Who Knows How Many Sales you are Missing without an Ecommerce Site?

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Andy Warhol

 

In 2009, sales on annrea.com grew to 27% of overall sales.  And this percentage is steadily growing.

If I did not have an ecommerce site who knows how many sales I would have missed?!  27%?  Maybe.  Probably more.

What is the difference between an ecommerce site and a website?

An ecommerce contains the functionality that captures payments online, a website does not.  This functionality is called a “shopping cart.”  If you know this, great.  Many don’t.
Why shouldn’t artists just have a website?

A website cannot capture sales.  So if a website is all you have then you could be missing very significant opportunities to increase your revenue.  The question is “Do you want to show your work, or do you want to sell your work?”

Why does an artist need an ecommerce solution?

Working as an artist is an ambitious endeavor. Selling art online simply makes it easier.

Online sales are the easiest sales because you:

  1. keep all the money
  2. don’t even have to be present or awake to receive orders
  3. orders  can come from all over the world day and night
  4. And you can process and ship these orders from the convenience of your home or studio when you choose.

More and more sales are shifting online.  The Internet gives artists, in particular, a distinct advantage to reach an exponentially larger audience than they ever could have before by just exhibiting in galleries or at shows.

You can be at an art fair or an exhibition and sell the art that you don’t even have on display by using your smart phone or iPad.  I’ve sold two original oil paintings on my new iPad in less than 60 days.  Needless to say it’s paid for itself already, many times over.

What is so important about the design format of an artist’s ecommerce site?

Selling art is purely visual commerce. Extreme care and consideration must go into the design.

Too many artist’s sites are poorly designed and these poor aesthetics detract from the artwork. It’s like going to a fine restaurant only to be presented with a beautiful meal but on a dirty plate.

Will I be inundated with online orders?

Not likely. Having an ecommerce site alone will not ensure sales.  It must be designed professionally and you have to have a basic online marketing plan. Online sales require some investment in time and resources as do offline sales. But you will find that traditional marketing efforts will drive online sales and some online prospects will want to see your work in person and meet you. Once you have an eCommerce site, your list of contacts will immediately have the convenience of buying from you directly online.  Over time you will attract new customers from all over the country and/or from all over the world, day or night.
With easier and increased sales there is more time to create.

Click here to learn more about the turn key ecommerce site available through ArtistsWhoTHRIVE.

Is Art and Money like Oil and Water?

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swear

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

About three years ago, the director of the UC Berkeley career center read a profile of me written by the business editor of the San Francisco Chronicle and invited me to be part of a panel discussion for recent art degree graduates and alumni. Once again I encountered such strangely conflicting opinions about the commerce of fine art, just really weird biases and stupid and tedious stereotypes.

The panel was composed of a successful print maker, a painter, a tenured UC Berkeley art professor of painting, me, and someone else.  When the moderator came to the professor to ask his esteemed opinion on the matter of making a living as a fine artist, his general very long-winded response was to “just make art and do not worry about money.”

To my delight, my print making co-panelist dropped an f-bomb and said “F*! that, people are buying art”.  “You said it sister!” I replied.  And easy for you to say Mr. Tenured professor, who’ll never be fired, even though his instruction is completely irresponsible garbage.  “Don’t worry about it?!” So should they not worry about food or shelter either? Good grief!  The ones who seem to be less concerned with money are usually the ones who have plenty of it or who know that ultimately they have a financial back up. Go figure.

I heard this strange disdain for the commerce of art just last week.  I was interviewing marketing consultants to help me craft a new marketing piece and I was met with “you seem to be much more interested in the marketing of art than the making of art.”  “Ah, nooo. I’m very interested in the making of art, but if I want to keep doing that I have to market it.  And ah, aren’t you a marketing consultant?”  I didn’t hire him.

What the heck is this twisted and hypocritical conflict about money and art?  Musicians seem to suffer less from this. Why is that?

Please! Making art and well-being requires money. So let’s make more money!

Be Bold Enough to Admit what you Truly Desire

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“Pacific Ocean Deep”, Ann Rea, oil on canvas

 

Although the artist-coaching program helps artists shape their business and marketing strategies we first have to ask why.  “Why” do you want to “be” an artist?  What does that mean to you?  What do you value?  What do you really want?  What would you create if you had a magic wand?

The first assignment that my artist coaching clients receive is to turn on their imagination and to create a dream map.  A dream map is a collage of positive and present-tense words and images that express their vision of the life that they want to create for themselves.  Clearly creating your life’s vision will determine your ultimate happiness and success.  I can attest that it’s worked for me.

These collages are not meant to be a piece of art for show.  This is simply a powerful and personal exercise designed so that each person unearths their passions and expresses what they really want to create in their life, before we get started.

