Showing posts with label support for artists. Show all posts
Showing posts with label support for artists. Show all posts

Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Art Marketing Tuesday-Social Media

I realize I have been reposting things of late.  I do research in the mornings for my own career and have been coming across some very good information that I want to share.  Research for me for you too, not too bad!  I hope you find it useful.

Today I have for you 7 Social Media Marketing Tips and, although I haven't done all of these things, I would like to hear from you what you have tried and what has worked for you.  Everyone else reading this would like to know too - so share in the comments section of this blog, if you will, not just in Facebook.

This information, posted on Mashable, is a bit dated too, having been written in 2012.

By Leyl Master Black  
 This post originally appeared on the American Express OPEN Forum, where Mashable regularly contributes articles about leveraging social media and technology in small business.

According to market research firm First Research, there are about 5,000 art dealers and galleries in the U.S. with combined annual revenue of about $6 billion, and Art Market Monitor estimates the size of the overall global art market to be around $15 billion annually. There are also more than 200,000 fine artists working in the U.S., according to recent research by the National Endowment for the Arts.
But while fine art is big business, there is often a wide chasm between the creative process that makes a great artist or a sophisticated gallery owner, and the marketing process that drives branding and sales.
“For the majority of artists, success will ultimately come down to their effectiveness in marketing,” says Darius Himes, Assistant Director of fine art photography gallery Fraenkel Gallery in San Francisco. “Artists need to embrace the fact that both their work, and they themselves as artists, are brands that must be marketed.”
So whether you’re an aspiring artist who wants to build an initial following, or a veteran art dealer looking to expand awareness of your brand, it pays to get savvy to new social marketing techniques to help you achieve your objectives. The following are seven strategies for more effective social marketing.

1. Optimize Your Website


A website is now a cost of doing business, and it’s essential for artists to have at least a minimal web presence. But even established artists and galleries with robust websites should consider a refresh, particularly to ensure that the site is optimized for search and mobile.
Himes notes that Fraenkel Gallery recently undertook a full overhaul of its website to incorporate more social, search and web marketing best practices.
“In addition to making a number of aesthetic and navigational enhancements, we also eliminated all of the Flash-based elements that weren’t searchable and that reduced the mobile functionality,” says Himes. “We also made sure that the new website was scalable to any mobile device, and that all pages had unique web addresses which would be easy to feed into social media.”

2. Get Busy Blogging


Blogging is one of the best ways to get your art or gallery found by the search engines and provides excellent content to fuel your other social marketing activities.
“Blogging is close to necessary at this point when it comes to both SEO and the building of a fan base,” says Greg Heller-LaBelle of web marketing firm DAY Vision Marketing. “The main thing we try to instill in clients is to start thinking of themselves as creators and syndicators of content.”
In addition to posting new work or promoting new shows or openings, your blog can also be a place to offer a behind-the-scenes look at your creative process, share pictures from relevant art events or chronicle your time at a prestigious art auction.
“As an artist myself and owner of a creative company, I'd say my number one tip is to pull back the curtain and show the behind-the-scenes work that takes place,” says Mark Ley, Managing Director at Copper Blue Creative. “Showing how a piece is made, or the location you are shooting photography, all help the fan to feel as if they are a part of the creation.”

3. Maximize Your Facebook Presence


Having a Facebook business page for your artist brand or gallery should be a no-brainer: it’s free, it’s simple to use and it gives you access to more than 1 billion people.
To use Facebook as a vehicle for promotion and awareness-building, first set up your Facebook business page and invite your friends and colleagues to “like” the page and share with their network … then start posting! Many of the same content strategies for your blog also apply to your Facebook page, but make sure to also spend a little bit of time each day engaging with your fans.
“The main reason why artists fail with social media is that they are not providing a value to their connections with any helpful, interesting and relevant content in their comments and posts,” writes John R. Math of Light Space & Time Online Art Gallery. “As artist participants we need to be active, engaged and consistently provide some kind of value.”

