Have You Sent Your Thank You Cards Yet?

To those of you who sold artwork at this year’s open studios, congratulations! Not only did you sell your work, make some money, and create a little space in your studio, you’ve just started a new relationship. So nurture it like you would a new friendship. Reach out and contact them with a simple thank you note.

But, you say, they only bought a small print! Hey, we’re all on a budget this year, but they enjoyed your art enough to take home a piece. The point is if you collected their addresses and emails in your guest book, you can send them a note to thank them and foster a relationship.

As a rule of thumb, it takes 7 times the effort to find a new customer as it does to sell again to an existing customer. Your guest list is a veritable seed packet of potential customers waiting to be cultivated. But most of all, don’t underestimate those new buyers. With the right TLC, they may grow to be your biggest collector.

What’s in the card? Keep it simple. The only elements needed are
• an image of your art and
• a personally handwritten note

Don’t worry that you don’t have some interesting new project, series, or exhibit to tell them about. Think long term and save that for your next email or card. For now, we can be thankful that we’ve got new beginnings with new art lovers.

Setting Your Sights on Next Goals

For many wine country artists, open studios have just ended, and a sense of relief is in the air. A lot of creative energy, hard work and resourcefulness went into pulling it together, but now it’s over. Artists sold their works, sometimes a little, sometimes a lot. But generally, there’s a sense of satisfaction, exhaustion, and calm for artists in the valley.

So what’s next? Pack it up, kick your feet up, and wait for next year? No! It’s time to create your next set of goals. But where to start?

Step 1: Dream. Dream about why you create art and where you want to go with it. Some artists travel the world, paint in exotic places, teach at prestigious universities, or exhibit their works in museums.
Where do you want to go with your art? Don’t be afraid to dream big and think about stretching yourself.

Step 2: Set your short-term goals. This is not a self-actualization exercise or a dissertation, it’s a simple sentence that focuses on what you can realistically attain. Here are some possibilities:
• I want to sell $1,000 worth of my art in galleries or retail shops in the next ___ months.
• I want to create items with my art on them and sell 100 pieces at this year’s holiday show.
• I am going to create more traffic to my web site to generate 20% more sales than last year.
Whatever your goals are, be specific about quantity and timeframe. That way you’ll know when you’ve achieved them.

Step 3: Stay organized and focused on the goals. Write your goals out and keep them in a place where can see them. Remind yourself at least once a day where you’re headed, how far you’ve come, and what your next step is.

Lastly, surround yourself with people who support your goals. They’ll help keep you balanced, remind you of your passion, and assist you in achieving your dreams.

Showcase Your Work with Professional Looking Email Newsletters

If you have the names of more than 20 guests, buyers or potential buyers, and you want your artwork to be highlighted in the email with descriptive text, you’re talking about sending an email newsletter.

Instead of sending an email from your personal account, e.g. yahoo, why not consider one of the business email providers such as Constant Contact or Vertical Response? (There are many other providers, just google “email newsletter.”)

Pros:
• Easy to Use Templates: All you do is add text and images.
• Professional Look: Your artwork is highlighted and you can describe the piece or your process. No more file attachments for your readers to download and open.
• Tracking: You can see who opened your email and who clicked through to your web site to see more.

Cons:
• Learning Curve: You will have to spend some time and effort getting to know the online software, setting up your template, and working with your text and images.
• Fees: Each provider varies, but fees start around $15 per month, and increase depending on the number of your subscribers and frequency of email blasts.
• Templates are not Custom: Templates have design limitations.

Need Help? How to balance all the email addresses, writing the email, taking photos, prepping your photos for email, attaching files and sending the email while you are finishing your artwork, framing, and hanging for public exhibition? Contact Wine Country Art Marketing – we can help!

Stay tuned for more info on email lists, tips on photo uploading, and more.

Born to Drive image provided by Nicolas Cann.

How to Use Email to Market your Artwork

Now that you’ve collected some names and emails from visitors to your exhibits, you want to start a dialog with them. Engage them in a conversation about your art, invite them to see your work at exhibits, and entice them to buy.

Step 1: Send a thank you note. Thank them for stopping by your studio, or your exhibit and signing your guest book. Refresh their memory about your work with a short description and include at least one photo of your artwork.

Step 2: Send an update on your works in progress. When you come up with a new idea or are working on a new creation, be sure to let your fans know. Take photos and write a few words about what you’re working on, what inspired your new direction, or maybe what the challenges were in producing this new piece.

Step 3: Send regular email updates, but have some news to share. Examples of news are shows and exhibits, new directions in your work, new collaborations and new alliances. Share your excitement and you’ll be pleasantly surprised at the support you’ll get for your work.

For Open Studio Artists:
Now is the time to contact last year’s guests about stopping by your studio this year. For help with sending your email this month, contact Wine Country Art Marketing.

Stay tuned for more info on professional looking email newsletters.

Creating Your Contact List

Here's an easy way to gather names for future marketing efforts. You can do this at any exhibit, including the Napa Valley Open Studios which is coming up September 19, 20, 26 & 27.

o Your exhibit guestbook is a potential gold mine. Be ready this year with a centrally located, easy-to-write-in guest book that has enough room to collect this essential info: email address, first name and zip code. That’s all you’ll need to get your email marketing program started this fall.

o Remember, a lot of art sales are not made on first contact, but if you develop a relationship with your visitors, you increase your chances of making a sale in the future. So if they do more than just stride in, browse, and glide out, start the relationship with a chat about your work.

o Man (or woman) your guestbook. Don’t just set it by the door and forget about it. Ask visitors, or have a friend, spouse, or trusted assistant ask them to leave their info in the book if they want to receive updates and exhibit info via email. This way you are getting their permission to send them emails about your artwork & exhibits. In technical lingo, this is called an “opt-in” list. Your visitors have opted to give you their info so you can send them emails.

o They came to your studio for a reason. They like art, they picked your studio by the photo in the catalog or online, you’re a short distance from their home, whatever the reason, they picked you. They showed an interest in your work so reward them by keeping them in the loop about your upcoming shows and the progress on pieces you’re creating. Art lovers enjoy seeing work in progress, so use this to create a buzz about your latest pieces.

o Stay tuned for more on what to say, and how and when to say it.

Introducing Wine Country Art Marketing

Wine Country Art is now Wine Country Art Marketing. Instead of trying to round up all of the art happenings in Napa & Sonoma counties, and highlighting the artists and their shows, I’m going to start talking about what I know best: marketing.

Specifically, I’ll be writing about basic marketing principles and how artists can use them to promote themselves, their art, and their careers. This isn’t to say that there will be no mention of specific artists and their work, or galleries and events. I’ll be incorporating as much of this as possible, keeping abreast of current art happenings. It just won’t be the primary focus of this blog.

My background is in corporate retail marketing and I’ve learned that many of the same strategies and tactics apply to the art world. I’m confident that some of the tips and techniques I pass along will not only be interesting, but can be easily applied to effectively promote artists and their work.

I look forward to your comments.