Art Print Issues by Barney Davey

Repurpose Your Art Career?

2012-02-08T21:25:09-07:00

Art Career Taking New Directions?

When you come to a fork in the road, take it. - Yogi Berra

Are you finding yourself stuck in a rut? Are you good at creating the art you are marketing today, but find you have created a niche too small to meet your ambition?

Or, maybe you are creating art that is so generic in its subject matter that is hard to distinguish it from other artists' work. This is not good for your art career, or your creative psyche.

Dance With the One Who Brung Ya? Maybe.

There is the possibility you are succeeding in your art career with your current look, but are bored silly and frustrated by painting in the same theme. Nevertheless, you continue to slog through because you abide by the country wisdom that says, "Dance with the one that brung ya."

While there is some truth in that adage, there is a flip side that says you can't get better if you don't try new things and take influence from different directions. The best times to make such a switch would either be early on when you sense you are not getting it right when no one knows who you are, or when you have established a body of recognizable work. Bruce Springsteen didn't venture on his own until he had enjoyed substantial success with The E Street Band.

To Get Out of a Rut, You Need to Realize You Are in One.

If you find your art career is in a rut, or your niche is too small, a good suggestion is to study the market, find what is selling well, and determine among the trending patterns what most appeals to you. Or, maybe you just need to take the time to examine what you are doing.

It could be you have developed some really good reliable techniques that allow you to create art that is giving you some success. However, when you investigate your art career honestly and deeply, you realize you may even be on a track taking you to a pleasant, safe place, but no where near where you want to go, or know you can go if you free yourself.

Modest Success Can Stall Your Art Career Ambitions; Or Motivate You to Move On.

I have a blogger friend not in the art market. He is authoritative, and has attained reasonable success because he is experienced and gifted at what he does. Recently, he had an epiphany, or perhaps an ongoing awakening regarding his blogging career. He has come to realize that the success he once envisioned has not materialized because of him.

What my friend has come to learn is that although he enjoys toiling in his niche, and is respected for what he does, that he is not fully committed to pursuing it with ambition and gusto. Because he can churn out the work and show a profit from his efforts, he has stuck to his knitting, so to speak. But, he's hit a ceiling and doesn't see a way to rise higher. He has found doing something you are good at, but not being passionate about, has limitations. The limitations, he admits, are mostly self-imposed, but real all the same.

Taking Small Steps Towards New Goals May Be More Prudent Than Big Leaps.

My friend is now willing to admit to himself he is afraid to leave the comfort and known cash flow of his current niche in order to take the leap to something potentially more lucrative, and more importantly, more soul satisfying. I applaud him for having the self-awareness to come to these conclusions on his own, and for the courage to face his fears, frustrations and desire to break free, and share them with colleagues like me.

My advice is to you and to him, is to not abruptly jump ship from the current situation, but rather steadily work at building the new business model. Much of what he does now is transferable, he is just seeking to take his creativity, and his ability to connect with others, to a bigger audience.

I'll See You At The Top!

I wish him all the best, and told him I will see him at the top. If you find a bit of yourself in a similar dilemma, I will look for you up there as well.

Digital Artists & Fine Art Photographers: Are You Making Convergent Media?

2012-02-02T21:32:19-07:00

Digital Artists and Fine Art Photographers Should Be Using Convergent Media.

Convergent Media is a term I coined in 2007 for Digital Artists.

Digital artists and fine art photographers were in attendance when I recently spoke at art business webinars, art marketing panels and podcasts. During those talks, I mentioned why I believe "Convergent Media" is a great term for them to use.

It Was a Busy Week Talking About Art Marketing and Art Business

My first activity was as a panelist for the 2012 smARTist Telesummit last Thursday. Tuesday this week was very busy. In the morning, I presented my “Boost Your Art Career: Using Publicity, Promotion & Power of Self-Belief to Leverage Your Success” webinar for smARTist attendees.

Download an Informative Art Marketing & Art Business Podcast for FREE

Later that day, I took part in an “Art Marketing & Art Business Podcast” with Jason Horejs. He is the owner of Xanadu Gallery in Scottsdale, author of "Starving" to Successful: The Fine Artist's Guide to Getting Into Galleries and Selling More Art, (A must read for any artist),and a prolific blogger. Jason has done more than 100 live workshops designed to help artists learn the insider secrets for getting into galleries.

More than once when presenting, I suggested using "Convergent Media" to my listeners, who included digital artists, and fine art photographers. The idea is to use “Convergent Media” as a functional term that accurately describes works made using digital technology and printing. I came up with the idea for the term in a 2007 Art Print Issues, "Convergent Media - Is It Time to Bury Digital Art?" blog post. It was a response to a question from a digital painter who was seeking help to describe her work that was not made up marketing hype, and still succinctly descriptive.

Have You Charted the Steps to Create a Finished Digital Fine Art Piece?

