by Margaret Danielak
1. Create a great
looking business card with a sample of your work on it, and keep it with you at
all times. You never know when you are going to meet your next client.
2. After
meeting someone for the first time, be sure to obtain their contact information
so you can follow up with them.
3. Prepare
an elevator speech, 15 to 30 seconds in length, which answers the question: WHAT DO YOU DO?
4. Maintain
an updated website and/or blog featuring not only your art, but articles you’ve
written and any awards you’ve won. Make
it clear what is for sale, what has sold, and where and how the client can buy
the work. (i.e. a particular gallery)
5. Do
not wait for potential clients to contact you. Create a system for staying in
touch with your contacts through a monthly or weekly newsletter, regular
Facebook post or blog feed. Reach out to your contacts regularly.
6. Join
and participate in not only a professional art association or guild, but a
chamber of commerce, cultural or volunteer organization. Immediately, you will be plugged into a group
of affluent potential buyers this way.
REMEMBER: People do business with people they know.
7. Cultivate other creative professionals like architects, art consultants, curators, film makers, interior designers and the like. They know a lot of people who both need and appreciate art.
REMEMBER: People do business with people they know.
7. Cultivate other creative professionals like architects, art consultants, curators, film makers, interior designers and the like. They know a lot of people who both need and appreciate art.
8. Act
as your own press agent. Market your work with press releases.
9. Be
friendly and both willing and able to have a conversation about a variety of
topics and not just your art. Become someone others want to know.
10. Find out what your client likes and then give it to them even if it isn’t your artwork. It doesn’t hurt you to "pay it forward" and may secure you a referral fee.
10. Find out what your client likes and then give it to them even if it isn’t your artwork. It doesn’t hurt you to "pay it forward" and may secure you a referral fee.
“The No. 1 secret to successful marketing is to choose a set of simple and effective marketing activities and do them consistently. Secret No. 2 is to choose those activities that best fit your personality, abilities and interests, because you are much more likely to do them consistently. Remember: The most carefully detailed marketing plan won’t work unless you make it real by putting it into action.” – Susan Urquhart-Brown.
