by Becky Sciullo | Mar 29, 2021 | Learning, Planning, Social Media
Here are some marketing ideas for your Monday morning.
Seven Art Marketing Ideas
1 – Consider an off-holiday flash sale for your work. Flash sales work great for impulse buys and to increase sales during slower times of the year. Choose a short time period, announce your flash sale on your site, and then through marketing channels such as your email list. You can select a specific body of work and even target a select group of clients for the sale. I ran a flash sale for Robert Yonke a few years ago, and we were able to sell some work that had previously not attracted much interest. Don’t sell inferior work that is not up to your usual quality, but instead, offer older work that you’d like to find a home for or a special series created just for the flash sale. If you don’t like the term flash sale, call it a limited-time-only sale.
2 – When strategizing about media outlets to send press releases, consider publications produced by vendors you use. Do you only use a particular company for a unique tool or material? Do they have a blog or email newsletter? Pitch them for a feature story about you and your work.
3 – Gain exposure for your work by submitting an article for consideration to art magazine websites like Ladder and Key.
4 – People are searching for local businesses. Build out your Google Business profile.
5 – It’s almost April 1st and the start of a new quarter. When planning for your business, I like to use rolling quarters—no better time to start than now.
6 – If you use Instagram to market your art, make your account public so users can see your profile and content.
7 – When using Facebook to promote your art, set up a separate business page from your personal profile. Then, claim or create a recognizable URL, like www.facebook.com/artisanadvantage, rather than the randomly assigned numbers Facebook will assign you.
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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 | Jan 22, 2019 | Learning, Planning, Productivity, Resources
Did you make any art business resolutions this year? If so, how are they going so far? If not, It’s still January, and not too late to add some positive activities to your plan. Here are 10 suggestions on habits and activities for your 2019 list of resolutions.
Your 2019 Art Business Resolutions
1. Start a morning routine.
2. Review your vision daily. Or, write your business vision, if you don’t have one.
3. Start keeping good records. Use a service like Artwork Archive to help you with your inventory.
4. Make a schedule and stick to it.
5. Do it now! No more procrastination.
6. Join an art or business group and do some networking.
7. Keep in touch with your customers. If you don’t have a system already in place, start by reaching out to one past contact or customer a week. Drop them a written note or give them a call.
8. Be consistent with a social media platform. Pick your platform, pick your frequency and stick to it.
9. Schedule time weekly to review your progress and plan for the coming week and month.
10. Read daily. Take 10 minutes and read a book that can help with business and personal development.
Does 10 seem like too much? Pick one or a few of these that will make a big impact on your productivity moving forward. Even one new positive habit can help to move your business forward.
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by Rebecca Sciullo | Dec 10, 2018 | Planning, Productivity, Time Management
Do You Have a Morning Routine?
My morning routine is definitely one of the best parts of my daily schedule. It sets the pace and tone of my day. When I miss it, I find that my time isn’t quite as productive. How about you? Do you have a morning routine? If not, consider starting one in 2019. Here are seven tales of true productivity to get you started.
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by Rebecca Sciullo | Oct 19, 2018 | Consultations, Learning, Planning, Productivity, Resources, Tools
Are you ready for 2019? Don’t wait til January to prepare! Now is the time that you should be reviewing how this year went. This helps you to put ideas and plans into place for next year. If this is something that you’ve never done effectively, I’d like to help. I’m devoting November and December to Micro-Consults focused on this topic
Get ready for next year.
My Get Ready for 2019 with an End of Year Review Micro-Consult is designed to help you use what you learned in 2018 to implement an effective business plan for 2019. This consult will provide you with a tool to help you effectively review the past year in all areas of your art business including marketing, sales, inventory, time management and productivity. Using this information will allow us to determine what steps you can take now to get ready for 2019. We will also develop a quarterly schedule for you to keep yourself on track over the coming year.
If this sounds like something that could help you, please click here to schedule a “Getting Ready for 2019 with an End of Year Review” Micro Consult
Photo by S O C I A L . C U T on Unsplash
by Rebecca Sciullo | Oct 2, 2018 | Learning, Planning, Productivity, Time Management
“I don’t have time.”
If you’re like most people, you probably say or think those words quite often. Lack of time often becomes a catch-all excuse for not getting work done in your art business – like creating, learning or just slowing down, taking time to plot and plan out your next steps.
Between work, family needs, school, and the endless items on your to-do list, it can be tough to find a spare minute to return an email, much less to post on social media, find and apply to shows or make it to a networking event. It may seem like if you just had one extra hour in the day, you would finally be able to fit in everything you want to do in your art business.
But the truth is, no one has an unfair advantage in the time department. We are all given the same 24 hours each day and it’s up to us how we choose to use them. Of course, there are certain things that simply must get done, like working and eating and taking care of a family. However, with some thoughtful planning, you can boost your day-to-day productivity and maybe even find some extra pockets of time to squeeze in what’s been eluding you.
If you can’t do a lot, do a little.
It’s easy to become paralyzed by the prospect of a large, time-consuming project whether that’s organizing your inventory, building a website or making time for your studio every day. When you hold yourself to sky-high standards and then miss the mark, it’s common to fall victim to the “all-or-nothing” mentality, which sounds something like this: “I missed my studio time today, so what’s the point of even trying to work”
Instead of overwhelming yourself and setting yourself up for failure, look for small ways to chip away at your goals, such as taking inventory of two pieces of art a day or simply working in your studio for twenty minutes.
Do the tough tasks first.
Take care of the most challenging or unpleasant tasks before you have a chance to talk yourself out of them. Hate networking? Attend an event that meets the first thing in the morning. Dreading posting on social media?. Schedule 15 minutes at the start of the day to do it, so it’s not nagging at you all day. Completing a tough task early will give you the motivation to plow through the rest of your day.
Schedule regular studio time.
Can’t schedule a large block of time in the studio every day? Can you try for a half an hour? Put it on your schedule and treat it like a real appointment, just as you would a client meeting. Whether it’s right when you wake up or in the space between dinner and bedtime, put it on your calendar along with your other tasks. As this starts to become a habit, try to gradually add a little more time until you’ve worked up to the ideal amount of time per day for your studio practice.
Get help.
It’s hard to let go of control of things, but you can only do so many things in a day. Sometimes, getting help is the only way to get everything done. You can’t hire someone to make your art for you. You can possibly ask your family members to help out around the house more or hire a cleaning service. Free up some time to focus on your business.
Eliminate unnecessary activities.
While everything on your plate might seem essential at first glance, there are likely some activities that can be trimmed. For a few days, track what you do in a day, then review the list. If you find your doing things that aren’t absolutely necessary and aren’t moving you toward your goals, give them the boot. You’ll likely be surprised by how much extra time emerges.
Take breaks.
If you don’t build periods of mental and physical rest into your day, you’ll find yourself taking unintentional ones. For example, you might schedule one or two 15-minute walks throughout the day. This gives you an opportunity to recharge while also sneaking in some thinking time to plan for your business. Or you could plan to reconnect with another artist during a coffee break. Without these planned time-outs, though, you’re more likely to succumb to mindless activities that offer little benefit to your business.
Get Enough Rest
Your might think staying up late helps you to get more out of your day. However, the time you save by sleeping less will likely mean sacrificing some of your energy, focus, and creativity. Resist the urge to burn the midnight oil. Instead, choose to rest and recharge so you can be functioning at your highest level the next day.
Each morning is a new opportunity to use your time more wisely. Be a little more thoughtful about how you use your time each day and you will move closer to meeting your business goals.
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Photo by Elena Koycheva on Unsplash