As I thought about the process that is involved in creating a finished creation of digital art, I envisioned the numerous steps to get a piece ready to market. Of course, a fine art photographer, who does not significantly alter the original image, will most likely not want to classify the work as other than fine art photography.

However, digital artists and those fine art photographers who also use advanced Photoshop, digital painting, and other methods to complete a work are prime candidates for using a term such as “Convergent Media". I think digital artists, photographers and painters will find the term particularly useful.

The “Convergent Media” process runs the technology gamut, including considering a digital fine art print is calibrated, and put through a digital printer to complete the work. Because of the many steps and processes involved, I was reminded of the well-used art term of “Mixed Media.”

In mixed media, artists use different techniques, artifacts, surfaces and processes to come up with a final piece of art. It struck me digital artists use a similar process that mainly involves digital technology, but might also include hand embellishments or treatments to the printed piece, before it is offered for sale.

I trust this term will help you in describing and marketing your own digitally created works of art. I have a couple of other blog posts, including a guest post on Absolute Arts, covering the idea of using “Convergent Media” in more detail You can read them on these links:

If You Dig What You Get Here, Please Do Me a Big, Easy Favor.

You can help me and your artists friends with one kind act. Go ahead and share the love by forwarding this email to them.

Subscribe to Stay Tuned to Art Marketing Ideas

You can keep up on useful, practical, informative ideas like Convergent Media, and stay informed of other podcasts and webinars by subscribing to my blog here.

Let's Talk Art Marketing and Art Business!

2012-01-29T16:58:17-07:00

Free Art Marketing & Art Business Podcast

For some time now I have been having a weekly conversation with Jason Horejs. He is a gallery owner, (Xanadu Gallery), author of "Starving" to Successful: The Fine Artist's Guide to Getting Into Galleries and Selling More Art. His Red Dot Blog is very popular.

We have been visiting on a range of art business and art marketing topics. There is so much change with regard to what's going on in the art market, including new trends in digital art marketing and the art business in general.

Jason and I have become good friends over the last several years, and we are like-minded on many aspects of the art business. It's no surprise we agree the best ways to manage art marketing is evolving rapidly.

Our Gift to You. We Want You to Share in the Fun — And Art Marketing Knowledge!

Tuesday, January 31, 2012 4:00 PM - 4:40 PM MST

Last week, we realized that many of the issues we were discussing would be of interest to artists and others in the art business. It was obvious to both of us that it would be fun to open the conversation up for you to listen in and participate in our art marketing and art business talks.

Join us Tuesday, January 31st, 4:00 p.m. MST for the discussion - to register, click here, or on the link below (registration is simple and free).

For those of you who have joined webinars with Jason in the past, this is going to be different. His webinars usually have a set topic, and a very clear agenda and objective (don't worry, there are more of those coming as well). This is going to be an open-ended and wide-ranging conversation.

Have questions about the art market or need advice on a particular aspect of your career? Email Jason at jason@xanadugallery.com. He and I will try and address your question during the broadcast.

A note about start time: Because listeners are registering from all across the country (and a number from around the globe) start time always cause confusion. There is just one broadcast. It begins at 4:00 p.m. MST (local time for us) - this corresponds to 3:00 Pacific, 5:00 Central and 6:00 Eastern. Check the chart below for your start time.

Time Zone	Local Start Time	Local End Time
Eastern	6:00	6:40
Central	5:00	5:40
Mountain	4:00	4:40
Pacific	3:00	3:40

When you register for the broadcast it will show you registered for 4:00 MST - you will simply need to remember to translate that to your time. Jason will send out a reminder on Tuesday with the start time again, so please don't panic when the broadcast system sends you the reminder in Mountain time.

Tuesday, January 31, 2012 4:00 PM - 4:40 PM MST

Can't make it to the broadcast because of a time conflict? No Worries!

GO AHEAD AND REGISTER ANYWAY! We will send you a recording.

Art Marketing: Why Word-of-mouth Trumps Social Media and Strafrangers

2012-01-23T21:47:09-07:00

It would be wonderful to have you participate in the 2012 smARTist Telesummit. It starts next week. I've watched its growth over the past six years, and presented at the last three. This year has the best speaker lineup ever, IMHO.

Modern Art Marketing: A Blessing and a Curse

Visual artists have the blessing of easy access to the most powerful set of art marketing tools every developed for solo practices and small businesses. They come in the form of free or affordable websites, blogs, e-commerce, email blast software, social media platforms, online press releases and more.

Google+ Races to 90 Million Users

There is an unending stream of new social media outlets. Google+ has just broken the 90 million mark in what surely is record time to reach that many users. Pinterest is still in the invitation stage, and appears to be gaining awareness and interest in its photo and image sharing platform. It is an addictive, fun, and potential time suck.

Putney Week at Scottsdale Artists' School

When talking about this last Saturday to group of artists assembled for Putney Painters Week at the Scottsdale Artists' School, I was asked which social media is best for artists. I replied it is not practical for a visual artist, who is handling their own marketing, to robustly and effectively participate in more than two social media outlets at one time.

