Marketing Workshop

July 28, 2018

EXPLORE ENGAGE COLLECT

Art Trails Mission Sonoma County Art Trails is an annual county-wide Open Studio Tour hosted by the juried Art Trails artists who exhibit their professional and inspiring work in their own studios. Art Trails invites and encourages the general public of all ages to EXPLORE beautiful Sonoma County, ENGAGE with the artists, their work and processes and COLLECT original, stimulating and enjoyable visual art. Created in 1985 Art Trails is dedicated to enrich its customers’ and community’s visual arts exploration, experience and education. Art Trails Goals Sonoma County Art Trails wishes to strengthen its current flagship programming to:

cultivate increased visual arts awareness, appreciation, participation and expertise for people of all ages

bolster Open Studio visitorship augment and sustain the creative community of Art Trails

artists ensure leadership continuity within the vibrant Art Trails

organization Today’s Topics: Creating a Following Pricing your art

Art Trails Marketing Workshop July 29, 2018 Page 1 of 5

Art Trails Marketing Workshop July 29, 2018 Page 2 of 5

Welcome! Panel: Marsha Connell, Bill Gittins, Alison Morse, Nicole Ours, Teri Sloat,

Jan Schultz Self-introductions

Creating a Following: AKA Communication! Communication!! Communication!!! Begins the first time someone hears about or sees you

o Make it easy for them to know/remember you Nametag at all events

What’s your story? Who are you? What’s unique about YOU? What will your art do for people?

YOU are a business

o Takes a village o Takes time o Takes work o You represent Art Trails

Networking

o Start with family, friends, neighbors, other artists o Church, Gym, Bookclubs, other organizations o Word of mouth

Barber/hairdresser Doctors/Dentist

o Art Trails meetings Web presence

o Website o Mail Chimp; Constant Contact, etc. o Social Media (aka: websites and applications that enable you to create and

share content or to participate in social networking) Facebook Instagram

o Business email address vs. personal email address

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Creating a Following (continued): Paper/tactile collateral materials

o Postcards o Brochures o Note cards o Collector’s Guide o Newspaper/magazine articles o Letterhead

Advertising

o Invest in your reputation o Collector’s Guide o Essential Guide o Art publications

Mail lists: snail-mail and email

o Why bother? o How to start and maintain o How to use them legally and beneficially

Studio set-up

o Visitor flow o Where you stand/sit/are o Helper

Reflects YOU Define role of helper

After Art Trails

o Thank you to buyers o Thank you to visitors

Facebook Instagram

o Set expectation for next event

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Pricing your art: Set? Negotiating? Discounts? List of work & prices vs. on each piece Old work vs new work By size? Studio vs Gallery Changing prices before/after Art Trails Prices on website? Charging tax Receipts Try and buy Leasing art Commissions Lay Away*

Resources: Insights from Top Art Trails Sellers in 2016 Red Dot Blog: reddot@xanadugallery.com

o Reprints with permission Negotiating and Discounting to Sell Your Art An Introduction to Facebook Advertising for Artists

Alyson Stanfied Art Biz Coach: alyson@artbizcoach.com o Reprints with permission

How to start your email list Why Nobody Came

CA Layaway laws (see below information)* *California Layaway laws: (quoted from the Sacramento Press Nov.25, 2013)

California Law regarding layaway practices is governed by the California Civil Code, sections 1749-1749.4 which states that retailers must provide the seller with a written statement of the terms and conditions of the agreement, including:

1. The amount of the deposit received.

Art Trails Marketing Workshop July 29, 2018 Page 5 of 5

2. The length of time the goods will be held on layaway which may be expressed as a period of time or as a date when final payment for the goods is due.

3. A specific description of the goods. 4. The total purchase price of the goods including a separate listing of any

handling or processing charges. 5. Any other terms and conditions of the layaway agreement. 6. That the seller will refund any layaway deposit and subsequent

payments, if any, when, before the end of the stated layaway period, the goods have for any reason become no longer available in the same condition as at the time of the sale to the consumer.

There may be other limitations imposed, as most stores limit layaway to certain types of merchandise, such as toys, electronics, appliances, furniture and jewelry.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has information available on their website about online layaway and general tips for consumers. The FTC suggests consumers check the agreement for details and information on the retailers refund policy. This will help determine what will happen if consumers decide they do not want the merchandise after they have already made some or all the payments, or under what circumstances a refund can be given, if any. Retailers’ policies may differ: some give all the money back; others may charge a non-refundable service fee; still others may offer a merchant credit for the amount you paid. The FTC also has sample language for refund policies and what information should be included in the sales receipt.

If a layaway purchase has been handled unsatisfactorily, California consumers can file a complaint with the California Department of Consumer Affairs or the local Better Business Bureau.

For more information on this and other “Everyday Law” subjects, visit the Sacramento County Public Law Library, “Providing Free Public Access to Legal Information for over 100 years.”

By Robyn M. Moltzen, Public Services Librarian

Insights from Top Sellers in 2016 Insights from Top Sellers in 2016

Top 15 Recap v7.14.2017 Page 1 of 6

1. As an overview, please describe what you think are your Best Marketing Practices that bring clients to your studio and result in high sales during Art Trails.

