Someone once told me they assumed everything in art museums was a reproduction. How else could there be so much valuable art in one place? They wondered.
As a former museum curator and educator, I’m pretty sure my jaw dropped.
It’s amazing what we presume people know about art.
Selling Both Originals and Products
This story sets up a distinction for artists who sell both originals and products and have been treating them as equals, even unintentionally. This approach can quietly undermine your ability to sell the work that matters most (and that provides you with more income).
I’m not here to talk anyone out of selling products. But I’ve been hearing from a few clients recently who want to sell more originals and aren’t sure why it’s not happening.
The bottom line is that you are unaware of what’s getting in the way.
In this solo episode of The Art Biz, I start addressing the problem by focusing on mindset. Because the mindset of an artist who focuses their marketing on selling originals is very different from the artist whose marketing is product first.
Then I introduce two practical tactics and give you some ideas for implementing them.
These apply even if you only sell originals.
Two Tactics
First, let’s acknowledge the screen problem that nobody is talking about.
Online, everything gets flattened.
Your $4,000 painting and your $90 print are both represented by the same JPG in someone’s feed. The email you send about an original looks almost identical to the email about a product.
Screens erase hierarchy, which means you have to build in a hierarchy deliberately. You have to present clearly what is most important to you.
The solution isn’t to abandon your online presence. It’s to use it with intention. That means leading with originals in every email and social post.
The second tactic is more fundamental: get your originals in front of people in person. Shows, open studios, exhibitions. Nothing on a screen can replicate what happens when someone stands in front of original art and understands, with their whole body, what they’re looking at.
I talk more about all of this, with practical tips, in episode 257.
Listen
Look at your last five emails or social media posts. How many led with an original?
When you want to sell more originals, you have to elevate how they are perceived at every point.
I have many additional tips in ELEVATE YOUR ART, a short and affordable workshop available on demand.
Alyson Quotes
“Reproductions aren’t objects. They’re products.”
“You have to know your end game.”
“The people who buy original art aren’t the same people who want your products.”
“In the online world, it takes just as much effort to sell a product as it does to sell an original. Think about that.”
“Our screens are flat. We give everything the same consideration, whether it’s a $40 print or a $4,000 painting.”
“Lead with originals. Always. Products can be mentioned, but they are backup.”
“An artist—a true artist—knows that art is more than a commodity.”
“Nothing can replace the encounter with an original work of art. That’s why museums exist.”
