by Rebecca Sciullo | Aug 19, 2020 | Learning
What Can You Learn from The Office about Selling Your Art
I’ve been re-watching episodes of The Office this summer. Like many people, it’s one of my all-time favorite tv shows. Last week I caught “Business School”, an episode which contains one of my favorite scenes. In fact, according to An Oral History of the Office podcast, I wasn’t surprised to hear that this is a fan-favorite scene. Watch the video below where Michael comes to Pam’s art show and brings her to tears.
“This is our office and we sell paper!”
People purchase art that makes a connection with them.
Is it surprising that a typical office building illustration could be a precious piece of art for someone? In this case, Michael’s ego had just taken a beating after hearing from business school students that the paper business may no longer be relevant. The illustration of “the office” meant a lot to him. Art is a unique commodity. It doesn’t follow traditional economic rules of selling. People will purchase art that they never intended to own if it strikes the right chord with them.
I have some personal anecdotal evidence in helping my artist father, Robert Yonke, sell his art. At a bluegrass music trade show, I saw a woman moved to tears who purchased a painting of turkeys that we had displayed to fill a space in his booth. It was not a likely sale at that particular event. But, It reminded her of the turkeys on the farm where she grew up as a child. In a similar situation, I saw another customer get very emotional over a painting of a barge that he ended up purchasing. It reminded him of the barge that his father worked on.
People purchase art that is authentic.
It means that you understand or connect with what you are creating yourself. Notice how Michael recognizes his window, his car, and Pam’s car.
Create what you want.
This doesn’t mean that you have to create art to please all people. If you’re going to sell it, though, you have to figure out how to present and get your art in front of the audiences that might best connect with it.
A final word. Don’t forget to price your art! Don’t be surprised when someone decides to purchase your work. Be prepared!
Get in front of people who connect with your work.
Would you like to learn more about how to get in front of audiences that love your work? Sign up for the Create! Sell! newsletter where I will be announcing some exciting webinars and workshops starting this fall
by Rebecca Sciullo | Aug 5, 2020 | Learning
Artists learn from other artists. You learn from them when you take workshops, attend artist talks, and invite them to demo before your art club. When it comes to blogging and building a web presence for your art business, you can learn from them as well.
Taking time to look at other artists’ web strategies and evaluating the strengths and weaknesses can give you ideas on how you can improve your efforts.
Learning and Inspiration from other Artists
You aren’t looking to copy them. Instead, you are looking for inspiration and ideas that might work for you as well. Using someone else’s work to motivate yourself and come up with new ideas is useful if you work towards unique ideas. It is a great way to evolve towards something that is uniquely yours. But stealing content — text, images, artwork, taglines, and so on — is not appropriate.
Areas to consider when you are visiting the blogs and websites of other artists.
Content
What kind of information are they sharing with their audience? Could you share information along a similar line with your audience?
What kind of voice are they using to speak to their fans? Could this help you to develop yours?
What makes you want to take a closer look?
Do they connect to any other interesting sites that are relevant to their work?
Are they using videos? If so, do the videos give you any new ideas of how you could present your work?
Blogging
How often are they posting?
How are categories and tags used, organized, and displayed?
Do they post series that include several articles or pieces?
Are they posting things other than images of their work, such as reviews of websites, books, or podcasts?
Learn and Make it Yours
Take what you’ve learned and use it to beef up your blog and website — all the while focusing on creative work that is uniquely yours.
by Rebecca Sciullo | Jun 10, 2020 | Artist Blogging 101, Learning, Productivity
Since many people are working at home now, there are many articles and information on social media about productivity. It can be challenging to work from home under the best circumstances. Throw a couple of homeschooling kids and other homebound family members in the mix, and it is tough to avoid distractions. You need to understand how to manage your time and resources efficiently.
This situation might be old news for you if you are a working artist. You are probably already used to working on your own. If not, you wouldn’t get anything done. One artist I know wakes at 4:30 a.m. to get a start on his day. He knows that this is the golden time when he can create and work in the studio. I find that early mornings are best for me, although I can’t say I rise that early!
Starting an Artist Blog Takes Time and Focus
If you’ve recently started a blog, adding this task into your daily routine can be a challenge, and you might need a refresh on some productivity ideas. Here are a few ideas that I’ve used to manage my situation.
1 – Figure out what time of day works best for you to focus on different tasks. When do you find your energy best suited for writing or focused at your computer, brainstorming ideas?
2 – Once you determine the best time of day for this work, regularly block it out on your calendar daily or weekly. Do not deviate from your schedule. Treat this time as though it is an appointment outside of the house.
3 – Avoid things that suck your energy while working in your block or zone. The usual culprits include email, television, and social media.
4 – Create a pleasing workspace.
5 – Last but not least – take some breaks. use a Pomodoro Timer. I like to get outside for sunshine and fresh air.
Maintaining an artist blog is not just about technical know-how and writing. There is an art to staying on track and growing your site. Find and stick with strategies that help you to do this.
If you’d like more idea on how to maintain your artist blog, please sign up for my regular newsletter.
by Rebecca Sciullo | May 18, 2020 | Artisan Advantage Book Club, Learning
Next up for the Artisan Advantage Book Club is The War of Art by Steven Pressfield. This is not a new book, but it’s been on my reading list forever.
Here is an overview of the book taken from Goodreads.
