Some friends will see it on Facebook, most won’t.
Some followers will catch your tweet or your +1 post, most won’t.
Some people will read your email or blog post, some won’t.

©2010 Cheryl Laube, Why. From the "Being Woman” Series III. Archival digital print, 17 x 22 inches.

Six artists scheduled a one-night-only art show in the boutique hotel just down the hill from me. I know two of them fairly well.

I received an email announcement (bulk blast) from one of the artists about 3 weeks before the event. I added the date to my calendar.

Then . . . silence. I heard not a peep from anyone else.

I looked forward to the event, even though I wondered why I didn’t hear more about it since it was so close to me.

Being the Art Biz Coach, I entered the artists’ makeshift gallery on the night of the shindig and couldn’t wait to tease one of them. “I’m here even though you didn’t invite me,” I said.

Her response was one of surprise. She said she had been talking about it on Facebook for a long time. Of course, she was very apologetic and perplexed as to why I didn’t hear about it from her.

Facebook as Curator

Chatting something up on Facebook is fantastic, but it can’t be your only promotion avenue.

Have you noticed how Facebook decides what they think you want to see? If someone has hundreds of friends, it’s darned near impossible to get to the top of someone’s Home page feed every day.

When is the last time you spent the day going through the feeds of all of your friends and page likes? (Please say Never!)

And when is the last time you really paid attention to invitations for Facebook events? C’mon, be honest.

Diversify Your Marketing Message Delivery

You must use all of the weapons in your marketing arsenal to get attention. This means a combination of social media, email, and snail mail (postcards, in particular).

Very few people will see it in all of these formats, and you’ll be blessed if those on your list act on a single notice from you.

Don’t trust social media alone to deliver an important message. Don’t trust email or snail mail alone, either. You need a combination – a 1, 2, 3 PUNCH!

Have you had a similar experience?

A quick Happy Birthday to this blog. The Art Biz Blog is 7 today!

Marketing. Maaaarrrrrrketing. MARKETING!

There’s something about that word that shakes us up.

Marketing is something that direct-mailers and telemarketers do. They didn’t teach marketing in art school and you certainly won’t read about it in art history books or artist biographies.

It’s the dirty deed that we all had to do, but no one admitted to in the past.

But marketing doesn’t have to make us bristle. Here are some ways for you to feel better about the M word.

©2006 Carolin Peters, Mind, Body, Spirit (triptych). Oil on canvas, 48 x 92 inches.

Do’s

Do share.

Do focus on others.

Do inform.

Don’ts

Don’t beg for attention.

Don’t request action from people who don’t know you.

Don’t be greedy.

Feeling better about the M word?

Me, Meaghan Flaherty, and Libby Hintz. Photo by Pat D'Aversa.

I flubbed up last week big time.

I failed to give credit to the photographer of the personal picture in the Art Marketing Action newsletter.

The photographer who made Megan Flaherty, Libby Hintz, and me look so good was Pat D’Aversa.

I know better than this – especially since I had just taught about the importance of credit lines in the Long Island workshop that Pat attended!

Photo by Kimberly Lennox

I’d like to say this was an isolated incident, but I also erred with the book jacket for my 2011 edition of I’d Rather Be in the Studio. I used a new photo, but I didn’t catch that the cover designer hadn’t changed the name of the photographer. (I was the only proofreader who would have known this other than the photographer. It was 100% my fault.)

My photo on the back flap of my book is by Kimberly Lennox.

Give Credit

Don’t do as I did. Do as I say.

Be very careful whenever you use another artist’s work – ANYWHERE. In both of the instances I mentioned above, I was devastated to learn that I had not properly credited the photographers.

I’m trying to make it up to them through this blog post and in other ways, but it would have been better to credit them in the first place.

When you feature other artists’ work on Facebook, on your blog, or in your newsletter, use the entire credit line:

©date Name of Artist, Title of Work, medium, size (h x w x d).

In addition, link to their sites as a matter of courtesy.

And don’t forget to credit your photographers!

