Marketing a Whole New World

These days all the artists I know are scrambling to find new ways to market their work. It seems the methods we have used for years are no longer as effective as they once were. So we are all being forced ( like it or not ) to think outside the box.

Almost 20 years ago when I started my studio it seemed to be enough to do artisans shows, exhibit in a gallery and hang a sign by the door. But lets face it artisan and trade shows are often not profitable. And there is all that setting up and taking down of booths not to mention travel expenses. So many of the galleries have succumbed to the difficult economic times. And if they have hung on they have been forced to take a higher percentage of the final sale. It also seems more difficult to get a business license that will allow you to open a home based business to the public. And in most cities it is almost impossible to find affordable retail space to operate a studio. So what to do ? Most of us have gone the web site route in the last few years. While the younger and more techy seem to be embracing social media in all its forms. But we are all looking for other avenues that will work whether globally or in our local market place.

Last year I joined with some friend who sell amish furniture to try something new. We rented vacant store fronts in malls to show case our work. I set up displays in the windows with signage inside and attached business card holders outside. People could see the displays, read the signs and pick up a business card as they were rushing by doing their shopping.It was really cost effective because we didn't have to man a store and everything was safe with the mall security. Although in the end we had hoped for more actual sales it did expose our work to a lot of new clients. And the cost to rent the space for a month was about the same as running a couple of small ads in one edition of the local paper.

So in this new world of marketing be bold and try a new approach to selling your art and see what happens.