art sales Archives

oil painting french boulangerie pastries artist Simonne Roy

The Art Biz ep. 75: A Quiet Gallery Experience with Simonne Roy

What is something special you can do for your email subscribers and collectors when your shows and large events are canceled because of a pandemic?

Give them a private viewing experience, of course.

For years, Simonne Roy has been hosting 50 – 60 VIPs for a one-night party in her home, which she transforms into a gallery. The money and effort she invested in the event resulted in good sales and meaningful relationships. Each year’s success built on that of previous years.

[caption id="attachment_31426" align="aligncenter" width="650"]

Oil painting of sunflowers in a field artist Simonne Roy

©Simonne Roy, Sunflower Fields of Union County. Oil on canvas, 12 x 48 inches.[/caption]

When Covid struck last year, her hopes for a successful home gallery show were dashed, until, like many scrappy entrepreneurs, Simonne found a different way to make it happen.

She decided to hold the VIP appreciation without the party. In this episode of the Art Biz Podcast you’ll hear how Simonne gave people a private encounter with the art—something few people ever get to have. She calls it the Quiet Gallery Experience.

If she measured its success by the amount of sales only, she could have counted it a success. But sales were almost secondary because Simonne measured her success by the goodwill she created with her subscribers and collectors.

Listen closely to hear what she did to set the stage and make it special, what she would do differently next time, and how she netted the same amount of money from the participation of fewer people.

The Art Biz ep. 75: A Quiet Gallery Experience with Simonne Roy Read

film noir painting by Leslie Peterson Sapp

How To Discuss Slow Sales with Your Art Gallery

Sales from your art gallery are not what you expected or need them to be.

They sold a lot of your work at one point, but sales have dropped off significantly in the past couple of years—especially during the pandemic.

So what now? Do you ask for your work to be returned?

Not quite! Before you take such drastic measures, do the hard, but professional thing. Talk.

Opening a dialogue is your first course of action, but I don’t want to get ahead of myself. First things first.

Assess Your Relationship with the Gallery

The conversation you have with your gallerist about slow sales depends on the answers to a number of questions.

How long have they have represented you?
How much work have they sold for you in the past?
What are the terms of your agreement with the gallery?
What is the nature of your past relationship?
What is the current state of the gallery’s business? How has it been affected by the pandemic?
What is the demand for your work outside of their venue?

2 Options for Opening a Conversation with Your Gallerist

Based on how you respond to the questions above, consider 2 options for opening a conversation about slow sales from the art gallery.

How To Discuss Slow Sales with Your Art Gallery Read

The Art Biz ep. 58: Adding E-Commerce to Your Website with Lynn Goldstein

Twenty years ago it would have been unthinkable for me to suggest that artists add shopping carts to their websites. Above all, it was crazy expensive to do so at the time. But also it was considered a bit tacky.

Boy have things changed! Not just since Covid, but even in the decade leading up to where we are now.

Online shopping carts are affordable and easy to implement, and the vast majority of the population is comfortable buying online—even buying art online. Some even prefer the online experience.

Then there are the galleries. Many of them struggle to make sales (again, even before Covid) and haven’t quite gotten the hang of social media. They were the last of the art world to come into the 21st century way of doing business.

But now even galleries are selling online, with mega-dealer David Zwirner leading the way in 2017.

Why wouldn’t you make it easier for people to buy directly from you?

That’s what Lynn Goldstein thought, too. She built a shopping cart for her website earlier this year. And the sales rolled in immediately after the March launch.

To date, Lynn has sold 18 original paintings and about a dozen reproductions directly from her site, and I wanted to find out how.

It must be said that neither Lynn nor I are not experts in all of the options you have for shopping carts. I wanted to share Lynn’s experience and, above all, her results.

Listen in if you’re curious about how she did it.

The Art Biz ep. 58: Adding E-Commerce to Your Website with Lynn Goldstein Read

Following Up After You’ve Sold a Piece of Art

People who buy from you once are more likely to buy from you again than people who have never bought from you.

And … It’s less effort to nurture relationships with people who already know, like, and trust you than to find new people to share your art with. Acquiring customers, in marketing terms, is a long and costly process.

Therefore, it makes sense to take care of the people who have purchased from you. Show them you appreciate them now instead of contacting them later only when you want something from them.

One of the biggest mistakes artist-entrepreneurs make is not following up with people who have given them money.

If you’ve been lax in this area, you might be leaving money on the table.

If you sell art from your studio, rather than through a gallery, you have no excuses for not following up appropriately. You have the name and contact information of your collectors.

Here’s a plan to awe your collectors–not just once, but over the course of your relationship.

Within 1 Week of Sale: Express Gratitude

Send a thank-you note in the mail. Use notecards with images of your art on them for all of your handwritten notes.

This is yet another opportunity to put your art in front of people who appreciate it. The cards, of course, have your contact info or website on the back.

