by Carolyn Edlund
Need help with marketing and promoting your art? Check out these resources.
As an entrepreneur and an artist, you have talent and skills. Your abilities may lie mostly in what you create in the studio, rather than in the marketing realm. But there are professionals and resources you can use to assist with promotion and publicity.
Some of the options that artists have are:
Virtual Assistants
These are versatile professionals who have an understanding of marketing and social media, as well as website content, and can make your life a lot easier. The type of help you get depends on what you need – because many virtual assistants have a menu of services to offer. And since they are freelancers, you don’t have to hire them as employees or even make long-term commitments.
Want to set up a Facebook or Instagram page and post on them regularly? Do you know that you need to send out regular email newsletters to your collectors and prospective collectors, but you haven’t gotten around to it and aren’t sure what to say? This is where a virtual assistant can step in and take over those duties competently.
Perhaps you have an art website, but it is out of date or needs revising. A reliable assistant can often add fresh content, update your portfolio, or even help you set up your online store. Communication is key, because you must provide images, descriptions of work, your resume or biographical information for your assistant to draw from in making those revisions. Virtual assistants may also help by editing or resizing your photos, helping to put together submissions for exhibitions, grants or residencies.
Webmasters
If you are looking to create a really professional art website, an experienced webmaster who knows what they are doing is your best bet. Platforms vary, and many have website themes with functions that are useful for artists. Themes may offer a slideshow of your art, enlarge images for a closer look, or show an entire collection of your art at a glance. A good webmaster can advise on this.
Your webmaster will also have knowledge of SEO techniques and website security, recommend a good hosting company to use, or even provide you with a shopping cart if desired. He or she will also be able to make major revisions to your site or deal with problems such as bugs and site updates as needed. They work on a freelance basis. Often you can negotiate a website development package, or they may charge hourly for their work.
Graphic Artists
These professionals specialize in creation of graphic content, and can be of great assistance with branding your creative business. Graphics may be in the form of logos, banners, imagery to accompany blog posts on your website, or infographics. They may create brochures, business cards, packaging and other marketing collateral that cohesively promotes your work so that it becomes recognizable and memorable.
Graphic artists often work on an hourly basis, or may charge for a particular project. They can often be found by referral, or through online portals that connect businesses with graphic art services.
Publicists
Usually a more expensive option, a publicist is a professional whose job is to help boost your exposure in the media and get you in front of lots of people. They may have an extensive network that includes members of the press and bloggers. They might send out press releases, arrange interviews, and connect you with opportunities that can help your career.
It’s not always easy to determine how effective a publicist is, because press exposure can be cumulative. It is hard work undertaking the task of promotion, so they do earn their fees – although they may run hundreds to thousands of dollars per month.
Galleries
Many artists consider art galleries to be the ultimate form of marketing assistance, and the work they do can be invaluable to your art career. If you build a strong relationship with a gallery who has a market for your work, they may promote to their existing collectors or include your work in exhibitions that are open to the public. Many galleries also act as consultants to clients looking to acquire art for corporate offices, hospitals, schools, hotels, restaurants, or other commercial venues.
Gallery managers and staff are highly experienced in the process of marketing and selling artwork. Their costs and professional level of services dictate that they usually take 50% of the purchase price of the art that is sold, thus freeing the artist to work in the studio rather than having to undertake time-consuming marketing and sales activities.
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