Not one thing, it’s a combination o Bumped into an old client in Marin at an Art Fair; woman on my mailing list (4

mailings/year); gave her my 2016 AT post card; she showed up at AT, bought something, commented she saw my Facebook post that reminder her about Art Trails.

o Hires a professional marketing person who is objective, knowledgeable, and professional, who creates a plan, gives me my assignments and keeps me organized.

o Constantly scanning for opportunities to meet one-on-one with potential clients. Attend many community events; club activities; civic leader activities; private club meetings.

o Always have business cards with me and talk up my art and events. o Mails 1200+ postcards; participate in festivals getting my name out there; puts

art in high-end stores, not galleries. o I am always collecting names & addresses, snail mail and email- ALWAYS tell

then to write legibly! It takes time: - even Andy Warhol was not an “overnight” success

o Stick it out as long as you can o Everyone starts somewhere, you are building your business over time o 1st Art Trails my studio was in my garage- it has grown and evolved over the

years Determine what works for you: not everything you make is a best seller

o Landscapes vs figurative vs still life – what seems to sell best? o Art that is attractive to a broad audience has a better chance of selling

Cultivate Connections: Get other people to get your name out there o galleries, other artists, clients

Develop Relationships: Greet all visitors with equal enthusiasm o Develop & use a mailing list o Develop & use an email list o Call and invite prospective clients to come see your work during Art Trails o Keep in touch, but do not harass

Send postcards – especially to anyone who has ever bought your work- you are investing in your reputation

Stay motivated- pull together group of artists to keep one another excited, share feedback, encourage one another

o This enthusiasm and excitement comes out in your art

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Insights from Top Sellers in 2016

2. Do you have an annual Marketing budget. If so, what % or approximate amount is devoted to Art Trails. What categories are included in your marketing plan, eg. print advertising, social media advertising, special events for clients, gifts, rewards, discounts or other incentives for clients.

None of the artists had a specific marketing budget other than “what I feel I can afford at the time.”

o All the artists capitalized on opportunities as they came up Print ads in the Collector’s Guide; AT group ad in NorthBayBiz; group AT

ad in the Essential Guide; catalogs of shows/festivals they participate in Two artists used Facebook advertising, but not actively

o One artists spends $800/month ($9600/yr) on professional marketing person who photos my work, creates, organizes & implements marketing schedule, edits write-ups, creates advertisements, co-writes, creates & updates website; makes contacts for publicity; gets my name out in print, newspaper/magazine articles about me. Same artist spent $5000 for a publicist in New York for a show and that

brought 0 results o Two artists spend $3,000 - $5,000/yr on marketing o One artist has done a raffle and gives small piece of art if you purchase $500+ o Several gave discounts for multiple purchases or repeat buyers keeping this

discount consistent based on their own set parameters One artist offered a GoLocal discount One artist offered discounts if a potential buyer asked Most said “No discounts, it degrades our work!”

Many artists said “I let my art do the marketing!” LOTS of signs, placed strategically is a big part of successful marketing!

3. Does your marketing target specific groups? If so, which types of groups (by age - 30-40 yrs old, business professionals, community and/or civic organizations, only past clients or studio visitors, etc.)

Most artists indicated they have a broad spectrum of buyers o Most did not target any specific group…”I’m not that sophisticated!”

One artists is trying to target architects and also participating in a Home Tour for a non-profit, hoping to see 300 new people come through the studio during this event

Some try to target by web-sales, long term customers, highest buyers One artist said “really old people and IT/Computer whizzes do not buy art!” Another artist indicated the 50-65 yr. olds were the typical buyer

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Insights from Top Sellers in 2016

4. Describe your use of Social Media when marketing Art Trails, eg., Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Blogging, Pinterest Snapchat, E-mail. Which do you use, approximate % of time devoted to each.

All use some form of email for marketing Seven use Facebook: three use Iinstagram

o postings ranged from 5-7 times/week to several times/month to occasionally Four do not use social media but have a website

o “I have no time…I am creating and doing what I like to do.” o “I let my art speak for me.” o I’m so bad at that; I’ll have to hire an assistant to do so.”

5. Describe your use of your website. For example, do you send notices to clients to view new works on your website, or send reminders of updates or events listed on your website? What other ways have you used your website in marketing efforts?

All the artists have a website and feel it is a MUST o Adds professionalism, credibility, establishes artists as reputable and gives the

viewer a flavor of my art work o Two artists hire professionals to maintain and update their website o One artist’s website has ability for clients to purchase through the website

Some do not consistently focus on including a direct link in their emails to their websites; our questions prompted some to say they will start doing this.

6. Describe your use of Hardcopy advertising. eg., newspapers, magazines, event

guides, postcards, . . . Two artists have used hardcopy print advertising in Southwest Art, Beverly Hills

Magazine and Dwell magazine. Two artists used newspaper ads- and won’t do again as it was not fruitful. Most have placed ads in the Art Trails collector’s guide All but one have used and found postcards or brochures beneficial in the past

o Some cutting back on postcards due to cost and available technology (email, Facebook, Instagram)

o Several find the combination of postcards and email (MailChimp, Constant Contact, etc.) their preferred mode of marketing

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Insights from Top Sellers in 2016

7. Do you offer rewards, incentives or discounts to clients? if so, are they advertised to clients, offered at time of purchase, or ___? Two artist offer discounts during December Holiday show Two artists offered raffle opportunity when you legibly sign the guest book

o One will no longer do this as it did not create follow up or bring any business One offers a 10% discount to GoLocal participants One NEVER offers any discounts or rewards. One artist only offers a discount if the buyer asks for a discount One says “If I include this gift card package will that help make this purchase?’ One artist says “If you like it and want to take it home we can work it out” and that

might mean o Renting my art; time payments; or a trade of some type.

Most offer a discount for multiple purchases or past buyers 8. Do your marketing efforts devote more effort or differentiate between finding

new/prospective Art Trails clients vs. returning clients? if yes, please describe. None of the artists specifically differentiate their marketing efforts between new and

returning clients o “I just sell my art. I don’t really care who they are or if they have bought from

me in the past. Do they like what I have now? That’s the only thing that matters.”

o One artist differentiates by providing students who take classes from her and prospective students with different types of emails.

o I am always marketing; exchanging cards at art openings; introducing myself to others; I get new visitors every year.

o I track sales by new vs. repeat buyers; it’s critical to always bring in new prospects.