Nearly Any Social Media Platform Can Produce Results...

Moreover, I believe there is no clear social media winner. In my opinion, any of them will work if you take the time to study how to get value from them and then diligently apply your new found knowledge to create positive results. I went on further to say if one blocks out a day and seriously assesses all available time for everything, including sleeping, eating and relaxing, it becomes obvious there are precious few hours in a week to work on marketing.

Don't get me wrong. I like and use social media, but admit to not coming close to meeting the potential from it. That is mostly due to looking at my own blocked schedule. Mine starts with a full-time day job, so I compress writing this blog, updating and writing new books, and working on presentations such as the one for the Scottsdale Artists' School.

Come Hear Me at the smARTist Telesummit

Another example is working on the the upcoming 2012 smARTist Telesummit. My presentation there is titled Handout for "Boost Your Art Career: Using Publicity, Promotion & Power of Self-Belief ." When I look my schedule, I realize have a compressed amount of time to get truly important things done, much less effectively multi-tasking on multiple social media platforms.

What Is the True Value of a Strafranger?

The more I think about it, when it comes to how visual artists find new buyers, I believe developing a referral and word-of-mouth program will be far more productive for time spent that whiling away on social media. With that approach, Facebook can truly be a friend connection instead of a "strafranger" connection. Strafranger is a new word I coined to describe all those anonymous new friends you have on your social media platforms who offer hard-to-measure quality as potential customers.

Word-of-Mouth Trumps Social Media

I contend the value of one recommended friend is worth the value of 100 social media friends, or followers. That ratio is an admitted wild ass guess, but it supports my contention that word-of-mouth (WOM) trumps social media. If you believe I'm right, I recommend to dial back the time you spend on social media and look for ways to build your WOM marketing.

Here are some useful links to help you get started on your own WOM marketng program:

The Art of Self-promotion for Visual Artists
Six Degrees of You
Word-of-mouth Marketing 101 - get the PDF download on the right sidebar
5 Tips on Growing Your Business Through Word-of-Mouth Marketing

WOM Is About Referrals

Do you have a formalized referral program? Do you routinely and politely ask for referrals? Do you try to help others in your local community or larger community by offering their services to others who might need them?

The world's largest business network is BNI, it has thousands of local chapters of small businesses working to help build the members' businesses. It's motto is simple, "Give to Get." Start working on helping others, and watch who reciprocates, and how your results improve.

12 Mistakes Every Artist Should Avoid In 2012

2012-01-16T21:50:39-07:00

Ideas to Improve Your Art Business This Year

Learning how avoid mistakes is critical to success in the art business.

Today, I'm honored to publish this guest post by Gary T. Kerr. He is the is president of Fine Art Impressions, Charlotte, NC. It is one of the most highly respected art printing studios in the industry.

12 Mistakes Every Artist Should Avoid In 2012

1. Signing your art with just your initials

Why? There are no famous artists that did so. And, when you sign a painting with your initials, you are secretly saying; “I’m not ready yet.” There will be exceptions to this, but this is based on having photographed 10,000 paintings at our studio—a pretty good sample. Sign your paintings with your name consistently. Here are some excellent alternatives to just your initials; J. J. Smith, John J. Smith, John Smith, J. Smith. But not J.J.S.! Treat your signature the way companies treat their brands and logos. And, don’t use a Sharpie to sign your art!

2. Not framing your art

Let’s divide up the world here. Your art is either representational or non-representational. Non-representational art may look better as a clean, frameless presentation and may be your best choice for your framing aesthetic. Conversely, representational art should be presented in a proper frame—even if it is a minimalist, floater-type. Framing your art adds value and nicely framed art is less likely to have an interested buyer balk at the price. Frame your art, present it well in a gorgeous frame to maximize perceived value and communicate to the world ‘You know what you are doing.’

3. Touching up or altering your art after it was finished

Once finished, leave your painting alone. You must be willing to let go of your art after it is done. Tinkering with a painting is irresistible to most artists, it takes enormous discipline to finish a piece and leave it alone. The fact is, no painting is ever completely finished. Being willing to let the last 3% go is what makes an artist great. Are you?

4. Using art height and width dimensions interchangeably

In the world of art, you must always communicate image dimensions accurately with height stated first and width stated second. It is not interchangeable. Be sure to use this consistently everywhere; web, brochures, placards, and verbally. If you catch someone doing this in reverse, please correct them—nicely.

5. Discounting your art to make a sale

Lowering your prices to make a sale may seem like a smart move, but you are setting a precedent. You must establish a price and stick with it, or possibly raise it. Protect your past buyers by letting potential buyers know you will protect them by not discounting your art to make a sale. If you run into price sensitive buyers, offer a fine art print instead. Reserve your originals for people who really want original art and are willing to pay for it.

