selling

Excellent!

Can always count on you for a refreshing read. Thanks a lot for that!

that is shering! thanks
in a year or two.. there i am
:)))
cheers

seems I’ve been doing those things… is there a time when one should just admit they suck, cut their hair & get a job as an accountant? Or maybe I need an agent. The Frustration & Anxiety Release Tool is one I employ for a plethora of situations, never considered it for art.

Thanks for the pointers Jason. I’m off to fire the entire marketing department at Kreddible Trout Photographic Industries . Bunch of deadbeats… all they want to do is sit around the big table & eat with chopsticks even when they don’t have to. ...drinking all my coffee… grumble… grumble…

I like the point made: “relationships sell art” – I agree fully – I long time ago Chuck Williams (Williams Sonoma, Inc.) took the simple kitchen pan from the pile at the local hardware store and placed a single one along side other related products on a well lit, clean shelf at his first store in San Francsico. This allowed Chuck to walk over to the prospective customer and create an emotional bond, and in the process find out if that pan was suited for the purpose it was intended for. Not only did he sell a pan but learned more about the lifestyle and needs of such customers, thereby beginning a quest to search for the best products that would address those needs. These relationships lasted for years, and soon he found himself in a fair trade of product versus lifestyle need solutions.
We have a shelf (RB) and what we believe is a good product – we now have to create the emotional bond with our customers and seed with thank you notes. Without the service part and knowledge about the product, that “pan” could very well sit there for ages and never sell…
In my case, I have sold 19 pieces thus far – and with the exception of 3 (of which I am very, very grateful) the other 16 were the product of relationships built on RB and Flickr, relatives and friends. In one case I drove from LA to San Francisco to sign a triple matted sale (the black matted first three on my profile page btw) – they now hang in Hanover, Germany and there is discussion of more acquisitions for the “void” left in SF.
I work hard as most of us do, and I will not hesitate to stay up till three in the morning and thank each and every person that leaves a comment no matter how small.
Tip: I am now approaching local hotels to “hang” small exhibits in their lobbies
Lastly, thank you Jason for these articles – they are very helpful – keep it up!

Very helpful information … thanks Jason :)

Awesome….thanks :)

Thanks again for this – great information and inspiration to get our art out there, exposed, talked about and ultimately SOLD! Social networking doesn’t stop at the internet, it’s just another venue to showcase and explore your options as a marketer of your work. Pride in what you do will always shine through. Cheers, S.

This is wonderful information, thank you.

I am happy to see Janis Zroback mentioned, I have found her information so helpful. I enjoy seeing her art and she has just recently started painting in a different style. Janis seems to keep expanding her talent and knowledge, while keeping us informed.

I personally think Janis should be a Featured Member of RedBubble itself.
Ann

Here is a 4×6 photo biz card I made to promote myself

and Red Bubble. I made it using PowerPoint Text, and

Photoshopped image from my home page. To get the

multi-picture image, I did a screen print and saved it as a

new Photoshop project. I set it up as 4inches by 6inches,

300 dpi, built the text blocks in PowerPoint, then copied and

pasted the text in place. A little messaging and resizing and

it came together.
Saved the project to a thumb drive and went to WalMart

where I had 4×6 color prints made for 19 cents each. I

have handed these to all the fellow “certified car nuts” that

I know, friends, relatives, colleagues, etc.
On Sunday, I attended a car show, where I typically take

400-1000 pictures. 3 of the cars on this card were at the

show and I was able to speak with all 3 owners about

RedBubble. I also handed them to people who took an

interest in the fact that I was photographing “THEIR”

vehicle. Told them they may need to wait just a bit before

they will be part of the RedBubble experience!
Thank you all who are so helpful and open about sharing

your thoughts and ideas!
Best regards,
Bill Dutting
Wild Bill Photo

Great advice as always
...and thanks for promoting some great bubblers I hadn’t seen before

this is good and helpful information,thank you

I read the blog post about advertising on twitter. While I have not realized any sales from posting my work on twitter I have seen my number of views skyrocket. If you want to see if it makes a difference, launch an account on twitter and whenever you post something here post it there and then watch your number of views go up.
A while ago I had posted that I had over 10,000 views. Now I am well over 13,000 and can only attribute that to the images I have posted on twitter.

Yes, agree one hundred percent! I have passed out so many business cards, and have made a few sales. We got to promote ourselves and our work, if we don’t do it then who will!! :) Love the Red Bubble world…rock on…Shine On

I should reiterate that RedBubble does a lot behind the scenes to direct buyers to your artwork and design. That said, we’re creating a knowledge-base here that gives members the ability (and the control) to affect their sales. (Jason)

Thanks, very interesting and useful.

nice tips, do all that.

excellent

Wonderful information, Jason. Something for everyone. Thank you for pulling it all together and sharing it with us. :D

Business cards, yes. RB business cards, no. Gap. Fill?