4. Be Active on Twitter


Twitter is a great tool for building a following and promoting your art or gallery. The best way to get started is by looking for relevant people or businesses to follow; try digging around a site like Listorious to search for other people's lists by topic. For example, a gallery owner could use Listorious to search on "art” to find lists of prominent tweeters in the art world. Then start tweeting — at a minimum, tweet out all the content that appears on your blog and other relevant news about your art or events. Don’t forget to use hashtags with your tweets to boost the searchability of your content.
You can also follow keywords and hashtags to easily find relevant content to share and people to follow. Set up a running search or column in your social media tool (TweetDeck and HootSuite are great options) on particular terms and hashtags so you can quickly scan for interesting content to retweet and people to engage with.

5. Take Advantage of Pinterest


Use of the visually oriented social site Pinterest has exploded over the past year, and many artists are using Pinterest to share their work beyond Facebook and Twitter.
To get started on Pinterest, first set up a profile that includes keywords and your website address, then start pinning. When you pin your art, don’t forget to add a watermark to protect the image, as well as keywords: Pinterest is searchable, so make sure you describe your pin clearly. You should also customize the link to point back to your website or whatever other page you’re promoting.
You can also get more exposure for your images by including a price for the item into your description. This simple trick will add your pin to the “Gifts” section on Pinterest and will display the price across the front of the image throughout the site.

6. Experiment With Facebook Ads


Many artists and galleries are also using Facebook Ads as a low-cost way to promote upcoming shows and events.
Artlog, a social platform allowing people to connect with the international art scene, uses Facebook Ads to promote events and sell tickets to art events like exhibitions, tours and discussions. For example, 10 days before its Chelsea Art Crawl & Party last summer, Artlog began running Facebook Ads to promote the event and direct people to Artlog’s website in order to purchase tickets. For every $75 Artlog spent on Facebook, it saw $200 in ticket sales.
Facebook also allows you to target different campaigns or events to different people.
“There are specific galleries and museums that we will use in our Likes and Interests targeting because we know that if people are engaging with those galleries, they are more likely to be the right audience,” says Manish Vora, co-founder of Artlog.

7. Use Press Releases for Search


While galleries typically develop and share press releases about upcoming shows with relevant media, they often neglect to distribute their release over the wire, and thus miss out on one of the best low-cost ways to propagate their brand across the internet and drive search results. You can use a low-cost service such as PRWeb to distribute your release for under $100.
To optimize your press release for search, start by making a list of the keywords and phrases that are most relevant to your company, and then cross-check these terms using Google’s keyword tool to assess monthly search volume. Once you have your list of keywords, use them in the headline and subhead of your release as well as throughout the body of the announcement. Avoid repetition by using secondary and tertiary keywords.
For example, if you’re a San Francisco fine art gallery looking to boost your search results on the phrases “fine art photography” and “San Francisco art galleries” — as well as around a particular photographer’s work — you might include the phrase “fine art photography” in the headline, subhead and first paragraph of the release, along with the artist’s name, while including the term “San Francisco art gallery” elsewhere in the release.
Make sure that you attach any hyperlinks back to your website or blog to these keyword phrases rather than your name or generic terms like “art opening.”
You should also consider adding images or video to your press releases: Releases that include an image or a video get shared three times more than text-only releases — and viewers spend up to thirty seconds more with this content.
How are you promoting your art or gallery using social media? Tell us in the comments.

Hope this gives you some great ideas for promoting your art and that you are enjoying your Tuesday, this last day of September.  See you in October!

'Til tomorrow!

~Alex
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Saturday, September 27, 2014

Selling Art

Today is Selling Art Saturday.

Do you know how the BIG gallery market works?  Since I will continue to be considered an "emerging artist" for quite some time, perhaps for the rest of my life...this is something Mark and I are still learning.

Today I would like to share with you something I read the other day.  It is from a post written by blogger and gallery owner Edward Winkleman.  His blog is well worth reading whether you are an artist or a collector.  And his gallery?  Well.  Here is (in part) the write up on their gallery website:
We have participated in art fairs such as The Armory Show, SEVEN, Pulse, ARCO, Art Chicago, NADA, INDEPENDENT, and Moving Image. Gallery artists have exhibited in some of the world’s most important venues and biennials, including the Venice Biennale, the Vienna Kunsthalle, The Art Institute in Chicago, the Getty Center in Los Angeles, the Singapore Biennale, the Sharjah Biennial, and the Whitney Biennial.
Impressive, is all I have to say about that.

