Each week, Eric Rhoads answers two art marketing questions from listeners like you during the Marketing Minute Podcast. Browse the marketing minutes here to learn tips on how to sell more art.

Art Marketing Minute Podcast: Episode 22

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 gives advice on quitting your “day job” to become a full-time artist, and the best way to approach established art galleries.

Listen to the Art Marketing Minute Podcast: Episode 22 >>>

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.

Eric Rhoads 0:23
Thank you Jim Kipping. And thank you for joining us today. My goal is to eliminate the idea of the starving artists. So let’s get right to today’s questions. Here’s a question from Barbara H. of Suffolk, Virginia. My art is selling and I’m becoming better known in the art world. When is it time for me to quit my day job and go into art full time. Well, I did a product. I don’t mean to hype you on a product here but I did a product how to quit your job and become a successful full time artists and I go into about three hours of depth in how to do that and what the time is. should be. And basically the idea is you want to have this overlap, you want to get to the point where you’re consistently replacing close to your or maybe all of your other income as a part time artist, or at least having the confidence that you’re about to get there. Because starting out, you know, you’re gonna have to spend some money on marketing. And it’s better to spend that money on marketing. When you’ve got a job and you got some extra income. You got to build yourself up, you got to make sure that you’re working all the all the different angles. By the way, I’m going to talk at the plein air convention about a guy I met recently had lunch with just a few weeks ago, who is making $5 million as an artist, and it’s a great story, and he does everything the opposite of everything everybody else does. And I’m going to tell that story on stage in art marketing Bootcamp, because it’s so interesting and I learned so much from him and how he built his business to $5 million. This is a guy and artist and $5 million. I mean, you know, he’s rolling in it, this guy is rich. So anyway, not that it’s all about being rich, but it never hurts, right? So, you know, if your works being represented by a gallery, or you lost a gallery, maybe you can get the gallery person to give you a recommendation or a letter or something if you have to switch galleries. The other thing is you never want to have all your eggs in one basket. Because if you’re in one gallery, and they go away, guess what happens to you. Now you’re scrambling and now Now you’re going to have weeks months without any sales until you get somebody till you get them up to speed until they can market you and get their people familiar with you. So I like to have three. I think three is a nice manageable number. You can have more than that, but not too much more. Some people do four or five, but it depends on how much work you can produce and how much quality work can produce. So you want to have a couple so you have some security. And you know, if you want to get into galleries, then well the best way to do it is to get invited in that means they need to invite you That’s not you calling them because, you know, there’s a sense of begging. And by the way galleries get dozens, sometimes hundreds of calls and emails and packages, and they just kind of get sick of it. So you want them to reach out to you. And I have a lot of strategies in my book and some other places in my videos that where I talk about how to get them to reach out to you. So one of the ways to get them to reach out to you is to get referred in so find other artists who are in the gallery and talk to them and get to know them. And then maybe at some point, once you’re comfortable with that, ask them if they’d make a recommendation, and they oftentimes well.

Eric Rhoads 3:35
Next question is from Sandy, in Colorado. Hi, Sandy. All right. So one day, we got to figure out how to get these people to actually call in and do it like a talk show and then I’ll, be able to interact with them. That’d be more fun. Anyway, Sandy says I’ve been in a series of local galleries that have closed, what is the best way to approach major established galleries? I think I just answered that question in the The above. But you know, you got to get references you got to get invited in, you’ve got to ask the owner of the gallery to contact people who purchased your artwork, if a gallery goes out of business, at least you could do is see if they’ll possibly give you the list of people who bought your artwork, so you can contact them direct or give them to another gallery. And I like to have the galleries Give me the names, I have an agreement with them as I’ll never approach them or I’ll never violate the agreement with the gallery but I like to send them a thank you card. And so they’ll they’ll send me the note and say, I’ll write a note to them and and send it on and then I have the address and I’m not going to ever do anything with it until the gallery goes out of business. And I don’t anticipate my gallery going out of business knock wood. But anyway, I think that it’s a good practice. And you also want to put your website and stuff on the back of the on the panel and burn it in there with a wood burner so it doesn’t get covered up and that way people can kind of go to your thing, get your newsletter, get on your list and stuff like that. So I hope that helps. And anyway, I wish you luck. Sandy in Colorado.

Well, this has been the art marketing minute with me. Eric Rhoads. My goal in life is to eliminate the idea of the starving artists to help your dreams actually come true. So if you want to submit questions, simply email [email protected] And to learn more about marketing ideas, you can visit Artmarketing.com. Thanks for listening.

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.

By |2020-06-10T13:45:34-04:00June 29th, 2020|Art Marketing Minute Podcast|0 Comments
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Art Marketing Minute Podcast: Episode 21

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 if you should change your medium if it seems less popular than oil, for example; and what percentage you should be spending on advertising your art.

