A Site for Emerging Artists
Articles
Social Media Overwhelm
Sep 23rd
By Carolyn Edlund
It’s a great idea to reach out to your peers and audience through social media, but how much is too much? Are you juggling so many that it would take a full-time social media manager to keep up?
Losing Klout
I checked out and joined Klout a while back, which measures social media influence. The more you use online tools to encourage tweets, shares and other calls to action, the higher your score. It’s kind of like a virtual popularity contest, and believe it or not – you actually get rewards for scoring big.
At first, it seemed interesting. I had a score of 63, which seemed pretty good (but of course everything is relative). It held steady around that mark for months, but when I had two very busy weeks of getting a lot of great offline stuff accomplished, my score dropped to 58. Klout is like playing an online game, kind of like feeding a virtual pet, or getting addicted to Angry Birds. The user’s behavior is manipulated for the sake of a perceived reward. In fact, their blog mentions that if you go on vacation, you will lose points and have to scramble to catch up.
Sorry, Klout. I’m not playing – I won’t be worrying about that score anymore.
Google+ was a Minus
This summer the Google+ rage started, and I participated in a hangout, which was fun and made some good business contacts that paid off. Another hangout with a Google+ expert started getting into all the rules of engagement, and that’s when I started to glaze over. Ever since, I’ve been added to circles by people with names like محرر صحفي who don’t speak any English and I just don’t know what to do with that.
Sorry, Google+, I’m just not lovin’ it. Anyone else feeling that way?
There has to be a limit somewhere. Choose where you want to participate and let go of the rest. Play with your kids, or take a long walk with your dog. They will thank you – and the rewards are much better.
What social media platforms are you avoiding? How many invitations to join new networks have you deleted?
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How One Artist Reached her Market through Extreme Networking
Sep 11th
By Carolyn Edlund
How many ways can you connect with your audience?
Vicki Boatwright
Vicki Boatright, a Canton, Ohio artist who paints delightful portraits of pets, has mastered the art of communicating and promoting her work through social networking and in person. She presents a wonderful case study of how an artist can get in front of the public, create a buzz and sell to collectors and new friends everywhere.
Her customer base is made up of pet lovers, who purchase prints and originals, or commission portraits of their own pets. In a recent email newsletter, Vicki, who goes under the pseudonym “BZTAT” (Bee-zee-tat), offers readers no less than four opportunities to buy art – custom pet portraits, giclee prints, existing originals of her
contemporary pop pet art, or custom murals – in the sidebar alone!
Her colorful images abound in the newsletter, but the main message to subscribers is a very serious one. Vicki is using her artwork to fund a worthy cause. Okey’s Promise is a public art project 
which brings awareness to the fact that in homes where pets are abused, children are often abused as well. Her Kickstarter campaign is raising funds to paint a mural in several parts which will become a traveling exhibit and produce six highly visible public artworks addressing this issue.
Some other ways Vicki is connecting with new purchasers, collectors, and commissions:
- Her image-laden website contains her story, inspirations, videos, paintings for sale, opportunities to buy customer murals, and products featuring images of her work from Zazzle, complete with “buy” button.
- She offers a “referral incentive program,” sending an ACEO to those who refer new customers
- Gift certificates are available on her site for easy gift-giving
- She is a motivational speaker and makes a point to attend events to get in front of a live audience, such as BlogPaws.
- Vicki started connecting with followers on Twitter by posting “in-progress” images of her work at #BZTATPTG and on Facebook
- She auctions her paintings on her blog and promotes them on Facebook and Twitter – bids are placed as comments.
- Her feline pets Okey and Brewskie Butt have been personified and have their own facebook pages and twitter accounts, which link back to the BZTAT website
- Brewskie Butt is featured on many of her blog posts, with a story of his world travels. Each post is accompanied by a small drawing of the cat character in a different setting, and is auctioned. Brewskie Butt even has his own blog!
- She has publicized her charity work, and garnered articles on pet sites, such as Catster and Bocci’s Beefs.
- BZTAT maintains a very active Google+ page, focusing on animal welfare and charitable causes.
- She has participated in paint-a-thons for charity as well, and created “interactive” murals with participants at events.
- BZTAT has a YouTube channel with an extensive collection of videos.
How are you making the connection with your fans, your collectors, and your prospective customers? Can you think of more ways to make yourself and your art memorable?
Consultation Case Study: Improving a Greeting Card Line to Increase Sales
Sep 7th
By Carolyn Edlund
Is This Greeting Card Line Ready for Retail?