6. Using cheap or low-end artist materials

Every artist has been tempted to save money on artist materials. Reconsider this habit for yourself. If you wish to be taken seriously, skip the canvas wrapped panels—those are for art students. Consider a quality stretched canvas or premium brand watercolor paper and avoid the cheap knockoff brands trying to save a few dollars. Good brushes are essential too and make a difference, but only if you take proper care of them. Talented artists believe in their journey; quality art materials help you on that journey. You will be judged by the quality of your art materials. Quality art materials perform better, last longer, and put your art more in the collectible category. Sloppy, low end presentment of your art will confound your journey. Your art creates value and dollars will follow that value—but not if it looks like a homemade experiment.

7. Not Titling Your Art

Your art needs to be titled. This is a business of selling emotion, and your title will emphasize the emotional connection of your art. An untitled piece may be found with non-representational art, but avoid it if possible. A fitting title confirms to the art buyer that this piece belongs in their home. Don’t leave this critical step out of presenting your art professionally. Avoid tongue-in-cheek or kitsch titles. Observe how fine art is titled in museums and fine art galleries. Always keep accurate records of your titles and the year painted. Avoid using titles from movies or other cliché approaches.

8. Painting one-off paintings

You are on a journey. Have a plan to paint 8 to 12 pieces minimum in a cohesive voice and style. Any artist can hit one or two home-runs; successful artists paint in a consistent voice and theme, which drives sales and interest. Their discipline to stay consistent helps to build their portfolios and steady sales. The result is finding frequently open doors to galleries and with collectors. Don’t be a one-hit wonder, paint a portfolio and the right doors will open for your art.

9. Painting in multiple voices and styles

The best advice you will ever get is this: If I mix 10 of your images in with 90 other images from other artists and I can’t pick out your 10, you will struggle to attract the attention of serious art dealers or collectors. Paint in a consistent voice and theme that tells it is unmistakably you. If you paint all over the map, no one is going to find you.

10. Mishandling your art

Always treat your art as valuable. By respecting every painting you make, you are subconsciously leading to a sale if you perceive that your art has value. Treat it accordingly and the value will carry through to that sale. Whether it is your best piece or not, treat it with respect trains your mind to value all your work. Never carry your art in a trash bag, the message to yourself could be catastrophic. Professional portfolio cases and proper packaging are worth the time and effort to avoid harming your art. When shipping your art, consider a quality float-box or custom crate to ensure worry-free arrival.

11. Displaying art for sale on the floor

Where a painting is located for sale contributes to its perceived value. Always hang art, or place it on an easel and be sure it is properly lit for viewing. Art relegated to unimportant status will never help you or your sales. Take a look at the care galleries and museums put into hanging and lighting art properly.

12. Selling your art without first getting a preservation-Grade art capture

As the son of an artist who had painted hundreds of oil paintings in the ‘70s and ‘80s that are all sold, I can testify it will be a huge loss to your family, just as it was to mine, to not have even a photographic slide of any of those paintings. Don’t let this happen to your family. Your art image may actually be worth many more times the amount of the sale of the original. You would not tear up a winning lottery ticket would you? Selling your art without a capture is the same thing. The copyright laws are on your side, but without a preservation-grade art capture, that copyright is worthless. Without a quality art capture, there will be no retrospective of you in the future—don’t let that happen.

Gary T. Kerr is president of Fine Art Impressions offering art imaging and advisory services. His studio has locations in Charlotte, Moscow, Prague, Hong Kong and Sydney. He offers a free consultation to any artist looking to self-publish their art. He can be reached at his studio at www.FineArtGiclee.com or 1.800.419.4442.

Ten Art Marketing Points to Ponder for 2012

2012-01-11T20:33:13-07:00

Art Marketing Is a Learned Skill That You Can Master.

This post is a reblog with very minor changes from one I published in 2008. The advice stands up well four years later.

Here Are Ten Points to Ponder for Your 2012 Art Marketing Plans:

Create a realistic marketing plan and a budget that is neither too optimistic nor timid.
Realize the most successful CEOs are serious planners who leave as little as possible to chance. They know getting things done revolves around executing achievable plans.
Break your plan down incrementally so you can fully comprehend the necessary steps and how to adequately fund them to reach your goals.
Be vigilant about how you allocate your marketing budget.
Look for the angles that put you closest to being a sure thing. When you have a sure thing, fund the opportunity fully at the expense of anything frivolous or sketchy.
Take a clue from the many established publishers who are trimming ad budgets and cutting back on show space. They haven't gone out of sight, but aren't blowing the doors off with big budget advertising and promotion either.
If you haven't already, start making plans to set up your own distribution. This could be online sales, alternative spaces or other inventive ways you can conceive to get directly to new collectors. The future success for many artists depends on their ability to deliver directly to their customers. The sooner you comprehend and act on this concept, the better off you'll be later on.
Beef up your plans for publicity. There is no better bang for your buck than what you get from a well orchestrated publicity campaign.
While the fragile economy continues to show improvement (finally), it's not a guarantee we are clear of potential problems. Mounting debt in European countries could thwart our recovery. Still, it's proven in tough time those who keep their heads and business afloat come out with significant market share and awareness over those who hunker down and do nothing.
Don't stop having fun or being creative. Good things come about even in the worst of times. Henry Luce launched Fortune magazine in 1932 in the heart of the Great Depression. Now 75 years later his vision and fortitude are proven out as it remains a profitable staple in Time-Warner's portfolio of publications.

