Lie #2 - You will always sell more paintings in a gallery than online.
There are some artists who do sell more paintings in galleries than online. But this is not always the case. In fact, it is more the exception than the rule. Many artists don’t realize that even if you sell your art in galleries you still need to promote your art. You want to help your galleries sell your art. So don't have a goal to get in to galleries solely because you don;t want to have to promote your own art. For many artists who are in galleries, they may only sell a few paintings at that gallery in many, many months. It's a harsh reality. The art marketplace has changed and a lot of galleries have been hit hard with competing internet sales. For the majority of artists who don’t sell in galleries, selling online is a great option. I know more artists selling their art online than those who sell in galleries. Only a handful sell more art through galleries. Selling your art online allows you to show your art to the world! Ok, I may have exaggerated a bit, but you know what I mean. Most artists have the goal to sell their art in galleries. It's a great goal! But you need to remember that galleries want to represent artists who sell! So don't sit around and wait for a gallery to call. (Because they probably won't.) Market and promote your art and get the attention of your favorite gallery. If things don't work out with the gallery you will still be in a good place. Develop your own customer base and continue to promote your art online. It does work!
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This week I would like to address what I call “common lies”. These lies pertain to selling your art online.
Lie #1 - You can only sell small inexpensive paintings online. I decided to start with the biggest lie first. Although we need to define what “inexpensive small paintings” means. For arguments sake, let’s say a small inexpensive painting is defined as anything less than an 11” x 14” painting priced at $500.00. There are plenty of artists who sell paintings priced in the $5000 - $10,000 range online. I can personally promise you that. The key is finding your audience. Because there is an audience out there for your paintings. You just need to find them. If the right people are seeing your paintings then there is a likelihood they will sell. I offer a 100% guarantee that ensures the buyer that if they aren’t happy with the painting they can return it within 10 days as long as it is in the same condition as it was shipped. In seven years of selling almost all of my paintings online, I have only had one painting that was returned. The photo was lighter than the actual painting (which was my fault) and the buyer wanted a darker one. The good news? They bought another one of my paintings instead! I have sold many paintings in the $5000 - $8,000 range and worked with the buyer (or interior designer) entirely online. Some sales were done directly through my website without any prior notification to the sale. In other cases the sale took place after the buyer contacted me online and questions were asked and answered. In all cases, it is important you have good photographs that represent your paintings exactly as they are. Make sure all of the information about the painting is accurate and that you handle the sale in a timely fashion. I do want to mention that there does come a price point where you may have a difficult time selling paintings online. This includes paintings priced in the $20,000+ range and when the buyer is a first time buyer. In this case paintings are not as likely to sell, as the buyer will likely want to see the painting in person. Are you unmotivated to paint? Are you feeling "pigeonholed" with your painting? Are you tired of painting the same, old thing? These are situations that every artist faces. But lately I fell as if I am seeing these comments more and more on social media. And that concerns me. If you are facing these situations then this show is for you. If you are not, you can pretty much expect that you will face these thoughts someday in the future. (So listen up!)
This week (due to some traveling by yours truly) the Artists Helping Artists podcast is today. That's Friday, March 10th at 6:00am PST, 9:00am EST. (Obviously I am not on the west coast as it's not likely I would be up before dawn to host the AHA show). So where do you start if you are struggling and "stuck in a rut"? The first thing is easy. And that is to accept what is happening. In any job we all have doubts and frustrations. But in most jobs you still show up, you still get your work done and you still collect a paycheck. But I think it is much harder as an artist. Creating wonderful art (which is what we all strive to do) is not easy when you are in a rut. In fact, I think it is almost impossible. Which is all the more reason to accept hat you are going through. In fact, accepting what is happening to you is the first thing you have to do to get out of it. Second, you need to understand that this happens to every artist. Even the top selling ones. Even the greatest and most talented artists alive. In fact, it happens to all of us ... What to learn more? Just listen to today's podcast here. (You can listen live or anytime after the show as all episodes are recorded and archived.) I mentioned on my blog last week that I had some pretty crazy deadlines. Well guess what? I am on schedule. Well, at least for today. (I am also sleep deprived but I can make up for that later.)
