by Becky Sciullo | May 26, 2021 | Planning
Recently, a venue approached artist Robert Yonke to have a show later this year. It’s always exciting when a gallery offers an artist a solo exhibition opportunity, and a first assumption is usually of course. Yet, after reviewing the calendar and his current inventory, we decided to pass.
Why would any artist turn down an opportunity for a live in-person solo show after the year we just had?
The truth is, he sold a good bit of work throughout 2020 into this year, and there wasn’t enough time for him to build up a quality body of work to fill the space in time. As an artist that does not work well under pressure, it could have been counterproductive for business this year. So, we asked to schedule it for a later date, and the gallery thankfully accepted our request.
The moral of the story.
Sometimes you have to say no. And, it is perfectly Ok. When presented with a chance to show work, it’s easy to want to jump right at the opportunity. But, you have to consider the long game, your current goals, and whether or not it will work in the overall big picture of your business.
A Shameless Plug
I’m proud to say that because we have relied heavily on a consistent art marketing system, he sold art during the pandemic without missing too much of a beat – even though Covid canceled his largest in-person biggest selling event of the year. Going into the pandemic with the system already in place made a big difference for him.
When Does it Make Sense to Say No?
There are times when you should say no in your art business. Here are some ideas as to when this might make sense for you:
When you need to reduce your stress level.
If you feel overwhelmed and overcommitted, you might consider a pause on all new activities and commitments until you can assess your situation and figure out which activities and events should take precedence. Your decision does not have to be final, and you can consider a temporary “no,” as with Robert’s show.
When it Disrupts a Routine that is Working for You
If you have found a routine that is working and bringing you results, you might want to say “no” if the new activity will disrupt what you are currently doing. You can say yes when you can figure out a way to add the commitment alongside your successful routine.
When You Don’t Have Time To Prepare
While perfection can be the enemy of progress, you also don’t want to be woefully underprepared for an opportunity. Take a good look at your calendar and timeline before committing to a new activity. The worst thing would be to be unprepared and make a poor showing.
When It’s Not a Good Fit
Sometimes opportunities present that are not a good fit for your work or your business goals. Having a solid vision of where you want your business to go will help you identify whether an opportunity is one that you should take.
Your time is valuable! This post isn’t to encourage you to say no but rather to be discerning and thoughtful about how you move forward in your business. And then, you are able to say yes confidently when the time is right.
Share Your Story
Do you have an example of a time when it made sense for you to say no? I’d love to hear about it. Please send me a note at becky@artisan-advantage.com.
Photo by Gemma Evans on Unsplash
by Becky Sciullo | May 24, 2021 | Artist Websites, Blogging
Here are some marketing ideas for your Monday morning.
Five art marketing ideas.
1 – If you have a live exhibition set up, you can also turn it into a virtual show. Photograph it and then make it available online for people who can’t visit in person.
2 – Take advantage of what others are saying about your work by adding a press page to your artist website. Provide links to articles, blog posts, and other media mentions that lend credibility to your work and give people more information about you as an artist.
3 – When referencing your website’s pages and other internal information in blog posts, make sure that you use hyperlinks to make them easy to access. Internal linking also helps with SEO.
4 – Demographics vary, sometimes widely, for social media usage. Make sure you are investing time in the platforms that make the most sense for reaching your target audience.
5 – When visiting with customers and fans in person, make sure you invite them to subscribe to email newsletters and social media profiles. You can encourage tagging while they are with you by offering a special gift as a thank you.
Learn More
Monday Morning Marketing Ideas is a weekly blog post series to offer ideas that you might use in your business. Thoughts provided cover a wide variety of medium and marketing methods. Some may seem a little crazy. Others, you might say, now why didn’t I think of that? These are simply ideas that pop into my head or come across my desk as I work through the week. I don’t always have time to write an entire blog post on the subject, but I thought they might be worth sharing.
For even more ideas and information, join my weekly newsletter here.
by Becky Sciullo | May 19, 2021 | Artist Blogging 101
When you are ready to build a blog-based website as the center of your art marketing system, it’s important to understand all of the parts of your site. Your blog header is a fundamental component of your overall design.
