Art Print Issues

It's Not the Economy Stupid

The title of this post is a paraphrase of the mantra from Bill Clinton's first presidential campaign. Then it was, "It's the Economy Stupid." The harsh point was used to focus his campaign on the single most important topic that helped get him elected.

It's Not the Economy Today Stupid

With the deteriorating housing market, rising cost of gas and food and other economic woes it would seem easy to say, (with apologies to Yogi Berra) we are having deja vu all over again. However, in my humble opinion, the economy is not the real problem for visual artists, authors or musicians. Not to discount the effects these things and a lingering war effort have on the situation. They admittedly are profound.

Changing Consumer Habits Are the Real Threat

The real threat is how the creative product of artists is being consumed and viewed. Print-on-demand, the Internet and other technologies are evolving at an incredible pace. All kinds of industries are reeling from dramatic changes in consumer habits. CDs for musicians are ancient history and the level of unpaid copied and downloaded product continues to rise despite efforts to abate them. Newspapers are suffering serious drops in readership. Their cash cow classified sections are being decimated by www.craigslist.org. Small retailers are plowed under by the voracious Wal-Mart juggernaut. Thinking about all this is enough to make a person throw up their hands and cry or maybe just throw up. But the former is not a solution and the latter is just messy.

Creating Self-determined and Managed Distribution Channels is Imperative

I have frequently commented artists need to find or create new alternative ways to get their product to market. Some will come from new products, or by utilizing existing technologies to create 2-D art or digital art to engage consumers in novel ways. As changes unfurl, challenges arise and some offer opportunity. It doesn't have to be high tech, it could be a new twist on old-fashioned high touch. My previous post here, Wired Art Marketing Idea, showed how Wired magazine and Xerox partnered to use technology to offer users a fun interactive way to personalize its iconic cover to anyone with a computer. It was a fun, effective bit of viral marketing for both companies (It worked well enough for you to read about it here a year later.) The post was an effort to say, "Think about doing things differently, much differently."

Christine Kane Is an Inspiring Real Deal

Christine Kane, is one artist who has embraced change and profited professionally and personally from it. I have, along with thousands of others, grown to greatly admire her on many levels. She is an accomplished successful recording and touring singer-songwriter. Long ago, she took control of her destiny. Through hard work and talent, she grew a profitable career as musician. She is also a successful blogger. Out of her blogging, she has grown a retreat workshop business. The success she is enjoying from her workshops is causing her to rethink her recording career and musical career.

Now, having her stop writing songs and recording would be a shame for her thousands of fans, but if it is where she wants to go or is driven to go, then more power to her for having the guts and ability to make such a monumental change. If you read her thoughts on her Web site or blog, it's easy to pick up how evolving market conditions out of control of musicians like her is forcing change. It is unwanted, as is most change, but is nevertheless inevitable. She has the courage, wisdom and wherewithal to envision it, do something about it and use it to enlighten and encourage others to make their own changes.

Her recent blog posts, Bake Sales or Blogging: What’s your Paradigm? and Creating vs. Getting are must reads. Give them some thought as they are certain to challenge some of your own thinking about your career, where it is headed and if you are on the right track. Will Rogers once remarked, "Even if you are on the right track, you will get run over if you don't keep moving." Christine Kane is an artist and business person on the move. Find whatever works from her model to employ in your own career and keep on moving yourself.

Wired Art Marketing Idea

About a year ago, Wired, a leading tech publication, offered its readers, anyone actually, the chance to create their own personalized cover, like the one pictured here, in a promotion sponsored by Xerox.

Good Ideas Never Go Away

Then as now, I thought it was a great idea. But, I put it away in lieu of other blog post concepts. It's stayed with me and I present it to you today as a way to stimulate your own thoughts on how you might think of creative ways to interact with your collectors and prospects.

The promotion was done as a creative way to show off the Xerox XMPie™ product line, which it had acquired in 2006. Specifically, it allows users to implement its Image Personalization tool to create the personalized headline and illustrate the versatility and ease-of-use of the program. I'm not sure what the price is for the program. It doesn't say on the product's Website. For those of you who own Adobe Creative Suite 2 or 3, you can download a free 30 day trial.

Employ Creative Borrowing to Invent Your Personalized Promotion Ideas

What's more important than the technology to readers of this blog is the concept behind the use of the technology. That is, borrowing on the concept to help you use whatever means, technology or otherwise, available to you, get in gear to think how to personalize your art for your collectors is what is important.

