It appears that my last post on marketing art online, the “Seven Common Mistakes” that I often see on artists’ websites have touched a nerve, actually several nerves.  I received a flurry of inquiries, permission to re-post the articles, and requests for consultations and website reviews.

Because it’s a new year, today it was time to examine my business 2009 sales.  Even I was a little surprised to see that on average, from 2004-2008, marketing my art online at annrea.com produced 8% of my business’ total sales.  But in 2009, that number rose to 27%!

I have to say, that my most satisfying on-line sale happened just a few weeks ago when I was in Hawaii for Christmas vacation.  I sold an original oil painting on-line, literally while I was at Waikiki Beach. Mele Kalikimaka!

Marketing art on-line  is much more than just having a good website.  Ahhh, if only it were that simple. Wouldn’t life be grand?!

1. First of all you need an eCommerce site, not just a website.  Just having a website is like having a store without a cash register.  An eCommerce site has the functionality to process secure credit card transactions online.
2. The second step is to design it correctly, see “Seven Common Mistakes.”  Your online merchandising must be flawless. Think art museum or luxury boutique design presentation.
3. Finally, unless you actually are an accomplished Graphic Designer with lots of experience in eCommerce , don’t do this yourself.  It’s like cutting your own hair.

Marketing art online and selling art on-line requires certain resources, on-going maintenance, sound business and marketing strategy, and top-notch design.  And it appears to be a maze that many artists have a tough time navigating.

Online sales feed offline sales and vice versa.  If you connect with a prospect offline they can buy from you later online.  If you connect with a prospect online, they may request a studio appointment.   Offline and online marketing works hand in hand in generating art sales.

The increase in my business’ total on-line sales was due in part to a number of factors contained in my overall marketing strategy. All of which took time to build.

Just like in the “real world”, you have to market and network in the “virtual world”.  Notice I did not say advertise.  I’ve never had good results with on-line advertising.  And it’s expensive.

The most important thing to do is to get started.  You need to create a presence offline and online.

I’ve asked my social media consultant Amy of Little Bits Consulting, to piggy back off of the end of my last post, common mistakes that I observe with artist’s websites, and to talk about social media.

Little Bits Consulting provides expertise and guidance to help extend your brand, grow audience, and increase revenues through strategic business relationships, savvy marketing and improving the effectiveness of your current audience development initiatives.

Get your House in Order! -Social Media as a Tool to Grow Your Art Business

Today we’re going to take a look at a popular New Years Resolution almost everyone can relate to:  getting organized, and how the organized principle can keep your business in order too.

As an Audience Development Consultant, I’m often asked about the latest trends in social media: from how to use facebook to grow sales to what the h*#@ is twitter anyway?  When organizing and getting your house together, you don’t start by building an addition – you start by taking inventory and making the best use of what you have. The same is true with social media.  You don’t jump into Facebook, Twitter, or any other social media darling until you have your own house (in this case, your business house) in order.

Its important to start with the basics – social media sites are communications tools, and they’ll only work for you if you have first have well-proven marketing principles in place:

1. Define your Audience Demographics & Psychographics:  Who are you trying to reach and where are they?  If your target market are members of the AARP, chances are they aren’t on twitter (yet!).  Know Your Customer.

2. Clarify your message:  Be clear in the value you bring and what you have to offer, and keep it consistent wherever you talk about your brand – be that on facebook, in email marketing, or your very own website.

3. Set Goals:  Ann talks in several of her posts about the importance of setting goals for your business.  This is also true in marketing – set goals for all of your marketing tactics, measure the results and clean house – keeping only what’s working effectively and efficiently to improve your bottom line.

The end result of following these principles will allow you to easily & simply identify whether a business deal you’re contemplating, a new social media website, or new venture are right for you and your business.

In response to Clint’s reply to my last post, I’m adding another common mistake that I see on artist’s websites.  7.) There is no email sign up box!

Email marketing is a very cost effective way to keep in touch with your existing collectors and to cultivate your prospective collectors.  But you can’t do that without their email addresses.  Since I’ve been in business,  I’ve reviewed and used several email-marketing systems, including Constant Contact, Vertical Response, and Salesforce.com. I now use and recommend iContact.

For a relatively small monthly fee, these email marketing systems will allow you, or your webmaster, to insert code into your website so that viewers can add themselves to your list and manage their preferences.  Why is this important?  Two reasons, you don’t have to do anything to build your list and they have “opted in”, so you clearly have their permission to email them, a SPAM law requirement.

I also have email newsletter signup cards that people I meet at events can fill out to join my list and that I can keep on file.

I’ll give you a recent example of the effectiveness of email marketing.  A collector from Tennessee bought three paintings from me this year.  Honestly, I thought that he was done collecting.  But I added him to my email list, with his permission, and when he received my next email newsletter he acquired another original oil painting from my website, and said “your email marketing is working!”  This link also offers some specific statistics on email marketing benchmarks statistics.

Obviously, email marketing is one of several strategies that are easy to implement.  If you have your collectors or prospects mailing addresses you can also drop the important prospects a note or send them a postcard to your next opening or event.