Claim Credit

In order to receive credit for your art, you must add credit lines wherever it is shown – online or in person. This means including your name and ©date with every image on your website, blog, Facebook, Flickr, . . . You get the point.

You wouldn’t install your art without a label next to it, so why would you do this online?

Pat D’Aversa does this well on her page on Facebook.

It’s also important to add the medium and, if not a digital photograph, size. See how Leslie Parke does this on her site.

If visitors have to scroll down to read the credit line, make sure your name is still visible  and always near the image.

People can’t give you credit until you claim it first.

Are you giving yourself credit?

You’re new to the area.

You’d like to get to know the lay of the land – the powers that be in the local arts community. What do you do? Do you just call them up? Introduce yourself at an opening?

Be Inspired by Her Story

Photographer E. Brady Robinson got to know arts leaders in the Washington, D.C. area by initiating a project to photograph their desks.

Desks as Portraits: An Inside Look at the DC Art World documents the working spaces of DC-area curators, collectors, writers, art critics, museum directors, artists, and tastemakers.

©2011 E. Brady Robinson, Andrea Pollan's Desk. Pollan is the founder/director of Curator's Office.

It turns out that it’s pretty interesting to be a voyeur and gaze into these offices. You want to see the technology, the paper, and the art on the walls.

This is nice for us, but Brady was the real winner. What a networking opportunity! All of the people she has met!

Not only did this project help Brady get to know the movers and shakers in her new location, the Washington Post picked up on the story and gave her a nice feature.

Don’t copy, but be inspired by this story.

What can you begin that will introduce your name to the arts leaders in your area?

So you’re driving around the neighborhood and suddenly you spot something different. A new business has opened up.

You can’t remember what used to be in that space, but suddenly it’s a new restaurant or gift shop.

When did it open?

Back in June I stopped by the Golden, Colorado Visitors’ Center to pick up pamphlets for my workshop peeps who were coming in from out of town.

I came across a small card with a business card stapled to it, which announced that Local Market would be opening soon. It was probably printed on a home printer, but it was enough to catch my attention.

I was excited! We’re a sleepy little town and a new local market is big news.

A little later, I drove by the new space for Local Market to see where it was going to be. It was easy to spot because there was a temporary sign. A big sign in the front windows (it’s really a small space).

I found out that Local Market, which I could walk to if necessary, would be opening in late August.

I waited patiently, but enthusiastically.

That means they were promoting it at least 2 months before their opening.

Local Market didn’t just suddenly appear in a vacant space. They let people know they were coming.

Your Takeaway

Don’t wait to start promoting something.

The more people see something, the more they will look forward to it and the more likely they are to act on it when the time comes.

• Post future events on an online calendar (Facebook, blog sidebar, etc.) NOW
• Blog about your 2012 exhibit NOW
• Talk about your upcoming open studio NOW
• Send save-the-date postcards about your event NOW
• Add updates for all of these on Facebook and Twitter NOW

What are you waiting for?

Annie Salness, Amy and Chloe. Acrylic on Masonite, 7 x 5 inches.

Alert subscriber Annie Salness sent me this article about artists’ elevator pitches.

Described as “speed dating for artists and retailers,” these Portland, Oregon events connect artists with people who can help them exhibit and sell their work.

Artists have 2 minutes to persuade the person across from them.

Cool idea, right? (I suggest reading the whole article to get the feel for how it works.)

Would you do it?

Would you be intimidated?

Would you find it fun and easy?

I forgot to say one very important thing when I wrote about the benefits of last-minute marketing.

In order for your last-minute marketing message to work, it must have a single choice – a single call to action.

Angela Bounds, Keeping Watch. 12 x 12 inches. ©The Artist

If you’re mucking up your marketing message by adding too much to it, you won’t be effective.

Too many choices in your message can lead to confusion and indecision, which results in no action at all.

One Message

Focus your last-minute marketing message.

What is it that you want people to do upon receiving it? Let’s assume your message is in an email.

If you want people to attend an opening, purchase an artwork on sale, or help fund your Kickstarter project:

1. Provide all details necessary to entice someone to click.
2. Use a terrific image that illustrates your point.
3. Link to a special page or blog post with specific how-to information and instructions. When you link to generic Home pages, recipients have to search and you’re likely to lose their attention.

