Did you send a holiday greeting that is posted in a public space online?

Leave a link to your greeting in a comment with some words that will entice us to visit and take a look.

Share any resources you have such as printers, special papers, and envelope companies.

My Cards

On the front of our personal Happy New Year card. ©2010 Ellen Soffer, Sea. Oil on canvas, 40 x 30 inches.

On the front of my business New Year card. ©2011 Ellen Soffer, Window Pane. Oil on canvs, 20 x 20 inches.

My holiday greetings (always New Year’s for me – always snail mail) feature the art of Ellen Soffer.

They were printed at PS Print on 13 lb. recycled matte cover and have an interior message. (Thanks to Leah Virsik for sending me a postcard of her work – I fell in love with the paper it was printed on and asked her for details.)

I ordered “Blu Raspberry” and “Razzle Berry” Pop-Tone envelopes from Envelope Mall.

The backs have complete credit lines in large enough letters to actually read!

Your turn.

A commandment commands recipients to take a certain action.

• Come to
• Drop by
• Do this
• Do that

Watch your tone when you’re tempted to issue a commandment in your email messages or newsletters.

An announcement announces that something happened or will happen.

• The show opens Friday and runs through December 16.
• The sale starts at 9 a.m. on Black Friday.

Sometimes announcements are all that is needed – there’s nothing to invite people to. Yet many people announce and forget to invite!

An invitation invites recipients to an event and encourages their attendance.

• I hope you will come . . .
• It would be lovely to see you at . . .
• It won’t be much fun if you’re not there.
• Please drop by if you can . . .

If you want people to show up, let them know you value their attendance.

Invite, don’t command.

Are you announcing, inviting, or commanding?

Whether you’re sending an invitation to an exhibit opening, an open studio, or a holiday party, be sure you’re answering all of the questions the recipients might have.

Below is a checklist you can use as a starting point. Not everything will apply to your situation.

Angie Allen invitations. ©The Artist

Who

Who are you? Full name, please.
Who is the host?
Who are the participating artists?
Who will be there?
Who does it benefit, if it’s a charitable event?

What

What should we expect?
What will we see?
What will we do?
What do we bring?
What number do we call or text if we have trouble finding the event?

Where

Where is the darned thing? It’s imperative to list the city and state!
Where can we park?
Where can I go to get more information or to see your art in advance?

When

When do we arrive? Date + time.
When is it over?
When does it open?
When does it close? Please put closing dates on your exhibit invitations!

Why

Why should I come?
Why are you doing this?

How

How do we get there? Are there special directions that will facilitate our attendance?

It’s easier to make connections online when you have good photographs.

I know I’m relentlessly preaching the value of good language, but don’t neglect excellent photos. And I’m not just talking about photos of your art.

Michelle Wermuth photographs nature close up. This image shows her actively engaged with her subject.

Never underestimate your audience’s desire to know more about you and more about your life as an artist. How about photos of . . .

• Your art (let’s start with this at a bare minimum)
• Your office
• Your studio
• You

What photos do you find people are responding to?

Are you one of the many artists who has given up on real mail in favor of using email to stay in touch?

It’s time to rethink that strategy.

© Jacquelyn Sparks, Reconstructing Charles Proctor. Project for the Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition's Momentum Spotlight.

5 Reasons to Keep Sending Real Mail

1. Real mail is tactile.

2. Real mail shows you went the extra mile.

3. Real mail sets you apart.

4. Real mail is delightful.

5. Real mail is lasting.

Are you using real mail for your art business or have you given up on it? We want to know how and why.

Brennen McElhaney, Rolling Hills - Tennessee. Acrylic on canvas, 12 x 18 inches. ©The Artist

Brennen McElhaney recently asked fans on Facebook to tell him which images they preferred for greeting cards.

This got me thinking.

Do some images/styles/colors sell better as greeting cards than others?

What are you attracted to when you send a card?

Is there a correlation between what sells off the wall/from a case/from the floor and what sells on a card?

I snapped this picture when I visited Palisade, Colorado in June for a book party at Dianna Fritzler’s studio.