Giclées Are Just One Way to Personalize

The giclée process with its variable size capabilities is just one way you can personalize art for your collectors. I think this alone is underutilized as a way to truly serve customers' specific needs. Substrates are another way to personalize your work. New products are frequently being announced. These are but two examples of how technology can be used to personalize art. Can you imagine collectors willing to pay a nice premium for something personalized for them? I can.

Personalizing on a Small Scale Is an Advantage

If you are able to use the XMPie program to let your collectors and prospects have fun with your art and create a personalized printable product like the one pictured here, wouldn't that be way cool? How much good will, promotion and publcity you can generate with an ideal like this? In the right hands, the possibilities offer great promise on multiple levels.

Dont' Sweat the Small Stuff

Don't stress if you lack the tools or budget to use this program. The idea behind how to reach and influence your customers is the important thing. With a bit of creativity, you can come up with your own unique ways to get personal with those important to your career.

French Incent Buying Art - Guggenheim Vegas Closing - Using Whitey Ball in a Down Market - ArtExpo Vegas a Conservative Go

Signs of changing times:

• The announcement came last week the French government is so distraught over slipping in worldwide art sales, falling to third behind China, it is offering interest free loans for its citizens to buy fine art.
• It in a sad, but not completely surprising item, the Las Vegas Sun reports the Guggenheim Hermitage Museum there is scheduled to shutter next month...sigh. But, in the perfection of hindsight, looking at Vegas marketing then and now, it seems logical it would not work.

Sin City Is the Name of the Game

You may recall Las Vegas formerly tried to tout itself as a family friendly destination with water slides, the Wizard of OZ's Yellow Brick Road at the MGM, roller coasters and so forth. However, it didn't take long for the shine to wear off that idea before Vegas reverted to true form. It is, after all, called Sin City for good reason. The popular and effective "What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas" slogan that replaced the family theme has been successful because it pointedly captures the allure of Vegas.

In retrospect, the familiar saying, "You can't make a silk purse out a of a sow's ear" now seems appropriate to putting one of the most prestigious fine art museums in Vegas. As the Las Vegas Sun article points out, there were other problems, but at the heart of it, it just wasn't a good fit. The closing of the Guggenheim speaks volumes about culture, or lack thereof, in Vegas, and to a degree how specialized the interest and marketing of fine art is. The wisdom of crowds theory dictates the taste for Vegas is gambling, dining, nightclubbing, extravagant shows and forbidden fruit with not much energy or enthusiasm for fine art experiences.

In the tradeshow business, the take on destinations such as Las Vegas and San Francisco is they are great convention, but largely lousy tradeshow towns. Simply, the distractions are too powerful to keep crowds on the floor for smaller shows. Behemoths, such as Comdex, draw so many attendees they override the common wisdom. That said, it is only fair to note some small tradeshows such as the annual West Coast Art & Frame show do well there regardless. And in fairness to Vegas, there are but a a handful of cities worldwide that could sustain a Guggenheim museum.

You Can't Put Round Art into a Square Frame, No Matter How Glittery the Frame

The moral of the Guggenheim Vegas story is you can't force something where it doesn't fit. Put another way, swinging for the fences in an attempt to clear the bases with a Grand Slam homerun grandiose idea is not always a winning strategy. For art marketers, this lesson could not be more true, especially in a down economy. Looking back, the concept of an exquisite fine art museum in Vegas was a grandiose idea gone awry. The baseball analogy provides a nice segue to discuss employing a strategy called "Whitey Ball" for art marketers in a down market.

The Whitey Ball Strategy for Art Marketing in a Down Market

In the 1980s, the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team didn't have big hitting sluggers on its roster. Its huge ballpark with faraway fences didn't suit having them on the payroll. Instead, the team's wily manager, Whitey Herzog, used his creativity to build a team around speed and slap hitting singles batters. During his tenure, Herzog picked players who were fleet of foot with the ability to steal bases, move fast to plug defenses and thwart their opponent's offenses. Whitey always sought as many chances at bat he could get for his players. Essentially, he adapted his strategy to conform to what he had to work with. The results were spectacular with three National League pennants and two World Series appearances, including a World Series Championship in 1982.

Piling Up Singles in Today's Economy Is a Great Strategy

Whether you are an independent self-representing artist or a big time publisher, this is a good time to employ your version of Whitey Ball marketing. For those serious about sustaining and building their businesses, smart marketing is more crucial now than in good times. Maintaining your marketing edge now will, when the economy turns, put you far ahead of those who hunker down and do nothing.