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Insights from Top Sellers in 2016

9. How do you measure the outcome of your marketing efforts or plan. Do you measure your Return on Investment of funds and time spent on marketing? If yes, how do you measure, and what records do you keep from year to year?

Most artists did not do any formal analysis or tracking. o I don’t do any analysis o It’s not worth my time; o Administrative work is too time consuming and I need to do art o Nothing scientific I just ask how they identified my studio for their visit and

that provides me general information o Too hard to measure- just gauge by increase of visitors and sales. o “At the end of the day did I make a sale?”

One artist tracks income, expenses, profits, # of visitors, # of buyers and gender of buyers year-over-year.

What sells art is the quality of the work viewed by the potential buyer. It’s all about quality

o Word of mouth spreads due to one’s quality. An ad may bring in a few folks but the quality of any artist’s work is what sells it.”

o “Advertising is a sucker’s bet!” They came because of my email and my job is to cultivate the relationship- it’s all

about relationships! One artist felt most new clients came from Instagram

10. How effective is the Art Trails Collector’s Guide? What changes could be made to it to make it better for you and Art Trails? Create a title page for each geographic city/region of the county, along with that

areas’ map, and have the artist’s images in that city/region on the following pages. Too busy and cluttered:

o Add more pages to increase size of the images o Create template for all ads so they are consistent, same font, and font size, ad

image same size, etc. and eliminate all the small ads that make the pages look cluttered.

Don’t change the size or shape of the catalogue, just add pages to handle larger images for each artist.

It works just the way it is. And it is VERY important for bringing visitors to our studios! Please do not go electronic only- that would be a big mistake.

Is the Steering Committee afraid to risk too much on the cover? Put some abstract work on the cover.

Would be great to have more than one image in the catalogue. I would pay extra money for a second image.

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Insights from Top Sellers in 2016

11. Additional insights The great majority of the artists truly enjoy talking with the visitors

o If this isn’t you, maybe Art Trails isn’t your thing. Doesn’t mean your art is not good- means Art Trails isn’t the right venue for you.

Be a responsible, reliable business person who creates art o Be genuine and friendly o Show up when you say you will o Be reliable o Have original and unique work o Clothes and cars do not indicate if someone will buy your work

I never push my work; let the visitors enjoy the studio and ask questions about my work

o This is the beginning of our relationship! Create a risk-free commission

o If they don’t like do another one for them o Be a good listener o You don’t want someone to have your art if they don’t love it!

Make it easy for someone to buy your art o Checks, cash, credit cards and time payments welcomed o Try’n’Buy arrangements o Rent-to-buy arrangements

The energy you put out comes back to you from your visitors o Visitors can tell if you are happy, sad, cranky, desperate for a sale, indifferent,

etc.

Reprinted for Art Trails artists with permission from Alyson Stanfield

How To Start Your Email List

By Alyson Stanfield

“How do I start a mailing list?”

It’s a question that I’ve been asked numerous times in the past few weeks. Hmmm … Where to begin?

One thing is for certain. “Start an Email List” is an overwhelming project that might stop you before you’ve even begun. Instead of looking at it as a whole, break it down into steps to make faster progress.

©Laura Bethmann, Mandala. Ink, watercolor, and pencil. 14 x 18 inches. Used with permission.

Here are the steps to take. They aren’t numbered because you can skip around until you get to the “Finally” section.

(If you have a mature mailing list and you don’t need these steps, please don’t go anywhere. Jump straight to the end and share your experience with others. Your insights and encouragement are sure to be valuable to someone else.)

Start With Who You Know

Make a list of everyone you know who might want to hear about you and your art:

Friends Family Neighbors Colleagues at a day job Other artists

How To Start Your email List Reprinted for Art Trails artists with permission from Alyson Stanfield Page 1 of 3

Don’t discount anyone because you believe they’ll never buy your art. You never know how they can support you until you bring them into your art life.

©Pat Bingham, Dive. Watercolor, 14 x 11 inches. Used with permission.

Save the following information for each person:

First and last name Email address City, State/Province, Zip/Postal Code Country Phone number

Yes, we’re talking about email lists here. But as long as you’re collecting the first two pieces of information, you might as well record the rest.

You are not adding these people to a bulk email list. You are saving their names to invite them at a later date.

You don’t want to run afoul of anti-spam laws.

Register for an Email Service

Open an email account with a platform like MailChimp or Constant Contact. See this review of options.

You don’t have to anything with it yet. Just get an account. Remember: Baby steps.

You will use this to email your growing list, which you cannot do from a regular email account without triggering the suspicion of your Internet Service Provider.

Join Other Artists’ Lists

Sign up for other artists’ email lists for ideas on what to do and what not to do.

When you sign up, pay close attention to the experience:

Is the form easy to use? Is there a thank-you page that looks like it’s personally from the artist? Or does it appear to be cold and from the email

company? Did you receive an immediate thank-you? What happens next? What’s the frequency of the emails?

You can model what you like and improve what you don’t like about the experience.

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Map Out Your Communication

These three things can happen in any order:

1. Decide on the cadence of your email. I suggest once a month to create a habit.

When you invite people to your list, you want to tell them what they’ll be receiving and at what frequency.

2. Begin gathering ideas for six months of emails. This is what we do in Creative Content Camp – develop ideas for email, blog posts, and social media – but you can do it on your own.

You can’t use the excuse that you don’t have anything to say when you keep a stash of content ideas handy.