One of the artists Winkleman Gallery represents is Shane Hope.  Here is one of his 3-D printed artworks:
Shane Hope "Computronium-Cloud Copyllution" 2013
  Anyway.  Here is Ed's post.  Very educational for me and for you too, I hope.
That Primary Gallery Discussion
Of all the negotiations that an artist has with their dealer, few are as treacherous to navigate as the one concerning the "primary gallery" question. The reason it can be trickier than other issues is because each new potential opportunity to work with another gallery can change the entire landscape. If, for example, you have a primary gallery in City X and then a gallery in City Y wants to work with you, whether the City Y gallery is going to be happy to become your "secondary gallery" will depend on how they feel about both the other gallery and that other city.

In general, it's not to any gallery's advantage to be secondary gallery for any of their artists and it's often to their great advantage to be the primary gallery for all their artists. It's to most artists' benefit to have a primary gallery for some situations and not at all for others. Further, a gallery powerful enough to work out primary gallery status for most of their artists is usually one well worth working with.

So what do we mean by "primary gallery" or "secondary gallery" in this context? We've discussed this before, but an email from an artist struggling with these issues suggests we could flesh out the issues a bit more. I've changed some details to protect the artist's anonymity:
I recently graduated and I was picked up by a gallery soon after in City Q. I wanted to get some clarification about other galleries working with other galleries. Is this a common thing? I am not familiar with this and I have been asking anyone with answers about this. I am allowed to get representation in another gallery in another state, however, I was told that I needed to tell that other gallery they need to split their half of the commission with my gallery. Ex: from the 50%, one gallery gets 30% and the other gets 20%. This was not told to me at the beginning. One, I do not feel comfortable in this position and I don't think it is my duty to do this as the artist. Two, if my gallery is the one to start the relationship, then they can discuss their terms. I have been told it is a rare situation and rarely works out.
Also, are galleries allowed to take a % from every exhibition I participate in? on works that aren't consigned to them? I am a new, young emerging artist and I feel I am being taken advantage of. I feel I am in a situation I don't know how to go about it. If you have any advice/input it would really be helpful.
OK, so let's begin with a frank discussion about why a gallery might insist on this. (And, from what is provided here, I would conclude that this artist is NOT being taken advantage of, but is not being communicated with effectively.)

In the gallery system the term "primary gallery" means an artist's main gallery, or #1 in the pecking order. This is the gallery that maintains his/her master archive, does much of the communications promoting their career (i.e., with institutions planning exhibitions), will work to raise the money to produce most of the work in situations where that's part of the artist's practice, and generally resides in a high-profile market, meaning they get the kind of traffic/critical attention for the artist that other galleries in other locations just can't. In return they may stipulate terms for representation by which their investment in building the markets for their artists is returned to them through commission on sales in other galleries. The thinking here includes the notion that the other galleries (usually in smaller cities) can only command the prices for the work by this artist because of the primary gallery's reputation and hard work in building their market.

Such terms of representation vary widely (including percentages, duration, geographical extent, etc.). Even within most galleries, they are highly negotiable (i.e., Artist G, who is internationally renown and sells work in the 6-digit range, may be able to insist on terms that Artist T, who is fresh out of school and still building a market cannot [nor should, IMHO]).

A "secondary gallery" is any other gallery (within certain geographical restrictions usually, but not necessarily) that an artist who has a primary gallery works with too. You can have many, many secondary galleries, but within any geographical area, you have only one primary gallery. Of course, no gallery would volunteer to be a secondary gallery for their artists, but it's often a small price to pay for the prestige and/or income to be had by working with an artist who already has a strong market built up by another dealer.

Personally, I feel the real "victim" (OK, so it's not truly that dramatic usually) in such situations is the secondary gallery dealer, not the artist, who will still make their 50% of any sale. But I do realize that until all the terms are established, it can be highly uncomfortable for any artist wishing to have other galleries in addition to their primary gallery, so I empathize with this artist.