NINE IDEAS FOR USING WHITEY BALL MARKETING WITH YOUR ART BUSINESS

1. Accurately assess your resources, opportunities and goals. Doing so serves to keep your expectations real.
2. Give your business every chance at bat it can get. Look for all the publicity and media notice you can garner - there are more opportunities than you realize. It all matters and it all adds up when you find and use them.
3. Shore up your defenses by tightening non-essential spending keeping funds available for the best opportunities.
4. Go for the single when you get to bat. The first step to getting a run is to get on base. The first step to getting repeat sales is to establish a relationship with a potential collector or gallery
5. Carefully weigh your options. When it comes to deciding how to allocate your marketing budget, employing the carpenter's credo to measure twice and cut once is a wise idea.
6. Renegotiate with your suppliers to get every discount, value added service and the lowest prices they can provide you.
7. Explore every viable means to diversify your distribution channels. Going forward, alternative, creative marketing is a fact of life no matter what the economy is doing.
8. Do whatever you must to make sure your customers are happy and your service is par excellence.
9. Don't buy into fanciful untried ideas (Or, if you must, start small and play conservatively. If it's good, you'll have time later to ratchet up your participation.)

Your Best Ideas Likely May Come From Doing Something You Were Sure You Would Never Do

To get creative, it helps to get outside your comfort zone. Try thinking about doing things differently, much differently. For instance, consider where have you not been, what have you not done and what you would never do. A marvelous brainstorming activity is to take a large sheet of paper and write down all the people, places and things you would never approach or do in your business. The harder you think about it and the more ideas you conjure up, the more likely your best out of left field (baseball pun intended) idea will come.

ArtExpo Las Vegas is a Conservative Go

Is there a correlation or lesson about the ArtExpo Las Vegas show and the closing of the Guggenheim Hermitage? Of course, especially if you believed Vegas had become an art mecca. I fell under that spell. Like many others, I was a strong proponent of the ArtExpo Vegas show last year. I devoted several encouraging posts on Art Print Issues and another on the very popular AbsoluteArts.com blog, where I contribute frequently.

My post show follow up was more sanguine. Like the folks at the Guggenheim and many others, I felt Vegas offered promise. Seeing the museum close and the ArtExpo show last year come off smaller than anyone would have hoped for and now in tougher economic times, it's hard to muster great enthusiasm for the 2008 show. Still, the industry is down to few choices for shows and this is one of them.

If you have the resources, ArtExpo Vegas can work to your advantage to exhibit there.

I met several self-representing artists who were thrilled they made the decision to go. The smartest advice is to go expecting the best, but also be prepared for something less than that. By doing so, you are poised to react to a good outcome and will negate the deflation of a bummer experience by having acknowledged the possibility of it. Exhibiting there, especially as unknown artist is akin to gambling, don't play with money you can't afford to lose. Go with a good marketing plan, use solid money management to keep losses to a minimum and play hard and smart and pray for a hot streak

What the artists with whom I met that had a great ArtExpo Vegas show had in common was they had unique well developed thematic styles that appealed to certain buyers with substantial open to buy budgets. In other words, in each case it was a single buyer that made the difference for them. This scenario is likely to happen again this year, but understand the buyers are selective. It doesn't mean your images aren't good if you don't succeed. It could be they are not right for those buyers who attend. Being able to know the difference only comes with experience. If you lack it, seek the advice of others to get an honest, if not brutal, assessment of where your art comes in.

The art print market is evolving and so are the venues and media that report on, promote and support it.

What we are witnessing is the rapid deconstruction of how things were done in the past. It is far from an art industry problem. You can find reports of all kinds of shows and media contracting from their once bulging sizes. It's harder to find where the business is going. Some to the Internet, some to targeted marketing and some to marginal players folding their tents.

To maximize your return, you need to pay close attention to help you understand how the business is evolving. Playing Whitey Ball with your marketing will help you sustain your business as you wind through the challenging times we find ourselves in today.

ArtExpo New York - The Show Must Go On

ArtExpo New York is the industry's most important show

As a marketing vehicle, ArtExpo New York (AENY) show is a blackhole that consumes vast marketing dollars, promotional energy and both artist and publisher hopes. Quite simply, it dominates the industry it defines. If you are a print artist seeking to break a career, or propel an established one to the next level, you ignore AENY at a cost. If you crave national or international recognition and sales whether as a print publisher or self-representing artist, there is no better place to plant your flag.