In a recent consultation appointment, I worked with an artist who designed a line of greeting cards, and has a wholesale catalog in process. She was looking for help in evaluating her line as a whole, and wanted specific advice about making necessary changes, so that her products would be as saleable as possible.
We discussed sentiment categories, sizes, pricing, stock and envelope choices, cellophane, barcodes, terms, minimums, headers, display options, trade shows, related products, and marketing strategy.
Evaluating Categories
One of the most important factors in determining the success of a card line is balance. When a card artist schedules a consultation, we always start by evaluating the percentages of their line that fall into different categories, to be sure they are properly balanced for the marketplace.
We took a look at the percentage of her line greeted as Birthday, and decided to increase it by changing the greetings on some non-Birthday cards. If Birthday is not a full 50% of the line, it does not reflect market demand. Then we reviewed other categories, such as Friendship, Anniversary, Thank You, Sympathy, New Baby, etc. If these sentiment categories are not in the right percentages, sales suffer there as well.
Blank Cards
I found that this artist had too many blank cards in her line, and was unsure of which ones to keep. We discussed how to choose the cards in her line that would work best as blanks.
Many artists produce blank cards only, which is a pet peeve of mine. If you are willing to turn away 90% of American buyers (who are looking for cards greeted on the inside), then go ahead and produce your blank line. Store buyers have little interest in looking at “yet another line of blanks,” no matter how pretty or appealing.
Consumer demand determines what sells, and you need to supply what they want in order to be successful. I give a pass on the issue of blank cards to artists primarily creating paintings or drawings who just want to sell packaged boxes of blank notecards as a sideline. End of rant.
Fine Tuning the Line
Another crucial process in getting a line into stellar shape is to review each individual card. The image on the card grabs the customer’s attention, but the message will sell it. Is the message clear and complete? Does it work? Take a look at your own line, and evaluate each one. Ask yourself, “Who would buy this card and why? Who would they send it to?” If you don’t know, make some changes.
My client’s line needed some adjusting, particularly because she had some categories which aren’t popular enough to include in a small collection. Several of them were in the “Bon Voyage” category, which accounts for about .0001% of card sales in my estimation. We worked together to change the greetings and put them in more popular categories rather than let them languish as unsold inventory.
What to Toss
Other categories generally not worth including (unless you have a large line or specialty market) are New Home, Good Luck, Retirement, Bridal Shower, Baby Shower, I’m Sorry, and Pet Sympathy. Seasonal (holiday) cards of all types and cards for relatives should also not be included in small card lines. Some people may take exception to this, citing their Christmas card collection. Include that holiday if you must, but be aware that returns/exchanges and other issues may surface with your retailers.
Pricing
My client felt unsure about her pricepoint, and also whether she should be printing the retail price on her card. We adjusted the retail price for her, and I strongly suggested the price be printed on each card. I do not know of a single retailer who has the time or interest to stick prices on greeting cards.
Artists should become acquainted with average market prices for their type of product. Don’t try to reinvent the wheel on this with an unusual retail pricepoint. For example, $2.17 is not a card price. Prices typically end with .25, .49, .50, .75, .95 or .99, and the public is accustomed to this.
Goals
A card line consultation and review encompasses many topics. We address the line as a whole, and every aspect of the processed involved in selling it – making it ready for retail.
When evaluating your own card line, work towards accomplishing these two goals:
- Adjust the line to make it easier and more appealing for the customer to choose your cards over your competition
- Remove any barriers to the sales process, both at wholesale and retail
In this competitive industry, small details can make a huge difference. Does your card line measure up?
An Artist’s Agent: On Seeking Representation
Aug 6th
By Carolyn Edlund
Q & A on Breaking into the Art Market
A reader named Marcus recently posted a comment on this blog to an article titled “Interview with Artist’s Agent Samantha Levin”. Samantha followed up with a message that I felt was so on-point and instructive, I’m posting it here as an article in itself.
See if you find common ground with Marcus. I give him credit for reaching out, and applaud Samantha for her frank and detailed response – which is good advice for any emerging artist looking for representation today. The comments are published in their original form.
Question:
hi samatha, my name is marcus and I have been drawing for 5 yrs now and have approx 40 drawings completed. my work is linear graphic by design. i am now ready to market my work but need someone to look at it, if u can’,t could u please recommend some artists resources for new artists? thank u very much! all my work is copyrighted if that helps.
Samantha’s Answer:
Samantha Levin
Hi Marcus,
Thanks for asking this! I don’t have time (doesn’t matter that your art is copyrighted), but will try to point you in the right direction.