I’m following Michael Gerber’s assertion, author of eMyth. Gerber asserts that you design your business  so it supports your life, and so that you are not spending your life supporting your business.

So the next question is, what do you want that life to look like?

I made a dream map about seven years before it manifested.  I boldly admitted, although I couldn’t really believe it at the time, “I live and have an art studio overlooking the ocean.”  Along with several words and images I tore out a picture of a big poufy bed overlooking the ocean, some random light fixture, because why not?  I can imagine anything.

Then I lost track of this creation until seven years later when I moved into my private live work studio overlooking the ocean.  After my friends helped me move in, and arranged my furniture, I discovered the dream map.  My bed was in the same position as the photo.  The headboard was on the same side of the room and the bed’s position was the same relative to the ocean.  The nautically styled light fixture hangs above my dinning room table today.

I wasn’t quite sure how I was going to make it all happen, live in pricey San Francisco and paint for a living?  Yikes!  But I knew in that instant that I was on the right path.

The first step to living a fulfilled and happy live is to boldly admit what you truly desire.

Balancing Confidence and Criticism

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“Mick Jagger 1975/76″ Andy Warhol

Once Wayne Thiebaud, an American Art icon, wrote in a letter of recommendation that I possessed “confidence and inner resources”, I suddenly had more.  Why are these qualities so important?  Because it’s what separates the “men from the boys” in the wild and hypercritical world of art.

Artists often battle their inner critic.  Although criticism is necessary to editing one’s creative expressions, it can also eat you alive, if you let it.  The successful book “The Artist’s Way” brilliantly deals with the subject of the “inner critic.”  Yet there was nothing in my prestigious fine art education that ever helped prepare me to balance confidence and criticism.

An artist client of mine told me a story of her son who was given an art class assignment to go to an art gallery or museum and to write about a painting.  At the last minute her son approached her with his unfinished homework.  There where no museums or galleries open so off they went to an ever-open Thomas Kinkade Gallery.

Her son turned in his completed assignment and his teacher proceeded to tear him in two.   Proclaiming, “this is not art!”  Now I tend to agree, but this is a kid, and he did complete the assignment. He was penalized for the rest of the year and his passion for art completely evaporated.

But would this have happened if it was a math test?  I assert that the answer is no.

Art is so very personal that we often see it as representing ourselves.  So when it’s torn to shreds or even mildly criticized, artists can be devastated, their ego pummeled.

As an artist you have to be open to criticism; there’s no way around it.  And if you’re in business you need to welcome and respond to it.  Particularly if your business is selling your art because your confidence will inspire collectors to purchase.

You also have to maintain perspective.  Not everyone is going to like your work.  Not everyone likes mine and I don’t care.  Because I only need a few select collectors every month to like it enough to buy it.

Do you like every song you hear on the radio or every outfit you see?  No.  It’s a matter of personal preference.

Mic Jagger, the front man for one of the most popular long lasting rock groups of all time, explained to Larry King that he has always listened to the critics.  Jagger stated that the key is discerning between criticism that is really only about a subjective preference and criticism that is actually constructive or insightful.

Why I Do Not Represent Artists

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Many people have suggested that I represent other artists.  People do always seem to have suggestions for artists, invited or not.  But I’m quite occupied representing my own work, first of all.  Secondly, my rallying call to artists is “Don’t look for representation, look for collectors!”

And this is because my mission is to empower artists so that they have full creative control and so that they keep more or all of the money they earn.

Now I’m not against working with reputable art galleries and or art consultants.  But I am asserting that artists are in a better position to work with them when they have built their own platforms and have cultivated a following.

Artists make more money and have more satisfaction when they work with collectors directly.  If you manage it right.  People want to know the artist and learn the story behind the creation.  It offers collectors a much more meaningful experience, and that is valuable.

So I’d rather share my hard earned art business lessons and resources and help artists avoid the pot holes that I’ve stepped in and teach artists to fish for themselves.

If artists just don’t want to do this, then I obviously can’t help.  But I’m finding that more and more artists and craftspeople, even those who have earned their livings through the traditional routes of art galleries and shows, are really ready for a change.  The galleries are not doing as well and artists are tired of being on the road.

There’s no magic pill to success in any business but people are buying art.  So if you’re creating art of quality and interest, take heart and take charge.  Represent yourself and find your collectors.

This landscape painting is by John Signer Sargent, an American painter who celebrated the British aristocracy.  He knew his tribe and he was rewarded by earning over a million dollars in the 18th century.

There is NO Virtue in Poverty

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Of course you know that the tile of this domain is ArtistsWhoTHRIVE and the subtitle, “a community of entrepreneurial creatives.”  Yes.  We are talking about capitalism for creatives.