Listen to the Art Marketing Minute Podcast: Episode 21 >>>

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.

Eric Rhoads 0:23
Thank you Jim Kipping. And thank you for joining us today. My goal is to eliminate the idea of the starving artists. So let’s get right to today’s questions. Here’s a question from Brenda, of Kingston, Ontario. She says I paint in acrylics and I’ve noticed a certain response when I tell people that for business purposes, should I change to a different medium? Well, let’s start with the fact that there are tons and tons of successful acrylic artists and galleries all over the country. And so I don’t know I’m not so sure I got I think it kind of depends on your gallery owner. But, you know, actually there are more acrylic painters than there are oil painters. And I think there’s more acrylic painters than there are watercolors but I may be wrong about that maybe flipped on that anyway, you can succeed very much in acrylic, and there’s so many amazing acrylic products out there now that you can do a lot more things with them. One of the reasons acrylics got a rap with oil painters is because you know, they dry fast. Well, there’s now all kinds of acrylics that don’t dry fast, and as a result, you can kind of mush them together like oil and they stay wet a little bit longer. So I wouldn’t worry too much about it. But you know, you might want to ask your advisors, you know, if you have a gallery, then they may have an opinion about it. But acrylic is archival, it’s going to last forever. It’s beautiful. It just depends. I think acrylic also sometimes gets a name because some people paint very garish colors and very crazy things and, you know, that’s okay too, but it it just kind of depends. But now you can do so much more with them. So I think it’s cool. And as a matter of fact, we’ll probably start adding more and more acrylic. We’ve got some acrylic painters now at the convention, but we’ll probably add more because there’s so many acrylic people out there.

Eric Rhoads 2:09
The next question is from Leslie M. I worry about spending too much on advertising, what percentage of sales? Should we be spending on advertising? Well, that’s a loaded question, Leslie. And the reason it’s loaded is because advertising is about what you need to accomplish at the moment. For instance, if you’re a new business and you’re trying to create awareness, you’re gonna have to do a lot more advertising than you would normally if you’re maintaining it, or it also depends on, the kind of business like an art school, it depends on your margins, how much money you’re making. Some businesses have a high margin, like the cosmetic business, they make about 90% on cosmetics, because there’s no cost to put that stuff together. So they spend, 30-40-50% on advertising, and you notice cosmetic companies all around while you’re trying to gain market share. That’s why they do that. If you’re, you know, you’re only making 10 or 20% on your money, then you got to be more conservative. I think, you know, roughly a lot of people kind of depends on the business 5-10-15% of what they net on their advertising, but again, depends on the time in place, what you’re trying to accomplish? There are times if I’m like launching a new business, I’ll spend a lot more on advertising, there are times that I’ll cut back because I can kind of maintain it, but I never stopped because the minute you stop, people forget about you. So anyway, just kind of judge that. I’m sorry, I can’t give you more of a very specific answer. But you’ve got to get the word out. Because if you don’t get the word out, nobody’s going to show up and then you’re going to have expenses without customers.

Well, this has been the art marketing minute with me. Eric Rhoads. My goal in life is to eliminate the idea of the starving artists to help your dreams actually come true. So if you want to submit questions, simply email [email protected] And to learn more about marketing ideas, you can visit Artmarketing.com. Thanks for listening.

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.

By |2020-06-10T08:00:19-04:00June 22nd, 2020|Art Marketing Minute Podcast|0 Comments
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Art Marketing Minute Podcast: Episode 20

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 the best practices for selling art prints, and if it’s a good idea to give away your art for auction fundraisers.

Listen to the Art Marketing Minute Podcast: Episode 20 >>>

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.

Eric Rhoads 0:02
Thank you Jim Kipping. And thank you for joining us today. My goal is to eliminate the idea of the starving artists. So let’s get right to today’s questions. Here’s a question from Sam in South Dakota actually has two questions. Sam says I’m considering selling my prints of my work. What are the best practices in selling my prints? Well, I think the print market is a great way to multiply yourself and get money out of something you’ve already painted. First, you want to make sure that you reserve all the rights in case the painting was sold. You want to make it legally known that you own the reproduction rights. This is a copyright discussion you have with your attorney. Secondly, the print market has a little bit of a stigma less so these days, but some galleries don’t want to carry artists who sell prints. others see the value and want to sell prints. So you’ve got to kind of work that out. If you have a gallery, you got to figure it out with them. You can have different kinds of prints. Of course, you can have a canvas print called a cheek play. You can have a print on paper, and there’s a lot of different variations you can offer framed, unframed, etc. But of course, if you don’t have a gallery, you don’t need to discuss that you sell it on your website, a lot of artists do it and a lot of them make a little bit of money. Some of them make a lot of money, and you probably want to do limited additions to make them a little bit more special signed, limited editions numbered. I think the old stigmas going away but you do want to make sure that you don’t flood the market. You want to make sure that if you do have a gallery that they’re on board, the other thing is you might license your painting sir companies who sell prints and give you a commission they do a lot of volume so your commission won’t be as high but they will sell Thousands and you’ll probably get a decent check and your work will be out there. That’s pretty cool too.