Despite problems and smaller size AENY delivers

The historic 30th annual ArtExpo New York show concluded March 3, 2008 with approximately 25% fewer exhibitors than last year. Despite a conspicuous absence of many major industry players, reports are the show delivered images both visually exciting and commercially viable to the international gathering of art print dealers and gallerists who rely on it as the singular source for finding and viewing the best array of both established artists and newcomers. In other words, some exhibitors came away with surprising results well beyond their modest expectations, proving AENY can deliver from back on its heels.

AENY transcends ALL constituencies that rely on it

AENY may be down on its fortunes vis-à-vis past shows. However, it remains THE SOURCE for an industry struggling to define itself and its relevance in the dawning of the 21st Century's digital age. Other shows may come and go, but the big show in the Big Apple remains the place to see and be seen if an artist or publisher seeks to expand distribution in one hugely important weekend. Observing AENY survive in hard times for the art print industry in particular and the economy in general, and with a revolving door of investment firm ownership with whom the art group has never been the primary economic engine or focus, testifies the show transcends ALL the constituencies that rely on it.

Further contractions will put the show on a slippery slope

There is no more quick fix to bring ArtExpo New York back to its former glory than there is to correct the current housing market debacle. A concerted effort from all sides is necessary. Putting the good of the industry ahead of bottom line thinking from all participants along with time to heal and adjust are required. Seeing the show contract to its sad 2008 size portends a bleak future on a slippery slope if things don't turn around.

AENY's contraction in size is beyond a show management problem

This is an industry problem that needs universal positive input to effect a change for the better. The reality every show management company faces is big old barn convention centers such as the Jacob Javits Center are specifically built to drive traffic, generate economic activity and increase tax revenue for the city. It's a cold, cold world and convention center operators only welcome shows, especially on favorable dates, so long as they deliver. Past performance will not save the day. When it comes to what shows get in and when convention centers tend to take the famous Henry Ford saying to heart, "History is bunk."

Keeping the Javits and optimal dates is not a sure thing - room nights are the coin of the realm

Getting a first class venue such as the Javits at all, much less the best dates is always purely based on  what have you done for me lately and what will you deliver for me now. For convention center operators, room nights are the coin of the realm. Once a show starts to lose critical mass in its exhibitor base, it makes it more and more difficult to deliver on the promise of room nights and enough exhibitor dollars to pay to produce the show. The trend AENY forecasts is one that could easily see it unceremoniously bounced from the Javits. There is no viable alternative in Manhattan or anywhere else that offers the same impact. Anyone who would debate this is either ill-informed or delusional.

Can you imagine our industry without AENY?

Despite its long term preeminence and good results posted by some exhibitors this year, the show appears to be cracking at the seams from the continuing loss of its constituent base of exhibitors and dealers. It is time to ask the entire industry to shake off whatever problems it has with the show and to come together to turn the tide and make the 2009 into something special. The alternative is bleak. If you think it can't happen consider this year alone AENY's owner has canceled the Spring Decor Expo show in Baltimore and the Art DC show due to lack of exhibitor support.

Show success is not based on management and exhbitor activity

If you are an attendee/buyer and think it is not important for you to participate and come open to buy at shows you like, you're dead wrong. Your support demonstrated through the strength of your pocketbook is the defining factor in any show's success. In other words, if you like the idea of the show, you have to invest in it. Your activity is the gauge exhibitors use to decide to come back and to talk it up to other exhibitors on the fence.

Tradeshows such as ArtExpo live and die on word-of-mouth - Critical mass keeps the WOM buzz going

Word-of-mouth (WOM) is a crucial component to the success of a show. Critical mass is another such component. To paraphrase Edna Ferber, "There has to be enough there there." If the trend in the past few years' decline is disappointing, the critical mass contraction we are seeing today is downright disturbing. The show has to have enough drawing power to bring in buyers and marginal exhibitors. It needs to have enough exhibitors to encourage show management to make the expensive bet to continue to sign lease agreements and take on hotel room blocks.

The industry needs to come together to reinvigorate AENY

As it has throughout its history, the collective importance of ArtExpo New York surpasses the individual needs of those who attend, exhibit, manage and own it. Imagining the industry without an ArtExpo New York show to bring together the best and brightest exhibitors, dealers and galleries is hard to comprehend. It's time for all who have a stake in the future of the art print market as markedly defined by AENY over the past 30 years to come together and make something happen for their own good, for the good of the industry.