You make some good points.
Thanks for all your tips!

great tips and good reminders

Thanks Jason for sharing these tips I look forward to your posts. I think a lot of us struggle with self confidence, and as an artist the product you are selling is yourself, so to sell it is, well like selling parts of you, and that can be difficult for some. So I agree that self confidence is the key. Having family and friends that believe in you is also a great asset as there promotion flows into other relationships and spreads the word about your work.

Also you need to keep your originals until you have enough for an exhibition. The marketing and self promotion that goes with an exhibition will get your name and work noticed. If you can develop your design skills and do the graphics yourself this will save on expenses.

I have found that the first cold canvasing to sell prints of your work is the hardest. Once you have overcome this, it gets a bit easier each time. An interior decorator has decided to take me on there books which is fantastic so my tip is to keep trying ….. it gets easier and to believe in yourself and others will too!

Thanks for the tips Jason, and everyone else who shares the How To’s. It is very difficult to get out where the people are for me, I love RedBubble! and have sold a few things, For which I’m very greatful,I find it hard to promote my work,so am glad I have RB,Thanks for all your hard work Guys! :o)) God Bless,Mae

Great tips!

Thanks for the great tips Jason, and also for the mention. I do have many more tips to share, but I will just pop one up for now…

TALK WITH YOUR IDOLS – When I first started on the ‘BUB’ I was intimidated by the amazing talent of the artists on this site. Eventually I learned to embrace that intimidation and turn it into inspiration instead. I continually sent personal bubblemails to get to know the people behind the art and thank them for their inspiration. I eventually got to the point where I could ask them to collaborate on an idea/design which obviously excited me very much!

So never underestimate what a quick bubblemail can get you…

:)

Very useful tips. It is sometimes frustrating to know that ones art isn’t appreciated on a site as redbubble simply because one doesn’t have that many watchers. Family is sadly not the crowd that helps out with these sort of things in my case (our case, since me and my wife share this account in our studio’s name). Challenges are a good idea but I really have difficulties finding any new ones. The Challenges group haven’t had any challenges lately and there are so many groups ´that, frankly, it is quite difficult keeping track of them all, let alone being a member of them.
I recently posted my very best painting so far and the turnout of viewing it has been very low :( which is a shame…

Selling artwork is much harder than actually producing art – regardless of the venue
Art comes from the soul and techniques are learned
The pleasure we derive from creating the artwork and the inspiration that triggered the creative process must be conveyed to potential buyers.
WRITE ABOUT YOUR WORK
No-one can promote you and your work better than you can.
Many of us produce artwork as a form of self expression and feel inhibited about self promotion which reveals our thoughts and ideas.
Well Boys and Girls – we just have to let go of being precious to sell our art.
Start networking!!!
Talk the talk – if your work is good enough to be offered for sale it is worth promoting.
Give your Bubble address to everyone you know and ask them to tell 6 people about your work – ask them to help you – people will usually say yes if you ask for help.
REMEMBER TO THANK EVERY PERSON WHO PROMOTES YOU – contact them to share your excitement if you make a sale from the contact.
Go sell yourself and your artsales will follow
Believe in yourself and others will too.

There’s an old business maxim that goes something like, “If a product isn’t selling, it needs more advertising,” and I think that’s as true of art as anything else, but I do think artists have to “market” themselves differently to consumer products. We have to genuinely express what we love in our work, and that’s what people pick up on – if they resonate with your art, they’ll follow you and want to buy stuff. But you have to give people the opportunity to find you in the first place if you want to sell. The internet makes it easier than ever before if you work at it… but if you’re not too bothered (like me!) and are happier just creating stuff, it’s bound to be more hit & miss & miss & miss…

GREAT ideas!!
And good advice.
Some of it it a major challenge for those of us who aren’t able to “network” and “get out there” to promote ourselves and our work. The internet is tremendously promising but not the same as personal contact.

Many thank for this post!!!!!!! :)

Another thought about the offline/online sales mix.

My town has dozens of art galleries, but I’ve been to many towns across the USA that don’t have a dedicated art venue. And although RedBubble is a wonderful space for exhibiting and selling one’s art, we shouldn’t stop here.

If your town has a space for lease or public venue that accepts events, approach them about about a solo or group show. A community center, a library, a cafe … you will bring clients to these businesses through your exhibition. It’s a win-win for both parties.

A friend [and commercial real estate] agent asked if I would like to use a currently vacant space for an art show. He thinks that if I invite contacts to view my artwork in his empty space, he might get a few leads that could result in a renter.

Be as inventive with your sales ideas as you are with your art. And, oh, if you do exhibit offline, be sure to hand out plenty of cards (or simple letter sized flyers) with your contact information and RedBubble URL (or your personal website, blog, etc.).

Thank you!!!!!! :)

Thank you so much for all this wonderful info.

Great info, priceless