Eric Rhoads 2:04
Sam had another question. He says I’m giving away my artwork for art auction fundraisers. Is this a good idea? I think it’s a great idea, Sam. But I think you need to have strings. Now you may have a charity that you really, really love. You really want to help and you don’t want to have any strings. That’s okay. But I would do you know, six or eight charity auctions a year, maybe more in your local town because charity auctions tend to attract who affluent customers and who do you want affluent customers. So you can brand yourself very well with these things. So I’m all for helping a charity but you may want to consider what you can get in return for the investment you’re making. So I have an in depth piece about this on my blog at artmarketing.com. And I talked a lot about it in my art marketing in a box product. But here’s the essence of it. You can kind of say to them, Look, I’ll give you this $3,000 painting, but in order to do so I need something in return because typically it takes Training isn’t tax deductible for value, I can only deduct my materials that may have changed. Check that with your bookkeeper or accountant. But you say, Look, I’m willing to, to donate this painting for you. But in exchange, would you be willing to make a make the painting a featured item on your marketing for your mailers in your website using my image image of the painting my name, the name of the painting, but you mentioned my name on stage as a major donor or introduced me publicly, in front of everybody do something special? Will you share the names with me of all the people you marketed to so that I can follow up with them and maybe send them my newsletter or something, of course, I would get your approval on anything I sent. And I of course needed a ticket for to to the event and that special introduction on stage. And also, I’d like to get a list of all the people that bid on my piece. So I can of course, purchase them about other paintings on an ongoing basis. And again, I’ll be tasteful about it. But you’re first off a $3,000 gift is usually a pretty substantial gift or a painting is considered a premium. And most charity auctions don’t have a lot of premium. Sometimes they do. So look for a way to get premium recognition and maybe some signage, you know, maybe a big sign next year thing with your picture on it. So that’s the kind of thing you want to try and do. And I do this when I do charity auctions, whenever possible. Once in a while I’ll donate one to somebody I really like and don’t need all of that, but that’s just a good way to get a little more out of it. Well, this has been the art marketing minute with me. Eric Rhoads. My goal in life is to eliminate the idea of the starving artist and to help your dreams actually come true. So if you want to submit questions, simply email [email protected] And to learn more about marketing ideas, you can visit Artmarketing.com Thanks for listening.

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.

By |2020-06-05T08:01:10-04:00June 15th, 2020|Art Marketing Minute Podcast|0 Comments
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Art Marketing Minute Podcast: Episode 19

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 with Eric Rhoads, learn how to get a good price for your paintings even if you live in a “bargain” town, and why it’s worth your time to set up at small art shows.

Listen to the Art Marketing Minute Podcast: Episode 19 >>>

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.

Eric Rhoads 0:23
Thank you Jim Kipping. And thank you for joining us today. My goal is to eliminate the idea of the starving artists. So let’s get right to today’s questions.