Leadership from AENY's corporate owner is paramount

For the sake of the industry, the principals at Summit Business Media LLC, owners of AENY, need to let the industry know its plans and take to a leadership role in beginning a years long process of restoring AENY to its former glory. Should such a gesture be genuinely put forth, it should likewise be rightfully embraced by current, former and future exhibitors who stand to benefit from a renewed effort to turn the show's fortune's around. As the old show biz saying goes: "The show must go on."

Take a personal interest - get involved - it's your show and your future

If you believe and buy into the argument here, comment below, and more importantly forward this email to others who you think would be severely impacted by further decline in the fortunes of AENY. You can quickly forward this post using the Share This link just below.

Hopefully together we can generate a groundswell of interest that will lead to actions to help keep this most important of shows from failing when we can least afford for that to happen. Let any and all know what your concerns are and ask them to get involved to communicate with their contacts at SBMedia, important exhibitors and other leaders within the art print community to bring their influence to bear on the show's future fortunes.

Noah G Pop Puts Pizazz in ArtExpo New York 2008

Pop artist Noah G Pop rocked this year's 30th Annual ArtExpo New York show, which took place February 28 - March 3. It is obvious he seeks to put more glide in your stride, more hip in your dip, more zig in your zag and more cut in your strut. In other words, this dude knows how to throw a party and have fun. That he manages to do it around promoting his art makes him just that much cooler.

When it comes to enjoying success in the art business, marketing and promotion are the twin synergistic generators that drive (AIDA) attention, interest, action and desire. Noah gets this in spades and that he effectively executes around making these waves as a SOLO exhibitor makes all he does more impressive.

Putting POP in Promotion, Party and Prints

In Noah's case, you find a confluence of terrific visual art and fun promotion creating a memorable experience for all involved. You can see for yourself, his party and attendant promotion pack as much punch as his art.  Both deliver on the promise of visual treat and stimulating exciting times.

His art is themed with the Pop influences of decades past, but as with any talented artist, he manages to make it current and specific to his artistic vision. It is no surprise he did well with his Jene NYC piece, shown here. It is hot, colorful, sexy, glamorous and fun. All the things one can hope to experience when attending ArtExpo New York.

The Fun Is Back, Let's Hope It Stays

Noah singlehandedly managed put back into ArtExpo a component that has been missing for some time. And, I'm sure he did it on a budget that would put to shame some of the corporate or show producer managed invitation only parties that run on the sedate side. The history of the experience of ArtExpo was there were always happenings. You didn't dare miss the show or the parties around it. The exciting open-to-all party element has been sadly missing in the past few years. As the show declined in size, it lost some of the zest that had made it special. Thanks to Noah G Pop, the fizz is back and the buzz around his art and his next party, which he already planning for next year are already in full swing.

Here is the content of his post-show email. Read it and you'll see he hasn't stopped having fun. And, while you are reading it, think about how you can put some fun of your own into your own art promotion:

3 More Important Things I Want You to Know Direct from the Noah G POP Playbook:

1)     First, I would like to thank everyone that attended my opening night bash at the Star Lounge and believe me there were a lot of you.  Our counter finally stopped somewhere north of 400 guests including artists, models, actors and a whole plethora of all-around cool people.  The vibe was definitely one of peace, love and FUN, FUN FUN!  I so much appreciate the support of each and every one of you.  Personal highlights for me included my Mom and Dad, my brother David, my sister Farrah, NYC Fashion Designer Grace Edwards, Iconic NYC Socialite, Philanthropist and Human Rights activist Zelda Kaplan, two of my favorite artists, world-renowned Painters Fabian Perez and Ford Smith and of course, it wouldn't be a party without the Naked Cowboy.  Also, special thanks to Rob Base who showed up and performed his hit single, "it takes two to make a thing go right". 

Now, for those of you that missed it; DON'T PANIC!  I will be hosting an evening of art, music and modern dance at the Grand in April (details to follow) and believe it or not, we have already begun planning our opening night bash for ARTEXPO NY 2009 (seriously).  Cue the cocktail music!  Yes!  This one will be bigger and better (think skylight cruise) and YOU ARE INVITED SO SAVE THE DATE!!!

2)    I would like to thank everyone that stopped by my booth to look at my work.  Thanks to your support and interest in my art, we had another killer show selling at least one of each piece with the big winner being Jené NYC who now has 5 new homes.  Thank you, thank you thank you. 