3. Create an email template on the email service you have selected. This will be ready to go when you’re ready to send.

©Georgia Gibbs, The Docks. Cold wax, oil paint, 24 x 36 x 1 inches. Used with permission.

Finally

Ask those whose names you’ve collected if they would like to hear about your art on a regular basis via email. This can be done through personal emails or in conversation.

Plan to send an email within 1 week to anyone who asks to be on your list. This is when they are most interested in hearing from you, so you don’t want to blow the opportunity.

These people have trusted you with their email addresses. You should be full of gratitude in your opening missives to them.

Oh, and finally finally … Don’t make the mistake of waiting until you have more people on your list to begin sending email updates. Your list won’t grow until you start using it.

How To Start Your email List Reprinted for Art Trails artists with permission from Alyson Stanfield Page 3 of 3

Reprinted for Art Trails artists with permission from Alyson Stanfield

Why Nobody Came to Your Show By Alyson Stanfield

It doesn’t take a genius to understand why nobody came to your art show.

Let’s set aside the bad weather, natural disaster, flu epidemic, or major tragedy in the community. And not count people who are out of town or live too far away, or those who have tickets to the theater or are nursing a sick child.

We’re going to focus on the able people on your mailing list who would be most inclined to come out and support you. Except they didn’t.

©Marianne Gargour, A Single Solitary Moment. Oil on canvas, 30 x 30 inches. used with permission.

The reason they didn’t come is because you assumed too much.

Let’s look at 4 ways this might have played out.

1. You didn’t tell them about it.

You assumed the venue would get the word out.

Oops! You’ll never do that again. Venues, regardless of the type of venue, have an entire program of artists and exhibitions lined up. Sorry to break this to you: you are but a small fish in their big pond.

What’s important to you isn’t always critical to them.

You can’t rely on the venue to get people to your exhibition.

Why Nobody Came to Your Show reprinted for Art Trails artists with permission from Alyson Stanfield Page 1 of 3

©Pauline Johnson, Shedding Bark. Oil on canvas, 36 x 18 inches. Used with permission.

2. You relied on a social media post.

You assumed people would see your invitation on Facebook.

You can’t post an invitation once or twice to social media and expect results (especially these days). I don’t know about you, but I miss everything on social media. My mom always updates me on family goings-on when we talk on the phone because I don’t see them in my feeds.

Even if those you wanted to see the invite did, people don’t usually hop on board until they have seen an invitation multiple times.

You need a variety of touch points scheduled for your fans and followers:

Send a postcard. Place stacks of postcards in strategic venues. Mention your event in your newsletter. Blab about it on social media. Post flyers.

But the best use of your time would be personal contact with those you want to attend. Nothing – Nothing! – moves people to action like a personal invitation. This could be an email, a text message, or a phone call, but it is sent only to them and comes from the heart.

Never underestimate the value of personal invitations when you seek action from others.

3. You were afraid to send email reminders.

You assumed that a single email would do the trick – and that they would actually read the missive you sent.

You assumed that people would write it down and remember. They didn’t.

Most of my students and members admit to being “afraid to bother people” with an extra email. They reconsider when I share the statistics of how much these last-minute emails increase the sign-ups for my programs.

Why Nobody Came to Your Show reprinted for Art Trails artists with permission from Alyson Stanfield Page 2 of 3

©Gilly Thomas, Into the Light, Edition 2/9. Limited edition bronze sculpture made in the traditional Lost Wax Tradition, 9 x 7 x 13 inches. Used with permission.

In fact, the highest percentage of registrations comes when I send the “starts tomorrow” email. More importantly, the right people – the people for whom my message was intended – respond with gratitude for the reminder.

4. You let your list get cold.

You assumed you could count on certain people to show up for you even if you have been out of touch.

Scene: Me jumping up and down on the rooftop. Bold letters necessary. You have to nurture your relationships. You must continue to show people you care about them long after they’ve purchased from you, started following you, or asked to receive your emails.

This is why you have a strategy for staying in touch with your list on a regular basis. So that, when you ask something of them (like showing up to your opening), they remember you and are familiar with what you’ve been up to.

©Dawn Normali, Where Are the Birds. Oil on canvas, 12 x 12 inches. Used with permission.

It’s not just uncomfortable for you to contact people only when you want something from them, it’s downright impolite.

Stop assuming so much. There are plenty of people out there who want to show up for you.

Make sure they hear from you and know that they are appreciated and needed.

Why Nobody Came to Your Show reprinted for Art Trails artists with permission from Alyson Stanfield Page 3 of 3

ART MARKETING FOR ARTISTS

Negotiating and Discounting to Sell Your Art JASON HOREJS MAY 21, 2018 41 COMMENTS

Tweet on Twitter Share on Facebook Google+ Pinterest Reprinted for Art Trails artists with permission from Jason Horejs

The title of this post might make you shudder. Many artists bristle at the concept that an artist or gallery might discount the retail price of a piece of art in order to make a sale. I’ve written on this subject before, and the discussion always generates passionate discussion. I recently had a lively discussion with an artist on the subject which got me thinking about the topic again. This artist made some great arguments against discounting and put me through the paces. In the end of the discussion, I’m not sure that either of us was swayed fully to the other’s side, but we both had something to think about.

While I don’t have a recording of the discussion, I would like to try and reproduce some of it here as best I recollect it. Just know that I’m paraphrasing and probably even dramatizing and fictionalizing some of the discussion (of course my answers are going to be better after I’ve had time to think more about it and write them down). I’ve also added some questions that I’ve heard from other artists. To be fair to my interlocutor, I encourage you to help his arguments in the comments below.