The key to remember is that the amount of your sales will be in direct proportion to the size and quality of your list of collectors and or prospects.  And an email sign up box is an easy and effective way to build your list and to solidify your promotional platform.

A Facebook fan page, a MySpace page, the list goes on, are also effective ways to build your promotional platform but this deserves it’s own post.

An artist’s website is a critically important tool.  As artists our “product” is simply visual aesthetic.  So if the website doesn’t support your work visually it’s like being served a gourmet meal on a dirty plate.

Here are six common mistakes that I see all too often.

1. The artist’s website is over-designed or not well designed. It’s not clean and simple, so it’s competing for attention with the art.

It often looks like the artist has either designed their website themselves or they’ve paid someone, who’s technical and can build a website, but isn’t a skilled graphic designer. Think about the design, or rather the non-design, of an art gallery or an art museum.  Think of the walls.  What do you see?  Complete minimalism.   That’s because it works and the rules don’t change with the virtual environment.

2. The boring first person artist’s statement.

I have yet to read an artist’s statement on-line that doesn’t make me cringe.  What is actually interesting about your story as it relates to your work?  What have collectors told you?  Tell us in the third person so that the reader isn’t distracted by a tone of self-involvement.  And so that you can feel free to brag a little.  This exercise is to help sell your work! You’re speaking to a broad audience so be clear and use language that non-artistic types, patrons, will understand.

3. There are no prices listed on the artist’s website.

This is a common practice that I do not agree with.  What’s the big secret!?  Like anyone, collectors want to know what it’s going to cost them.  Don’t make it hard on them.  Collectors are not all going to call you to get the price.  And by hiding the price you’re implying that the price is negotiable.  And we know how I feel about discounting art.

4. The artist has a website and not a shopping cart.

If you only have a website and not a shopping cart you’re missing sales.  An art consultant once told me that she had no intention of selling art on-line because it’s “a high touch, high feel experience”.  Are you kidding me!?  My biggest single transactions have been originals sold on annrea.com.

5. There’s no picture of the artist.

Collectors want to know the artist.   We all like to see who it is we are doing business with. Give your audience that opportunity and show them a picture of yourself.  No brooding expressions, sunglasses, or French berets.

6. Art is displayed but it’s “sold”.

What if you walked into a store and you found the perfect dress that you were in love with.  You then prepare to pull out your American Express, you look at the price, and it’s marked “sold.”  Ugh!  How frustrating would that be? I think that some artists do this to prove that they actually sell their art.  If you what to showcase previous work that has sold, put it in a separate archive section.

If you are ready to take your art business to the next level, you are welcome to apply for artist business coaching and consulting services.  Individual hourly consulting is also available.

First I’m assuming that your artwork is a luxury item.  If so, then the answer is NO.  If you’re not sure if it’s a luxury item then you have bigger concerns and need to clarify your market.
Discounting luxury items is a very big mistake.  You’re asking people to pay a big premium for something that they don’t need and then changing your mind.  It’s very confusing.  No wonder people are reluctant to buy art.

Another important rule in business negotiation is that you should never give away something without receiving something in return.

Another option to discounting your art is to offer a friendly service. Offer to come hang your art on their wall, or provide them with complimentary, notice I didn’t say free, shipping, maybe donate 10% to their favorite charity.  This is called cause marketing.
Artists desperate to close a sale will often discount their prices.  Rather than doing this you should provide a range of price points for your collector to reach.  I start with a note card for $5 and go to $36,000 for my largest commissioned canvas and I maintain a price point everywhere in between.  This way I can make the conversation about the collector’s selection and not the price they’re going to pay.
Open up a Tiffany’s catalog.  They get this.  Tiffany’s offers beautiful Canary diamond engagement rings or a silver key chain with their logo, which is what the key chain buyer really wants. Tiffany’s knows their market.
It’s also important to remember if you work with a gallery they are selling your work at a retail price that you’ve established.  If you discount your work then you’re undercutting your representative. And that’s not cool.
Some galleries ask if they can negotiate a discount on your behalf.  This is your call but my answer is still no.  I think that it’s worth noting that an art consultant that I worked with in Los Angeles told me that the artists that she represented who did not discount always sold more work then those who did.

I have a deep appreciation for my collectors and out of respect for them I can’t offer one price to one and not to the others.  I don’t think it’s fair.  Maintain integrity in your business transactions and reflect that in your pricing.

Do you want to sell your work or do you want show your artwork?  Pay careful attention to this question.  Let’s ask it another way.  Do you want to show your house or sell your house?  You probably want to sell your house but you’ll need to show it first.  Do want to show your used car, or sell it?

The branch manager at a local bank in St. Helena asked me if I would like to show my work at that branch. I must ask, “Have you shown art before?”  “Oh yes, for many years.”  “And how much artwork has sold?”  Her answer, “None.”

I replied,  ”Well, thank you.  I appreciate your thinking of me but my business involves selling my work.” Was I annoyed?  A little.  I was there to open a business account. But she doesn’t know me as a businesswoman yet, and she’s probably thinking that I’m a poor artist and she is trying to help.  I don’t question her intentions.

