I founded Artists Who THRIVE with a new paradigm, that of the artist as an entrepreneur.  “Artist and entrepreneur?”  Yes, that’s right.  Define your market, own your platform, and keep all of your profits.

I did this very intentionally.  I had ample access to traditional art representation but there was a problem.  I needed to make a living, a good living, quickly.  I just moved to the beach in San Francisco and it’s very expensive here.

So I had a different view.  I wasn’t interested in showing my work.  I was interested in selling it.

The fact is that there are many talented painters, and the art market is oversaturated, so I defined a target market, a passionate “tribe,” and created unique value. I “celebrated” the tribe, the food and wine enthusiasts of a particular ilk.

This is a blue ocean strategy; eliminating the competition by not competing.  Why aren’t you competing?  You’re offering unique value to a targeted market.  And this is a lot more rewarding, profitable, and less exhausting than waiting in line for an art gallery to care more than you do about selling your work.  They can’t and they just won’t.

Let’s take a look at one of my clients, Melissa McDaniel, another dog photographer.  No, that’s not all.  She is a dog photographer who aligns her work with a passionate cause, animal rescue, a distinct market. She leverages the internet and strategic alliances. Melissa has made it much more than just about Melissa.  I advise my artist clients all the time.  It’s not about you, it’s about your collectors.  Make it bigger than you.

Now if you’re thinking, “I like dogs.  I like animal rescue. I’m going to do that.”  My advice?  Did you hear what I just said? The challenge is to create “unique value.”

How do you that?  Who is more unique than you?  Start with your individual passions, values, and your particular creative inclinations.  That is what artists must do.  Then think who you can serve and how.

This is really not new.  Michelangelo, Andy Warhol, and Jackson Pollock all had unique value and a target market.  The art historians just don’t talk about it much because they are historians not market analysts.

So you art Puritans might want to fire roast me at the stake but I say, “Make art for the love of it and for the money.”

Should artists donate work to auctions?  My answer, generally, is NO.  “Why?  It’s for a good cause and I’ll get all of that exposure.” My answer: That’s nice and not likely.

If it’s for a good cause and that’s your only motivation, that’s great.  That said, there are better ways for you to support that cause than taking precious work out of your inventory and giving it away without the benefit of a tax deduction.  Which is generally what the IRS provides to all of the other individuals and businesses who donate.  As an artist, you are only permitted to deduct the cost of the materials, not the value of the work.

“Well, I can clear away work that isn’t selling.” So if you were hoping for exposure then how would showcasing lesser work help you build your brand?  One very famous auction stopped asking for donations from artists because they complained that the quality of the art donated wasn’t high enough.  Hmmm. I wonder why?

If an art patron really wants to help you gain exposure and they believe in the cause, then they will buy the work from you at full price and donate it themselves.  Then they can take the full tax deduction.  This is what a wine industry entrepreneur did with one of my paintings two months ago.

Even as the “featured artist” at one of the biggest fund raisers in Napa  I received, zero sales, and you guessed it, zero leads.  Why?  Not because of bad positioning by the organizers or a lack of admiration for my work, which was relevant to the venue.  It was because the folks were in eating, drinking, partying, and in schmoozing mode.  Not, art collecting mode.  Although I didn’t gain much, I didn’t loose much. I only donated the limited license of my copyright and not any art.

When you go to the grocery store are you looking for shoes?  No.  Even if they are great shoes? No. You’re not there for shoes.  So selling art isn’t just about targeting your market it’s about their focus when your target them.

Yes. There are exceptions.  Cause marketing is a very effective marketing strategy for the luxury market.  And charity is good.  But that’s not what we are talking about here.  So if you’re donating your art with the hope of generating sales and building your brand, think again.  There are far better, more profitable, ways to market your art.

I recently received an email from a student who attended my last Artists Who THRIVE seminar, sponsored by the Small Business Development Center.

“Had I heard you speak when I was coming out of graduate school, my path might have been different….” Quinne graduated in 1985 with an MFA and his remark is something that I hear all too often.

Too many graduate from art, music, culinary or other schools, with very high hopes. And too many graduate with no plan or concrete guidance. So their hopes are soon set a drift on a raft of flames when the economic reality of food, shelter, and student loans set in.