Eric Rhoads 0:35
Here’s a question from an anonymous listener who says I live in a market with a Walmart mentality. How can I get a decent price on my paintings? If everyone is looking for a bargain? Well, there’s several answers to this question. Tony. First, every town has a Walmart mentality. There’s a certain percentage of every town that is looking for a bargain. We’re all looking for bargains, let’s admit it, but there are fluent towns, and there are Walmart mentalities and even affluent town. So for those who are shopping at Walmart, I have a saying, stand in the river where the money is flowing. Most towns, there are affluent neighborhoods with doctors, lawyers, business people, business owners, somebody owns all those businesses in that town. And they live in good neighborhoods, typically they have places they go like country clubs and social clubs, and maybe that doesn’t exist in your town, but it does, in most even a lot of small towns. So you need to work where the money is flowing. Go where the money is flowing, stand in the river where the money is flowing. Secondly, if the money isn’t flowing in your town, don’t waste your time. Go where the money is flowing your choices, either discounting your paintings, and if you don’t feel like you’re getting the price that they’re worth, and you need to get the money they’re worth. Then go to a place where you can get your worth that’s trying to get into a gallery In a town where you can get your price. Also, money flows to known brands, no matter who you are, if you’re not known, it’s hard to get your price. You’d be surprised how much more price you can get, even from people looking for a bargain if they know who you are, they know about you, they think about you. Fourth, I think every artist needs a dual strategy meaning a local strategy and a national strategy as a hedge against problems. So I grew up in a small town in Indiana, and there was an affluent community there. But you know, the the main manufacturer in our town all of a sudden left, and it was employing most of the people and it really put the town in difficult times for about 20 years until it got its act together. If all of your businesses in one place and something like that happens, you’re gonna have a problem. So have a local strategy and then have a national strategy as a hedge against problems. You might also consider a regional strategy right? So like maybe another town nearby or maybe Other town in your state is a really good place for you to be selling and building your brand. If it’s not in your town, it doesn’t have to be in your town, you just have to figure out how to sell paintings. So this is a good way to give you people who are buyers on a national level who collect paintings who are going to be reading magazines like plein air magazine, or Fine Art connoisseur. Or you might, you know, you might target them in other ways. Also, usually when people tell me there’s no money in their town, I tell them, it’s there, you just have to find it. You got to hang with the right people. You got to remember that you may not be hanging with the same people who are you’re going to you’re going to be your clients. You know, if you’re struggling financially, if you didn’t grow up in a fluent neighborhood. That doesn’t mean it’s not out there. There are wealthy people everywhere. Even in small farm towns. I mean, sometimes there’s a wealthy farmer, you know, you just never know who’s going to buy a painting and put it on their wall. So you just got to find out where they are. You got to spend time around them. You got to brand yourself around and we got to get exposed around them and do the best you can because there are people who love and buy art you can build a list of those people locally, regionally, nationally, etc.

Eric Rhoads 4:10
Next question is from Jeremy. Jeremy says, I’m new to the market and I’m just starting to sell my art at library shows and shows where I can’t sell something worth my time. Well, I think it depends on what you consider a waste of time is building awareness of your name, your brand, in your community, a waste of time, is having your name and places where people can see and fall in love with your artwork, a waste of time. You know, when you’re starting out as an artist, you need to do anything and everything you can to sell finished works or to expose finished works. And it’s definitely worth your time for the learning experience of mounting a show and getting used to doing that kind of thing because you’re going to do it your whole career. And you’re going to learn something by talking to people at the show if you have an opening You get a chance to talk to people, you get a chance to practice talking to people about why you painted tell your story. You know, talk about your art, find out what their needs are, learn and engage people and start conversations around your artwork. And the better you get at doing that, the better you’re going to have throughout your entire career, you’re going to be connecting your artwork with potential collectors. And just because they say you can’t sell at the library show doesn’t mean you can’t sell. You know, if somebody says, Hey, can I buy this painting? Are you gonna say no, you’re gonna say, Here’s my card, contact me and we’ll work something out. And also, it’s a great way for you to build your list, you know, put a thing in there when everybody comes to visit the show, ask them to write down their name and their email address. And happily send your, your newsletter to them. And of course, you can, you can find other ways to get names, you know, exchange business cards, and so on while you’re there, but I think everything is worthwhile. Everything’s a learning experience. And no, maybe you’re not going to Sell direct right away. But I think you want to kind of get in the habit of learning how this process goes, it’s gonna help you a lot. also build lists, build brands and get publicity. You know, could you get your, your name in the local media, local websites, local newspapers, etc. for doing this show? Can you get pictures of your stuff out there? It’s going to drive people to your website. Don’t forget about that.

Eric Rhoads 6:21
Well, this has been the art marketing minute with me. Eric Rhoads. My goal in life is to eliminate the idea of the starving artist and to help your dreams actually come true. So if you want to submit questions, simply email Ericartmarketing.com. And to learn more about marketing ideas, you can visit Art marketing.com Thanks for listening.

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.

By |2020-05-28T13:24:07-04:00June 8th, 2020|Art Marketing Minute Podcast|0 Comments
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Art Marketing Minute Podcast: Episode 18

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 advises if you should ever pay to get into a gallery, and what to do if a hot lead seems to suddenly disappear.

Listen to the Art Marketing Minute Podcast: Episode 18 >>>

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.

