Category: marketing

People in creative business feel like they are not real business men and women. We don’t like to talk about business and money. We would like to be discovered, that somebody else could take care of us and our business side of art.

Just for a short time imagine a baker on the corner. He would like to do the same. And the garage owner, mechanic. He also would like to dive into motors, tyres and forget about money. If they are real baker and mechanic, they would like to do just their job – to bake and to repair cars. So, we all are in the same boat. We love what we do, but to survive and continue it in long-term, we have to think about business side of our life.

With this in mind, I have created a list of 10 reasons why it is easier for artists than others. I hope they will encourage you and will boost your confidence in money earning.

1. Nobody expects you to be a business (wo)man. Everybody knows you as an artist and everybody knows that artists are not business people. Business rules are very soft when it comes to artists. Baker and mechanic has more strict rules.

2. Nobody will understand your art better than you. You don’t have to prove why it is as it is or why you use such materials, why such technique and why not something else. Mechanic will have to prove.

3. Artists don’t have direct competition. You don’t have to (and can’t) please everyone. It is ok not to buy your art, because you are just different, with different values. Baker should think about pleasing everyone stepping into his shop, otherwise they will go to neighbouring bakery.

4. You can say what you think and you are even expected to do so. You have to talk about your values and ideas. Nobody expects it from baker and mechanic.

5. You can miss deadlines. Because all creative people do. Nobody will be surprised and most probably you will be forgiven. Mechanic doesn’t have such a privilege.

6. You can sleep in the mornings and say it loud. Because artists create when they want to. Baker should open his shop early even if he has created a masterpiece last night.

7. You can wear what you want and be as hectic or stylish as you want. Baker and mechanic has limitations. One has to be white, the other should count his environment, tools and oil everywhere. This makes you noticeable wherever you go in comparison to bakers and mechanics.

8. People love to be friends with and to know you. It is really cool to have an artist as your friend. They spread the word just because you are an artist. Baker and mechanic has to do something special to be mentioned in daily conversations. You are special just because you are the artist.

9. You are allowed to be crazy and do weird things. It will just add value to your brand. In case of baker and mechanic, I am not so sure. Their limits for accepted craziness are different. Your craziness causes people to talk about you and that is free advertising.

10. You can set your own price and there is no limit. Baker and mechanic have to do something exceptional to rise their prices. Artists just are exceptional.

SOURCE: Business blog for artists - Read entire story here.

There is a very thin line between being adored and being sold. We all want to be adored. And we don’t want to be sold like slaves or things. We want to earn but through being worshiped and not because of some lower need. I will use a primitive example. Imagine a small town. We all have seen such micro societies. There are old people and young. We will talk about the young – free and unmarried. Imagine two girls. They both are nice-looking and attractive. All girls want to be wanted and adored, so do our two young ladies. After some time one turns out to be a slut and the other one is adored and called idol and diva. They started in the same society and their main wish was to be popular. What did they do differently to get to so different end-results? Deep inside, they had the same wish – to be wanted, to be attractive and by the end well-situated. This is simplified example, but it is about pure sexual attractiveness. The result is the same – situated by using sexual appeal. Just one small detail – one sells her body directly and is considered dirty and vulgar, the other one can choose the best man in the town and still be worshiped by anyone. What they were doing differently? Talking in business terms, the slut was using “push” strategy and the idol girl was using “pull” strategy. The “push” strategy sounds like “here I am, come and take me”. People listen, come, “take” and the word spreads in the town. Business goes on. The “pull” strategy is not so straight-forward. It takes longer time and smarter “marketing”. The pull strategy makes people want something without “selling” to them. It is about values, about ideas, about beliefs. It is flirting and long-term coquetting. It is about understanding what you want and not compromising. It is about self-esteem and being listened to. It is about being loved and honored. In the arts we have to take the hard way and use pull strategy. Otherwise we can’t build our name to be considered an idol. It doesn’t mean we have to hide and wait for the prince with his white horse. Such things happen just in fairy-tales. We have to build our way to the throne ourselves. But we have to do it without rush and delivering consistent messages. We have to be visible and to be heard. We have to talk. And talk about our values, ideas, philosophy, understanding of the world. Pure selling will sound like “here I am, come and take me/buy my art”. This is a short term solution. I don’t say we can’t use it. We can, but in short-term. This is my understanding of marketing in the arts. You can disagree.

SOURCE: Business blog for artists - Read entire story here.

I’ve been a big fan of the artwork of Jason Seiler for several years now. I have both of his books, his sketching DVD, and I even took his online caricature illustration course a few years back.

So when I heard about his new book project, The Complete Artist, I knew it was going to be something special.

The Complete Artist is a book that will tell you exactly what it takes to become a top-level professional artist and succeed in a highly competitive industry.

Seiler draws on his own years of experience doing illustration for magazines such as Time, Rolling Stone, The New Yorker and many more, sharing the techniques and methods that made him into a globally acclaimed artist.