I’ve been to a lot of artist studios and co-op galleries, but have never seen signage quite as impressive.

Every artist with a studio in this building is represented with a weatherproof sign on the outside wall – clearly visible from across the street or when coming up on the building.

Notice that these aren’t wimpy signs. They’re HUGE! They are full color, with a representative work from each artist underneath the artist’s name in large, legible letters.

See how much more effective this is than putting a bunch of names on a group sign?

Kinda makes you want to see more, huh?

PS: You can meet the ever-vibrant Dianna Fritzler at my Social Media Immersion workshop in Golden in October. Details.

Lee Shiney attended my book signing and talk in Wichita, Kansas. He writes:

You were talking about keeping in touch with buyers, using mailing lists, etc., and my dilemma had always been that often I didn’t know who bought work because it was cash and carry out of small shops. There was no record of the actual buyer.

This realization incited him to take action to find out who was purchasing his art.

Collectors’ Packet

Lee created a packet to attach to the back of his art.

The card inside the packet serves as a Thank You, but also asks for a closer connection to the buyer. Lee is being proactive – trying to track down his buyers while they’re excited about their purchase and probably wanting to know more about the artist.

If you go to www.leeshiney.com/register (as requested in this card) you can see what Lee’s buyers will see.

Lee says:

The final card gets hand-signed by me and goes in a little plastic bag along with more than one business card (to share with friends, maybe?) and attached to the back of a work. The whole presentation was created with the idea of making them physically take something off the work, almost like a gift, and be specific about a call-to-action.

Taking It a Step Further

You might also add to your packet:

• How to hang/install the piece
• How to care for the art
• Images of other art they might be interested in
• A bio or story that is warm, funny, engaging about you

These Packets Have Their Place in Your Marketing

Lee’s tactic probably wouldn’t fly in a gallery situation. Dealers wouldn’t want you to make this connection with purchasers (THEIR clients) – outside of their watchful eye.

This works for coffee shops, restaurants, and wherever else your work might sell without your having a record of it – without stepping on an agent’s toes.

Do you have a twist on this or do something similar?

After yesterday’s question as to whether or not newsletters were still valid, I thought I’d share one of my favorite newsletters.

It comes from the American Craft Council.

Why I Love Getting Newsletters from the ACC

It’s simple: The ACC newsletters are gorgeous.

They’re not overdesigned as so many art and artist newsletters are (too many colors, too bright, too many fonts). Instead, the focus is on the art.

AND, the art has a theme. Art by one artist looks great next to art by another – because the images were carefully curated.

Let’s look at a few snapshots from the July 15 edition.

Here’s the header.

Notice the dotted background. I would argue that this isn’t needed, but if you’re going to have a pattern, it should make sense with the selected art.

The top image of the patterned pillows with the echoes the dots in the header and adds stripes. It sets the tone for what is below.

(Remember, these are my screen captures and crops from their email newsletter.)

A striped tray!

No dots, but it coordinates with the stripes above. And acts as a transition to . . .

A bonanza of dots and stripes in this necklace.

. . . and the cupcakes inspired by the necklace.

I’m Not Encouraging You to Make Art with Dots and Stripes

I’m asking you to think about how your art is visually laid out on a page.

How do your colors, fonts, and images relate to one another? Squint your eyes. Is the art the most important element in the message?

If you add an extra color or a background element, does it enhance or detract from the work?

Can each newsletter have a cohesive theme that ties the work and words together?

Can you add some fun?

Laura Tyler, Toast. Encaustic and ink on panel, 5 x 4 inches. ©The Artist

 
Artist and filmmaker Laura Tyler is a quiet spirit.

Whenever she opens her mouth, you should pay attention. Something smart and insightful usually comes out.

A few months back, Laura said that she felt the idea of newsletters is “broken.”

Since I’ve been wrestling with the format of the Art Marketing Action newsletter for a few months now, Laura’s comment got me thinking.

Are newsletters still of value?

Have blogs and Facebook pages made newsletters passé?

Are poor newsletters giving the good ones a bad name?

Or do we just need to rethink the newsletter?