How To Sell Your Art In A Recession – Part Three
• develop a marketing program that works
by Keith Gilchrist

“I sent out a press release, nobody seemed to notice.“ I set up a website, nothing happened.” I mailed an announcement, two responses.” Disappointing but, not surprising.

To ensure a steady stream of patrons buying your art, you have to reach out, grab their attention and pull them to your website, gallery and studio. You have to do it again and again. Keeping your artwork in the minds of collectors requires a regular, managed flow of contacts. In other words, a marketing program.

The marketing process works like this. First, you alert the world at large that you are doing something interesting and important. You send out media releases and back these up with a media kit. Newspapers, magazines, radio and television are all ways to spread your message and tell people what to do and when. Publicity is like the gentle rain from heaven, it falls everywhere but it only hits the occasional person.

Second, you concentrate on the people who really matter to your success, your key collector's circle. Tell them what you are doing by means of letters, direct mailers, e-mail and newsletters. Ask them to take some action; come to your studio, go to your gallery show, return a questionnaire, visit your website, tell a friend. Then, you follow up with phone calls.

Print formats like postcards, mailers and newsletters work well, last longest, get shared and draw the greatest response. The personal touch of a letter or card builds relationships. E-mail is fast and convenient to create and to send, plus an almost free way to produce and distribute a newsletter and notices. Once you have designed a format, simply plug in new content and send.

Finally, you make everything about you and your art available 24 hours a day on a website. Your website is your stand-in while you sleep or create art. It allows a potential buyer to learn all about you without exposing his interest. Your web site is the first impression many people will get of you and your work. Build it to encourage and support a dialog between yourself and a collector. Make it reflect the excellence of the work you create. Make it wonderful.

Remember, starting a conversation with a patron or potential buyer is your goal. Your efforts may produce immediate interest, web traffic, requests, even sales. But, generally, it takes a few months for solid results to manifest. It’s important to to be semi-scientific about tracking actions and keeping a record of inquiries and responses. Perseverance furthers.

If you did the work suggested in previous articles, you have already developed the ideas and stories you need for marketing. Over time, you can develop a toolkit of formats that package your stories and offers in compelling ways. This includes everything from simple business cards and brochures to portfolios, multipage mailers, media kits, newsletters and the website. Once you have your basic formats, you can produce promotions on demand. The devil is in the details and the details are in my eBook, “How To Sell Your Art In A Recession.”

Your marketing efforts all work together to give you and your work a presence in the minds of your clients and potential clients day after day around the clock that will start or continue a conversation leading to a sale.

Still, your best publicist is to create really fine art that people will want to own, live with, talk about and share with other people.

© 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.

Order below or...
click to learn more about 'How To Sell Your Art In A Recession'