In the Art Marketing Minute Podcast, you’ll learn how to sell your art, how to market your paintings, and everything else you need to know in order to have a successful art career. Each episode answers questions from artists by host Eric Rhoads, author of “Make More Money Selling Your Art,” publisher of several art magazines and newsletters, and author of ArtMarketing.com.

In this Art Marketing Minute, Eric Rhoads explains upselling and the best time to sell a painting (for you and the buyer), and how the law of reciprocity can apply to selling art.

Listen to the Art Marketing Minute Podcast: Episode 13 >>>

Submit Your Art Marketing Question:

What questions do you have about selling your art? Email Eric today at [email protected] (include your name and where you’re from) to hear your question answered on an upcoming Art Marketing Minute Podcast.

FULL TRANSCRIPT of the Art Marketing Minute:
DISCLAIMER: The following is the output of a transcription from an audio recording of the Art Marketing Minute. Although the transcription is mostly correct, in some cases it is slightly inaccurate due to the recording and/or software transcription.

Announcer 0:02
This is the Art Marketing Minute with Eric Rhoads, author of the Amazon best selling book, “Make More Money Selling Your Art.” In the marketing minute we answer your questions to help your art career brought to you by artmarketing.com, the place to go to learn more about marketing. Now, here’s your host, arts magazine publisher, Eric Rhoads.

Here’s a question from a recent marketing session I gave at the Figurative Art Convention…An artist asked about when I once sold three paintings to someone who was interested in a single painting (from my Cuba trip). Their question is, how can I do this?

This may take a minute… I’ll explain. When I took a painting group of 100 people to Cuba the first time, which was historical, a gallery in Annapolis held a show. Many of us sent three paintings. Several months after the show, a guy who bought one of my paintings, had been following me in IG and saw some other things I had posted. I had a painting of an old car he wanted to buy. It had been part of a bigger painting, which I had cut off. So when I mailed the painting I sent that cut off part as a gift (it itself was a nice painting) and explained why I had done it. I also included photos of two other paintings I made, and sent them and suggested they should be kept together in one collection. He ended up buying them. The best time to sell a painting is when a painting has just sold. WE get dopamine in our system, and we feel more inclined to buy more. Its why McDonald’s says do you want fries with that? Look for a chance to leverage a purchase into another… before u go, let me show you a couple paintings I intended to be hung together… or a couple paintings I think you would like. This is when you can do discounting. Since you bought this one, I’ll let this one go for an extra 10% off…. Hope that helps..

The next question is from Marilyn in Albuquerque.
Marilyn says: Can you explain the “law of reciprocity” that you mention in your book….and how I can use that to sell my art?
Simply stated… human nature in most cultures is that when someone does something for us, we want to return the favor. If someone buys you dinner, you want to buy it next time. When someone gives you a gift, you want to give them a gift. In sales or marketing, it can work for you. Research indicates that no matter the size of the gift, if you give something, people want to do something in return. Let me give an example… a friend owns a little artist gallery. When someone comes in, she says, thanks for coming in… I’d like to give you a couple of my note cards. The cards are in a rack and say they are $5.95 each… she says pick out a couple. The reality is they cost her almost nothing to make… but she starts their entry into the gallery with a gift worth about $12. And as a result people feel inclined to return the favor. They are more likely to want to pick something out to buy as a result. Its nature. Now, they don’t necessarily even know they are doing it. You can use a concept of a small gift in many situations which warms hearts and draws folks closer to you. Interesting a small gift given can result in a big gift returned… often a purchase. Even a piece of candy or a bottle of water can make it happen. The bigger it is, the better it works, until its too big then makes them uncomfortable.

I hope this was helpful……I’ll be doing three mornings of training on how to sell art in the art marketing boot camp each morning at the plein air convention this May in Santa Fe. Well that’s this weeks marketing minute.

If you have not got your tix to the plein air convention, be sure to get one of the last 115… at pleinairconvention.com
AND… be sure to enter your best paintings at pleinairsalon.com. Even if you don’t win the main prize of $15,000 there are lots of cash prizes, and recognition that you can place on your resume… which helps show your importance in the art world. Enter at pleinairsalon.com

Also if you’ve not seen my blog where I talk about life, art, and lots of other things.. Check it out… it’s called Sunday coffee and you can find it at CoffeewithEric.com

Well… this was fun. Let’s do it again sometime…. like next week … See you then

I’m Eric Rhoads, publisher and founder of Plein Air magazine. Remember it’s a big world. Go paint it. See ya.

Remember to Submit Your Question: What questions do you have about selling your art? Email Eric today at [email protected] (include your name and where you’re from) to hear your question answered on an upcoming Art Marketing Minute Podcast.