“If you want to achieve success, all you need to do is model those who have already succeeded.” Tony Robbins in his book Unlimited Power
SUCCESS LEAVES CLUES!
If you want to sell more art in 2020, read this post. It will help you make a stronger plan for the new year.
Every artist wants the secret to selling more art. But there is a lot of conflicting advice out there.
Here are a few ways people say you can sell more art:
- Having your art in a gallery (most highly successful artists are NOT showing in galleries)
- Social Media (art isn’t selling on Facebook or Instagram like it used to)
- Exhibiting your art at a LIVE venue (I have learned that this is the best way to reach new buyers)
But the truth is this: the right answer varies from artist to artist.
So, you have to figure out what works best for YOU.
And the best way to determine what is best for YOU is to look at what worked in the past (for you and/or others) and do it again and again.
When I’m consulting an artist on how to increase their art sales, I begin the session by asking three questions:
- What did you do to produce art sales in the past 12 months?
- Where did the buyers see it?
- How was it priced?
Now, ask yourself these 3 questions. Look at what DOES WORK and then duplicate it.
I’ll give you a real life example. I recently consulted an artist named Victoria Sager (she gave permission to share her story). Her main question to me was this:
“What action plan should I follow to become a full time artist?”
Victoria is a teacher who just started selling her art a year ago. She wants to transition from teaching to being a full-time artist. So how does one make this transition?
The answer has 3 parts:
- Increase art sales (sell more art)
- Increase number of collectors and potential buyers
- Stay in constant touch with collectors so they continue to buy and refer the art to others.
I asked her where her sales came from in the past 12 months.
Victoria said: “I did exactly what you told me to do in our last session and I made my first two sales!”
My advice to her a year ago was to do live exhibits outside of the gallery scene. So she exhibited her art at a lovely hotel in New Hampshire. There she sold her very first two paintings!
This worked for her because exhibiting your art at a live venue is the most effective way to connect with new buyers.
I told Victoria that if she planned four more live exhibits, she would more than quadruple her art sales in 2020.
Success leaves clues; ask yourself what worked in the past and then continue to do that.
(And if you’re just starting out, look at what other artists are doing to sell and experiment with that.)
Also ask yourself, what did NOT work in the past? And STOP doing those things.
So now I’d like to ask you:
What did you do that worked well in the past 12 months?
And what did NOT work?
Take time to answer and then assess what you will do in 2020 to increase your art sales.
Please, share in the comments on this post. I’d love to hear your feedback!
Maria xxoo
PS: I teach my exhibit strategies in a very in-depth online course called Art Exhibits that Sell – please sign up HERE for my e-series and I’ll notify you when my free webinar is ready. I’ll share with you my highly effective 20+ year old method on how to plan and execute an exhibit outside of the gallery system that works!