So if you are an artist who thinks that there’s any virtue in poverty, then you’re in the wrong place.  This all too common and twisted belief is simply just a cop out that too many artists can lean on.  And it feeds a negative and disrespectful cultural sterotype of the “starving artist”.

I say take responsibility for building your success and then you’ll thrive and be in a better position to be your brother’s keeper.

A lot of people, I’m not just picking on a few artists, have highly charged negative and fearful emotions around money and commerce.  They equate money with dishonesty, control, and power.  Money is neutral, it’s just a tool.  Like a hammer you can build something with it or knock someone in the head.

I don’t have the patience, or a license, to council ever-suffering or bitter artists.  And that’s not why I founded ArtistsWhoTHRIVE.  Note the word THRIVE in all caps.  And this is why I maintain a no whining policy.  If you think you must suffer, have at it.  Just please don’t bore me or this community with it because I won’t feed the negative energy or post your comments.

If you have something constructive to say or a real question, then please, do tell.

Now I don’t want to give the impression that I have no compassion because I have suffered in my lifetime. And I’ve helped others who are genuinely suffering when I worked at a shelter for abused women and children and for disaster relief.

The point is, there’s good news!  We are in the midst of a cultural and economic revolution.  The scarcity model of artist representation is dissolving before our eyes with the power of the Internet fueling it.  We see this clearly in the music industry.  American Idol celebrates the old scarcity model that represents only a tiny fraction of formulaic talent.  But the Internet has given us the freedom to fully express ourselves and to reach those who are like us and who want to buy from us.

Do you want to get paid well for doing what you love?  Then you’re going to have to learn, just like I’ve had to. And those who whine less get more done. And in my case, drink more good wine.

Record Attendance and Reviews at the Berkeley ArtistsWhoTHRIVE Seminar

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The ArtistsWhoTHRIVE seminar that I delivered last Tuesday earned record attendance and reviews, according to the directors of the Small Business Development Center of Alameda County.

The room was absolutely packed with an eager audience of over 130 creative people, all looking for ways to offer their creative talents in ways that will support them economically and creatively.

As promised, we completed three mini marketing makeovers that included:

1. a painter whose passion is painting drag queens

2. an illustrator of who loves botanicals

3. and a spiritual painter who meditates and then paints the color energy of her subjects

Does it sound impossible to identify a viable market for these three artists?  It’s not! During our live “blue sky” session, these artists, and the entire audience, clearly described their market, who I refer to as a “tribe”, ways to celebrate the tribal culture and serve their tribe, and where their tribe might be found.

The economic health of a city is closely tied to its cultural capital.  As local artists thrive so does the community.  Think of most famous destinations and you think of the art.

There are many economic studies that prove this assertion. Read this New York Times article about a business development program in New York City for artists:

“The city’s cultural sector “attracts very, very creative people who have incredible ideas, but they don’t always know how to turn their ideas into financial sustainable entities,” said Seth W. Pinsky, president of the New York City Economic Development Corporation.

His agency is spending $50,000 on this program and a similar one being run by the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, with Creative Capital.   Read more….

Here are a few of the messages I’ve received and that I’d like to share, with permission.

And they are still coming!

“Thank YOU so much.  It was the best workshop I’ve been to.   Honestly, yesterday changed my life.”

-Mary Lonergan

“Your seminar was just AWESOME!  I learned so much, and got so much inspiration.” –  Lisa Baker

“Thank you for the great information you gave at your seminar! It really got me motivated.” - Nat Jackson

“I enjoyed the seminar. I made an Action Plan of notes I took during class. I was tickled at how many people in the room are having some of the same struggles. Why are some of us conditioned to believe a struggling artist is the thing to be?” -D. Jean Collins

“Thank you for your wonderful presentation yesterday. I learned new things and enjoyed your lively interaction with us. I am inspired to take action.” – Pauline C. Nishi

“I can’t begin to express how much it all meant to me. Within the hour after I left, I was telling my friends about you. I will be waiting patiently anticipating the weekly newsletter.” – James Walker

“It was a relief to have someone talk about making a living as an artist instead of wringing their hands about how to pay the rent.” - Susan Troy

My thanks to the seminar sponsors:

Sponsor an ArtistsWhoTHRIVE seminar for your Artist Group or Organization

Seminars are generally three hours with a break but they can be shaped to fit your audience.

By using an existing a cross promotional program, an ArtistsWhoTHRIVE seminar can also generate additional revenue for your group or organization.

The Painter of Light files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy

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Thomas Kinkade, I loath, and I used to actually admire him.  Artistically, an average professional painter.  Entrepreneurially, ground breaking.  But in my never to be humble opinion, he had it comin‘!.

