SUCCESS TIPS

Periodically we’ll put a NEW tip here and archive the old tips.

June 2005 Tip:
Marketing isn’t a single event, but an ongoing activity

Most people think of marketing as a single event – a gallery showing, a postcard mailing, a booth at an art fair. But effective marketing is about a series of activities that support and follow through after those events.

This month’s Stepping Stones Update is in part inspired by the East Lansing Art Festival, which is held each spring in Michigan. Every year, hundreds of artists converge on downtown East Lansing to exhibit their work. They must undergo selection by a rigorous art-review committee before even being able to participate. In addition, art galleries in town start their First Sunday Gallery Walk at the same time. All around the country, communities put on these types of events.

What makes an event like this successful for an artist is how much premarketing and post-event follow up is done.

Only a small percentage of visitors to your show or your booth will actually buy on-the-spot. But that doesn’t mean the event or exhibition is not a worthwhile endeavour.

Preshow marketing
• Mail a postcard to every local gallery in town mentioning your show, event and/or your booth.

• Mail a postcard to any of your customers in the surrounding area (most regional art shows attract visitors from up to 100 miles away or more; gallery exhibitions are more local, up to 25 miles).

• Purchase a list of potential art buyers, by demographics (household income), in the target area to do a postcard mailing. Most good commercial single-use lists cost between 40 cents and one dollar per name/address set. Lists need to be purchased ‘fresh’ within 2-4 weeks of use, and you’ll need to expect about 10-20% inaccuracy rate (people move often).

At the show
Collect information from your visitors by having a "business card drop box" or a "guestbook," and offer a discount on a future purchase as incentive to fill this out. (You build your database of future clients this way.)

Post show
Add all the show names to your database. Within 10 days (no more than) mail a thank-you post card to the list. If you wait more than ten days, the list is too "cold" for immediate sales. However, you can remarket to them if you have a web site where your portfolio is displayed, or when you return to a show the next year.

Web site
Artist web sites serve primarily to display portfolio samples of artwork. Some might sell works on line, but typically the main purpose is for exhibition and evaluation. Most artists can’t revisit or even call each of their prospective customers, gallery owners or past customers regularly. A website (combined with an opt-in e-mail list service) showcases your work 24/7. We encourage you to have such a site.

The Artist Success Kit offers artist web site packages, custom designed for the artist. Each is developed with easy-to-use templates with which you can update your site quickly with a minimum of skills needed. e-mail us for information and pricing.

In closing
Armed with these marketing programs across an entire year (a good average to shoot for is four-to-six events a year) the effects multiply. You’ll gain a wider potential customer base and have selling opportunities year-round.

Your Success Handbook has more information on the many other factors you need to consider when you are expanding your marketing. You can order the kit now .