The Best Way to Sell Art Online

According to the latest from the marketing gurus, a consistent, engaging e-newsletter is best way to build your customer base and make online sales.

"Properly utilizing an email list to have meaningful conversations with your followers is currently the most powerful online marketing strategy artists can pursue." ~Clint Watson

I am happy that my website provider (Fine Art Studio Online) provides me with a built in, professionally designed newsletter that I can send to up to 1000 subscribers. I send out my

 newsletter once a month, and occasionally more frequently if I have a special event to promote.

Since studies have shown that a well written, engaging e-newsletter is THE best way to make sales, you'll want to create a  newsletter that is personal, newsy and showcases a few art pieces – and, perhaps counter-intuitively – doesn’t try to “sell.” You want to keep your collectors (and potential collectors) engaged, intrigued and informed.

How does this convert to sales?  People are more likely to buy from a trusted source – someone they feel they know and to whom they feel a connection. Your newsletter is your ticket into the hearts and homes of people interested in your art – and you. 

A few don’ts, before I get to the do’s of your newsletter. 

1. Don’t use your newsletter as a platform for whining (Please buy my art. Please, please please! I need the money. It's so hard to sell art. I’m depressed.) 

2. Don’t use it to spout off your political views (unless that is a part of your art…) 

3. Don't write a book.  Most people just skim.

4. Don't just write an email and send it out using your email program (ie. Outlook) - you might get marked as a spammer, and besides, you will look like an amateur.

The do’s are so much better!   

1. Do write about your personal process – do you use unusual materials, paint blindfolded, sing while you create? 

2. Do write about what motivates you. Write about what inspires you. Give us a glimpse into your heart and soul. 

3. Do share your successes, and don’t be afraid to share the work of another artist if you think your readers would be interested.

4. Do keep the newsletter short – create a link to your blog/website if you want to write something more in-depth.

5. Do showcase your artwork – but don’t put prices in your newsletter. Create a link to the image on your website or your gallery’s website.  (That also allows you to see how many people have clicked that link, which helps you determine interest in a particular piece).

6. Do be consistent! And let people who sign up for your newsletter know what to expect – how often, what type of content, etc. 

7. If your website host doesn't provide a newsletter platform, use an opt-in template emailing program such as Mail Chimp or one of these. 

So… you’re ready to write your first newsletter...

How do you get people to sign up? 

1. Start with friends and family. 

2. If you do Holiday shows, create a sign up to capture emails (always helps to have a giveaway).

3. Have a newsletter sign up button on your home page and on your Facebook (business) page. 

4. Create a Facebook ad to get more people to sign up for your newsletter.

5. Whenever you meet someone who is interested in your art, ask if you can send them updates on new paintings – via your newsletter. 

 6. Include buttons on your newsletter to make it easy for your readers to forward it to friends and share on social media. 

 

Kate Dardine is a professional artist and has been helping artists and photographers with their printing and marketing needs for over 25 years. She invites you to sign up for her monthly newsletter here.

Give and Grow

by Kate Dardine

Reciprocity. Webster’s Dictionary defines the word as “a mutual exchange of privileges.” In this article, it refers to the act of giving something in order to get something in return – specifically, to give away something in your art show booth, at your gallery show, or from your website – in order to receive something – a sale!

Glenn and Cherie McBride, of Yellowbird Studio in Texas, report on some findings from their own five year “survey” of marketing techniques:

No sales could be traced to business card handouts!
Few sales were generated directly by brochures.
Few sales were generated directly by magazine advertising
Few (almost no) sales were generated by newspaper advertising.
But ...

They have received an incredible rate-of-return from small give-a-ways.

And, they have high sales during face-to-face interactions (such as at Outdoor Art Festivals and Art Expo).

There is a psychology to the free giveaway: when someone has gotten a “gift” from you, they feel, perhaps subconsciously, that they need to give something back, and that is most likely to be in the form of a purchase.

One way to handle the free giveaway is to give something free with a purchase. G. Brad Lewis, a photographer and long-time Fine Print customer has been practicing the art of reciprocity for many years. His habit is to slip in a free matted 5x7 when a customer purchases a large print from him. 

