Finding Buyers Part 4.
Some of my work has already been done today! ... because a lovely bubbler asked a question about finding buyers which I was able to answer here. And there is a definition for the Unique Selling Proposition (USP) in wikipedia here.
Artists who find their USP will have an easier time finding a market for their work. So we made a lot of mess yesterday brainstorming on paper to find your USP. Now we will define it and look for an appropriate market.
The USP can just be a couple of words that set you apart from your peers. For example with yesterdays’ “Mary” she woke up this morning and decided that the things that define her and her work most are “bold, vibrant colours that express JOY, and bring joy to people when they see them.”
Hmmmm, OK, now we have to get lateral and think about who might just enjoy this kind of art. The first thing that comes to my mind, and don’t be afraid to go way out there, are the visually impaired, or the sick and infirmed. Why because Mary’s art is bold and colourful it can be appreciated by people who can’t see details! And infirmed people want to feel joy.
Now, we’ll just stick with these examples to follow the process through. I know they might seem a little whacko, but it shows you how widely you need to approach this.
Write as long a list of ideas as you possibley can. Talk to your friends to get ideas. Keep your eyes and ears open as you do your grocery shopping. Have your USP tattooed on your mind so that wherever you are you can notice how it might meet someone else’s needs.
Here comes the tedious slog .. ouch! We’ll choose one of the potential markets from our list and start to approach it.
A little aside …. oh there could be so many! ....you know how we said in Part 1 that there are different types of artists, depending on your politics etc. Well there are also different types of sales techniques which also depend upon your personality.
There are “Door Kickers” – bold, out-going people who are more than happy to make cold calls, but can be a little flakey.
And “Relationship Builders” – more subtle people who a very patient and prefer to nurture relationships with people they already know.
I am a “Door Kicker” so my journals may be a little biassed toward cold calling. If so … tell me.
Back to the main game. Choose a potential market from your list and then find ways to get into it. For example, we’ll choose the visually impaired for Mary. She can tell people that her paintings are very easy to see and that they will help bring joy to people who don’t usually get to experience art. That is her USP.
Now she needs to tell that to the people who have the right network. So she looks on the internet for “The Association for the Visually Impaired” and researches this organisation, finding out the key personnell and how often they make purchases. Do they have charity events or raffles? Do they have a headquarters that is open to the public and is a good spot for art to be displayed?? Do they have a wider network of volunteers and supporters, and other organisations. If it looks like they do have these things then it would be a good idea to go a bit further with this idea and start to get to know them.
I can’t judge if what I have said so far today is helpful so I will leave it hanging there, and if when I come back from my daily rounds there are cries for more … as there was yesterday … I will flesh out this theme a little more. There are, of course, a million things to talk about! But I want to meet your Needs! :)
cheers for now,
RT XXX
PS. You may also like to read Making a Fan Page
Morgana Creely
Again all interesting stuff. I am definitely not a “door kicker” – but the USP is really helpful, and I’m still working on that. :)
Robyn Taylor replied
It might take quite awhile to develop your USP. I feel I have probably gone ahead too quickly. So now I am just replying to people’s comments and collecting together some ideas for next time, based upon what people are saying to me. :)
C J Lewis
All informative info Robyn … for those who want to play at being an artist and a marketer … which having been in art for yonks can say is virtually impossible to do when all the artist wants to do is paint and needs all the time in the day they have to do just that … if artists wanted to be marketers or sales people we would have taken up that type of work instead of picking up brushes.
Robyn Taylor replied
Some people are keen to do both, and I am trying to help them out. I agree that marketing is a very hard thing to do and takes up a lot of time. Marketing is a specialist business, just as art is. However, there are some simple things people can do to help them gain more confidence.
Robyn Taylor replied
I have thought about your comment carefully over the course of the day and I realise that I did not make it clear that “marketing” and knowing your USP is even a good thing to do when you exhibit via a gallery. The clientele of a gallery are your market. So when you are choosing a gallery you will need to know who the clientele are and whether or not they are likely to want to buy what you have to offer.
C J Lewis
A lot of galleries will only take on artist’s in their stable (as they call it) if they know they have the clientele to sell to … some galleries will exhibit independent artists (who aren’t sponsored by a gallery) at the artist’s expense but that can cost anywhere from $450 per week up … which is a lot of money to full-time artist’s …. and the minimum is usually 2 weeks ie: $900 to exhibit independently … but I do totally agree with you that marketing is an important part (as is knowing one’s USP) of art … just saying if an artist just wants to paint and not do the business side it would be better for them to employ an agent/manager who is willing to work on commission basis of sales.
Robyn Taylor replied
Are there many agents around? How do people find an agent? I do not know about art agents in australia. I only know about acting agents.
Sylvia Gonzales
Hi RobinThank you again for this important information, Photography is a passion of mine I’ve had for years! It’s a dream of mine to be able to sell, that one piece would give me the confidence! I’m temporarily in PHX, AZ right now!, But in myneck of the woods”New Mexico”, USA, They have alot of ART Markets throughout the state! I guess once I get back to NM I need to Google where,when,& how much! And start promoting myself!