What they have not been taught, because too many academics resist the notion, is that in order to thrive as creatives they will also be required to be very savvy entrepreneurs.  Why?  Because there are precious few “jobs” for creatives that deliver stable and adequate income, retirement, and health benefits.  Glinda, the Good Witch, is just not coming.

Why don’t they get this guidance from their professors?  My theory: it’s because their professors are, just that, professors.  And they are not facing the same economic realities of a new graduate.  My opinion: these teaching institutions, that are often very expensive, are simply irresponsible.

I’ll never forget when I served as a panelist at UC Berkeley.  The topic: How to make a viable living as an artist?  The tenured professor of the painting department advised the eager audience, “Don’t worry about it.  Just make art.  It will all work out.” Easy for him to say!  That’s complete BULL$$hit!  My fellow panelist, a successful print maker, said to him in front of a large audience.  “F*&#! That!  People are buying art!” In that moment she became my hero and the seeds for Artists Who THRIVE were planted.

Salvador Dalí

So you know how it is, we have a huge “to do list”.  And all of these “to-dos” can easily become overwhelming.

In fact, I’ve noticed that when you ask people “How are you doing?, they often reply with, “I’ve been soooo busy.”  Is that our new greeting?  I sometimes think, “Well, are you too busy for me?  Maybe I should go?”

All of these “to-dos” can also encroach on our precious creative time.  My suggestion is to edit your “to-do” list by a very simple rule.  First, which of these “to-dos” are income-generating activities?  Then which ones are marketing activities?

Next.  Sort these income generating action items by how close they are to a path to cash.  For example: meeting with a collector is closer to generating cash then updating your eCommerce site. Right?  They are both important, but which one deserves your immediate energy and attention? If you don’t have an eCommerce site and you don’t have a potential collector to meet with, then you need to work on activities to launch  eCommerce site.

The next way to cut this list down is to examine which action items can be delegated.  Could this action item be handled by an intern?  A virtual assistant?

I expect all of my artist clients to maintain a calendar and that they budget their time as carefully, if not more, than their money.  Why?  Because you can make more money.  You can’t make more time.

This calendar also helps draw boundaries around creative time.  I find that I’m most creative and energized in the afternoon.  So after noon, on Tuesday through Friday, administrative and marketing activities stop and creative time begins.

I guard my creative time.  Obviously that’s because this is how I want to focus my life force and so that I can create an art inventory of quality.  And so that I can generate revenue and keep painting.

My creative output also cuts a path to valuable intellectual property, a la reproductions.  And intellectual property is an asset that generates income that does not have to be traded for time.  And that is the best and the fastest path to cash.

There was an insightful comment posted on the  Artist Who THRIVE Facebook page about my last post, “Should I Discount my Fine Art?”

“If a painting is not selling and is collecting dust, it is probably not the same quality as your work that IS selling. Putting out work that is lower quality than your standard and marking it at a lower price is like taking steps backwards- you lower the value of your work and it affects how collectors see you…

If you see a painting that “wows” you…and its priced 1500.00, then you see another painting by the same artist that is not very good, and its priced 500.00 (presuming they are the same medium and size) does it not effect your view of the artist in terms of value and quality?

It would confuse me- as a collector- because it makes the artist seem unreliable and desperate.

Man this marketing stuff is tricky!”

My opinion, “this marketing stuff” is really NOT that “tricky!”

As yourself this. Should an artist really maintain a “bargain bin?”  I think not!

All artists produce work in a range of quality.  Your job as the artist is to edit. When I have work of lower quality, and it’s not moving, it’s a sign to heed.

Take work of lower quality out of your sale inventory and maintain your standards. Launch your lame work and make more excellent work.

The editing process is part of the creative process.  It will feel good and you will have more confidence in your work.  And then, it’s easier to sell.

Don’t’ confuse your collectors. As it is, they have a hard enough time understanding the prices of fine art.

Keep it simple and pursue excellence.

Get help, all the help you need to make success and happiness in your life and business. Particularly if you’re not sure of how to get there.

No single person, no matter how capable, has enough time to do everything, nor can they master every skill.  If you are trying to do this, you’re doing it the hard way and the wrong way.  You don’t have to hire an entire team all at once. But if it will cost you less money, and or time, and it will help you make more money in the short or long term, get help.