Eric Rhoads 0:23
Thank you Jim Kipping. And thank you for joining us today. My goal is to eliminate the idea of the starving artists. So let’s get right to today’s questions. So here’s a question. This is from Kim cast in Cape Elizabeth main. As an artist, Eric, should I be paying to be in a gallery? Well, this is a loaded question. We hear from a lot of galleries that charge artists to be in them. Some of them are legitimate. Some maybe not so legitimate. You got to do your homework. You want to talk to the artists look on the website. Talk to the artists they feature too. They sell work, do they market their artists? What else are they doing for you? Is it worth doing? You know, what does it end up costing you ultimately, can they be trusted? It boils down if they work or not work, you know, are they selling or not selling. Now there are some legitimate pay for play galleries that people go into that work. But keep in mind if your work is ready, you really should be able to find a gallery to represent you who will take a commission and sell your work on consignment, usually that’s 50%, sometimes less depending on the stature of the artist. The goal here remember is to sell art and for selling art, nothing beats getting into a really good gallery with experienced salespeople a client base of collectors so they can help build you up. And a gallery who’s advertising and promoting themselves and their artists You know, that’s what you want to look for. You can also look for a local artist Co Op gallery might be a good place to start. So you pay by giving your time you know by working in the gallery part of the time But you’re not putting money out of your pocket. The question I always wonder is if I’m putting money out of my pocket, if I’m paying you, you know, what’s the likelihood that I’m going to have you sell my art? So I think that’s a good question. Thank you for asking it.

Eric Rhoads 2:13
Next question comes from David Terry, of Jacksonville, Oregon. I know David. David’s a fabulous painter and a fabulous commissioned painter, and he did my portrait. So David says, I have a prospective client call about commissioning a painting of his granddaughter and had great conversations about it, but all of a sudden, nothing. I followed up with an email saying I look forward to working with him, but I’ve had no response. What’s next? Well, you know, people tend to run in hide when they don’t want to deal with something. So there’s something in this discussion that went wrong. If somebody shows interest and then disappears, chances are he or she liked your work. They liked what they’d seen on your website. And so maybe the problem Was price. And so I think what I do is I’d phone him. And I’d say this Listen, you asked me about a commission for your granddaughter, and I’ve heard nothing from you. So I’m guessing maybe my price was too high. But I’d really like to find a way to do it. That’s a win win. Could we sit down and meet in person, no obligation. Let’s see if we can work something out. I won’t be offended if the price is too high, but maybe we can come up with an idea. All right, and then try to get him to meet with you. If you invest time in somebody. chances are they’re going to give you their money, right? So ask him to bring his five favorite photos of his granddaughter, and then also anybody else you might want to have painted, bring some photos of them, then you meet with them. And you say listen, show me the pictures before you even talk prices to them, show me the pictures. And you look at the pictures and then you say okay, I want to pull out some of my paintings, and you show them paintings. In your portfolio of full body paintings, you know, head to toe you show three quarter you show portrait you show You know, just neck above and so on. And then you show different styles and you say, okay, which of these do you like? Which of the ones do you not like, which are the ones you know, are have the feel that you’d like to see hanging in your house, and so on, get him engaged, get him to start talking about it. Well, I like this, I don’t like that and start writing that stuff down. Now that he’s engaged, he’s more likely to do it. Now. After that. You can just say, Hey, listen, we’ve kind of talked about this, but the elephant in the room is probably the price. I you know, you disappeared on me, which I’m thinking is probably my price was too high. What What do you really want to pay? And just be quiet, don’t say anything and say what he wants to pay. And he’s gonna say, Well, I really didn’t want to embarrass you and I didn’t want to make you feel like your stuff wasn’t worth it. But I couldn’t possibly pay that much money to say, Oh, that’s okay. I understand that this happens all the time. What do you want to pay? And he’ll say, Well, I’d like to pay this or somewhere in this range. And you could say, well, that’s great. More than I, you know, this less than I normally would get, and but maybe we can figure out a way to get there. So, you know, you might say like, what if I did this one and did one other at the same price? You know, if I got two Commission’s I’d be willing to lower the price for that or, could we compromise and not do such a big portrait? Could we do a smaller one and we can come in at your price? Look for something like that. And chances are you’re going to get it and chances are they’re going to be happy and you’re going to be happy because you have it now. You have to make the decision. Do you want to violate your pricing and sometimes we all have to do it and sometimes, you just can’t have to make that call. So I hope that helps.

Eric Rhoads 5:40
Well, this has been the art marketing minute with me, Eric Rhoads. My goal in life is to eliminate the idea of the starving artist and to help your dreams actually come true. So if you want to submit questions, simply email [email protected] and to learn more about marketing ideas you can visit ArtMarketing.com. Thanks for listening.

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.

By |2020-05-28T08:46:02-04:00June 1st, 2020|Art Marketing Minute Podcast|0 Comments
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Art Marketing Minute Podcast: Episode 17

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 shares advice on focusing on one medium and style versus several, and how to develop a small town’s market for art.

Listen to the Art Marketing Minute Podcast: Episode 17 >>>

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.