Having said that, however, discussing---in depth---how any gallery you're considering signing up with works with other galleries is Representation 101. All the anxiety expressed by the artist above can be eliminated through a simple conversation before the fact. Questions I suggest you ask if your potential new (potentially primary) gallery doesn't offer such information upfront include:
  1. Will you see yourself as my "primary gallery"? And if so, what does that mean with regards to services you provide and expectations of working with other galleries?
  2. Do any commissions you expect of secondary galleries expire after a certain period of my working with them?
  3. Where do these terms apply? Are you my primary gallery only in this city/state/country/continent ?
  4. How should I discuss this with a gallery in another city that wants to work with me, but doesn't want to pay commission? Should I ask them to talk with you about it?
  5. Can this be put in writing?
Question 4 is your real tool here to alleviate any frustration/anxiety. Make the galleries duke it out (they will compromise to your benefit usually). Just be aware up front what your first gallery expects before agreeing to representation. The devil truly lurks in the details of this issue. Personalities, grudges, greed...they can all come into play when dealers talk to each other. If you, as the artist, understand the terms up front though, you don't have to suffer through any of that. Nor should you have to. You may need to make some tough decisions at times, but no one can spare you from those, so....
If you are experiencing a growth spurt with gallery representation, I hope you find this useful information.  I know I did.  Hope you are having a great weekend.

'Til tomorrow -

~Alex
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Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Artist - Entrepreneaur? Marketer? or Both?

I have said before that artists must also be entrepreneurs and to some degree I think this is not a wholly accurate statement. 

It may be more appropriate to say that an artist must be a creative marketer of their work...or perhaps it would be best to say that artists must also be entrepreneurial marketers to be successful in the marketplace.

Creating a startup as an entrepreneur means - well, a lot of things but for now let's just agree the definition is: to develop a new product or service or to fundamentally improve on an existing product or service in such a way as to disrupt a certain marketplace that has become complacent or an industry that has lacked innovation for too long a time.

For artists, I think the elephant in the room is marketing.  Artists do what they've always done.  They create, depending upon the artist, what they create.  The "marketplace for art" is what it is.  

What each artists needs is a "marketplace for the specific art they create."  Although the artist him or herself may not be the most suitable nominee for this task, anything we do would be more than that elephant in the room could ever do.
Like these elephants, you may need help marketing your art - and that's okay.  The two most important things are to: no matter what, keep creating - and then to market it somehow, in every way you can think of that is appropriate...do it!

Here is a reprint of portions from an very long article courtesy of Alan Bamberger's Artbusiness.com blog.  I have divided it up for the next few posts so we can think about the individual sections together. 

This is the revised and updated text of a talk originally given to artists at the Indianapolis Art Center and to art students at the Herron School of Art at Purdue University and the first piece of sage advise that we have for today from this talk is simply this:
The most important first step towards becoming a full-time artist is to keep making art. Being an artist is never easy and the temptation put your art career on hold and apply yourself instead to other interests can sometimes be overwhelming. You might be thinking about giving art up until the kids are grown, about focusing only on your non-art job for a few years, or about closing down the studio for a while because sales are slow. My advice is simple: Don't do it.
For example, I recall a reasonably well-known artist who decided to quit painting at a relative high point of his early career and proceeded to make hardly any art for a number of years following. When he decided to take up painting again, his new work looked like little more than derivative rehashes of what he was doing when he stopped. He was totally out of practice and had lost his creative edge. To this point, he's managed to reestablish himself as a respectable artist, but he'll never again be the creative, cutting-edge force that he once was.
From a financial standpoint, he can't charge as much per painting as he would have been able to had he kept working. Collectors tend to approach his art with caution and buy conservatively because they're not sure whether he'll stop again. They know that if he does stop, he'll again negatively impact the market for his art. Even though he's now supporting himself as an artist, he has and will continue to have a credibility problem with both dealers and collectors.
So continue creating art no matter how difficult the process becomes. Continue even though you're not selling anything. Continue even if you're dissatisfied with what you're producing. Persevere, work through the tough times and you'll be glad you did.
And don't just keep producing art because it will keep or increase the value of your work but you'll be glad you did simply because it's good for your soul and spirit and general over-all well being.

It's time for me to go into the studio and do just that...create.
Wishing you a day of creativity too!

'Til tomorrow -

~Alex
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Monday, September 22, 2014

Are you a Professional?

I don't know what you do or who you are.  Maybe only you know that.

Let me explain.

Maybe you're a rock star and you wear all the clothes and you have the entourage and the fans and the houses and cars and "friends"...and you're feeling fulfilled about all of it.

Good for you.  You're a professional.  But you know you're not all that ...stuff.  In fact you care very little about all that. 