Don’t exploit this as an opportunity to ask for anything else. Thank-you notes are for expressing gratitude only, not for additional sales or requests.

Two Weeks Later: Ask to Connect

In this email, suggest to your collector that

Following Up After You’ve Sold a Piece of Art Read

7 Ways You Might Be Scaring Off Potential Buyers

Art buyers often have as many insecurities about the process of buying art as you do, which means they are sensitive to the signals you’re sending.

It’s your job to reassure them that they are making the right decisions – and you can do so in very subtle ways without resorting to sales speak.

And it has just as much to do with what you don’t do and say.

Here are seven practices that will scare off your audience and potential fans.

1. Being indecisive about prices.

Indecision makes you appear less confident.

Set your prices after you’ve done your homework and be ready to share them in person and online.

If you’re ever pushed for a price that you aren’t certain about, say, “Let me check my list and get back to you. I wouldn’t want to give you the wrong price.”

2. Apologizing for your art.

The apologetic artist who brushes aside compliments about her art is not market-attractive.

I am not in any way condoning arrogance. I’m saying that you need to hold your head up and say “Thank You” when you are given a compliment.

As Julia Child said in Julie & Julia, “Never apologize. No excuses. No explanations.” Along the same lines . . .

3. Playing down the fact that you’re an artist.

Heart surgeons don’t look at the ground and say, “I’m kind of a heart surgeon.” When someone asks what you do, you shouldn’t respond meekly with, “Well, I’m kind of an artist.”

7 Ways You Might Be Scaring Off Potential Buyers Read

In a Cash Crunch? Try These Ideas to Bring in the Bucks

We are officially at the halfway point for 2017. Are you halfway to your financial goals for the year?

As all of my students and clients know, I stress the importance of “doing the numbers” before it’s too late.

Doing your numbers means figuring out where the money is coming in, identifying the leaks, and seeing clearly the best return on your investment of time and resources.

For conducting this process, you are rewarded with clarity like you’ve never had before. What you see might not be the beacon of hope you were looking for, but at least you are armed with knowledge to make sound financial decisions.

When your numbers aren’t where you’d like them to be (a realization we’re all faced with at some point or another), consider options to increase your income quickly.

Focus on how to maximize your return with limited time and resources to invest. This means concentrating on larger sales. It’s not the time to create a new stream of income for a new audience.

The first step is to get extra clear on how much you need to earn and figure out what the path to that number looks like. Specifically: What is your monetary goal and what will it take to reach that goal?

How many students or clients do you need to enroll to equal your goal?

How many artworks do you need to sell in a particular size to equal your goal? And do you have enough inventory?

My first choice when looking for fast cash is to …

In a Cash Crunch? Try These Ideas to Bring in the Bucks Read

Artists’ Gifts for Christmas (Curious Monday)

If you’re like me, you still have a little (a lot?) of gifts to find for the people on your Christmas list.

So … let’s help each other out.

If you have been marketing something as a great gift for loved ones, please describe it and share a link to it in the comments. This might include:

Calendars
Journals
Reproductions
Cards
Books
<Fill in the blank>

Be detailed enough that we want to click and see. You’re pitching your product.

Do it with gusto!

Artists’ Gifts for Christmas (Curious Monday) Read

5 Reasons You’re Not Making Enough Money in Your Art Business

When your income doesn’t match your aspirations, it’s easy to blame everyone but yourself.

But my students and clients understand that you have to accept 100% responsibility for your results when you want to be successful.

With that in mind, let’s look at 5 reasons why you may not be reaching your income goals.

1. You’re out to lunch.

What I mean by this is that your head just isn’t in the game. You enjoy making art, but you aren’t quite committed to turning it into a business.

The thought of the work required to run a business, or even the thought of finding out what might be required, is more than you can handle. So you ignore it.

It might not always be this way, but until you confront the truths about making money from your art, it ain’t gonna happen for ya.

2. You’re out of mojo.

We have all been in this dark place. The Universe rudely cuts the source of energy and magic that has been propelling us along.

Sometimes it happens after an opening or after a show comes down.

Other times,

5 Reasons You’re Not Making Enough Money in Your Art Business Read

A Creative Idea for Unloading Earlier Art

There’s too much art hiding in studios, basements, and garages. If you have a problem with overflowing inventory, especially a lot of earlier art that you aren’t excited about showing, how about finding new homes for that work? At the same time, you’ll create room for new art, support a good cause, and earn income.

A Creative Idea for Unloading Earlier Art Read

Is a Discount Really a Gift?

I’ve received a lot of emails recently from artists giving me a discount in the spirit of the season – if I buy. “My gift to you . . . because I appreciate you so much . . . is 10% off my work.” I’m not certain this is a gift, but I’m willing to change my mind. Can you convince me otherwise?

Is a Discount Really a Gift? Read