Eric Rhoads 0:23
Thank you Jim Kipping. And thank you for joining us today. My goal is to eliminate the idea of the starving artists. So let’s get right to today’s questions. Here’s a question from Lydia Fellard of Poway, California, Lydia says I like urban sketching, watercolor and sometimes oil. Do you think I should concentrate on one medium to get excellent at one style and one medium? I think if you’re asking the question, you’ve already answered the question. I first off, I can tell you that I love to dabble in a lot of things. So I did I dabble in watercolor. I do. soil, I play with pastels and do it a little bit of sculpture, you know, it’s, it’s fun, I also do a lot of drawing. But in terms of what I’m presenting to my gallery, if this is about selling artwork, I’m trying to establish myself as an oil painter. And that’s what I want to be known as. And so I think that excellence in whatever you’re doing comes first. So master something get really good at it. It doesn’t happen overnight. So even though you may want to continue to do urban sketching, or watercolor oil, pick one of those things that is your thing that you become known for. Because you don’t necessarily want to confuse the audience. Now you will have artists like Susan Nicholas Gephardt who just mentioned that she does pastel she does oil, and she doesn’t both really, really well. And so she’s able to kind of walk that line but you just got to be ready to know what you’re capable of. You also want to make sure that you kind of get known for whatever whatever it is. Do you want to get known for you know, that could be portraits. It could be landscapes, it could be a certain type of landscape. But you don’t want to confuse the market too much when you’re first getting established. As you’re more established, it’s probably okay a little bit, but I remember a story about a lady who contacted me and she was advertising her portraits. But when you went to her website, all you saw were her landscapes and you had to really dig deep for the portraits, it just didn’t make a lot of sense. So you want to just make sure that you’re congruent. A lot of artists are doing multiple mediums. Some of them are selling well in both or three, but pick something that you can be really good at and get known for collectors and galleries look for excellence and consistency and you don’t want to confuse them. Right.

Eric Rhoads 2:46
Okay. Next question is from Robert ward of Cape Girardeau, Missouri. How do you develop a small towns market for art? Small Town, his town has 35,000 people well You know, a lot of people don’t know about art. Art is an education process. You know, there are a lot of people that I’ve helped turn into collectors just by exposing them to art. And a lot of people who pick up art magazines have become art collectors. So I think the idea is just get your art out there, you know, wherever you possibly can, there are people who are going to see it, they’re going to like it. And you know, so it might be an exhibit at a local gallery, it might be an exhibit in a local restaurant. I think the idea is you want to get people thinking about art. If you want to develop a market for art, then you probably want it to be more than you. You want to develop a little artists community, maybe figure out how to put together a bunch of artists and get get your own little gallery together so that you can put your work out there together, make sure the quality is high and then look for options for local art shows, art in the libraries of public institutions to showcase these artists because of the more Even though it seems counterintuitive, the more people are interested in art, you know, they’re not all gonna love your art but they might love somebody else’s are but you want to get people thinking about and learning about and growing and developing art and of course, anything you can do to work with a local community. I spend my summers near Saranac Lake New York and they’ve done a great job in the arts community by developing a little local gallery. They’ve developed a little Community Arts program. They’re doing a lot of our planning our events once a year and things like that. And so this is a way that you develop the community, get the community thinking about the arts, turn your area into an art destination, so people who maybe I don’t know how far you are from another bigger city, but maybe people will come to Cape Girardeau from Chicago to see the art there. You know, and so, look for ways to work with the merchant associations, local Chamber of Commerce do events that can be showcased in an effective way to develop your market All right, said help. You know, there are a lot of people even in a town of 35,000, people who can comfortably afford to buy art and so get to know the people, local business owners, local doctors, maybe put your art in the hospitals, you know, there’s a lot of things, a lot of ways to establish yourself and get out there. Social media gives you the opportunity to target locally and you can also, if there are a little local magazines, a local community magazine or something, you can get your art in there and start getting people thinking about it. You know, they got to see it. They got to think about it before they buy it.

Eric Rhoads 5:31
Well, this has been the art marketing minute with me. Eric Rhoads. My goal in life is to eliminate the idea of the starving artist and to help your dreams actually come true. So if you want to submit questions, simply email [email protected] And to learn more about marketing ideas, you can visit Artmarketing.com Thanks for listening.

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.

By |2020-05-13T07:16:24-04:00May 25th, 2020|Art Marketing Minute Podcast|4 Comments
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Art Marketing Minute Podcast: Episode 16

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 the best practices of sending a newsletter to your network, and the psychology to consider when pricing your art.

Listen to the Art Marketing Minute Podcast: Episode 16 >>>

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.

Eric Rhoads 0:23
Thank you Jim Kipping. And thank you for joining us today. My goal is to eliminate the idea of starving artists. So let’s get right to today’s questions.

