How to market your art? AMA
For artists frustrated with online biz coaches, drowning in the sea of advice... TRUST YOUR GUT!
Hi there dream-driven creatives!
Early last week I sent out a survey inviting you to ask me anything.
I received so juicy questions that I decided to split them up into separate articles so that we can go into more depth on the over arching topics. This will also allow us to use the questions and answers as prompts for further conversation, which I think can be incredibly valuable (and FUN!)
NB: My answers (based on experience of a soon decade as an independent artist), will be available to read for free for the benefit of everyone (we’re in this moving art boat together 🫶🏼). Access to further questions and support in comments, on the other hand, is exclusive to paying readers of Follow Your Gut.
Come join? ❤️
Q: How do you market your art?
Context: I find it almost impossible to define an audience in the way it’s generally taught by online biz coaches (the client avatar), and I’m quite confused about how to market my art courses & offerings. It almost seems like everyone else manages to make a connection, but I seem to consistently fail at it! Any suggestions/advice?
Oooouuuuffhh, I’m so glad the marketing question came up (twice) as it’s definitely a triggering point for me (I cringe just thinking about it), but which I love chatting about.
First, let’s reframe and focus the question… What’s being asked is:
How to market your art when you don’t know who will buy it?
The answer will be twofold, because original art and other art related offerings have different positioning and appeal (some people prefer DIY and others to buy the original, a third group likes to do both).
Let’s remember that most people who teach online business make their business to teach others how to make a business online…
If that’s not a thought-twister (PHEW).
This means that most advice, (which eventually feels like a squash game where the same concepts get thrown between the walls until infinity…), aren’t specific to visual artists who’s business IS visual, but to those who have to turn non-visual products into something visually appealing (for their avatar!).
Let’s put it this way:
Do you think about who might buy your art before you make your art piece?
I can bet my right hand (my most valuable body part…) that you DO NOT think about a client avatar when you make your soulful work. You work from the heart, you have a bigger purpose and dream in mind than some specific avatar (just the term sounds very… non-human?).
It would make zero sense to market your art without showing your art, which means that your “marketing material” frankly IS the art itself. The key is to get creative with how to share it.
For example;
Process images and videos at varying stages, angles and locations
Detail shots
A compilation video of the entire process or various details,
A chat about the thought process behind it, design decisions, composition, materials, emotions, story…
Final photos in various locations and settings,
Compilations of works according to theme, style, technique etc.
Personally, I think visual artists have a massive advantage compared to the generic online biz folks, because we have the marketing material built into the process.
For once; Let the art speak for itself. Your marketing job is to put it on display in an inviting way.
Then, repeat. Repeat. Repeat.
The one who resonates (call it client, collector, avatar, PERSON) and finds it beautiful (and/or intriguing) will purchase (or tag along for the time and place to be right for them to buy…)
People can be from extreme opposite demographics and still enjoy:
the same color scheme,
the same textures, composition, structures
the same medium,
the same subject matter….
Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, which is also something that tends to evolve through seasons IN THE SAME WAY that the art of an artist tends to change and shift too!
To be an artist is part of who we are, not a business plan we make to serve us for a temporary moment
Some buyers will buy for the sake of who made it. Others get hooked on a specific story of a specific collection (or single piece) but don’t really care about who made it and so on.
The idea that we must “niche down” as visual artists is an excellent example of how the social media based biz climate has suffocated artists as opposed to empower them.
Aren’t we all multi-hyphen to some extent? Isn’t that bloody brilliant? Share that brilliance!
The way I approach marketing and sales in general is to always think about:
What I enjoy to share,
What I enjoy to learn/see from others
By tuning in to my gut from the two perspectives of what I enjoy to do + what and how I enjoy to consume from others, marketing has become a joyful part of the process (and made it easier for others to resonate and connect).
Marketing material can be fun if positioned well…
I’ve always used “generous” as my leading star and focused on valuable inspiring marketing messages as opposed to metric-based content (designed to maximise ROI). This has made me happier and the buyers who are drawn to that type of messaging have found their way to me.