Three Words and Three More Words

2012-01-08T14:51:01-07:00

Ariane Goodwin, founder and creative force of the smARTist Telesummit asked me, as a returning presenter, to pen a blog post for the smARTist blog. I'm repeating that post here and adding three more important words I came across recently.

Blogger extraordinaire, Chris Brogan, talked about how he concentrates on creating THREE WORDS that sum up all that he will focus on for the coming year. His ideas, as expected, are thoughtful and practical. You can read them on the link above.

Brogan uses this Three Words in lieu of New Year’s Resolutions. I loved the idea, never having found resolutions to be more than wishful thinking and broken promises. So, I took up the challenge of creating three words that will help define and guide my actions and behavior in 2012.

My Three Words for 2012

Goodness – I will endeavor to incorporate goodness into all I do. It means seeking to achieve the best of those things most beneficial to my family, health, work, the environment and me. I will take action to become kinder and more generous.

Richness – My purpose here is not to gain wealth, although I am not against it. The goal is to seek and embrace abundance in my daily life. I will seek richness in the way I communicate, and in the way I make personal and career choices, and in my products and services I offer.

I believe, if I fulfill this goal and act as a conduit of rich ideas, adding valuable experiences and actions to those around me, that there will be a natural flow to me of resources that will lead to a life rich in health, friendships and acknowledgment for my contributions. I think wealth will be a byproduct of these other intentions and actions.

Simplify – This may be the hardest goal to reach because I have such varied interests. Some might call it focus, but that is just a matter of intention.

I’m talking about a series of purposeful actions. Without closing my mind to new ideas, I will streamline the amount of information that comes into my life. I will clean out the closets of clothes worn long ago, in another life. I will pare down anything that does not add value or beauty to my life. I will identify those possessions I no longer need or use. And then, I will find ways to put them back into circulation so others who need them can find and use them.

Three More Words

The most recent issue of The Build magazine had an interesting article titled "How to Innovate in the Age of Uncertainty." The gist is most of us use "predictive reasoning" to make decisions on planning and actions to execute them. This type of thinking is based on knowable variables.

What the authors say is happening now is we are in an age of uncertainty, and what worked in the past is not effective in our current socioeconomic and business environment. They look instead to how successful entrepreneurs use a different approach.

These entrepreneurs follow these steps:

Take a small "smart" step toward what they desire.
Pause to see what they learned by taking the step and.
Build that learning into what they do next.

This process gives us our second of Three Words

Act
Learn
Build

By repeating this process, entrepreneurs are able to refine the process until they are happy with the results or decide what they are doing cannot be sustained. Following these steps keeps entrepreneurs from over committing to unworkable plans.

The first "smart" step is the crucial one. It follows advice I have offered for year. That is to accurately assess your available resources and then set realistic goals based on your resources. The final word on this concept is to not commit to using more resources than you can afford.

After taking the first step to act, it is crucial to stop and "Learn" from what happened when you did. Use this information to fine-tune your plan. This leads to the last step of "Build."

These steps will work well for visual artists who are every bit entrepreneurs. Yes, we are in an age of uncertainity, but we are also in an age of opportunity. It starts with perception. If you want to be successful, you have to believe you can be successful. Besides belief, you need a plan of action. Follow the advice in the Three Words above and you are well on your way to enjoying the success you deserve.

2012 smARTist Telesummit Early Bird Closes Friday, Jan 6

2012-01-05T21:48:57-07:00

Tomorrow is the last day to save $60 on the smARTist Early Bird Special

Get Your Free Download Link Here

If you missed the call with smARTist founder and creative force, Ariane Goodwin, and me, you can listen to it now. Use this link to download the mp3 file:

http://smartist.com/live-telesummit/barney-ariane-recording/

To listen will be worth your time whether you join this year's telesummit. We ran over the hour and could have kept going for another hour or two.

This annual art career and art marketing workshop event has been used by thousands of artists to help them propel their art careers to new levels of success. If you are looking for a way to jump start your art business next year, the smARTist Telesummit is for you!

smARTist Telesummit Is So Successful...

With good reason and with great results. Founder, Ariane Goodwin, has powered and promoted the smARTist Telesummit to make it the best and longest running annual art marketing workshop and art business event. She achieves this with passion, savvy, and the most giant artist's advocate heart you can imagine. When you pack those attributes with solid business savvy, you get great results!

The 2012 SmARTist Telesummit theme perfectly defines why this art marketing workshop works so well:

Connection. Communication. Confidence.
When you know how to connect with collectors and communicate with confidence, you get more sales—every time.