The first is from Mark Montserrat, in San Francisco, California, specifically, what goes into a newsletter? And realistically, how often should I send it out? Well, first off, you want to be consistent. You always want to send it out consistently. I think you want to be at least monthly. And you probably want to say send it the exact same time every month. So it’s consistent. Everybody knows they can look forward to it. That’s the easy part. Now what about newsletters. Well the problem with newsletters is they’re all about you and you may be interested in you but you’d be surprised how many people are not interested in you. So you’ve got to have something in that newsletter that people are going to be excited about reading that they’re going to learn from now learning something from you or about you may be part of the element now, john MacDonald’s probably got one of the best newsletters I’ve ever read, because he’s, he’s targeting artists in that particular newsletter probably so they’ll come to us workshop or buy his amazing video, but you he’s always talking about new concepts and he’s basically writing a chapter of a book with every newsletter and every one of them is really valuable. So when you know when I’m deleting the literally hundreds of newsletters that come to me every month, I can’t read them all. And I know a lot of your collectors and a lot of other people feel the same way. They’re they’re gonna open the ones that matter to them. So you want to have information, not just about you, but things that are compelling. What can I learn from this? What’s interesting in our art marketing in a box, we actually pre wrote a year worth of newsletters and it’s got information in it about, you know, art history and some things they can learn about artists and things that just kind of make it a little bit more fun and exciting, then you can still put that stuff about you in there, but don’t necessarily lead with it, but put something in there. That is telling your story. vividly explaining the story behind a painting or a trip or something that you’ve been doing. And trying to make it interesting be entertaining, because if you’re not entertaining, if you’re boring, nobody’s going to want to read it right. So don’t be boring. Last consider not sending it by email. That Sorry, I know that sounds crazy. But you know, it’s so easy to delete email. You know, if you have 50 or hundred people on your list, it’s not a big deal to send by mail, you’re printing, you’re getting big, rich, colorful images. And if it’s really well done, people don’t want to throw it out. So you might want to consider that. We’re having really good luck with direct mail again lately because nobody does direct mail and More so everybody else does email. So this is a good thing to consider doing.

Next question is from Penny markley in Winthrop, Maine and whenever that is somewhere in Maine, obviously, she says nothing is more puzzling than pricing. I hate pricing prices. Our prices below $10,000 a negative. And should prices be posted on a website? Well, you know, there’s a I’ll answer the last part first prices on a website. Yeah, probably. A lot of people don’t do it. They want to make people call but a lot of people won’t call if they these days you’re used to being able to get the price. I had a gallery tell me he debated this. He put the price of a sculpture on it was $650,000. He came in the next day. He came in one morning and there was an order and a wire transfer for $650,000 waiting for him somebody bought the sculpture. So that’s why having the price is a good idea. That’s going to turn some people off but it’s going to turn them off anyway. If it’s surprised they don’t like The idea about pricing is there’s a lot of psychology behind it. It’s very emotional low price send signals of poor quality. Now, price is also dependent on size, right? So a smaller painting is going to be a lower price and a bigger painting. So low price in a smaller painting doesn’t necessarily send poor quality signal. There was a lady who came to attention one time an artist told me that he she said, How much is the painting? He said, it’s for she wrote him a check for 40 40,000 handed in the check. He said, Ma’am, that’s mistake, the painting is $4,000. And she said, Well, it must not be very good. She ripped up the check. So depends on who your market is. You got to know your market know where you’re selling your art. The Environment Matters. I mean, if you’re selling at a flea market, you’re not going to sell expensive paintings. If you’re selling in a high end gallery, you’re going to sell expensive paintings. Because you’re in the environment. You know, it’s kind of like I always make the analogy is you don’t sell a Mercedes or a Bentley in a flea market. Because there’s nobody there who can afford to buy it. So you want to put that Bentley in a place where you know, people can’t afford to buy it, where are the affluent people hanging out. And that’s the same thing with art. And that’s why great art galleries can do a lot of good because they already have lists of these people, they have contact with them, they’re coming into the gallery. So lots of books out there on pricing, I highly recommend you pick some up, because you can learn a lot about pricing and the psychology of pricing. So I hope that that helps a little bit. There’s probably a ton of other things that could tell you about pricing, one that comes to mind is the, what’s called the lock comparison. If you have a great big painting in a gallery, let’s say it’s a 30 by 40 or 40 by 50. And you’ve got a very high price on it. Suddenly, you’re considered to be a high priced high valued artist by the person who sees that especially if the price is visible. Then you’ve got a couple of nine by 12 or 11 by 14 hanging next to it and they are in contrast, a much lower price then they might be hireable Pricing you normally get, but because it’s next to that big painting, you can get that higher price and people will buy it because they feel like they’re getting a bargain anyway, just a thought.

This has been the art marketing minute with me, Eric Rhoads. My goal in life is to eliminate the idea of the starving artist and to help your dreams actually come true. Thanks for listening.

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.