3)     I just saved a bundle on my car insurance!  I kid again.  I wanted to take a moment to speak to all artists but particularly my fellow SOLO artists.  Sharing your gift with the world can be a wonderful and magical experience.  It can be filled with excitement and joy but can also be stressful at times.  As someone that has personally experienced the broad spectrum of emotions that can accompany an event like artexpo, I applaud you for having the guts and the drive to share your art with the world.  For those of you that had a great show, I congratulate you and for those of you that would have liked to have a better show, encourage you to keep pushing, keep learning from your experiences and keep striving to share yourself and your art.

With this in mind, if I can be of any assistance to you in the future, please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions, comments or simply to bounce some ideas off of each other.  After all, we artists have to stick together.  Be on the lookout for Noah G POP Management in 2008.

I thank you for all of the support that I have received over the past year and of course, most importantly, Enjoy my art!

With much love and respect,

Noah G POP

For more information call 646.413.2366or email me at noahg@noahgpop.com.  Friend requests at www.myspace.com/noahgpop.

www.noahgpop.com

Some other observations about this year's ArtExpo

The final tally on its Website for exhibitors has a count of 467 companies. It's possible there are more, but even with last minute additions, it's hard to believe the exhibitor list came anywhere near the 600 touted by show management for the '07 show. The number of blog posts about the show is down from last year too. Here are a few I found you might find interesting:

Manuela Valenti looks like she is making good on her ArtExpo experience. It looks like she used this video in her booth. Regardless, it's terrific use of video to promote her art. Congrats!

Natasha Wescoat provides insight on her ArtExpo Las Vegas experience

Adan Lerma provides a running commentary on his experiences in 2007 & 2008 here

It's great to see Noah putting forth his energy into ArtExpo. For all the show has suffered from changes in the marketplace, revolving ownership and other circumstances out of its control, it remains the single best place to showcase artists in the print medium. There is still no place like the Big Apple for such a show. The Las Vegas show last fall proved nothing can come close. Let's hope the promise of young energetic talent like Noah G Pop and his contemporaries help revive the show's sagging fortunes.

Five Ways to Market Your Art Direct

We pause this blog for a little shameless self-promotion.

An artist friend who I met after he read my book, which resulted in a series of consulting sessions over the past two years, has decided to take up the offer from a publisher to join his ranks. He had long held the notion that with his considerable business expertise and decent financing he would self-publish his work. He had begun to do that and also to shop giclees of his work to galleries in his local area. Additionally, he also managed to get some of his giclees put in the gift shop of a prestigious venue in his area.

I'm being slightly cryptic here because the ink is not dry on the contract and he has what I consider a terrific idea for an approach to working a niche. If all goes well, he will have a coming out party at the upcoming 30th Annual ArtExpo New York show at the end of this month. When I can share more details,I will be happy to do so.

My friend has recently been re-reading my book, How to Profit from the Art Print Market. It was interesting for both of us to observe what he was going through with the development of his print career. In many ways, his circumstances were exactly as I described in the book. This was down to my mention of having a marketing maven full-time to help grow the business as a key component of self-publishing success for many, if not most artists. His wife is a gifted driven very successful designer in the home furnishings field. Their company has for more than a decade supplied household name brands with licensed designs of all sorts. While she would be perfect in this role, she does not have the time to put her career on hold to help his. Nor would it make financial sense for her to do so.

Left to his own devices, this artist began to realize the difficulties for an unknown artist to be both marketing maven and full-time artist. Plus, he still puts in time at the design business as needed. The bottom line is the uphill battle was starting to look overwhelming given the plausible vision he has for his art and career. As the luck most often found in the residue of hard work would have it, a contact in one of the galleries led him to perhaps the most ideal publisher for his genre and his circumstances. I'm quite happy for him things are going to work out.

What he found was in reading and re-reading my book was two years after his first reading, the basic advice from what to do, what might happen, what the commission structure offered would be and many other things were still spot on and valuable to him in his decisions and dealings with his new potential publisher. It was heartwarming validation for me the underlying advice continued to hold water even though the business continues to undergo substantial, if not monumental, upheaval and change.

More Signs of Change for the Art Print Market

The state and health of the trade magazines and tradeshows that serve the industry are as much a harbinger of how things are working out as any. In October 2006, I put 20 years of tradeshow experience on the line and predicted the Decor Expo Baltimore show would be a bust. That was harsh given the inaugural show was still six months away in April 2007. While I have no official word, I notice the February issue of Art Business News has omitted the 2008 Baltimore show from its Calendar. Not a good sign things are working out. Further, the Web site for the show has no exhibitor list. Since this is a primary tool for enlisting more exhibitors, one can only conclude the show is being quietly mothballed, or in serious trouble. I'm left wondering if another prediction of a sale for the Art and Framing Group by current owner, Summit Business Media LLC, can be far off.