Internationally bestselling author of Last of the Amazons, Gates of Fire, and Tides of War, Steven Pressfield delivers a guide to inspire and support those who struggle to express their creativity. Pressfield believes that “resistance” is the greatest enemy, and he offers many unique and helpful ways to overcome it.
Join the Club!
It’s easy. All you have to do is get your copy and start reading! Stay connected to the Artisan Advantage blog for posts about how you might apply principles from the book to your visual art business, and for opportunities to share your comments about the book with others.
Sign up for my email newsletter here.
Disclosure: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” If you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers.
by Rebecca Sciullo | May 11, 2020 | Learning, Planning
I recently read this article in the Harvard Business Review. It offers thoughtful questions for every business person about taking “post-crisis” steps.
What’s Your Next Move in Your Business?
As a creative entrepreneur, what’s your next step? If you were actively marketing and selling your work, you likely experienced some disruption in your efforts. What is next for you as the world gets back to business? Are you going to throw in the towel on selling your work? I hope not! While there may be some challenging days ahead, don’t give up on your plans. You may have to adapt, but people will still purchase art.
Realizing you can’t predict what’s coming, you can still make a plan of action. Here are some things that you might consider doing to help in this process.
Take stock of the positive. What did you accomplish during this time if you were on a stay home order? Remind yourself of any positive actions that you accomplished.
Envision your future. If you already have a vision for your art business, you may need to revisit it. Does it still hold up? Are your priorities and goals the same? If not, adapt your plans accordingly.
Analyze your situation. What if online exhibitions are the new norm? Are you prepared to present your work this way? What if the only way you can offer a workshop is over Zoom? Can you learn what it takes to do this? Make a shortlist of what you need to do for your business.
Plan accordingly. Walk backward through your vision. How can you realize it, based upon what you now know about daily life, the art world, fairs, festivals, and your community?
Finally, What Every Artist Must Have in Place for the Future.
If you are not already connecting with your audience and collectors electronically, this should be a number one priority. Things that you can consider are starting an email newsletter or blog. If you have one of these tools in place but have let it go dormant, do what it takes to revive it.
Shameless Plug!
One of the best ways to keep your audience updated is through blogging. To start your own, get started with this Guide. Then follow Artist Blogging 101. For intensive help, visit Artist Blogging Services.
Photo by JESHOOTS.COM on Unsplash
by Rebecca Sciullo | Apr 27, 2020 | Artist Blogging 101, Learning
The last entry in Artist Blogging 101 reviewed the basic structure of a blog post. Before we get into the details of how and what to post, make sure that you have the appropriate pages set up on your site.
Pages to Consider for Your Artist Blog
Pages contain static content. Your audience can find them by navigating from your menu bar. While you will update them from time to time, they are generally not updated daily, like your posts. On Artisan Advantage, some of the pages include such as About, Resources, and Contact.
Here the pages that you should consider including on your site.
About Page:
This page will help visitors to get to know you. Style and content will vary, but here are some ideas on what to include.
A welcome to visitors. Thank them for visiting your site.
Your biography and artist statement. You could write your biographical information in a more informal style than you would in the case of submitting a bio to an exhibition or entry. Or, you could set up sub-pages for your biography and artist statement.
An invitation to follow you on your social media pages and to sign up for your email newsletter.
Some guidance on how to find your blog posts, in case someone lands on the About page first.
How to contact you. Yes, you will also have a contact page, but it never hurts to include this information on your About page as well.
Here is the About Page that I created for my father.
Gallery Page
While your blog posts will feature your work, you should have one page that directs them to a gallery of your work. There are different options for how to set up your gallery. You can consider using a system like Artwork Archive or you could build your gallery right into your site.
Here is an example of a Gallery page from artist Marla Greenfield.
Here is another way to set up your gallery, from artist Don Lake.
Artist Amy Rice presents her work as Portfolios and Projects.
Contact Me Page
This page is devoted to providing information on how people can contact you. Most blog platforms will give you the option of adding a contact form. I still recommend including an email address and any other contact information that you are comfortable sharing here.
How to Find Page
This page helps people to learn where they can find your work, either in person or online. The content will depend on your situation. Examples of information that you share would be galleries or retail venues that exhibit your work, both online and offline.
Events Page
An events page would list all of the different places that you are presenting or exhibiting in person. Or, considering our current situation, you could add online events such as virtual exhibitions, art talks, or demos if you are doing these things.
Include any place where people can interact with you in real-time.
How to Hire Page
If you do portrait or commission work, you should devote a page that explains how someone can hire you.
Here is an example from artist Mara Carlini.
How to Purchase Page
Similar to a “How to Hire Page” would be a How to purchase your work page. Explain how you transact, ship work, handle returns, etc. The more information that you can provide, the more likely your online visitor will feel comfortable dealing with you.
In the Press or Media Page.
List websites or news outlets where you or your work is featured. Keep track of your articles and add them to this list in a reverse chronological manner as they appear. Don’t be shy about tooting your own horn! These articles also help to establish your credibility with your audience. If there are one or two that are extremely impressive, you may want to feature them on your About page as well.
Publishing Your Pages
Publishing your pages should be a similar process to publishing a post. Don’t be afraid to work through a few drafts before you publish them. Take time to edit and proof before you launch, but remember, you can always update them as needed.
This week, take time to work on your pages. For more content from Artist Blogging 101, go here. If you’d like some help with your artist blog, visit my Artist Blogging Services page.
Do you have a unique page that is working well for your artist website and blog? I’d love to see it. Feel free to send a note and a link to becky@artisan-advantage.com.
