January 25, 2009

 ACE Newsletter

The Changing Face of Art Marketing

Part of our newsletter has already appeared in a varied format for the Jerrysartarama blog site "The Splatter."  But so much is appropriate for what we are doing right now at ACE,  that I felt I needed to share it with our members!

You have already heard me say that I am on a quest to share what I have learned with those artists whose goal has been to use their creative talents to make money! But the quest goes deeper than just the results and affirmation of art sales. Just the act of bringing in income to pay a few bills or even to totally support your family from the sales of your own art product is achievement andfulfillment on an unparalleled level. That would be wonderful, wouldn't it? Yet for so many years, success at that level for artists has been hard to come by. Why?
For those of you at our seminars, this is a familiar question that we pose:
Haven't you wondered WHY, with the art marketing methods promoted by the Art Community and colleges over so many years, there are STILL so few artists making a living at their craft? What's wrong with this picture?

And as we discovered, it is a question that is in the forefront of the minds of many artists.  Both of our January seminars for this year on the Myth Busting Facts of Art Marketing sold out quickly. Is it a sign of the times?

Well, both groups have met and most are ready and eager for a change in marketing their art.  It's not easy but then again if it was, everyone would be successful and you wouldn't need us right?  But it has been interesting to notice that many of these participants are artists who have spent a decade or two trying to do it "the right way." But the "right way" or theaccepted methods that have been promoted during the past century are only a recent phenomena. Prior to the 20th century and the rise of art galleries and the thinking that artists "should not have to sell their art," artists have always been responsible for creating and supplying the art for the available markets. A search through world history combined with art history and artist biographies will reveal fascinating facts, details and even confirmation along with the means and methods the artists used.

It is unfortunate that an artist even needs confirmation that thinking in terms of marketing his art is acceptable. But the times are indeed changing for those who have faced disappointment in their inability to sell their art. We all know that over a period of time, with no sales and no income, discouragement sets in and before long," being an artist" is just a lost dream to most.
Or is it? Hey that's why we're here! Life is too short to keep walking down the same path and fall into the same hole! How about taking another path instead?

With art galleries closing by the thousands and grant money drying up, the need to "think outside the box" suddenly makes sense. The fact and reality is, there is no one secret formula to the selling of one's art.  Simply a re-structuring of prior learned beliefs, a major shift in attitude plus the always present need to work hard, opens the door to success! The tried and true means and methods of successfully selling anything are available in any bookstore. "Thinking outside the box" means challenging the accepted norm of how an artist should do business and apply the marketing world's proven methods of selling to your art product!
It seems very appropriate to start the New Year with a re-structuring of attitude! Because the most difficult obstacle facing the entrepreneur artist will be erasing the years of art marketing myths that he has been exposed to. Start with a blank slate!

That's why January truly is the month for not only looking back at where you have been, but looking forward to where you want to go.

New attitude in place? Great! Now you have to have that business plan we've been talking about to set your goals for marketing your art. Not an art plan, but an art business plan.
It's a roadmap to your destination. No matter how many detours or stops you make on this road, you still have your destination in sight. That's the beauty of a plan.
And as I said in the "Splatter" blog, Enthusiasm is the driving. Getting there is putting gas in your car!

Until later,

Theresa and Steve

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