Artist: Discounting or negotiation of any kind devalues my artwork. I’ve set a fair price for the work – a price that is competitive and reasonable. If I discount, I’m undercutting the value of my artwork. Many buyers, especially seasoned collectors, come to the market with an expectation that there is room to negotiate

Me: I understand what you’re saying and I agree that discounting undermines the stated retail value of all artwork. If a potential buyer believes that there is room to negotiate, the retail price has been undermined. The problem is that Pandora’s box has already been opened when it comes to discounts. Many buyers, especially seasoned collectors, come to the market with an expectation that there is room to negotiate. The “devaluation” has already occurred in a sense, and the broad art market has already adjusted for it by padding the price to allow room for negotiation. Artist: So it’s all based on a falsehood. If we all just stopped offering discounts and brought our prices down a bit, we wouldn’t have to negotiate any more. Me: I’m not sure that’s actually the case. It’s human nature to want to get the best deal possible. Negotiation goes back, I’m sure, to the very dawn of commerce. Even if we lowered our prices, I’m confident the next buyer would still ask for a better price. More importantly, I believe that removing negotiation from the market would actually decrease sales across the art market. Buyers don’t negotiate because they need to, they negotiate because they enjoy the process and it makes them feel they’re special, and they’ve worked to get a good deal. The other problem with what your saying is that you would have to get every artist and gallery to agree to stop negotiating. As soon as one seller makes a deal with a buyer, they have a competitive advantage. From a practical standpoint, discounting isn’t going anywhere.

Artist: But I don’t negotiate the price I pay for groceries, why should I discount my art?

Negotiating & Discounting to Sell Your Art reprinted for Art Trails artists with permission Jason Horejs Page 1 of 5

Me: Actually, we get “discounts” on groceries, and everything else we buy all the time. I’ll grant you that we aren’t haggling over the price we pay for fruit like buyers used to in the open street markets, but food and clothing retailers base almost all of their marketing efforts around sales. Their sales are a form of negotiation where they’ve gone ahead and taken the discount upfront. Look what happened to JC Penny when they tried to stop offering sale prices and go to an “everyday low price” strategy – it was disastrous for their business. Artist: I feel like people are trying to take advantage of my financial situation by insisting on a discount. Art buyers have plenty of money, they don’t need to drive down my price when I need the sale to eat. Me: I would encourage you not to take it personally any more than you take a rainstorm personally. As I said before, it’s the market that encourages negotiation. I’ve negotiated thousands of deals over the 20 years that I’ve been in the business and I’ve never felt the buyer was trying to do me or my business injury by negotiating. Remember, the worst that can happen is that you aren’t able to come to terms with the buyer and the sale doesn’t happen – exactly the same result if there hadn’t been any negotiation in the first place. Artist: I think customers will buy even if I don’t give them a discount. If they don’t buy the piece, I’ll sell it to someone else. Me: I believe you’re losing business and hampering your success. You may be right that some customers will buy a piece even if you don’t agree to negotiate – but you’re going to see other clients walk out the door. I had a buyer who told me a competitor of mine refused to negotiate with him. Not only did he walk , he said he would never go back to the gallery. I sold him two major pieces that day and have since sold him several more. Oh, and the gallery that refused to negotiate? Out of business. Obviously this is anecdotal and I’m sure you can point to cases where you didn’t negotiate and made a sale. But the question is, is it worth losing sales, even if it’s only a few, by ardently refusing to negotiate? You argue that you will sell the piece to someone else, but you’ve still lost a sale – had you negotiated and sold the piece to the first client, the second client may have bought another piece and you would have two sales instead of one. Artist: I have a friend whose work is in such demand that she can’t keep up with sales and she doesn’t have to negotiate at all. Me: The art market is driven by supply and demand just like any other market. As supply decreases and demand increases, the value of the product increases. It sounds like your friend has increased the value of her work to eat up any slack between any possible discount and the retail price she’s asking. The fact that she’s not able to keep up with sales, however, doesn’t indicate she doesn’t have to deal with negotiation anymore, but rather that her work is now under-priced. Of course, that’s her decision to make – she may feel that she’s willing to give up revenue to no longer need to negotiate. Make no mistake though, she is missing out on potential income, just as surely as you are if you refuse to negotiate.

Artist: If I discount my work, I’m betraying past buyers who have paid full price for my work. Me: I disagree. Let’s face it, the value of any work of art is mostly arbitrary. A client is willing to buy a piece of artwork because she feels it is worth whatever she is paying. If she paid full price, it’s because she felt it was worth it. Some buyers feel uncomfortable negotiating and are willing to pay full retail to avoid the necessity of “haggling”. Paying full price may also make them feel more successful (“I could negotiate if I wanted to, but I’m successful enough that I don’t have to”). In other words, she getting something of value to her in return for not negotiating.

A caveat though: there are limits to what constitutes a reasonable discount. If you are giving some clients 50% discounts, you may very well alienate past buyers.

Artist: I’m not currently represented by a gallery, but wouldn’t I undercut them if I sell my work at any discount? Me: You certainly want to nurture your gallery relationships. Undercutting the gallery will completely undermine trust. First, if a client saw your work in a gallery first, you should refer that client back to the gallery for any sales. Second, you can still negotiate with your direct buyers as long as you give your galleries the same latitude to negotiate that you give yourself. Negotiation is a skill, and once you master it, you will see your sales increase substantially

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Artist: I don’t care what you say, I hate negotiating! Me: That may just be because you’ve never learned how much fun it can be, and how to do it properly. Negotiation is a skill, and once you master it, you will see your sales increase substantially. When you successfully negotiate a sale, everyone wins.

Our discussion went on to other topics from here. If you are a reluctant negotiator, however, I hope I’ve given you something to think about.

I would be remiss if I convinced you to think more favorably about negotiation and then didn’t give you some guidelines for better negotiation. I devote an entire chapter of my book How to Sell Art to negotiating. Below is an excerpt I think you will find helpful the next time you find yourself in a negotiation with a potential buyer.

