Establishing a loyal client base is essential for painters seeking sustained success. Loyal clients not only provide repeat business but also become advocates for your work, enhancing your reputation and expanding your reach. Here are several strategies to help you attract and retain devoted clients:
In today’s rapidly changing art landscape, painters face the challenge of staying relevant while maintaining their unique vision. Balancing contemporary trends with personal authenticity is crucial for both emerging and established artists. Here are some strategies:
Pricing your artwork appropriately is important for achieving both profitability and sustainability in your artistic career. Striking the right balance ensures that your art is accessible to buyers while adequately compensating you for your time, effort, and creativity. Here’s a guide to help you learn about this crucial aspect of your profession.
Operating an art gallery presents unique financial challenges that require strategic planning and management. To prevent closures due to financial instability, studio owners and managers can implement the following strategies:
Finding and connecting with your ideal audience is crucial for your growth and success as an artist. By combining creativity and strategy, you can consistently attract the right people who resonate with your work. Here are fun and effective methods to achieve this.
High-quality photographs of your canvas art are essential for showcasing your talent, attracting buyers, and building an online presence. Here’s a guide to help you capture and share your work effectively.
With today’s technology, art gallery owners have a unique opportunity to reach beyond the walls of their physical space and captivate a global audience. Building a solid online presence is key to attracting both local visitors and art lovers from around the world.
Here are five expert strategies to help gallery owners boost their visibility online, increase engagement, and ultimately drive more visitors and sales.
As an artist, achieving financial security without relying on side jobs may seem challenging, but there are practical and effective strategies to make it possible. By diversifying income sources, managing finances carefully, and building a strong professional network, artists can pave the way to a sustainable career focused solely on their art.
Wall Street Journal reports that Amazon is discussing plans with about 100 art galleries in the US of selling fine art online. The e-tail giant plans to create another part in its site where it will offer unique paintings, prints, and other fine art pieces. Amazon has already organized cocktail receptions in Seattle, and other big art cities including New York and San Francisco, inviting galleries to join the plan.
According to WSJ, Amazon will charge the art galleries a monthly membership fee of $100 and will get a commission of 5-20%, depending on the sold artwork. Higher-prices pieces would be subject to lower commission rates. The membership fee would be waived for art houses which would partner with Amazon in selling high-end art until 2015. Amazon will be using a retail model, which means each artwork has a fixed price, unlike art auction houses where the highest bidder gets the art.
Online selling of fine art is a double-edged sword. Amazon’s plan is a great way for art galleries to reach more people. Art lovers outside the city such as New York would be able to buy great art without traveling to the city. At the comfort of their homes or offices, people can easily buy art, even without visiting the actual art gallery. However, a drawback of this plan is that people may be hesitant to buying expensive paintings without seeing the actual painting. Most likely, art buyers won’t pay six- or even seven-figures for something that they only see online. Unlike buying a book or a gadget online, serious art collectors would naturally want to see the artworks personally.
High-end online auctioneers such as Sotheby’s and Christie’s said there is a growing market for expensive art over the Internet. Sotheby’s BidNow program was able to sell a 16th century portrait of Giovanni Gaddi for $2 million in 2012. Christie’s have been accepting online bids since 2007. It revealed that 27% of its auction sales ($6.2 billion) last year came from online bidding and regular auctions. Christie’s was able to sell Edward Hopper’s oil on canvas painting entitled “October on the Cape” to an online bidder for $9.6 million.
As of now we’re not sure if Amazon’s plan to sell high-end art will come to fruition. In 1999, Amazon forged a partnership with Sotheby’s to sell fine art but it lasted for 16 months only because the jointly operated auction site, Sothebys.Amazon.com, failed to gain traction. Also, there are many online art galleries offering a wide range of art from numerous artists that already have established markets and loyal clientele.
Image source: www.gizmodo.com
The information age makes its easier for artists to introduce, promote, and sell their paintings using the Internet. Artists can use the services of numerous online art galleries and social media networks to establish their art business. They can also set up their own art website or art blog as platforms for their online business. The Internet makes it easier for artists to do business but unfortunately, there are scammers who also take advantage of technology. As an artist, you must protect yourself and prevent becoming a victim of art scams.
Ways to protect yourself against fraud:
1. Be skeptical. If you receive an email or an offer that’s too good to be true, it probably is. Artists are vulnerable to these scams because they are hungry for fame, excited to make that first sale, and eager to make connections in the business. Signs to look for in a scam email: wrong grammar and spelling of words, urgency to buy, and the so-called buyer insists on arranging the shipment of the painting. Check out the Internet for the lists of email scams, including popular scammer names and email addresses.
2. Establish strict rules on accepting check payments and money orders. To protect yourself, never accept postdated checks, third-party checks, and checks where the amount is more than the agreed upon price for the artwork. Don’t accept overpayment wherein you have to refund the excess amount. For money orders, request the buyer to send payment from a trusted, domestic bank.
2. Make sure the payment is correct and has been cleared. Do not ship the painting unless the check or money order has been cleared in your bank. It takes three weeks or longer before a bank clears checks and if the check you’ve deposited turned to be a counterfeit, your bank may charge penalty fees on you.
3. Protect all online transactions. Use a trustworthy online payment service such as PayPal which protects both you and the buyer. If you’re buying art online, see if the web address starts with “https” or has a padlock symbol. These signs mean that the website where you are placing payment is secure and financial information such as your credit card number is encrypted when it is sent.
4. Be vigilant against computer viruses, trojans, malware,etc. Use the latest anti-virus and anti-spyware programs and keep them updated. If a virus attacks your computer, it can lead losing all your files, including the commercial photos of your paintings. Activate the firewall to prevent online criminals from accessing your computer and getting vital information on your art business.
5. Report scams. If you’ve been a victim of fraud, report it to your State Attorney General’s Office of Consumer Affairs. You can also file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission.
Image source: www.cnn.com