Robyn Taylor replied
I am excited for you. I hope this info helps. If you want to ask me anymore questions don’t hesitate. I am really hoping that you will sell, and get the confidence you need.
copperhead
I understand your USP idea, which makes sense but at some point the responsibility of what they want to see lies with the buyer. If the buyer likes “red stuff” then most of my pieces are not suitable, but one or two might be. I’ve actually thought about doing my albums on my sites that way. “Red stuff” “Green Stuff” “Smelly Stuff” “Pretty stuff”. I find that artists find plenty of ways to describe their art and yet the buyer is as non-descriptive as possible in telling us what they want. Keywording is one of the many tasks I hate with adding art to my portfolios online. . In advertising, especially online..this is highly frustrating. I’m always frustrated by keywords: Should I be more exact, less so, more nouns, less adjectives, more adjectives less nouns. Not to mention what to charge when you are trying to make money to mark up as much as I do already makes a lot things more expensive than your average income is willing to pay. I agree that an agent or manager would be nice, but someone willing to work on a commission basis (as we do when we sell on sites like this) is not very likely.
Robyn Taylor replied
Hi There copperhead. :) Buyers are inherently emotional and befuddled. They will react in a consistant manner but they won’t be able to tell you much about it. That’s why you need to watch them and see what they are doing
—watch what they buy around your area. e.g If a lot of people in your area are buying “red stuff” -I guess you better find another place to sell. I am not up on the science of keywords, I keep mine simple, but I can tell you about pricing. That is a very important science and the subject of another journal I think. I keep my pricing in the middle market range. There are broadly 3 markets – expensive, middle, cheap. You do need to think carefully about which market you want to sell to and stick to it!copperhead
One of the things that would help digital markets a lot is if stock sites and the like had to price their products so that artists didn’t have to mark up to enormous prices. It’s a little frustrating to a buyer looking for one greeting card online to have to pay $4.00 just to get one greeting card. That’s not including shipping. However, if I don’t make them pay $4.00 I make nothing. Going to a store not online you can get a decent greeting card for $2.45. Why does it cost them extra? I’ve been asked that..I never have an answer. I usually say “For the same reason a pair of my graphic-print shoes I have on another site are $20.00 more than if you’d buy them at a local retailer. ” I have to pay someone to print them basically. I cannot do it myself. In order to make it back I have to mark up. Explaining to the general consumer that I’m not marking it up too high doesn’t make sense. They don’t get that 20% is only $2.00 to me sometimes. These are all obstacles I come across when trying to tell people they should buy. Answering those questions often just clams me up..they have a point.
Robyn Taylor replied
I just had a sneak peak and you are in the US. Redbubble is an Australian Site and all products are manufactured iin Australia (I think!) so that might make it more expensive for you. In Aus dollars a RedBubble nice greeting card can sell AU$4.50 – upto bucks! SO the redbubble prices aren’t oo bad – the margins are small though and once again it is a new industry and ways to reduce manufacturing prices online have not yet been widely conquered .... I am sure they will eventually.
copperhead
Thanks for the response Robyn! I appreciate that! I didn’t realize the RB was in AU I guess..(then again I might have and it just never registered..despite the fact I have noted that a lot of Australian folks are on this site :) Oh well, I understand a little on the cost here then. That’s an interesting tidbit I didn’t know :) I think you are right, about it being a new industry. I can’t imagine it will iron out overnight or anything. (I’ve been doing this since 2000, and really there aren’t many new seller sites out there that do what here and the others do. This one is unusual in that it combines the blog-o-sphere a little more, and is definitely more in tune with members..and maybe the public at large (not sure). I do know its more social. than a lot of them. Better go, the big dog just threw his dog bed across the room..along with his couch cushion..and who knows what else…sigh…ever want to crawl into your screen :)
Robyn Taylor replied
RB is brilliant on the community side of things. Fantastic artists, really nice people (which is what makes me want to crawl into my screen). The SEO is fantastic, but the general profile in the outer community is still very low. I guess it will grow over time. That’s why we all have to do our own bit of marketing to help it along. :)
KasRybka
thank you for that ! it was very informative and inspiring !
Robyn Taylor replied
I am really glad you feel it was helpful! :) I hope you have some luck with it.
C J Lewis
Are there many agents around? How do people find an agent?
You could ask Galleries if they know of Art Agents or google the net to find some. Most agents will approach the artist at exhibitions if they are interested in their work. I had an agent approach me via RB site … he saw my work and emailed me … like galleries, agents too have stables of artists. And yes, they will work on commission basis … some ask for a retainer up front plus commission on sales, which is fair enough as they do the publicity, find galleries etc.
Robyn Taylor replied
Thanks C J this is very important information. Especially for people to know that they may actually have the opportunity to be seen by an agent on RB. I am not sure if many RBers are aware of that.
Jo O'Brien
this has been featured in today’s RedBubble Daily Wrap
Robyn Taylor replied
Thanks Jo, I am so glad that you have found this information valuable! :)
alkukitz
Hi Robyn,
I signed on with AdBase, a firm that gives you email addresses to art buying people of publication. Do you know anyone who has tried this service. I suspended my account until the economy improves and I gain employment.
Thanks for all this wonderful info!
regards,
al
Robyn Taylor replied
Hi Al, I have not heard of AdBase, or know anyone using it. I have been using FaceBook Ads and getting a good response from there. The only trouble with buying email addresses is that people don’t much like getting spam, and so they ignore you. Also, their spam filters will filter you out. AND I have heard some dodgey things about companies who sell email addresses. GoogleAds may even be better, as they come up according to your keywords, which would be targetted to publishers.
Robyn Taylor replied
Hey! I spotted you on my Facebook page! Thanks for becoming a fan. ... and thanks most of all for being so generous in your compliments. :D
alkukitz
You are a real sweetie; I can tell.