Another way is to have a prospective customer DO something to get something for free. Like sign up on your mailing list to receive your free e-letter. Or sign up on your mailing list to get into a drawing for a print or a small painting. (I have found that the latter is the most likely to get people to sign my mailing list.) This option works in your booth as well as on your website and social media.Whether you choose one of these techniques I’ve listed or have a trick or two of your own, “give something and get something in return” works. Not with every customer, every time, but enough that it will make a difference in your sales. 

This blog post has been updated from the original published in 2008. 

Kate Dardine has been helping artists and photographers with their marketing questions for over 20 years. In addition, she is a professional artist. You can see her work at www.katedardine.com.

Pricing Prints Made (relatively) Easy

How do I price my prints? That has got to be one of the most frequent questions I get when talking to artists and photographers about entering the print market. For this article, I will concentrate on the simplest method for calculating resale pricing on your prints. That method is Multiplied Print Cost.

1. Artists and photographers just starting to sell prints of their work usually make one of two mistakes: pricing too high for their market or pricing too low and not making a profit. You have to find that happy medium. (Did I hear you say, “Duh?”)


2. The easiest method to calculate your print price is to figure out how much the print cost you to produce, and then multiply that number by four to get your retail price. For example, if you are selling an unframed, un-matted 16x20 print on Somerset Velvet paper, and the print cost you $46 to produce, your retail price would be $184. This pricing system works well if you are selling through a gallery that takes a 50% commission. After the gallery takes its $92, you are left with $92. Out of that you subtract your print cost of $46 and end up with $46 in profit.

3. If you are not selling in galleries or shows that charge a commission, then you have a little more leeway. Try multiplying print cost times three – in the case of the above-mentioned 16x20, your retail price would be $138. When you subtract out your cost of $46, you are left with a profit of $92. In this case, you can play around with the numbers to see what “feels” right. If $138 seems too high for your customer base, try multiplying by 2.5, for a retail price of $115, etc.

4. Another common mistake is forgetting to add in all the costs when figuring out your prices. If you have matted and framed your print, then you have to add that into your total cost. If you spent $100 framing your $46 print, then you have to make $146 to break even. If you are selling through a gallery, and they are taking 50%, then you have to at least double the cost of the framing ($200) and then add that to your print cost x 4 ($184). You won’t make money on the frame, but you won’t lose, either, and your profit will be the same as in #1. Some artists tack on a “framing fee” to the original framing cost. Even if you are just poly-bagging the print, you have to add that cost into the “cost to produce the print.”

5. When you are first starting out, it is better to sell for as low as you can and still make a profit. One way to do that is to reduce the cost of the print. The example above was for a giclée print on Somerset Velvet paper, which Fine Print charges .13 per square inch if you are ordering under 700 square inches. To get a better price, order more prints at once. If you order 2-16x20 prints (714 square inches), your “per print” cost goes down to $39. Or consider going with a less expensive paper. The same print on Epson Presentation paper would be $32. If you ordered two at once, the price would be $29 each. Another option is Lumira digital photographic prints. One 16x20 is $28, but if you order five, the price goes down to $17 each. Another way to keep your costs down is to produce smaller prints. An 8x10 on Somerset Velvet is $13.

See, it is not too difficult. Like most things in the art world, there are no hard and fast rules, no “magic bullet” for success. As I mentioned, if you are just starting out with prints, you will probably want to start as low as you can and still make a profit. If you are not selling through galleries, then you can even just double your print cost to start out. It is easier to raise prices if prints are flying off your shelves than to lower them if they are just languishing. And if this method doesn’t work for you, there are plenty of other formulas for pricing out there. This just happens to be one that I think is easy – and works for me.

Here’s a bonus tip:
When establishing the price, try to keep it under the “barrier” numbers. So instead of $50, sell for $49. Instead of $100, sell for $98. Strangely, once you’ve broken a barrier, you can go higher. For instance, if someone is willing to pay $125 for something, they’d probably not blink at $149. Study pricing in retail stores and you’ll see what I mean.

OK, one more tip.
Sell in “package deals.” A photographer I know sells matted 5x7 prints at shows. One matted 5x7 is $39. If you buy two, you get them both for $59. But if you buy three, you get them all for $65. Guess what he sells most of? Yep, three prints.

Kate Dardine has been helping photographers and artists market their prints for over 20 years. She is currently Marketing Director at Fine Print Imaging, as well as a professional artist selling original paintings and prints.