Speakers and Their Information Are the Heart of the Matter, and Why You'll Succeed.

As always, the lineup of speakers represents an eclectic group of entrepreneurship, art marketing and art career training experts. You can expect to learn a host of new ideas and be motivated to personalize them and put them to work on your art business

There is no obligation, just go to the smARTist site and enter your email address to be added to the Interest list. The names on the list will get priority notification when the registration starts.

Check Out the 2012 smARTIST Telesummit Speaker Lineup!

One glance shows some of the top art marketing minds in the business are presenting. I am back with an all new topic aimed to help ambitious and intelligent visual artists like you enjoy great success in 2012.

1 - Eden Maxwell - Define and Establish Your Value as an Artist with Three Key Questions

2 - Maria Brophy – Putting deals together; A totally out of the box use of creativity!

3 - Barney Davey – Marketing Art in the Digital World; Embracing Change and Using What You've Got to Get Ahead.

4 – Alyson Stanfield – Unforgettable: 6 Actions to Guarantee Collectors Remember You

5 – Denise Wakeman – Blogging for Visual Artists

6 - Jack White – Making and Keeping Collectors for a Lifetime

7 - Deborah Ivanoff, Ph.D. - Reclaim Your Confidence

8 - Corinne Cain - Looking Back : 7 Key Lessons from Dead Artists (Art Career Tips From an Appraiser’s Point of View)

9 - Lori Woodward - How Artists Are Making $$ Right Now!

10- Eden Maxwell – WRAP UP: Define and Establish Your Value as an Artist with Three Key Questions

Sign Up Today to Save $60 on the 2012 smARTist Telesummit

It is the only way you will have to take advantage of the big discount Early Bird Special. I'm eager to present my information, and to see you there!

How to Sell More Art Using Persuasion

2011-12-29T22:19:50-07:00

Free Webinar: How to Win Buyers and Influence Collectors

On Thursday, January 5, 2012, I’m going to be hosting Ariane Goodwin, Ed.D., the founder and host of the only professional development conference for visual artists, the smARTist Telesummit 2012.

She and I will be talking about: When You Know How To Communicate with Total Confidence to the Right Buyers and Collectors You Can Sell More Art.

Sign up now for this free call with me and Ariane. Thursday, January 5, 2012 - 7pm ET / 4pm PT
Click here -> http://smartist.com/live-telesummit/barney-ariane/

Sell More Art in 2012!

If selling more art appeals to you, then this blog post will help you. It is about using the art of persuasion to sell more art.

Before we get started, let me say Happy New Year to you! Please accept my best wishes for making the New Year the most healthy, happy, productive and prosperous possible! My fondest wish is for you to sell more art and enjoy tremendous success doing so in 2012.

No Year-end Predictions or Lists Here

At this time of year, you find all kinds of predictions, reviews, lists and resolutions. It is human nature to want to create lists, and lists make writing copy easy. I rarely get anything useful from reading them, and I never make New Year's resolutions. My take is if something is most important then I should not wait for some artificial date to get started making changes.

The business of selling art has undergone many changes in recent years, just as how we interact with all kinds of businesses. We are witnessing changes coming at the fastest pace ever seen. And, for the most part, we are adapting remarkably well to them.

The quicker we accept new ways of doing things, the more the status quo for the old way of doing things gets out of whack. Bankruptcy and downsizing at K-Mart/Sears and the United States Postal Services are recent examples of how changes have disrupted traditional, old school businesses.

Everything Is Different and We're Not Going Back

On a smaller scale, art galleries and art publishers are feeling the pinch of change on their business models. The art trade media and art tradeshow businesses that flourished less than a decade ago are near extinction. As a result, the rules for artists who want to continue to sell more art have changed.

The buzz on social media is so incessant it is sometimes nauseates me. Honestly, there are times I just feel like canceling or just taking a long hiatus from Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus and LinkedIn. It just seems like all sizzle and no steak for many users trying to harness these platforms for business.

Is Social Media All It's Cracked Up to Be?

Don’t get me wrong, I am not going to jump ship on social media, but I am reevaluating how I will continue to use it going forward. That’s not a New Year’s resolution; it is a growing awareness of my limited time and my determination to follow the mandate of one of my heroes, Steven Covey, who says, “Keep the main thing the main thing.”

ROI vs. Profits - It Pays to Know the Difference

You hear talk about Return on Investment, or ROI on social media. That is wrong thinking from my perspective. The way to look at any kind of marketing is to ask if it is profitable. Do you put money in the bank after time and expenses? Can you steadily repeat the same effect? If so, you have a winner. If you are not sure, or you are not generating profits from social media, or other marketing for that matter, then cut bait and look for better spots to fish.

I know there are some artists who are doing well using social media. Going back to the painting-a-day blog, there are those who are able to harness the power of something and then spend considerable energy and creativity to produce outstanding results. Certainly, there are numerous examples of artists using Twitter, Facebook, or other social media to generate sales. But, they are the exception rather than the norm.