When Pricing Your Artwork, Build in Room to Negotiate

With the knowledge that negotiation is likely to occur, it makes sound sense to account for it when setting prices. In my first book, “Starving” to Successful, I devote an entire chapter to the mechanics of determining the pricing of one’s work. While it is not my purpose to cover the details for price setting here, I do encourage the artist and the gallerist to build in some room to negotiate when pricing art. The breadth of each negotiation will vary, but if one allows a 20% margin for negotiation, she will have sufficient flexibility for virtually every scenario. An artist selling her work directly to collectors at shows and through her studio, while also showing in galleries, needs to make sure she is pricing her work consistently. Her galleries need to have the same latitude to negotiate with customers that she adopts when making direct sales. The 20% margin must therefore be the standard application across the board.

Get the Client to Make an Offer

When a client approaches me inquiring whether the price of a particular piece is negotiable, I reply that the artist does give me a little bit of room to move if it will help a client who loves the piece to acquire it. I then state the retail price on the piece, and ask what the client has in mind. It is my strong preference to have the client put a number on the table before I start fishing for an alternate price.

What if the customer makes a ridiculously low offer? I don’t let it phase me, and I take no offense. After all, the initial offer is not the end of the negotiation process; it is just the beginning.

Not every client will be willing to put a specific offer on the table – “I just want your very best price,” is a common declaration. I don’t push hard to get a number, but if I can get the customer to make an offer, I have found it makes the rest of the negotiation progress more smoothly.

I have also discovered that the typical collector will not low-ball me with a ludicrous offer. By requesting that he make an offer, I am putting him ever so gently on the spot. While he wants a great bargain on the art, he neither wants to embarrass himself, nor to offend me. Occasionally, the first offer from the customer entails the need for a smaller discount than I would have proffered.

Confirm the Offer and Commit the Customer

As soon as the client has given me a number, I echo the offer. Then I get a firm commitment that if I find a way to make the offer work, the transaction will be completed today.

“You are offering $4,500 – if I can make that number work, will you purchase the sculpture today?”

Requiring the client to commit in the here-and-now eliminates the opportunity to introduce other obstacles that might compromise the purchase. I don’t want to begin intense negotiations if he still needs to measure a space, or to decide if he likes the sculpture enough to secure it – I will negotiate only if he is ready to purchase at the mutually acceptable price.

Write Up a Counter-Offer

Now that the client has committed to purchase the piece, I ask for a moment. I make my way back to my desk, where I enter a state of intense calculation. I am going to admit it: I put on a bit of a show here. Even though I usually know what

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my counter-offer is going to be as soon as the client has made her offer, I never (NEVER!) accept nor counter an offer straightway. I sit at my desk and calculate. I pull up my inventory database and confirm the retail price. I pull out a notepad and jot down figures. I run the numbers on my calculator. I calculate, I contemplate, all the while scratching numbers on my notepad (more about what I write on the pad to come). I furrow my brow and mutter under my breath.

Why all the fuss? There is a method in my madness: I want the client to know I am working hard for him – and I am.

At the conclusion of all the calculation and contemplation, I finally reach the moment of triumph – the moment wherein I have figured out how to make my clients the proud owners of a new work of art, at an incredible value.

During this three-minute exercise in “crunching the numbers”, my anxious patrons have either been making their way around the gallery, or waiting before the piece of art for my answer. They can’t help but make furtive glances in my direction, and take notice of the intensity in my application. There are moments when they think I will surely come back with bad news, perhaps even chase them out of the gallery for making such a preposterous offer.

Now, at the triumphal moment, an exultant smile has taken over my face. It becomes clear that everything is going to be okay. I rise from my chair, and stride briskly to where they stand to deliver the happy news.

On my notepad, I have written the following:

$5,000.00 Retail

+$180.00 Delivery/Shipping $5,180.00

+$82.50 Sales Tax $5,262.50 Total

$4700 All-inclusive

I have purposefully made the [retail sales amount] appear complex and expensive, in sharp contrast to the beautiful simplicity of the [final price]. I use my notepad to illustrate the counter-offer.

“I think I have come up with something that will work for you,” I say. “Let me show you what I was able to do.”

When I extend the pad for their examination, I initially cover my counter-offer with my right thumb. I proceed to explain, step-by-step, the retail price and any additional charges. I conclude by underlining the retail price.

“The retail on this piece is $5,000. I estimate the crating and delivery would be about $180, which brings us to $5,180. Because we’re shipping out of state, there is no state sales tax; however, there is an $82.50 charge to satisfy the city tax. That brings the total to five thousand, two hundred sixty-two dollars, and fifty cents.”

I want that last number to be long, complex, and expensive. I give the full version instead of shortening it to fifty-two, sixty-two, and fifty cents ($5,262.50).

“It is my pleasure to offer the piece to you at $4,700 (and I say it forty-seven hundred, not four thousand, seven hundred) all-inclusive. I will cover the tax and the delivery.”

I skip a couple of beats while they look at the pad, and then I move to close.

“May I write that up for you?”

Many times, the couple in this position sees and acknowledges everything that I am doing for them, nods, and accepts the deal at $4,700. We move to the desk to write up the sale (see Chapter 7 | Go for the Close).

There are, however, many instances when the clients look at the counter offer, and then make a counter-counter offer. In this example, it might be $4,500.

“$4,500?” I restate. “And you would have me include the shipping and tax?”

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Upon confirmation from the clients that I understand their counter offer correctly, I pause for another moment, and then extend my hand to shake theirs and say, “It would be my pleasure. Congratulations – the piece is yours.”

