How To Sell Your Art In A Recession – Part One
• find your key collectors
by Keith Gilchrist
Art collectors are still buying artwork, even in slow times. Art collecting is a passion that doesn’t end. Dedicated collectors still have the money and the desire to acquire fine art and crafts. The artists passion is to create art. The collector is looking for fine art, the artist is looking for a responsive collector.
To sell your art, the vital key is locating those collectors who will love your work and who can afford it. The artist must use a focussed, efficient art marketing process to find this willing collector. Once found, your goal is to get your art in front of your potential collector and begin a conversation. Then, the two of you can weave that magic spell that confirms your skill, affirms the collector’s vision and finally seals the deal. So how do you go about finding these people of taste and wealth?
Focus your attention and take the simplest action that gets results. It makes sense to look for where the money is first. There are almost seven million millionaires in the United States. About 750,000 of them buy art regularly. They live everywhere, but you'll find most of them near the big urban centers; Los Angeles, Chicago, Phoenix, San Diego, Houston, New York, San Francisco, Palm Beach and Boston. They tend to be older people and retired. They live in old, established neighborhoods with people like themselves. They are involved with civic and art activities. All of them have mailboxes and most use the Internet so you can reach them. How do you find your own wealthy patrons?
Art buyers are all around you. Some of them live nearby. Get out your map and compass and draw a 200 mile circle around your studio, about a one day trip out and back. Look within this circle first. Pinpoint the neighborhoods where the wealthy live. Then sort out the art collectors from the merely wealthy. Start by building a profile of the ideal patron you are searching for based on what you know about your present collectors.
Go on the hunt for your ideal patrons. Use every source you can find to identify potential art buyers. Research media articles, membership of art organizations, shows, donor parties, referrals, gossip. When you discover possible names, build a profile sheet with the contact information. Then start building your marketing program.
The next step, and my next article, tells you how to understand the needs of your ideal patrons and create the messages they need to hear. Later, I will cover setting up a conversation with them and how to sell your art and build your art business using promotion, publicity, events and selling art online.
© Keith Gilchrist 2009
To read other articles in the series, click below:
Part One
• find your key collectors
Part Two
• tell the story of yourself and your art
Part Three
• develop a marketing program that works
Part Four
• make your art easy to buy
Part Five
• go online to sell art while you sleep
'How
To Sell Your Art In A Recession' provides a complete, practical guide
to building a successful art marketing program. The report
covers each marketing project in much more detail than you'd imagine from the article. It is a great tool box,
rich with resources and full of ideas, tips and advice.Whether you are a
beginner or a seasoned professional, you will find it easy to build an
art marketing program to move you toward success. At the same time, you
will free up your time for creating art.
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