You think of yourself as a musician - but not with ego, not with pride, just with this internal...this is who I am.  You know you can count your friends on one hand, your favorite house is the little house you grew up in in Indiana and no one knows how to find you there, and your favorite shirt is one you've had for years, it's very soft and says Haynes on the label. 

What you need is to make music.  And very little else.  You don't make music for anyone...only for yourself.  Sure, it is interesting and it pleases you that there are other people who like it too, if there are.  But - it isn't a requirement to whether you make the music or not.  It is inside you and you find happiness in expressing it.

But maybe you're a Rock Star and you don't feel fulfilled by it.  The money is nice and all.  You have great stuff and are surrounded by people who would do anything for you (as long as you are "successful")  You don't know how you'd get along without it all. 

But the truth is, if you didn't have to do it, you wouldn't.  You listen to classical music when you get any time to yourself and wish you had finished your biology degree because you're secretly fascinated by the taxonomy, morphology, cytology, phytogeography of tulips.

For the sake of this conversation you are an amateur Rock Star - no matter how successful you may be by our society's definition of success.  And not just that, the world may have benefitted more if you had finished your biology degree rather than played rock music with less than all your heart put into it.
You lose a part of you and the world has lost too...because your tulip?...it isn't here.

So - have you ever asked yourself this question?  If you were the only person left on earth, how would you spend your time?  Would you still write music or play your instrument of choice? 

Would you still do what you are doing right now?

If you would not, what would you do? 

What do you get lost in?  What could you spend hours upon hours doing without noticing the passage of time, like you did when you were a kid and you played pretend games? 

And I'm not talking about spending time distracting yourself.  I'm not talking about escape.  I'm not talking about video games or the latest hot HBO series or spending hours on Fac... uh...social media.

Would you explore?  Would you build?  Would you pilot a plane?  Grow vegetables?  Make bread?  Shop for the most amazing shoes?  Work out?  Run?  Hike?  Groom Poodles?  Solve two mile long algebra equations?  Re-invent the wheel?  Climb steep mountain faces?

I know.  You are NOT the only person left on earth.

But whatever that is for you.  I hope you will consider spending time with it, whether you think you have the time to or not.  There is the real world you have to tend to the details of, of course.  But how much of that could be minimized so you can nurture and develop what you really want and like to do? 

I hope you get to go into your world today and spend some time there.  I know I will.

'Til tomorrow!

~Alex
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Thursday, August 28, 2014

Importance of Arts Orgainizations to Artist's Careers

I think there is a lot of positive energy that comes to the artist from joining and supporting artists organizations.  Since artists and the creating they do can suffer from the natural isolation we must create for ourselves - if we surround ourselves with people who believe what we believe about creating art and why we do it and that we want our business to be successful - even if it is another artist writing a blog, or listening to a podcast such as Artists Helping Artists while you're working in your studio - joining forces with like minded individuals somehow will help you.

If you follow me on Facebook, then maybe you know that one of my sculptures won an award from the American Women Artists Association.  The Award of Recognition for 3-D. 
Yes, I got a ribbon and a check and some great prizes.  But the biggest award I received is something that cannot be seen.  Validation from my peers that why I do what I do and how I do that...is recognized by others...and these others are such very talented artists in their own right.

This is an opinion about my work from other people that I trust.  And why do I trust them?  Because they are talented woman artists and we share a common purpose, shared values and beliefs about art, they are part of my community, they formed this organization to help me.  Me.  And maybe you too.
An effective organization has a purpose that is shared by all its members and to which they will willingly commit their efforts.  People working together can do almost anything.    ~James Hayes 
Even if, while thinking about organizations that may be important to you, you find that there is no one local that can meet your needs, you can always start your own organization.  You don't just have to have other artists join - invite people from other professions to become supporting members; marketing professionals, legal professionals, design professionals - all could contribute their knowledge and experience in very important ways.

Today I am back to working on that submission.  I received tremendous support from my own little organization yesterday...my husband took all the words I worked so hard to craft into artist statements and project proposals...and without changing my ideas or my intent - condensed them into that 1000 character minimum with such care, respect, and skill that I was left with nothing but gratitude. 

As artists, we all need people like that in our lives.  If you are not blessed with a supportive and talented spouse and business partner - or even if you are - join an organization, make some friends, find your mentors.  You will find them invaluable to your sanity and your career.

Wishing you an empowered and creative day!

'Til tomorrow!
~Alex
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