Don’t approach a gallery or agent yet!
One of the most important things you need to do before approaching anyone for representation is to look at the art world as a whole and determine where you think your work might fit in. If you need guidance on this, it’s best to approach receptive people for help. Galleries and agents aren’t usually receptive.
Who IS receptive? The best places to approach are artist networks online, blogs like this one (there is a ton of good advice tucked away in this blog!!!), meetup groups in your area, art classes (they expand your knowledge of the arts and also introduce you to your local peers) and whatever else you can find. If you can’t find anything in your area, organize it yourself. You should find people who you can bounce ideas off of, discuss the art business with (not complain about it, but explore it) and help guide each other. You should stick to people who like your art because those are the people who will be able to guide you in the right direction. If you’re totally socially inept (like I was a few years ago), then get the internet and social networking working for you. Some good reads: Edward Winkelman, a gallerist and art dealer, occasionally gives advice to artists on his blog. Here’s a good post: http://www.edwardwinkleman.com/2007/04/one-more-time-with-feeling-seriously.html Also, read Collecting Contemporary by Adam Lindemann. It’s written as a guide to collectors, but gives a great picture of the art world as a whole.
By being social online or off you’ll meet people who are connected to galleries, agents, brokers, etc who your art will work with. You’ll find matchmakers, so to speak.
Before you go near a gallery, you should ask yourself “Do I want to work with this gallery/agent/curator? What do they do, how do they do it and what is their reputation?” If you don’t like what they do, then move on. If you find a gallery you like and have visited them if you can, then you should take a look at their submission guidelines and follow them carefully (find out if they even accept submissions). Most galleries absolutely do not have the time to respond to requests from artists and no artist should expect them to do so. A gallery’s job is to sell and track the artwork of the artists they represent, and take care of their most trusted collectors. Neglecting those duties will kill their gallery. Many of them get approached by artists so often that responding to all of them with advice would starve their resources!!! You need to find advisers who are geared to help you.
You did good by starting on ArtsyShark!!
Visit Samantha Levin's blog Anagnorisis for more on her business representing artists in New York City.
Have You Been Knocked Off, Ripped Off and Pissed Off?
Jul 29th
By Carolyn Edlund
Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, but having your ideas stolen feels more like a punch in the stomach than a compliment.
What do you do when you have a fresh, original concept that gets picked up by others, manufactured overseas and sold at a price which undercuts yours?
These “ripoff artists,” an affront to real artists, often get away with it – simply because they can. You may have a copyright, but they may have lawyers and big bucks and be far away in another country. Standing up for your intellectual property can be hard if you don’t have the resources for staying power in a lawsuit.
If you locate a domestic copycat, you can sometimes send “cease and desist” letters to stop them cold. Less scrupulous types may need more persistent threats from your attorney (make sure you don’t cross the line yourself and get accused of harassment).
Or you can use Twitter to call out the corporate b*stards who started manufacturing your designs, which happened in spring 2011 when Urban Outfitters ripped off and started selling necklaces identical to Stevie Koerner’s “A World of Love” line. When outrage goes viral it can be satisfying, especially when it hurts unethical corporate serial copycats who have to scramble to manage their reputations.
Courtesy Paul Richmond
Another way to fight interlopers is to expose and shame them on a website video, often with humorous results, as Paul Richmond has brilliantly done when he punk’d Cai Jiang Xun for blatantly selling direct copies of his paintings on Ebay. Join Paul’s Facebook page, which exposes bootleg sellers and puts the onus on Ebay to stop allowing knock-offs to be sold on their site.
Courtesy Marianne Wakerlin
One effective method to keep and expand your customer base when being copied by others, is to distinguish yourself and your products and add value to buying from you as the originator. Marianne Wakerlin, founder and owner of Solmate Socks in Vermont, has done just that. Her popular mismatched socks and accessories are promoted as being American made and really earth-friendly. Even though her concept has been copied and made in China for a lower price, she isn’t overly concerned.
In a statement of “corporate and environmental responsibility” which takes up the whole inside front cover of her catalog, Marianne describes her family-owned business, which uses recycled materials, provides employment for American workers, uses renewable energy and works to achieve zero waste. Now who wouldn’t feel better buying from Marianne and wearing her socks proudly? Take that, polluting Chinese sweatshops!
Has your work been knocked-off, and how have you worked to resolve this problem? Please share your experiences, and results.
Featured Artist Leah Jay