The less I’ve looked for a trackable ROI, the more I’ve received in return (opportunity wise, financially and personally).
Maybe it’s Kharma?
The vibes I’ve sent out, which are inherent to the art I do and the way I show up in the world, attracts the client that is meant to find me.
Let’s be honest (though it might sting):
Someone who doesn’t think your art is beautiful or impactful will not buy original pieces nor classes and other offerings no matter how you market it (fancy graphics, strategy xyz, smart copy). This means that an increasingly valuable skill to learn is How To Visually Present Your Art WELL?
For example, ask yourself how you can make your artwork look at its best by considering:
How is the lighting?
How’s the composition of your image (not the art piece itself)
How does the background look like?
Is it more intriguing with a closeup, angle shot or from face?
Do you recognise patterns of what type of image that seems to resonate with people?
In my own art practise I’ve had two standard “best-performers”:
Photo in front of the original inspiration (specific to my Wanderlust style)
Closeup images of the process
If people don’t feel connected to (or inspired by) your art, they will not buy. PLUS it’s way more difficult to connect to someone who is sharing and “marketing” from a place of obligation compared to from a place of pure joy.
People are tired of being sold to, but everyone loves to buy things that matter from people they like.
ART MATTERS. YOU matter!
This is how it began for me:
When I started my art career in 2016 I had no business plan or strategy. I shared for the pure joy of it.
I just made cool shit and put it on the internet for people to see!
The twist is;
→ I was consistent in my commitment to the process and showed up even on days I didn’t feel like it.
For the first two years I had zero strategy except: Share something online once a day. At the time it meant I would share one photo of my art per day on Instagram (if I hadn’t made advancements on my embroidery, I would film a few stitches in real time, take a closeup picture, take a picture with me working on it…. There are loads of ways to photograph your art even when you work with a slow medium. Trust me, this comes from a hand embroidery artist: it’s SO SLOW compared to writing haha).
Systems to create an actual business structure, ecosystem, email marketing funnels and all the other humbug terminology of online business wasn’t important until much later.
I genuinely believe many go for the strategies and teaching too early before they get a chance to experiment, fail and build momentum from a place of inherent authenticity and JOY.
It’s like we’re trained to believe that we cannot do something ourselves, but must look for expert guidance before we do anything! It’s like putting babies to “walk-school” instead of trusting that they will learn how to walk when they are ready.
Here’s your permission slip for the weekend;
→ You are free to go at it however you please. Nobody is stopping you but your own believes about how it must be done. If you haven’t reached momentum yet, it’s not a failure, it’s part of the process and your creative genius showing you that you must stay committed to your art as opposed to a metrical outcome that you cannot plan for.
It’s art for God’s sake, just do it! Love it! Follow YOUR gut, not someone’s who is just trying to make you spend more on their teachings.
Don’t turn your art into a job you hate before you even begin ❤️
Ps.
I want to add a couple extra cents for online courses, which function differently than original art pieces in that they involve a service and a finished product.
Everything changed for me when I imagined to step into the shoes of someone who would like to buy an embroidery art class. I asked myself things like:
Why would someone want to do embroidery?
In what circumstances would someone do embroidery?
What would be common obstacles for learning embroidery alone?
Why would someone prefer to learn my style/technique/way of doing rather than someone else?
If the original art serves as your visual marketing material to pull people in, your classes are positioned to invite THEM into your process so that they too can make cool things. In practise this can involve slight shifts in language from:
→ ”I felt this when I did..” to “You may experience X when you…”
THANK YOU SO MUCH for reading and for being here!
Did you find this valuable?
Please feel free to share it to everyone you know might need to hear this, and click the heart before you leave.
Want to continue the conversation and ask questions?
Elin, xx
Ps. If you’re completely new and want to familiarise yourself more with my writing, you can read the archive here.