The thing is the SEO is a major problem. Everyone is selling shirts for god and santa.

Cant a guy get a break?

Your suggestion of making a T shirt out of dumb things I say, might be a really good suggestion. I need to try and think on it.

The gallery is not that tough or strict. The gallery/guild/league was formed in 1960. It is a huge group of local old, very old, hippies.
They are a lot of fun. I did warn the head of the guild and the treasurer be prepared for some controversy. Off line or on line that follows me.

Follows a lot of old yankees.


Dave

"Floyd, if you don't include discount codes, would you be noting sales numbers like Cynthia or do customers speak to you about content in your newsletters?"

Rather or not one choses to use discount codes is a personal choice. I simply never wanted to train my people to wait for the discount to buy. The other thing I don't like about discounting for FAA is it is not a real discount in the sense that only the sellers markup is discounted. So if you say you are giving a 25% discount and the buyers buys an expensive frame job, it is actually only a very small discount on the entire job. I just don't like the way that presents itself to the buyer. It's a 25% discount but it really isn't. Too much mumbo jumbo for me. I like straight forward advertising, not something that takes a calculator to really figure out what is going on. Same thing for things like the wine promotion. But that is just me.Other people use these methods and I guess they work to some degree.

I like promotions that give something free instead of discounts. Value added promotions. Buy a $200 print and we will send you a box of Shari's Berries absolutely free! And then some ad copy about how great Shari's Berries are. There are a lot of things you can offer. You set the minimum purchase and maybe add a few bucks to cover the cost. Gift baskets are another good one. There are dozens of items you can use.

You can actually change it up in your newsletter. That would give you something to talk about. I gave Omaha Steaks for years and years to my best clients. I still give them to my sales rep for my largest suppliers.

I am old school. I do not use blogger or any of the new methods. I use an old fashion email service that tracks results. I do not solicit people to sign up for newsletters or mailing lists beyond what the site(s). have as part of their boilerplate. I have thousands and thousands of emails from past sales from other sites that unlike FAA, they do supply the client information. I only use a service that follows strict adherence to all of the anti-spam laws.

I also agree with Cynthia that local or any personal interaction with strangers or potential buyers, rather it leads to a sale or not, is a great learning experience and can be used for online marketing and selling. The more you learn about your buyer no matter where you meet them, the easier it is going to be to sell to them.

I think the most important thing about newsletters is you have to be committed for the long haul. If you do it for six months and stop for two or three, it is almost like starting all over again if you decide to start it up again. If you think you are going to send out a few emails or a couple of months of a newsletter and see the sales needle move, that is more then likely not going to happen. It may, but I doubt it. It takes longer than that to build up the response rate.

Newsletters hitting the same people over and over again may take months or even years to hit every single person when they are in place to where they are looking to make an art purchase. But when they do get to that place, you want YOUR name to be the one that is the first one they think of and that they know they are going to be hearing from any day now. (Top of the mind awareness) That is why consistency and reliability are very important. It is sort of like your daily newspaper or monthly magazines you subscribe to. You want delivery to be reliable.

Lol, David. We all say quirky things, but yes, you're right, copy writing is one of the hardest occupations in my opinion. It does sound as if you're going to have a lot of fun, though. Hope you keep us posted.

I like your idea about "value added", Floyd, but Omaha steaks is going to be a little out of my price range for a long time :). But adding something smaller might work for me. So you're saying you use a mail service? Do you go through a local printer or print your own and use a meter if you don't mind my asking? And yes, content generation is really hard for me so before starting it might be prudent for me to collect an outline of how to proceed for a year. I run out of ideas very quickly. What keeps you inspired or do you have a similar coping strategy? As far as targeting the same groups, do you do anything to vet your mail lists to purge inactive addresses? In case a customer moves or some other scenario happens? Thanks again.

One other thing about using a company like Shari's Berries or Omaha Steaks. Buy using them and getting permission to use their logo in you emails, you are adding instant credibility to your program. Both of these people are leaders in the their industry. They have huge advertising campaigns. They have instant name recognition and you will be borrowing for that and it will make you look like your are playing with the big guys.

Speaking of that, Omaha Steaks uses this kind of promotion themselves.

Every time I send a box of steaks to someone, they send me a value added free gift. I regift that item. I mean how many BB-Que sets or knife sets can one guy use! lol

http://www.bridburg.com/about-2/

Floyd,


I thank knowing you more and more. I took down my discount offer in a New York heart beat.

Vanessa anyone including me can look at Shari's Berries or Omaha Steak's websites, make calls, and make arrangements.

For me the key was Floyd's roughly $200 bar put in the print of the email campaign.

This framed canvas has $65 markup.

http://david-bridburg.artistwebsites.com/products/stain-glass-i-david-bridburg-canvas-print.html

This basic 6 berries is $19.99 plus shipping. I guess I can have it be drop shipped. Perhaps $30 to $33.
Made a call and it turns out the berries with shipping and tax come in at $40 or less depending on where they are
being ship to. Lower 48. But I will look into whether they have a program for me.

http://www.berries.com/product/Half-Dozen-Gourmet-Dipped-Fancy-Strawberries-30179503?ref=SHBSRCHgoogkwdbrand_shari%27s+berries_e_c_22022170721&keyword=shari%27s+berries&prid=shbmsg&pageid=psrchszw&trackingpgroup=pid

Interesting and important approach.

Dave

http://david-bridburg.artistwebsites.com/products/stain-glass-i-david-bridburg-art-print.html

By the time someone goes over $200 on my prints I am marking it up by $126.

Dave