So if you’re just starting out, you may want to show it everywhere that you can and that makes sense. But if you are in business and you’re interested in profiting from the sale of your art it needs to be in front of your target audience when they are in an art-buying mode.  And that’s generally not when they are on their way to make a withdrawal or make a deposit.  So as “opportunities” arise ask if it is one that will help you to sell or show your work.

If you have excess inventory in your studio, then it’s much better to have eyeballs on it then have it stored on a shelf.  But consider if the placement of your work will reach your target market and when they are in an art buying mode.

This week I participated in a two-day holiday event in the Wine Country.  And one of those days was “black Friday”, typically a great day for retail sales.  But I only sold one five-dollar note card.  At least that covered my Golden Gate Bridge toll!

Now I could be very discouraged.  And if I am I can’t ignore those feelings. But if I remain discouraged I won’t increase my sales.  So I have to decide.  Do I want to continue to experience feeling discouraged where my negative emotions will prevent me from thinking or do I want to choose to evaluate the event and inform my next steps?

What will I do?  Well, the first thing that I will do is send a hand written thank you note to my host.  Then I will send an email to each person who signed up to be on my mailing list.  Thanking them for signing up will engage them further and hopefully entice them to collect at annrea.com. One thing I know is that there are a certain number of people who will buy later if I stay in touch with them via email.

While I was idle at the event I made a mental list of action steps to take this week to book more lucrative events, to get additional press, improve my sales techniques, and a way to help my host sell more of the merchandise they purchased from my company.  I’ve also written it off  as a “marketing” effort and the more qualified events I participate in the more my sales will increase.

It also forced me reconsidered the demographic match of this winery’s profile customer and the physical positioning of my display relative to the traffic.  The focus of this two day event was a crowd moving from winery to winery to taste.  This audience was not oriented to linger in one spot for very long and that did not work to my advantage.

Obviously, I can’t guarantee my sales but I can increase my chances.  And that is a simple choice.

Last Sunday I was sipping a hot chocolate with my man on Chestnut Street in San Francisco’s Marina district.  We were people watching, as we often do to entertain ourselves.  We frequently play “The Same Game” where we watch people walk by and remark to each other how those clustered together are “the same.”  They may have the same shoes, the same hat, the same purse, and or even the same butt.  It may sound odd but its fun and the results can be fascinating. And it proves that like attracts like.

But that’s not why I’m posting this week.  Out of the crowd on the sidewalk stood an artist who had a stack of postcards that he had hand drawn and then reproduced.  He was a clean-shaven healthy looking young man in his mid twenties.  He walked from prospect to prospect asking if they would like to buy his postcards for $2 each.  Yes $2. If they showed any interest he offered them the “deluxe” black and white booklet version that contained each image for $10.

I had to watch.  So we sat down and listened to his pitch as he engaged each target.  Eventually he wandered over to us to give us his pitch.  I listened and then admitted that I would not be buying. However, as a professional artist, marketing strategist, and business coach to artists across the globe I was very interested in his story.

His postcard drawings where quite amateur, his pitch was too close ended, and his price point was incredibly low but he shared with us that this was his full time gig.  This was how he paid the rent and put food on his table.  Do you think he was afraid of rejection?  He wasn’t a “starving” artist, he was doing his thing.  And despite his clear lack of training this guy was selling it.  He wasn’t “the same” as so many artists, so many people, reluctant to face rejection or to persist.   His persistence inspired me and I hope it inspires you.

Sound familiar?

When I started to paint again I joined an “artist support group.” It was horrifying. All they did was whine about money.

It had taken all my courage to put myself out there and to start painting again after a seven-year absence from the easel.  This group was doing nothing to help me feel supported and I couldn’t support them because they were so invested in complaining and being victims. I realized that keeping this kind of company would keep me in the same space.

So I dropped out and started to interview successful and reasonably happy artists.  Each was generous with their time and advice.

When I met Wayne Thiebaud he had reached the pinnacle of his career with a retrospective of his life’s work traveling the nation’s most significant art institutions.  His friend and colleague, Gregory Kondos, had a huge backlog of private commissions and real estate investments in several countries.  And when I met with Donna Billick, she told me how she had created a number of lucrative public work commissions and her gallery sales were nothing that she relied upon but simply icing on the cake.

Donna and her brother, Brian Billick, a NFL football coach, discussed their winning strategies every week.  She said that so much of success is one’s attitude.  Donna looked me straight in the eye and said, “If you want to succeed, you’ll need to take the reins.”

Standing on the street in downtown Davis, California, across from the Natsoulis Gallery, I thanked Gregory for advising me.  Then he made me promise him that if he helped me succeed that I must promise him that one day I would help other artists succeed.

In part that conversation with Gregory Kondos is what inspired me to created ArtistsWhoTHRIVE.com. My intention is to change the conversation in a virtual community of entrepreneurial creatives.  I invite you to join that conversation at ArtistsWhoTHRIVE.com

My artist clients report via email at least two successes they have experienced in the previous week.  This keeps them focused on what they are doing right and helps them maintain momentum.

It’s a valuable exercise.  Share you most recent artistic sucess below and notice how it changes your focus and elevates your energy.