I consider myself pretty well rounded and capable but to support my art business I currently have a:

1. Bookkeeper
2. Business Attorney
3. Social Media Consultant
4. CPA
5. Data Entry Assistants
6. Virtual Assistants
7. Event Assistants
8. Personal Stylist
9. Webmaster
10. Local Framer
11. Order Fulfillment Framer
12. Fine Art Photographer
13. Graphic Designer
14. Sales consultant

All of whom are better at what they do than I’ll ever be. It costs me less in the long run to hire them, as needed, and it certainly takes less time. And it gives me more time to paint and to sell what I paint.

I’ve also hired life coaches to help take me from my miserable corporate cubical dwelling self to the life I have created for myself now.  What I was doing then certainly wasn’t working and I appreciate the benefit of their wisdom.

And I’ve hired marketing and business consultants to help me construct my business.

Bottom line.  I’ve invested in my business and myself.  I heard Warren Buffet once say that the first and best place to get a return on your investment is yourself.  I agree.

I have also fired people.  My suggestion. Make your expectations very clear.  Hire slowly. Fire quickly.

We all need help. And we can get to where we want to go faster with the help of experienced guides.  It’s a sign of strength to admit this and it’s an act of power to take action and actually get the help that you need.

If you would like help building your art business you are welcome to apply.  Learn more here.

As artists you would think that we have a really good handle on the power of design.  But the fact is that design skills are as specific as the skills required for photography, oil painting, or designing clothes.

Therefore too many artists’ websites are missing the mark, placing their online sales prospects at a severe and unnecessary disadvantage.

Art is a luxury item that one can liken to a gourmet meal.  As with gourmet meals, there are certain expectations around the presentation.  We often only notice the presentation when something is missing or it’s off the mark.  It’s much like sitting down for an expensive gourmet meal only to then notice that the plate is dirty. Ick!

I write this critique from compassion and appreciation for the challenges that artists face, not to make my jewelry designer coaching client Cheryl Rowe feel badly!

Pictured above is a before shot of her current Bellacarisma.com home page and an after shot of her new semi-custom ArtistsWhoTHRIVE ecommerce site, currently under construction.

Here are some of the design considerations:

1. Bellacarisma jewelry designs celebrate color.  The strong teal background of the current site only competes with this. So we eliminated this competing background and made it white so that the color of her jewelry could shine through, replicating the look and feel of an art gallery or museum.

2. The current home page image hardly shows the earrings.  It’s about the model’s head, ear, hair, and a wild letter ‘B” intersecting her neck.  Now the current home page image simply features Cheryl’s newest collection which is where we want to focus her potential buyer’s attention.

3. “Bellacarisma.com” is not a logo.  So we created a logo that communicates the emotional brand message of Bellacarisma, “beautiful, flirtatious, and joyful.

4. The previous site is missing any navigation, so we included and emphasized it at the top.  Now it’s easier to get where you want to go.  If your site is hard to navigate your visitors will leave.  You’ve experienced this, haven’t you?  They are also less likely to take you seriously, to trust you, and ultimately to purchase from you online.

5. The previous site designer’s logo is taking up significant real estate and attention in the lower right hand corner.  Although design credits are necessary, they should not compete with the primary presentation.

6. The current home page is dominated by text.  The copy is fine but on the home page of an artist’s site don’t tell me, show me.

Now Bellacarisma will have an ecommerce site that the owner’s talent deserves, that more accurately communicates the quality of the offering, and no doubt will increase online sales.

Interested in the ArtistsWhoTHRIVE ecommerce solution? Click here to learn more.

Since my last post I’ve received questions about the benefits of having a website versus an eCommerce site.

“Why should I have an eCommerce site? Can’t I just have a website to showcase my art?”

So, at the risk of boring some folks, let me just break it down.  Because I too had to learn this lesson.

If you are only interested in showing your work online, then by all means, just have a website.

But if you are interested in selling your work online, in this decade, you need an eCommerce solution.

Let me offer this analogy: what if you walked into a lovely store and you found something that you really wanted to buy.  It spoke to you. It inspired you. You just had to have it.  That’s how art collectors feel when they collect.

But you couldn’t buy it because they just don’t have a cash register in the store.

So a sign might say, call this number.  “Huh?  I don’t want to call that number.  I want to buy this now!  While I’m feeling it.”  Or… “it’s late, I can’t call that number now.”

That’s the kind of obstacle you are throwing your potential online collectors when you show your work on your website.  An art collector’s expectations are the same whether they are online or offline.

Art is most often an impulse buy.  You only have a narrow window to capture these sales.  So don’t make it hard on prospects.

