TUEDAY'S ART MARKETING TIPS

New Feature!

What I hear the most from struggling artists is they want to "create" (insert dramatic movement here, we tend to be dramatic after all) and not spend their time marketing.  I disagree - marketing comes in all shapes and sizes, from the way you define your art to the way your present yourself. As someone who has spent over 25 years in the world of advertising, I understand the value of advertising and public relations.  It has, after all, paid bills my entire adult life.  

What do I do in my day job? I place broadcast advertising (TV, cable, radio) for major clients (Home Depot, Kia, Hyundai, Trader Joe's to name a few)  while digital advertising is butting it's head against the door.  Advertising is a great indicator of the economy, so much so I could chart it based on layoffs and hirings.  Rule of thumb, when the economy is good, advertisers spend money. Savvy advertisers know to spend money in a down economy, but they are few and far between.

Because advertising is an industry for the young, to stay on top of my game I decided professionally to become an authority on social media - more on that at a later post.

With that said, I had an "aha" moment and decided it was time to share some of my insights with fellow artists.

First of all - what is marketing?  The American Marketing Association defined marketing in 2007 as "the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering and exchanging offerings that have value for customs, clients, partners and society at large".   Are you still not understanding the value of marketing?

First and foremost are the 4P's of marketing:  PRODUCT (defining your product and your audience), PLACEMENT (where will your audience see it), PRICING (an on-going discussion for artists), and PRESENCE (the result of marketing, both advertising and public relations).

To make this artist friendly, I am going to write an on-going feature that will define many of these mysteries for you - and how it relates it back to your art-marketing.   Some of the topics include:

1. Your elevator speech - how to respond to what you create in the time it takes to descent ten floors or so.

1. The value of branding - creating a body of work

1. Evaluating opportunities - making money vs. exposure

1. Saying No, No, No - when to donate and why not to donate

1. The importance of the artist statement - defining your relationship with your art

1. Creating your reputation

1. Juried Shows - when to submit and when not tor

1. Growing a backbone - how to take rejection

1. Why the way you present yourself always matters

1. Social Media- every advertiser is there - why not you?

This is just the beginning - if you have more topics - I'd like to know.  Next up will be a blog about the elevator speech, which is so important there is a wikipedia page about it (and I'd like to know how many people actually looked it up!).