Welcome to 2009...Congratulations for getting through the crazy challenging tumultuous events of the past 12 months. Whether you have completed your plans for the year, or haven't gotten around to them, it is a good time to cover or revisit the basics.
Art Marketing 101, now in its 3rd Edition remains a treasure trove of valuable ideas and suggestions. As its title suggests, it is a basic primer. But do not be fooled, because it provides lots of information and inspiration artists at any level can put to good use.
The book is written by Constance Smith. She has helmed ArtNetwork in a career spanning three decades. Here is a description of the company from its Web site:
ArtNetwork has been helping artists empower themselves since 1986 through its books, artist directories, mailing lists and most recently through its online gallery. We continue to grow by bringing you new approaches to marketing your work and growing your art business.
In addition to publishing a great collection of useful business books for artists, ArtNetwork also provides some of the most unique mailing lists, built especially for visual artists, to be found anywhere. Here is a breakdown by category:
You can start with a simple postcard marketing program to them. Online printers such as PrintingforLess.com offer competitive prices and great service. I have personally used this company and been very pleased with the quality, care and pricing it provided me. My recommendation would be to make it a campaign as opposed to a one-shot attempt.
Depending on your target and desired outcome, you might send several postcards. Or, you might follow a postcard with a letter and a brochure. If you select a list that is large enough, you can segment it and try sending test batches. Batch A might get 2 postcards, Batch B 3 postcards, Batch C 1 postcard and a letter with brochure. There is no set way that always works best, the more you test and evaluate, the better your long term results will be.
When you rent a list, you do not own the names and the use is for one time. You need to develop a means to capture your own mailing data. In our high tech world, it is easy to think of trying to use email and online marketing exclusively. This can be a mistake. I believe in using both old fashioned direct mail and email.
If you do not have a method of capturing both email and standard mailing addresses, it should be a priority for you this year. In addition to figuring out how to get people to give you names, you need a way to manage them. In another post coming soon, I will give you ideas for how to go about doing both.
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