Got it? A single call to action. No choices. Focused message.

While I share tips to help you promote your work, I am simultaneously promoting my own products and services.

I’ve found that last-minute marketing (the day of or the day prior to a deadline) is worth every ounce of effort. When I don’t bother with the extra push, my enrollment is smaller, my sales are lower, and fewer people benefit from what I have to offer.

David Hiltner, Large Silo Jar. Clay, 13 x 7 x 7 inches. ©The Artist

I’ve learned:

• Most people sign up or purchase at the last minute, but they’ve usually seen my offer multiple times by that point. This means . . .
• My last-minute email reminders create more action (i.e. more sales) than all of my other efforts combined.
• People will unsubscribe from my list because of those last-minute reminders. I grew to be okay with that as soon as I understood they aren’t my ideal customers.
• Others will be grateful for the eleventh-hour reminders. They are worth reaching out to one last time. They are my ideal customers and will benefit from what I have to offer.

Last-minute marketing doesn’t mean waiting until the day before to first tell people about a sale, product, or event. In order for last-minute marketing to work its magic, you have to have put all of the right pieces into place.

Before any last-minute marketing, you should have completed at least half of the following promotional efforts:

• Mailed postcards
• Emailed an original message with all of the product or event info to your list
• Sent personal emails to those who can help you spread the word
• Posted the event on your website, blog, Google+, and Facebook
• Written and sent at least one press release
• Tweeted about it multiple times
• Mentioned it in your newsletter

Some people are afraid that more promotions will result in “bothering people.” As I said above, people will unsubscribe. Keep in mind that they’re not your ideal customer.

Remember these last-minute marketing lessons whenever you think that one last message might be too much. Your final missive might pay off, but only if you’ve laid the groundwork over time.

Has last-minute marketing paid off for you?

If you have been ignoring your contact list or relying solely on people to sign up for your email updates with an online form, it’s time to re-commit to nurturing your contacts.

Jessica Pisano, Sunset Marsh. Acrylic and gold leaf on black-and-white photograph, 15 x 19 inches. ©The Artist

Your contact list is where you store all of the people you know or would like to know. It’s storage. You can safely send postcards and snail mail to anyone on your contact list. You can also send personal emails to individuals on your contact list.

Your email list is for those who have opted in (asked) to receive your bulk email blasts, newsletters, and reminders.

I appreciate the combination of snail mail and email, but the primary benefit of my contact list is to spur my memory, which helps me personalize my relationships with students, subscribers, and others in the art world.

This is why I insist that your contact list is your #1 asset.

Reacquaint Yourself with Your Contact List

Stop waiting for people to sign up and start being proactive! You could take any of the following actions on your contact list right now.

• Research and select software that maintains your contact database. I just posted an updated list of artist contact management software. Look over the list, read the comments, and chime in.

• If you just started using your database, identify a certain number of people you can add to your list each day or week. Or set aside a day to get ‘er done. Your first goal is to get everyone you know into your database. In I’d Rather Be in the Studio, I put the minimum number of contacts at 150 because everyone knows at least 150 people.

• To expand your contacts, add 5 influential people a week to your database. These might be people in your niche market, curators, gallerists, art collectors, or art consultants. Remember, you’re not adding them to a bulk email list. You’re adding them to your database so that you remember who they are. Not sure where to start? Use Google to search for these influential people.

• Code your list. Use a sorting system in your database so that you can quickly pull up buyers, friends, family, other artists, and VIPs.

• Use your list. Your list is worthless if you don’t use it. Use your list to send thank-you notes and personal correspondence just to let someone know you are thinking of them. If you have a show in a certain region, pull up names from that area and do something extra special for the people on your list.

What’s your first step?

At a recent panel discussion in conjunction with a deceased artist’s retrospective, a local critic said

A big part of art is social. [The Artist] was very social.

Another said:

There was a sweetness to him that inclined me toward the work. You liked him, so you liked the work.

What does being social and likeable have to do with an artist’s success?