Art Marketing Podcast: How To Sell Art Online And Generate Consistent Monthly Sales

We're over 4 months into this pandemic, some businesses have come out and said employees will not be returning to the office until 2022, people now more than ever are looking to decorate their living/work spaces, art sales have been surging since April, and the biggest art-selling time of the year (4th quarter) is just around the corner. Do live art shows really work, or is there a better tactic to take advantage of this surge in art sales? Interested in Learning more? Request a demo here: https://bit.ly/30sugtM

This pandemic has advanced the adoption of technology that otherwise would have taken 10+ years to become mainstream. The result? A full blown online art market. If you haven't moved your art business online yet, you're going to start falling behind. 

"Eat your own dogfood." What does it mean and why is it so important in business? Supposedly originating from Microsoft in the 19080's, the premise behind "eat your own dogfood" is simple... You have to use the product that you are selling to your customers, because if it's not good enough for you to use it's definitely not good enough for your customers to use.

So the pandemic is back. Now what? In this episode, Nick and Pat talk about what this means for art businesses. Here's the bottom line: nothing is opening soon. So, if you haven't already moved over to the new business model of selling your art directly, if you aren't executing on the tactics that are working really well right now and that are resulting in Black Friday sales numbers for our members, then now is the time to act. This pandemic isn't going away anytime soon. Set your art business up for success before you fall behind.

In this episode, Nick and Pat explain what merchandising is, what it's significance is in business, and why merchandising is mandatory if you want to grow a successful art business.

The biggest art-selling time of the year is the 4th quarter (October, November, December), and it's only 3 months away. Most artists and photographers will make 50%+ of their yearly sales during this time, so it's absolutely critical to be prepared so you don't miss out. What can you do to position yourself to take advantage of the 4th quarter this year? Find out in today's episode what our most successful artists and photographers are starting to do to prepare.

In today's episode we talk about focusing on success and what it means – mainly customer success. We're going to talk about it from the context of Art Storefronts and then in the context of artists themselves. It's really profound and super important. Art Storefronts' main focus is customer success. We start with customer success and build a product from that. It's a completely different mentality than most businesses. This is significant because we are not biased with where people should be marketing, what products they sell, whether they sell originals only or limited editions, or only courses. It doesn't matter. What matters is the success. You start with the success, and then you build an entire program and product around that success.

The Pandemic Re-Surging. What does this really mean for artists and photographers? What is the point here? The point is, this thing isn't going away anytime soon. Every photographer and artist already learned, if you were hurt by the lock downs you had the wrong strategy for your business. As a business owner, you can go direct or indirect. Indirect is when you sell through 3rd parties, but 100% of the time, at some point, the rug will get pulled out from under you. When you are relying on 3rd parties, you have a very risky business strategy. The direct strategy is where you get consistent income because you market direct, you sell direct, you don't rely on anyone else, you make the most money from your work, and you end up with the most money in the end. So with a resurgence in the pandemic, this is another wake up call for those who are still running an indirect business model for their art business.

Why owning your own distribution channels and customers (selling direct) is the ONLY way to make consistent sales and grow your art business long-term.

Most photographers and artists think the only way to sell art is through 3rd parties, like galleries, and this is what causes the starving artist problem. The right art business strategy starts with focusing on building a direct art business. A direct business is when you are doing your own direct marketing, your own direct sales, you own your customer list, you make the most money from your artwork, and nobody can take anything away from you because you own all of it. You are not dependent on any 3rd parties to make sales. Indirect is when you are selling through 3rd parties (galleries, publishers, etc). What happens with 3rd parties is the rug always eventually gets pulled out from underneath you, as many people learned the hard way during this pandemic. Make sure you have the right art business strategy and set your business up for long-term success.

When you're just starting out as a fine artist or photographer, the big question is: "will my work sell?" Is it worth buying? Is there a market out there? If you're in this position, don't sit on these questions for months. We have a strategy that gets you the answers in a few days flat.

There is a major tendency for photographer and artists to over-analyze their businesses and look for perfect solutions to their problems. In this episode, Nick talks about the importance of overcoming this perfectionist mindset, about finding the most accurate solution available for the problem, and about keeping your business moving forward rather than getting tied up trying to find perfect solutions.

The only way to consistently grow your art business is to stop relying on 3rd parties (galleries, marketplaces, etc.) to sell your art. When you own your distribution, when you own your customer list, you are in control of your business and you can actively grow your business. When you rely on the algorithms of marketplace websites, and when you rely on galleries to sell your art, you are in control of nothing and your income will be unpredictable and unrepeatable.

Nick and Pat talk about the radical shift occurring in the art industry right now, the difference between selling art indirectly and directly, the importance of owning your own distribution, email list, and customer list, how to make the most money from your artwork, and the skills you need to build your own successful art business.

In this episode, Nick and Patrick discuss how for the 10th straight week Art Storefronts members experienced Black Friday level sales, and there is no sign that it's going to slow down anytime soon. 

In this episode, Nick and Patrick talk about how not to rely on 3rd parties to grow your art business, and how the internet makes it possible to bypass traditional gatekeepers like galleries and in-person art shows.

How do you build a viable art business in 2020? Run your own art gallery business online.   How?   1) Equip yourself with a Proper Art Gallery Website. 2) Solve the ongoing Marketing Problem.   We created Art Storefronts to help you do this. We are an all-in-one solution: Proper Art Gallery Website + Ongoing Marketing Consulting.

  Nick and Pat discuss what's going on in the art industry today.

Nick Friend (CEO) and Patrick Shanahan (CMO) on the importance of just getting your art business started and not worrying about perfection or problems that don't yet exist.

Is art selling right now? Nick and Patrick talk about the one tactic that is working really well right now for Art Storefronts members as well as other art industry news.