Dance with the One Who Brung Ya!

The country saying in the header above applies to artists marketing today. What I see happening is artists are spending more time using social media at the cost of doing other things that are potentially much more rewarding.

If you need to set a goal or a resolution for next year, my advice would be to visualize where you want your art business to be in one year, five years and ten years. Honestly assess your resources, and where you are now, and then set realistic achievable goals based on the assessment. Of course, you will need to review and revise as you go along.

Word-of-mouth Cannot Be Beat - Use It As Often As You Can

The most powerful form of marketing remains word-of-mouth. The unsolicited testimonial from someone you trust, or just know, carries impact and influence that will help you sell art. Despite multi-million dollar marketing budgets, it is word-of-mouth that feeds the success of motion pictures. If you diss the new Sherlock Holmes movie, it will probably cause me to not go, or review my hunch I want to see the film.

This same dynamic works for selling art. If someone tells someone they suggest an artist’s work, it is going to bring more influence on the decision than anything you as an artist can do on your own to market to that person.

If you have read The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference, by Malcolm Gladwell, you know he describes certain individuals as connectors and mavens. Whether you are aware of it or not, you know some of these people, or you know of them. They are the ones you want to persuade in 2012, and it not likely to happen on Facebook or Twitter.

I have written previous posts here about The Power of Believing in Yourself and how to use Six Degrees of Separation to get to the people most capable of helping you further your career. You can use your own determination, persistence and charm to plow through getting to the right people, but if you sweeten the deal, you will get better results.

The Norm of Reciprocity

Researchers have found, and your own intuition would tell you the same, that we are most likely to repay others for favors they have done for us. This phenomenon is called “the norm of reciprocity”.

So if you can do a favor of some sort for those who you target to ask for help in furthering your art career, then you will have conditioned them to react positively to your request.

In a two-part post, fine art photographer, Andrew Darlow, provided some practical ideas on easy affordable ways to use art cards and small prints to promote your art business. Check them because they tie-in perfectly with what I am telling you now:

Some last thoughts are to take the time to figure out where you are headed with your career. Find out who can best help you achieve your career goals and target them intelligently. Work on these goals for next year, even at the expense of social media and you will enjoy great results.

Finally, a borrowed thought from AdWords guru, Perry Marshall. This is so important and right in line with keeping the main thing the main thing. Learn how to quit pursuing and being distracted by $10 an hour ideas, or even $100 an hour ideas.

Focus instead on those things that can make you $1000 or more dollars an hour. If you don’t think that is possible, then you have abundance blocks you may need to work on. Certainly, if you don’t deem yourself worthy, no one else will either. I have complete faith that if you diligently and intelligently pursue achievable goals that I will see you at the top.

Happy New Year!

Happy Holidays & Best Wishes for 2012

2011-12-18T01:04:13-07:00

Peace On Earth!

Joy to the World ~ Joy to You

May the New Year bring you joy and prosperity.

While there are obvious difficulties each of us face—some are personal, others related to things we can't control—there are reasons to be optimistic and hopeful for 2012. We are seeing a mild upturn in economic news, the Christmas shopping season is looking good, the War in Iraq is over, and most of all, visual artists continue to find new ways to get their work sold.

Bring Back the Good Old Days

Many of us pine for the good old days when things were simpler. But, simplicity aside, it always was a tough row to hoe to become a successful artist. Straight up, it was never easy. What's different now is artists are not dependent on a gallery distribution system to get their work sold. Many still effectively use galleries, but they also are supplementing their sales by including some form of direct sales.

These Are the Good Old Days

Previously, it was nearly impossible for a single artist to amass a large mailing or emailing list of potential collectors. The degree of difficulty and the associated costs were too great for visual artists to handle, especially emerging artists.

Your Gifts from the 21st Century Are Modern Marketing Tools

Affordable websites, blogs, social media and e-commerce solutions have taken marketing art and made it the equivalent of print-on-demand printing technology. No one has to bet the farm on whether they get it right or not these days. You don't have to eat huge inventory costs of prints that don't sell. And for instance, you don't have to spends thousands on trade magazines and tradeshows to gain awareness for your art. Those are still useful marketing vehicles, but not as potent as in the past.

You Will Hear from Me About Marketing in the Digital Age in 2012.

Putney Painters Week - Scottsdale Artist's School.

If you are in Scottsdale this January, I'm speaking at the Putney Painters Week

Date: January 16, 2012 - January 20, 2012 ♦ Location: Scottsdale Artists School and Legacy Gallery

"Outside the Box" Art Marketing Seminar with Lori Woodward and special guest speakers. Difficult times call for different approaches to selling artwork. Join Lori, along with guest speakers Jason Horejs and Barney Davey as they present both traditional, as well as unconventional ways artists are actually making a living in today's economy. January 19-20, Thursday and Friday, 9am - 4pm. $200 for 2 days - In studio at SAS.