ArtExpo Booth Sales Appear to Be Well Off Previous Year Figures

Meanwhile, the aforementioned 30th Annual ArtExpo New York show appears to also be struggling to bring in the same number of exhibitors as last year. A check today shows 374 companies listed as exhibitors. The list has been updated regularly over the past month with more than 100 exhibitors added to it. Nevertheless, it remains well behind the 600 exhibitors published by the show producer last month. The trade magazines that serve the business also are showing a decline in ad pages. These are pretty good indicators it's rough patch for the art print market these days. The cover story of the ABN issue was on the state of the art economy interviewing some veteran players in the market. While most found some ways to put a bit of positive spin on their outlook, none was overly optimistic.

Five Ways to Market Your Art Direct

It's a good time to review what you are trying to achieve from a business perspective for your career. I'm not talking about a year end review and goals for the coming months. I'm thinking more about what you want for your career financially and awareness. It could be like that of my friend who seeks to find an audience and appreciation for his work and to get the work to market in a way he could profit from the effort. Besides reaching a vastly larger audience, the appeal of the print market for most successful artists who embrace it is it provides them a way to generate repeat cash flow from the effort in creating an original.

I have said it before, but believe it bears repeating. Artists ought to be developing their own direct revenue streams with collectors. Easy to say, harder to do. But when you consider the traditional means are not nearly as robust as before, it provides extra impetus. Here are some ideas for how that might work:

1. Alternative spaces, such as coffee shops, restaurants, building lobbies and waiting rooms. There is a skin care salon located here in tony Paradise Valley that also offers art from local artists. The patrons are a perfect demographic for art. And, they are spending leisure time in the salon on a repeat basis. It works for the artists and the salon owner on multiple levels.

2. Create your own shows. You don't have to have a gallery to do this for you. Decide you are going to do it and follow though. You can create a show in a public space; perhaps a local community college, a church, a rented hotel room. Build some excitement around the uniqueness of the show with publicity or charitable components. Plan far enough in advance to get a good date not competitive with other activities. Enlist your family and friends to help you generate word-of-mouth.

3. Web sites and blogs. Are you selling direct from either? If not, why? Of course, you don't want to compete with any established galleries with an online site or physical location. Why not have exclusives for the galleries that are promoted on your Web site or blog along with exclusive images available only through you? eBay just announced it has new pricing. Apparently, the past year has been difficult with sellers abandoning the once juggernaut for other venues. It might be worth revisiting it for another shot in 2008.

4. Work with other artists. Get other visual artists, or musicians or poets to create a happening. Find ways to collaborate on art and promotion. The group dynamic could be very dynamic and stimulating. You can use something like Meetup that offers tremendous potential to the person with energy and a good idea and a dash of promotional verve.

5. Get in catalogs. The Guild, which is one of my most favorite for indie artists, offers a tremendous platform for sales and visibility for artists through its Artful Home catalog and Guild Sourcebook. It is by far not the only one, but if you are interested, you can act now to submit to its annual juried entry submission process. The competition runs through February 29 and is administered by Juried Art Services, which you should check out for all its offerings. A catalog or sourcebook such as this is one degree of separation, but you ship directly and you get promoted and create a relationship with your customers.

Bottom line is now more than ever, you have to think and act for yourself. The more you take your situation under your own control, the better off you will be. I'm sure there are plenty of other great ideas. If you have any and want to share, the comments section below beckons.

---

Enter your Email


Preview | Powered by FeedBlitz

Creative Publicity Pays

Here is a great question from a loyal reader (And a pretty good answer if I do toot my horn myself):

Dear Barney, You mentioned publicity. Can you give us a few ideas on creative publicity and how to and where to? What magazines do you suggest and what about free publicity, as well? Thank you, Janet Vanderhoof

Thanks for the excellent question, Janet. The best most effective publicity doesn't just happen. It comes about from a pre-planned coordinated effort to raise awareness for an artist. Too often marketers underestimate the power of publicity because it is not bought as a commodity like advertising. Just because it is complementary doesn't mean it should be taken lightly.

Before beginning a PR campaign, one needs to determine what the goal is. Getting publicity is a good thing alone. Getting publicity in the right media for the right reasons is a wonderful thing. Wasting time chasing the wrong media with the wrong goals is disheartening. The goal could be to become better known within the industry or some segment of it. Or it could be to become better known locally, regionally or nationally. It might be any combination of these segments. Or, it could be something completely different. It must suit you and your needs. The more ambitious the goal, the more planning and brainstorming it will take to pull it off.