By |2020-05-06T10:12:55-04:00May 18th, 2020|Art Marketing Minute Podcast|0 Comments
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Art Marketing Minute Podcast: Episode 15

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 shares thoughts on what problem art solves for collectors, and insights on selling art online and also through a gallery.

Listen to the Art Marketing Minute Podcast: Episode 15 >>>

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.

Eric Rhoads 0:23
Thank you Jim Kipping. And thank you for joining us today. My goal is to eliminate the idea of starving artists. So let’s get right to today’s questions.

Nikki Neinhuis of Golden Colorado asks: What is a collector’s pain point? What problem does art solve generally? Art stimulates an emotion. I was showing my dad a painting online and he said “that’s my grandfather’s farm.” He had tears in his eyes, so I secretly bought it for Father’s Day. For many people art injects emotionally positive emotions or memories into their home’s décor. Art is really what makes a house someone’s home. In some cases it’s the story they tell people about your piece, or perhaps a story of their own about your art. That’s why emotional art sells. It evokes positive memories of when you were a child, or perhaps where you fell in love. Where you went on your honeymoon or perhaps memories of a great time. Solving this problem isn’t easy, that’s why good art that does this sells well.

Nikki also asks, how can an artist sell directly from their website and still work positively with galleries? It depends on the relationship with your gallery. Some artists have a size restriction where they can sell. Usually galleries want to control it and not have direct contact. You have to negotiate with your gallery.

This has been the art marketing minute with me, Eric Rhoads. My goal in life is to eliminate the idea of the starving artist and to help your dreams actually come true. Thanks for listening.

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.

By |2020-04-24T11:34:37-04:00May 11th, 2020|Art Marketing Minute Podcast|0 Comments
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Art Marketing Minute Podcast: Episode 14

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 shares advice on selling art framed vs unframed, and tips on starting your list for direct mail and newsletters.

Listen to the Art Marketing Minute Podcast: Episode 14 >>>

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.

Eric Rhoads 0:23
Thank you Jim Kipping. And thank you for joining us today. My goal is to eliminate the idea of starving artists. So let’s get right to today’s questions.

Here’s a question from Sharon Bamber of Nakusp British Columbia.
Sharon paints pastels and sells online. She wants to know should she be selling her art framed or unframed?

I’m a big believer in spending money on quality frames. I think any gallery owner can tell you at least one story about a frame change helping create a big sale of a piece that was previously not moving. The reality is that ultimately your artwork will be judged by the client and everyone who views that painting on your client’s wall. They will judge your painting and the frame it’s in as a package. If they view the art and the frame together as something that works, you benefit. They could become a collector of your work. Therefore you as the artist should try to control the situation as best you can by selling your artwork framed. And it should be a frame that does justice to your painting. Frame decisions are artistic decisions. Plus why make them do extra work. And this way you control the type of frame you place your work in. If they choose to reframe it, that’s up to them, but most will just hang it and enjoy it.

The next question is from Steph Lord of Chicago
At PACE during art marketing bootcamp, you talked about the importance of marketing art via a Newsletter. If I’m starting out, can I and should I buy a list of names to send a direct mailed newsletter to?

That’s a good question. Really when you’re starting out you should be willing to invest some dollars to build your business. But remember that shortcuts are dangerous. I wouldn’t buy a mailing list and just start mailing to it. A list of people that respond and show interest in you is far different than any list you can purchase. Direct mail to people who know and like your business would be expected to be in the ½ of 1 percent to 2% range. But to a list of people that don’t know you, it could be a fraction of that fraction…or zero. Build your list in any way possible but go for people interested in your work. For instance have people sign up at art fairs or places you’re showing your art. Also, in my book Make More Money Selling Your Art, I talk about lead magnets. This is a great opportunity for one. You can create a lead magnet campaign on social media fairly inexpensively. I’d suggest creating some sort of “lead magnet” where you give away or inexpensively sell something of value. A common thing is an ebook of your best paintings. If you want to spend some money to get customers, What would I offer? Perhaps a postcard sized print of a painting of something in your community. That may stimulate interest. Captured names from a lead magnet are real prospects worthy of your mailing list because they freely give their address and email address to get something you created. That’s a qualified list, and if you build that you’re on your way to becoming an effective marketer.

This has been the art marketing minute with me, Eric Rhoads. My goal in life is to eliminate the idea of the starving artist and to help your dreams actually come true. Thanks for listening.

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.

By |2020-04-23T08:22:03-04:00May 4th, 2020|Art Marketing Minute Podcast|0 Comments
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Art Marketing Minute Podcast: Episode 13

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.

By |2020-04-15T11:49:21-04:00April 27th, 2020|Art Marketing Minute Podcast|0 Comments
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