2012 smARTist Telesummit

For the third year, I'm back with new ideas to present at the 2012 smARTist Telesummit. This year's lineup of speakers is jam-packed with entrepreneurship, art marketing and art career training experts.

My presentation is:

Marketing Art in the Digital World; Embracing Change and Using What You've Got to Get Ahead.

For a complete list of speakers, see my blog post about the 2012 smARTist Telesummit. Sign up now to get on the no-obligation Interest List. It's the only way to be advised of the Early Bird Discount.

Last Call for Alyson Stanfield's Art Biz Coach Santa Sale.

Monday, December 19 is the last day to get in on Alyson's fabulous Santa Sale.

When you buy her book she throws in six extra goodies. These bonuses offer value and insights you can use to help you market more effectively in 2012. They make this one heck of a deal!

I should know, one of them is mine. It's my new unreleased How to Sell Art, Make Money and Be Happy – Essays on the Essence of Art Business Success e-book.

Art Print Issues by Barney Davey

Repurpose Your Art Career?

Art Career Taking New Directions?

Dance With the One Who Brung Ya? Maybe.

To Get Out of a Rut, You Need to Realize You Are in One.

Modest Success Can Stall Your Art Career Ambitions; Or Motivate You to Move On.

Taking Small Steps Towards New Goals May Be More Prudent Than Big Leaps.

I'll See You At The Top!

Digital Artists & Fine Art Photographers: Are You Making Convergent Media?

Digital Artists and Fine Art Photographers Should Be Using Convergent Media.

Download an Informative Art Marketing & Art Business Podcast for FREE

Have You Charted the Steps to Create a Finished Digital Fine Art Piece?

If You Dig What You Get Here, Please Do Me a Big, Easy Favor.

Subscribe to Stay Tuned to Art Marketing Ideas

Let's Talk Art Marketing and Art Business!

Free Art Marketing & Art Business Podcast

Our Gift to You. We Want You to Share in the Fun — And Art Marketing Knowledge!

Art Marketing: Why Word-of-mouth Trumps Social Media and Strafrangers

It would be wonderful to have you participate in the 2012 smARTist Telesummit. It starts next week. I've watched its growth over the past six years, and presented at the last three. This year has the best speaker lineup ever, IMHO.

Modern Art Marketing: A Blessing and a Curse

Putney Week at Scottsdale Artists' School

Nearly Any Social Media Platform Can Produce Results...

Come Hear Me at the smARTist Telesummit

What Is the True Value of a Strafranger?

Word-of-Mouth Trumps Social Media

WOM Is About Referrals

12 Mistakes Every Artist Should Avoid In 2012

Ideas to Improve Your Art Business This Year

Learning how avoid mistakes is critical to success in the art business.

12 Mistakes Every Artist Should Avoid In 2012

1. Signing your art with just your initials

2. Not framing your art

3. Touching up or altering your art after it was finished

4. Using art height and width dimensions interchangeably

5. Discounting your art to make a sale

6. Using cheap or low-end artist materials

7. Not Titling Your Art

8. Painting one-off paintings

9. Painting in multiple voices and styles

10. Mishandling your art

11. Displaying art for sale on the floor

12. Selling your art without first getting a preservation-Grade art capture

Ten Art Marketing Points to Ponder for 2012

Art Marketing Is a Learned Skill That You Can Master.

Here Are Ten Points to Ponder for Your 2012 Art Marketing Plans:

Three Words and Three More Words

My Three Words for 2012

Three More Words

2012 smARTist Telesummit Early Bird Closes Friday, Jan 6

Tomorrow is the last day to save $60 on the smARTist Early Bird Special

Get Your Free Download Link Here

If you missed the call with smARTist founder and creative force, Ariane Goodwin, and me, you can listen to it now. Use this link to download the mp3 file:

smARTist Telesummit Is So Successful...

Speakers and Their Information Are the Heart of the Matter, and Why You'll Succeed.

Check Out the 2012 smARTIST Telesummit Speaker Lineup!

Sign Up Today to Save $60 on the 2012 smARTist Telesummit

How to Sell More Art Using Persuasion

Free Webinar: How to Win Buyers and Influence Collectors

Sell More Art in 2012!

No Year-end Predictions or Lists Here

Everything Is Different and We're Not Going Back

Is Social Media All It's Cracked Up to Be?

ROI vs. Profits - It Pays to Know the Difference

Dance with the One Who Brung Ya!

Word-of-mouth Cannot Be Beat - Use It As Often As You Can

The Norm of Reciprocity

Happy New Year!

Happy Holidays & Best Wishes for 2012

Peace On Earth!

May the New Year bring you joy and prosperity.

Bring Back the Good Old Days

These Are the Good Old Days

Your Gifts from the 21st Century Are Modern Marketing Tools

You Will Hear from Me About Marketing in the Digital Age in 2012.

Putney Painters Week - Scottsdale Artist's School.

2012 smARTist Telesummit

Last Call for Alyson Stanfield's Art Biz Coach Santa Sale.

Click Here to Order Your Copy