Don’t be intimidated or overwhelmed by million dollar ad campaigns. Look to your fellow artisans. Look to your fellow small business owners. In fact, some of our most commonly self-perpetuated challenges get much easier to overcome with a little education. I’ll walk you through a few of those “action items” so you can go after some holiday sales before the season is over.
Three things I respond to below:
– I’m terrible at marketing.
– I hate marketing.
– I barely make any sales so who cares.
1) I’m terrible at marketing.
Don’t be. Bare minimum buy-in for any artist operating in the digital space is understanding the fundamentals of marketing yourself. Even if you hate it, the only way to eliminate that intimidation factor is knowledge. And a little bit of it goes a long way in the way of confidence.
ACTION ITEM:
Read this: The 13 Best Artist Marketing Tips
It’s a 20 minute read with basic principles that can start driving traffic to your shop right away. It includes great examples from successful artists implementing tasks you can accomplish immediately. Don’t forget to tell people your artwork and products are for sale!
2) I hate marketing.
We’ve all said it. We’ve all heard it. We all know there’s a sliver of truth in it, but if you say this to yourself then spend that time on Instagram or watching Netflix, you’re not going to be serving your end goal of earning some sales. Isn’t that goal? Sure you can say, “I’m looking for inspiration”, but how long are you going to look for inspiration before you realize it was just a procrastination tactic?
ACTION ITEM:
Post about your work on social media in tandem with big promotions. Share your most popular artwork or products.
We have some major sales happening right now and you want customers to arrive to your shop and browse. Even if they don’t buy what you deem to be your best work, they’re in your shop looking for the perfect thing which is better than if they’re not.
3) I barely make any sales so who cares.
We’ve all been there, but there’s a light at the end of this tunnel. Sales is a numbers game. If you can drive traffic to your shop, your likelihood of getting a sale increases. If you’re finding that your artwork isn’t resonating with fans the way you want, consider studying artists you respect. What are they doing in their artwork and marketing approach that you can appreciate and implement?
ACTION ITEM:
Pick ONE product and do it really well.
Nothing else. If mugs are your thing, focus on your hilarious phrases for mugs and let people know you’re the premiere spot for mugs. If you’re going after bedding and think your patterns are great, focus on promoting comforters. Again, picking one product you’re really proud of and making sure people know where to buy what you’re busy making.
In closing…
No one ever said marketing was easy, but it certainly shouldn’t be daunting. Biggest takeaways and task items from this post…
- Read this article: 13 Best Artist Marketing Tips
- Let people know about big promotions on social media. It drives urgency.
- Focus on ONE product you do really well and share it.
We’ll be putting out plenty more educational content to help you build a comprehensive marketing plan for yourself in the New Year. Keep your eyes peeled!
Feel free to leave questions/comments below.
Banner artwork by Paul Fuentes.
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