Let’s start with what I admired.  He clearly defined his market, conservative Christians, and he “delivered” (no pun intended) a unique value proposition, and in a way that they would appreciate.  How?  This particular physiographic is quite literal.  So Thomas Kinkade scattered lots of graphic symbols throughout his paintings to celebrate this group’s values. Little hearts signify the sanctity of marriage and the “Painter of Light”, a not so subtle reference to the light of Christ, used an over abundance of artistic devices to convey light.  The result.  Saccharine sweet paintings that make my teeth hurt.

Where it all went wrong was that he also leveraged the general ignorance of this market.  A market that is not typically a group educated in arts and culture.  By saturating the market with “limited edition” prints of 250,000, or more, he was out of integrity.  In the state of California, Mr. Kinkade’s domicile, only 250 prints are considered “limited”, legally.

His genius? He used the franchise model to build his empire, a la eMyth’s approach to building a business.  That’s right, all those Thomas Kinkade galleries that you see closing are franchises, like McDonalds.  But many of these franchise owners sued him, forcing the company to delist from the New York Stock exchange.

Imagine.  An artist with a company listed on the New York Stock exchange.  I had to know more.  So I actually interviewed one of his CPAs and he shared the basic mechanics and history of Thomas Kinkade’s empire. Horrified and fascinated, I thought, “What if I learned from his success but I applied these lessons in a way that I’m proud of and with integrity?”  Isn’t that what Jesus would do?

Recently an arbitrator awarded franchise owners a $2.1 million judgment.  And on Friday, the “Painter of Light” was arrested and jailed in Monterey  for driving while under the influence.  We’re reminded again that integrity is the cornerstone to any lasting and prosperous enterprise, whether its oil and gas, banking, or art.

Thriving Artists Project – From zero to profit in one year – a conversation with painter Ann Rea

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San Francisco based Artist Ann Rea

San Francisco based Artist and CEO Ann Rea

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Listen to Artist Ann Rea’s Interview

Click here to listen >>

About Artist and CEO Ann Rea

by Melissa Dinwiddie

Ann went to art school, but abandoned her art career and didn’t paint or draw for over seven years while working a variety of jobs in tech, investing and disaster relief. An encounter with two stage IV breast cancer survivors finally made her realize that life is too short to avoid pursuing her dream.

In late 2004 Ann moved to San Francisco to paint full time, and within one year she’d created a profitable business from her art. (So much for the “starving artist” myth.) A profile in Fortune Magazine refers to Ann as “the practical painter,” and Jonathan Fields writes about her blue ocean business strategy in his book, Career Renegade.

As her art career flourished, other artists started asking Ann for coaching. She now has an artist business coaching and consulting practice and works one-on-one with a a select number of artists in all media across the globe. She started an online community, ArtistsWhoTHRIVE, in order to reach a broader audience and attract other thriving artists to possibly profile in a future book.

Ann’s intention with ArtistsWhoTHRIVE is to cultivate a positive and productive online global community of thriving artists and to provide guidance through a series of Q&A posts. (Yes, your questions are welcome, but be advised, ArtistsWhoTHRIVE is a whining-free zone!)

Here is Ann’s first draft of The Artists Who Thrive manifesto:

  • We believe that we have shaped our artistic voice and that we have something to say.
  • We believe we offer creative expression that adds value to the world and therefore the marketplace.
  • We believe that we are creating and growing a business.
  • We articulate our unique selling proposition to our defined market.
  • We believe that we will not be discovered but our value can if we promote it.
  • We believe that the traditional model of artist representation is too often broken so we represent ourselves using effective strategic marketing.
  • We believe in getting a nice piece of the pie in the art market.
  • We are confident and optimistic that we are in control of our destiny.
  • We know that in the new economy “the right brainers will rule the world.”*

* “A Whole New Mind” by Daniel Pink

Creativity and Business, Balancing the Scale

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Balancing-Apples-Oranges

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This Saturday my fiancé and I attended the San Francisco Fine Art Fair of modern and contemporary art at Fort Mason. And then on Sunday we went to the opening of the Birth of Impressionism: Masterpieces from the Musée d’Orsay at the De Young art museum.

After this weekend I was struck by the fact that I haven’t been spending enough time painting.  That I had several undeveloped ideas for new bodies of work.  And that there are many creative challenges that I want to explore.

For those who know me, you know that I don’t shy away from the business side of the scale. But lately I’ve noticed that it’s been tipping in one direction and it’s time to rebalance.

So this week I took action.  I rented a small storage space to make room in my beach studio for painting larger canvases.  With my art  intern’s help we cleaned, reorganized, and purged my studio.  This included slashing several finished canvases that where not working for me, a very therapeutic and cleansing exercise.  I now feel more refreshed and ready to create.