Notice that I did not say anything about the couple’s original offer during the negotiation. The initial offer may have been $4,500, but remember, I was using that offer to ascertain where the client stood, and to make sure I did not offer a deeper discount than was sought or expected. The original offer may have had some impact on the size of the discount, but had it been absurdly low, it would in no way have dictated my response.

Never Apologize When Presenting the Counter-Offer

I remember very early in my sales career hearing a colleague return to a customer who had made an offer and say something to the effect:

“I’m sorry, but it looks like the best I can do is . . .”

Think about this response for a minute. What he was saying to his customer translated as: “Prepare yourself to be disappointed and to not buy.” Even then, with very little training or experience, I knew that this was not the message I wanted to convey in my own transactions.

I understand the inclination to say something like what I overheard, especially in the situation where my number differs radically from the offer. My approach, though, is to simply pretend the low offer does not exist – it was never made. I return to the customer, proud to share the great value I have secured for them.

“I think I’ve come up with something that is going to work for you. Let me show you what I have done.”

Now, instead of priming the customer for disappointment, I have secured his readiness to hear the great news I have in hand. I show him my notepad, covering my counter-offer with my thumb. I emphasize the expensive retail price first, and then finish on a high note when I uncover the magic number in the right column.

Make Someone Else the Bad Guy

This advice won’t work for the artist. After all, when it comes to her work, the buck stops with her. For gallerists (or artists’ spouses), moving the decision making process away from oneself can be an excellent way to conduct a negotiation.

“I need to make a quick phone call and check with the artist – can you give me just a moment?”

I love saying this to the customer. As soon as I say the words, two things happen. First, I make the buyer an ally in the negotiation process. (Guess who just became the bad guy?) Second, he suddenly realizes he is transacting business not only with the gallery owner, but is also negotiating with the artist herself. This knowledge can maximize the client’s offer.

If You Cannot Agree, Get Out Gracefully

In spite of your best efforts, you will occasionally experience negotiations that hold no possibility for successful resolution or positive outcome. A customer might be unwilling or unable to pay enough to make the transaction profitable for you. When this is the case, maintain your cool, and be gracious in declining his offer. Make the attempt to leave the door open should he have a change of heart upon further reflection.

“Thank you for your offer. Unfortunately I am unable to accept it at this time. My offer of $4,500 remains open to you if you change your mind, so long as the piece is still available.”

Notice I do not offer a reason why I cannot accept the offer (more on that to come), nor do I tell the customer to take a hike. I remain professional, yet make it clear that I have gone as low as I can go. Perhaps the customer will step back to confer with a companion, or to give my offer further consideration, before agreeing to accept the terms. But even if he decides to walk away, he can now do so with the assurance that I have respected him and his offer, and have treated him fairly and squarely.

SOCIAL MEDIA ART MARKETING

An Introduction to Facebook Advertising for Artists JASON HOREJS JUNE 18, 2018 14 COMMENTS

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In my recent posts on social media art marketing, I’ve been discussing the value social media can provide to artists and galleries. Most of the focus has been on the viral nature of social media, and the ability it gives you to share your art through your social network for free.

I’ve shared some stories of success, both from our gallery and from artists I contacted for this series. We haven’t yet discussed, however, the power of paid advertising through social media.

As powerful as free publicity through social media is, leveraging the the marketing tools available on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and other social media platforms can allow you to reach an entirely new audience.

In today’s post, I want to briefly explore some of those possibilities. My post today is not intended to be a comprehensive guide to social media advertising. There are entire books written on the subject and entire businesses built around helping you understand how to use social advertising tools. I can’t even begin to scratch the surface in a short blog post. My hope is that I can raise your awareness of some of the advertising opportunities and tools that are available and encourage you to explore the possibilities in more depth for yourself.

Because Facebook is the largest social platform, and because it’s the platform I have the most experience advertising on, I’m going to focus on Facebook advertising, but much of what I’m writing would apply to other platforms and their advertising tools.

The Duality of our Feeling about Facebook

Users seem to have a love/hate relationship with Facebook. Facebook allows us to stay in contact with our friends and families in a simple, engaging way. They also know a tremendous amount about us.

This can be scary, and as a Facebook user, I can understand why many users worry about the information Facebook is gathering every time you like a post or share an article.

As an advertiser, however, I see the user information Facebook gathers as incredibly valuable to me. The rich, dense information that Facebook gathers, allows me to reach the best potential buyers at an incredibly reasonable price.

Because Facebook customizes its content for each individual user, I can select exactly how many people I want to target and budget exactly how much I want to spend.

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This is very different than magazine or broadcast advertising. With traditional advertising, you have to pay to display your ad to a magazine’s entire audience every time you advertise, even if it’s only a small portion of the magazine’s audience that is likely to respond.

With Facebook, I can dial in my advertising to hit only the users I want to hit, and I can continually refine my advertising in real time to further optimize my ads. As an advertiser, this has been revolutionary. I still do print and direct-mail marketing for the gallery, but I can foresee a day when most of my advertising budget goes to Facebook.

Now, lest you think that Facebook’s sole purpose is to put ads in front of users, to their harm, I would argue that this highly customizeable targeting actually benefits Facebook users as well. Over time, users should see only advertising for products and services that will be of interest to them. This should also mean that they will see fewer and fewer ads, since the only ads businesses will want to pay for are those that are likely to result in sales. I see it as a win-win.

The Tools

So what tools does Facebook offer that are useful to me as an art advertiser?

Before I can answer that question, I have to let you know that the tools that I’ll be talking about are only available to you if you have business page, in addition to your personal Facebook profile.