Guest Artists

He has also gathered contributions from many other award-winning artists and illustrators, including Sean Cheetham, Jeremy Geddes, David Jon Kassan, Henrik Uldalen, and many more, all top artists in their field, who share their own stories and advice on how to make your work stand out and get noticed.

Not Just a Book

Perhaps the best part of this is that The Complete Artist is not just a book, but also includes hours and hours of video content, accessible online by scanning the QR codes in the book.

Video tutorials, interviews, and behind the scenes footage will give you a great insight into the way these artists work and how they have achieved their success.

Here’s an example of the kind of video content you’ll get with the book:

Help Make This Book a Reality

Most of the content, videos and text of the book is already complete, but the book still needs to be printed, and that’s where you come in.

The Complete Artist is being funded on KickStarter, which means if you want a copy of the book, you’ll need to pledge your support now. You can choose from a variety of packages with different rewards. As well as getting the book in various formats, there are many different bonuses such as digital art prints, DVDs, exclusive videos, and original artwork.

The book needs to reach its funding target by 4th January 2014, so pledge now to avoid disappointment (if the book doesn’t reach the funding target you won’t be charged, so there’s no risk).

Visit the project page at www.ThecompleteArtistBook.com to watch the video, browse the packages, and make your pledge. You won’t regret it!

SOURCE: Right Brain Rockstar - Read entire story here.

Recently I faced an important question – how about competition in the arts and among artists? Let’s try to “decompose” this question.

What is competition? Competition in business is when the same buyer has an equal choice how to spend money. In case of everyday goods and services, it means that we as consumers can choose to buy baguette from one bakery or the other, a milk made by one producer or other, to buy a wine from one winery or other.

Moving up the hierarchy of needs (from basic food to luxury items), the question is more – should I spend money on opera tickets or dinner in a fancy restaurant? Should I spend long holidays in neighbouring countries or shorter somewhere in a longer distance? Or maybe I could stay home and indulge in something special that I haven’t experienced yet. Or moving even higher – should I buy a yacht or another house?

If in the lower level of pyramid competition is among likelihood products – one bread or another, but still bread, then moving up to the top, competition is more about emotions, experience, adventure, values.

Since art is at the very top of the pyramid, actually the highest form of luxury, it means that artists compete in the field of values and emotions and not directly artist vs artist. One artist painting classical still life is not directly competing with another artist painting abstracts. Rather the classic artist competes with antiques and expensive original classic furniture. If styles and values of the two artists are similar, their brands are equally positioned and they sell in the same price group, then yes, they might be competing with each other. Or if two artists are listed in the top 500 list of best-selling artists, then they have become an investment option. In this case the content and values are not so important for the buyer. They see an art piece as an alternative to other investment possibilities.

So, there is a competition, just the question – whom are you competing with – other artists or totally different product groups?

SOURCE: Business blog for artists - Read entire story here.

A strong artist statement is essential to the effective marketing of your art.

There’s no skating by on this one. You need at least one artist statement for each body of work you create.

Writing your statement is a process. Like any other type of writing or artmaking, you can’t expect to nail it in a single sitting. And, like all good things that take time, it will be time well spent. The process helps you gain clarity about your art.

©Terri Schmitt, Lemons and Ball Jar. 16 x 20 inches.

If you can’t define your art in a statement, you will likely face difficulty marketing your work. Where else will you get language for wall labels, brochure and website text, informal presentations, and conversations?

Answering these three questions will help you write a better artist statement.

1. What, in particular, do you want people to see in your work? Is it . . .

• Your labor?
• A special material?
• An emotion?
• Color? Line? Texture?

What is important to you?

Discuss how you handle this aspect of your work. The words you choose for your statement should be clues that lead viewers to these discoveries.

Declaring “I love color” is weak language. Who doesn’t love color? Show us exactly how you respond to color and use it to transfer meaning from your head and heart to the viewer.

©Vickie Martin, The Organic Planet. Mixed media on canvas, 24 x 20 inches.

2. What is a distinguishing characteristic of your art?

A distinguishing characteristic might be one of the items in the list under #1 above or something else.

What makes your art different from artists working along the same lines? Emphasize this quality when you speak and write. Help us to see what makes you an original.

Part of your job is to educate others how to look at your work. Most people haven’t had a visual education. They need to be shown what to look for.

3. What do other people find delightful or surprising about your art?

If it captures one person’s attention, it will probably be fascinating to others as well. Listen to what people say about your art. Their discoveries might shock or confound you, but trying to understand where they’re coming from is part of the communication process.

You will learn a lot by listening to these insights, and I think you’ll be surprised that they pick up aspects of your work that you hadn’t consciously considered.

If you care to, please share your responses to these three questions in a comment.

SOURCE: Artist Business-Building Strategies - Read entire story here.