Today was a big day. I finished a 48" x 48" abstract and a 60" x 60" abstract. The client is approving them tomorrow and I will varnish them tomorrow afternoon. I also finished 12 small sample abstract paintings. They are for an interior designer whose client will select three for three very large paintings for an office building. Did I mention these paintings are huge? Just to give you an example, one of them is 72" x 90". So right now I have a pretty serious space problem in my studio. All six canvases are in my studio and the smallest one is 48" x 48". The painted ones are laying flat and the gessoed ones are stacked up against the wall. I hope I can get each painting deliveries as they are completed ... because there isn't enough room to paint (or store) them all at once. I also have some traveling scheduled as I have trips planned to Ohio and Waco, Tx in the next few weeks. I am very excited! Of course I have a million things to get done before I step foot on an airplane. Ugh. What do you have on your schedule this week? Before I forget ... I still have space in my Art Marketing Boot Camp in Waco. There is even space at the Harp House! If you have an open schedule or are in the Texas area then you need to join me for this amazing experience. It will change your art life. I promise. The dates are March 19 - 22. Click here for more information. Last week I mentioned my new Instagram feed called @my100yearoldhome. I have had this new Instagram page just under two weeks. When I wrote about my new Instagram last Friday I had 400 followers. Today, two days later, I have 1,942. Huh?
Instagram is amazing. The community of lifestyle bloggers that I have connected with over these last 13 days have been the nicest, most helpful and generous people I have ever met through social media. In the last four days, four of these lifestyle "Instagramers" have posted a picture of my house on their accounts encouraging people to check out my IG feed. They have also commented on almost every photo I have posted. And they have been so generous! One of these accounts was a national magazine. And one of them was a blogger who has over 90,000 followers. I wanted to mention my experience because I am thrilled with the success and I seriously doubt I could have done this on my own. Early this morning I hit 1000 followers and I was thrilled. I never imagined twelve hours later I would have one thousand more. So what can we learn from this? Pay it forward. Do something today to help one of your friends. Help out an artist friend. Encourage your friends on social media to follow one of your friends. If we all did this, every day, the world would be a better place. To visit my instagram page just go to www.instagram.com/my100yearoldhome/.
Just over a week ago I created a new Instagram Page. It's my second one and it's called my100yearoldhome. It's the story of my 102 year old home and all the good things that are involved in making our house a home. It includes stories about decorating, cooking, collecting, DIY projects and some fun "farmhouse style" transformations. It's been a blast and I am really enjoying myself. And the reason? It's because the people who I am getting to know are friendly, creative, generous and wonderful.
On this week's AHA show I shared a lot of my experiences and how I was able to gain almost 600 followers in just over a week. If things keep going at this rate I should be at my goal of 10,000 followers in a few months. Don't get me wrong, it takes a lot of work. But I have a fabulous plan and I am hoping to release my blog that enhances my new Instagram page in the next few weeks. If you want to visit my Instagram just click on the photo above. If you have time I would like to invite you to visit my new Instagram and follow my page. I think you will enjoy it! I get emails all of the time from artists who are frustrated with their social media. They don't see any growth with with either Facebook or Instagram. They want more followers but cannot figure out how or where to find them.
Today's Artists Helping Artists show is going to answer this question. I am not saying we have all of the answers. But I can tell you that we can certainly help. I think we can all agree that Facebook and Instagram are great vehicles to promote your art. But it takes a lot of work. I am hoping today's show will make it a bit easier for you! The show airs Thursday, March 2nd at 9:00 am PST, 12:00 noon EST. Listen to the show here. All of the Artists Helping Artists shows are recorded any time and can be listened to anytime!
Apparently my blog post from yesterday stressed some of you out with my long to-do list! Sorry about that. I am plugging away. And I know I will get these paintings done. So that's a very good thing. (Can you tell that I decided this morning a positive attitude would help me through this? I think it is working.)
Ok. I love a good deal. And weebly, the site which is my favorite web builder, is having a great sale on all of their plans. Everything is 25% off. Which is really great as I have never seen them do anything like this before. Never! Please note the sale ends tonight, March 1st at midnight PST so act now if you want to take advantage of this! To enjoy the 25% discount, click on the word |
Leslie
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July 2017
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