We discussed the benefits of business profiles in this article, and I shared that most of the artists who are doing well on Facebook are focusing their efforts on their personal profile activity. For advertising, however, you have to set up a business page. As a number of readers pointed out though, you don’t have to choose between having a personal profile and a business page, you can have both. Setting up a business profile is easy and free, so there’s no reason not to set one up so that you can access and experiment with Facebook advertising tools.

Once you have a business profile, you will have access to Facebook’s Ads Manager. The Ads Manager will give you the ability to create ads and access all of Facebook’s targeting tools.

You shouldn’t have to spend too much time thinking about what you are going to be including in your ads – it’s likely to be your latest art – so we won’t spend a lot of time talking about content or imagery. You should basically create ads that share your art and a narrative about that art, in the ways that we’ve discussed in the last several blog posts.

It’s the targeting where things get interesting. With your personal posts, you are targeting your friends and followers. Once you have a Facebook advertising account set up, you can target just about anyone in the world.

Facebook calls the groups of users that you are going to target “audiences”, and they provide a number of different ways for you to select and target your audiences.

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Interests

One of Facebook’s best targeting tools is interest profiles. Every time you like a page on Facebook, you give me, as an advertiser, the ability to target an ad to you. So, for example, if you like the page for the Smithsonian’s National Gallery of Art page on Facebook, I can target an ad at you. If you like my gallery page, I can target you. If you like my competitors’ gallery pages, I can target you.

These “interests” can tell me a lot about you, and I know that if you like certain things, you are more likely to be my potential audience.

Read more about targeting by interest here: Likes and Interests

Demographics

Interests become even more powerful when they are matched up with demographics. Facebook knows how old users are, where they live, marital status, and much. much more demographic information.

Facebook can also estimate users’ income level. As an advertiser, you can pair the demographic information with users’ interests to get to an even more specific audience, or you can use demographics alone.

We’ve successfully used demographics, for example, to advertise art to high income earners within a 20 mile radius of our gallery. You could do the same to share your art with people who live close to your studio.

Read more : Detailed Targeting

Website Visitors

Another useful tool Facebook provides is what they call a “tracking pixel”. It’s a little snippet of code that you add to your website that ties your visitors to their Facebook profile.

You can then create Facebook ads to show them your art in their newsfeed. We know that it often takes repeated exposure to an image to generate the kind of interest that will lead to a sale. Facebook gives us the ability to generate that repeated exposure.

Read more: Custom Audiences from your Website

Lookalike Audience

Facebook also gives you the ability to form a target audience of people that their algorithms think will have similar interests to your current followers or website visitors.

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You can build these “Lookalike Audiences” from your page followers, the visitors to your site if you are using Facebook’s tracking pixel, or by uploading your mailing list.

The caveat is that you need to have a fairly large sample audience in order to tap into this tool. If you don’t have a large following yet, or if your mailing list is small, you won’t be able to use this tool until your audience grows.

Read more: Custom Audiences from your Customer List

Budget

Facebook allows you to either set a total budget for an ad, or an amount you would like to spend daily. You can also an exact duration for the ad. In this way, you are in complete control of how much you will spend on your ad.

We’ve experimented with a variety of budgets. I’ve set budgets as small as $5 total for an add, and as high as $1000. In my experience, spending a lot of money on a single Facebook ad isn’t nearly as effective as spending a little money on a lot of ads.

This was a difficult lesson to learn, and it runs counter to how I expected Facebook advertising to work. We had several small ads that did well, so I thought that all I would need to do to get them to do even better would be to increase the budget.

To make a long story short, it doesn’t seem to work that way. At least for our audience, we find we do better with smaller budgets spread out over longer periods of time.

If you are interested in experimenting with Facebook advertising, I would recommend you give yourself a budget of $5-10 per day over the course of a couple of months. As you try different ads and targeting, you should be able to craft some successful campaigns and see results.

The Power of Facebook Ads

As I stated above, I’m not dedicating all of my advertising budget to Facebook. We’re still learning what works and what doesn’t, but it’s clear that Facebook is going to be a critical and growing part of our advertising and sales strategy in the future.

The beauty of Facebook advertising is that it will work just as well for you as an individual artist as it does for me with a gallery.

You can simply scale your ads to fit your budget and needs. In many ways, Facebook is democratizing the advertising world.

If you haven’t considered devoting some time and resources to Facebook advertising, I would encourage you to at least look into it to decide if Facebook can help you sell more of your art.

As I mentioned in a previous article, the Facebook Ad Help Center, is a great place to begin learning more.

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"Individuals form community as community forms the individual." ~Lea Kelley

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Sonoma County Art Trails Sonoma County Art Trails

YOU!

You & Your Business You & Marketing You & Art Trails

What Art Trails does for YOU! What YOU do as a business owner What YOU do for yourself & Art Trails!

The Program Role of Steering

Committee Policies & procedures Jurying process Cover selection Fees & Budget Marketing plan Mentoring Preview Exhibits Collector’s Guide

distribution Artist community YOU represent

everyone in Art Trails; everyone represents YOU!

We are ALL volunteers

YOU are a business Your business name Business license Dept of Tax & Fee

Administration (BOE) Insurance Dates & hours open

to the public Establishing and

maintaining your budget

Taxes: collect & pay Tracking results

o Sales o Income o Expenses o Clients

Marketing Create your art

Your brand & style Your own web presence Your distribution channel(s)

o Your studio, Galleries, Gift shops, Internet, Art Trails, Shows, Fairs, etc…

Your client mailing list o Snail mail & email

Your communications o emails o Facebook, Instagram, Blogs o Advertisements o Postcards o Brochures, flyers, business cards o Other art events

Cultivating & keeping clients o Guest book (mailing & email addresses o Make buying easy o Thank yous!

Talking up your art Creating a lasting impression Marketing after Art Trails Art Trails committee work