Another online fumble is when an artist proudly displays their work, and yet they mark it as “sold.”

“What?  Why are you showing me this?  Do you want to prove to me that you have sold your art?”

Better to have an archive section for items that are no longer available for sale, because “I’m a collector.  I’m here because I want to know what I can collect from you, not what I can’t.”

eCommerce solutions range drastically in price, quality, and dependability.  But if you get the right solution, and your work is marketable,  it will pay for itself many times over by  generating additional income.

To learn more about the ArtistsWhoTHRIVE eCommerce solution, click here.

Andy Warhol

In 2009, sales on annrea.com grew to 27% of overall sales.  And this percentage is steadily growing.

If I did not have an ecommerce site who knows how many sales I would have missed?!  27%?  Maybe.  Probably more.

What is the difference between an ecommerce site and a website?

An ecommerce contains the functionality that captures payments online, a website does not.  This functionality is called a “shopping cart.”  If you know this, great.  Many don’t.
Why shouldn’t artists just have a website?

A website cannot capture sales.  So if a website is all you have then you could be missing very significant opportunities to increase your revenue.  The question is “Do you want to show your work, or do you want to sell your work?”

Why does an artist need an ecommerce solution?

Working as an artist is an ambitious endeavor. Selling art online simply makes it easier.

Online sales are the easiest sales because you:

1. keep all the money
2. don’t even have to be present or awake to receive orders
3. orders  can come from all over the world day and night
4. And you can process and ship these orders from the convenience of your home or studio when you choose.

More and more sales are shifting online.  The Internet gives artists, in particular, a distinct advantage to reach an exponentially larger audience than they ever could have before by just exhibiting in galleries or at shows.

You can be at an art fair or an exhibition and sell the art that you don’t even have on display by using your smart phone or iPad.  I’ve sold two original oil paintings on my new iPad in less than 60 days.  Needless to say it’s paid for itself already, many times over.

What is so important about the design format of an artist’s ecommerce site?

Selling art is purely visual commerce. Extreme care and consideration must go into the design.

Too many artist’s sites are poorly designed and these poor aesthetics detract from the artwork. It’s like going to a fine restaurant only to be presented with a beautiful meal but on a dirty plate.

Will I be inundated with online orders?

Not likely. Having an ecommerce site alone will not ensure sales.  It must be designed professionally and you have to have a basic online marketing plan. Online sales require some investment in time and resources as do offline sales. But you will find that traditional marketing efforts will drive online sales and some online prospects will want to see your work in person and meet you. Once you have an eCommerce site, your list of contacts will immediately have the convenience of buying from you directly online.  Over time you will attract new customers from all over the country and/or from all over the world, day or night.
With easier and increased sales there is more time to create.

Click here to learn more about the turn key ecommerce site available through ArtistsWhoTHRIVE.

About three years ago, the director of the UC Berkeley career center read a profile of me written by the business editor of the San Francisco Chronicle and invited me to be part of a panel discussion for recent art degree graduates and alumni. Once again I encountered such strangely conflicting opinions about the commerce of fine art, just really weird biases and stupid and tedious stereotypes.

The panel was composed of a successful print maker, a painter, a tenured UC Berkeley art professor of painting, me, and someone else.  When the moderator came to the professor to ask his esteemed opinion on the matter of making a living as a fine artist, his general very long-winded response was to “just make art and do not worry about money.”

To my delight, my print making co-panelist dropped an f-bomb and said “F*! that, people are buying art”.  “You said it sister!” I replied.  And easy for you to say Mr. Tenured professor, who’ll never be fired, even though his instruction is completely irresponsible garbage.  “Don’t worry about it?!” So should they not worry about food or shelter either? Good grief!  The ones who seem to be less concerned with money are usually the ones who have plenty of it or who know that ultimately they have a financial back up. Go figure.

I heard this strange disdain for the commerce of art just last week.  I was interviewing marketing consultants to help me craft a new marketing piece and I was met with “you seem to be much more interested in the marketing of art than the making of art.”  “Ah, nooo. I’m very interested in the making of art, but if I want to keep doing that I have to market it.  And ah, aren’t you a marketing consultant?”  I didn’t hire him.

What the heck is this twisted and hypocritical conflict about money and art?  Musicians seem to suffer less from this. Why is that?

Please! Making art and well-being requires money. So let’s make more money!