What is Your Artist Blog Header?
You’ll find the header at the topmost part of your site, introducing visitors to your site and establishing their first impression. It typically contains things like your name or logo and a navigation bar and usually remains the same throughout the website. Most platforms will give you the ability to customize your header one way or another. Below is an example of a simple header.
How to create or add a header to your site.
When creating your site, it’s important to understand how to make the best header, which is typically the first thing people see. For an artist, either the image itself will pop visually, or you can keep it simple to focus on the pictures lower on the page. Here are some links on working with your header for popular artist website platforms:
Weebly
Wix
WordPress.com
Squarespace
Best practices for setting up your site header.
Don’t overanalyze it too hard.
Make sure it is drawing in or grabbing attention.
If you are going with a solid header, use some expressive type not to be too boring.
Sliders can be used for rotating through different images.
Tools to help create your site header.
You may need to resize or want to create a custom graphic for your header. Canva is a good tool for this purpose.
Tiny PNG – You may want to compress an image so that it loads faster. Tiny PNG is a great tool for this purpose.
If you’d like more information on the basics of setting up your blog-based website, follow this Artist Blogging 101 Series or join my email newsletter.
by Becky Sciullo | May 17, 2021 | Learning
Here are some marketing ideas for your Monday morning. This post will be short and sweet this week as I’m currently working on a few posts where we expand on some of the ideas in prior posts in this series!
Four Art Marketing Ideas
1 – Create a selfie contest around your art. It could be a selfie of your customers next to a piece of your art, wearing your art, or using your functional art.
2 – Do you have a live event scheduled? Even though things are opening up, don’t drop the virtual component. Why miss out on all of the people who can’t attend for one reason or another. People are used to attending virtual events, and I believe they will continue to do so when they can’t go live.
3 – I talked to an artist who has been part of a successful exhibition at a car dealership. People tend to wait around for things at car dealers, so why not provide some art for them to enjoy? If you have a relationship or can connect with one, an upscale dealer may be a perfect place to exhibit your work.
4 – Use discounts for free pickup for local customers, which can also encourage a visit to your studio and additional purchases.
Learn More
Monday Morning Marketing Ideas is a weekly blog post series to offer ideas that you might use in your business. Thoughts provided cover a wide variety of medium and marketing methods. Some may seem a little crazy. Others, you might say, now why didn’t I think of that? These are simply ideas that pop into my head or come across my desk as I work through the week. I don’t always have time to write an entire blog post on the subject, but I thought they might be worth sharing.
For even more ideas and information, join my weekly newsletter here.
by Becky Sciullo | May 10, 2021 | Learning
Here are some marketing ideas for your Monday Morning.
Six Art Marketing Ideas
1 – Digital connections were necessary this year. And they will continue to be important. But, now that things are re-opening, don’t forget the value of in-person interaction and find opportunities for personal connections if possible.
2 – When presenting work online, include photos that show the scale of your work. I like Artwork Archive for a portfolio, where you can offer multiple images of each piece of art.
3 – Get a bigger bang for your buck in your social media profiles with a link in bio page.
4 – While you’re at it, give your social media profiles a good spring cleaning. Make sure all of your contact information is up to date. Add upcoming events and update sold art. Update anything new about your business.
5 – If you’re not already using email marketing, start now.
6 – When using Pinterest, separate your work into dedicated boards—segmenting your art by subject matter, medium, or other categories. Well categorized boards make it easier to navigate your boards and find your work.
Learn More
Monday Morning Marketing Ideas is a weekly blog post series to offer ideas that you might use in your business. Thoughts provided cover a wide variety of medium and marketing methods. Some may seem a little crazy. Others, you might say, now why didn’t I think of that? These are simply ideas that pop into my head or come across my desk as I work through the week. I don’t always have time to write an entire blog post on the subject, but I thought they might be worth sharing.
For even more ideas and information, join my weekly newsletter here.
