There is nothing glamorous about being a starving artist. Thankfully, it’s never been easier to sell your work. However, the fact that it is easier to sell means you have global competition.
The business of being an artisan means, in addition to mastering your craft, you need to become a writer, a photographer, an internet marketer, an eCommerce expert, a salesperson and most importantly, a business owner. Yes, art is a business.
There are no end of websites willing to help you market your art. The problem is marketing is not sales, nor does it automatically lead to sales. There’s a good chance that marketing is not even what you think it is. Confused? You’re not alone.
Most people mistakenly use the word marketing as a synonym for advertising or promotion. And many people say they need marketing when what they mean is they need sales. The first challenge many artists must overcome is learning how to ask for what they need. This is particularly important when you have limited resources in the first place.
Before leaping into social media, some website or e-commerce platform engage a consultant who’s job is to help you get clear on your goals, understand your options and the different ways of approaching your business.
To succeed in anything, you need to start with clear intentions. To make good on your intentions you must create a plan for how you’ll achieve your goals. The plan needs to be realistic and focused on logistics and earnings growth. Then you need to follow and refine your plan assertively as you learn the business.
If you don’t have a plan, you’re extremely unlikely to make any real or timely progress. What you’re most likely to accomplish is wasting all kinds of time you do not have and making your wallet lighter and bank account smaller.
While getting help might sound expensive, I can assure you, wasting time and resources on pointless marketing activities will cost you far more.
Guidance, direction, coaching, training and technical assistance in whatever combination you need.
There’s no huge upfront investment and no ongoing subscription agreements. Our business is about guiding and directing business owners as they design, set up and grow their business. We do this by stepping up and being your partner in business development on a flexible part-time basis. Our role evolves as you and your business mature.
In the beginning, we focus on creating clarity and determining how the business needs to work. We assist with forecasting, planning and sourcing appropriate technologies. We help you grow your operations team with staff, contractors and suppliers. We help set up your selling and promotional systems to drive sales. We track performance, and we refine and optimize your earnings growth.
If all this sounds complicated, it often is. But this complication is exactly why it’s beneficial to work with a guide. Our role is to streamline your learning curve and help you get traction faster than you could on your own.
There’s no cookie-cutter approach to follow. Everything is tailored to your goals, needs, budget constraints and pre-existing efforts.
If you’re serious about making a living as an artist, contact us and learn about our coaching and Fractional CMO services.
If you prefer to read and learn before reaching out, explore our 8-step process below. It’ll show you the steps involved in designing and developing a selling system for your business. Then browse our free marketing resources. There are 18 free marketing eBooks and over 40 articles on our blog. There is also a book; Mastering Marketing offers a comprehensive road map for the startup and business development process. \We look forward to hearing from you.