Do You Need to Target Consumer Media, Specialty Media or Trade Media?

There is consumer media, specialty consumer media and there is trade media. One can target all if you are ambitious, organized and energetic enough to manage it. If you have read my book and this blog, you know I believe becoming a student of the business you want to conquer is imperative. That is, know what the trade publications are doing. Read current and back issues thoroughly making a concerted effort to understand what is going on with them, especially with their PR columns and features. Take the time get to know the editorial staff. They are always busy, but the right approach will win some time for you.

My recent blog post about Joy Butler and Nicole Kidd on stealth marketing is a perfect example of how an author and fine jewelry maker seeking publicity got the attention of people who can help them. Both targeted media influences who stood a chance to help them ratchet up their profile with the right audience.

The trade publications serving retailers, art dealers and picture framers are Art World News, Art Business News, Decor and Picture Framing Magazine. You should have them on your radar screen, especially the first two mentioned. There are numerous artists "how to" pubs such as The Artist's Magazine, but I don't think targeting them will help you grow your business. It would more of a vanity bragging rights move to go after them.

There is a host of specialty consumer magazines targeting the art market, you need to spend some time at the library or a good magazine store or a Borders to study which of these might be appropriate for you. Frankly, I think top shelf glossy consumer art magazines are out of range of the most artists, including the typical reader of this blog. But, don't be shy and never be afraid to dream or to tackle the impossible. It's always free to ask and as Wayne Gretzky says, "You miss 100% of the shots you don't take." Sometimes the neophyte blindly charging in where others fear to dare is the one who gains access to things considered out of reach by those who study and think too hard before acting. Carrying the hockey analogy further, the highest percentage shots are the ones with the best angle to the goal.

The trade pubs don't have the pull they once did. The audience they serve is much smaller and more finicky, but they are still important and worth studying to learn what publicity opportunities they offer to artists. You will be surprised at what is possible with a diligent respectful campaign to get your items published in these books. If you can swing some advertising in them, do it. It's good for the magazines that serve the industry and the added visibility will give your publicity more credibility and punch and vice-versa.

If you want to target consumer media, whether print, radio or television, you have to have to stand out from the crowd. There are so many media outlets today that it is a constant chore for them to find suitable content. But, what they are looking for is something unique, something different, often with a human interest perspective. A charitable component is always a booster.

How about making a goal to get x number of national trade media placements, x number of local media placements and x number of regional media placements in 2008? It just takes planning and persistence. Make a reasonable achievable plan and break down the steps necessary to turn the plan into action. Don't take on more than you can reasonably handle. That is a prescription for losing patience before you succeed.

Some mags, like the trade pubs are easier to deal with and have shorter deadlines. Others, like national consumer mags are months in advance on publicity. Newspapers work on shorter deadlines. Local broadcast media often is only working a couple of weeks in advance for many stories. Decorating shows on cable are targets. Any and all of these are great targets, especially if you weave a cohesive plan to work as many as make sense together to create synergy and momentum. To find ideas, you have to train yourself to read and review the newspaper and magazines and other media not for entertainment or information, but as sources. When you see an item of interest, even those things not art related, ask yourself what you would need to do to emulate it, or do it better.

Analyze Who You Are, What You Do or What You Might Be Interested In Doing?

Do you paint fast? Do you paint subject matter out of the ordinary? Are you a charming character? Are you an outlandish larger than life character? Do you paint unusual subject matter. Do you have compelling personal interest story? Are you doing something worthwhile that will benefit a charity? Do you paint pets or kids in unusual settings? Do you do performance art with your visual art? Can you hook up with a performing artist to present your visual art in concert with music or performance? Have you created a thematic body of work that would grab the interest of local or regional media? These are just examples, you'll need to plumb your own situation to find what works for you.

Online Media Is Growing in Importance

I urge you to not overlook the burgeoning influence of Web sites and blogs to be creative media outlets. If you have the right art, Boing Boing could be perfect. Or it could be a business blog that appeals to the right segment as the aforementioned Nicole Kidd successfully targeted. Get Heather on her Dooce blog to notice you and suddenly hundreds of thousands of the Baby Boomer parent readers of her blog know about you. Research a list as on Technorati of the blogs with the greatest amount of page views for ones you can target. If you choose to forgo traditional media altogether and concentrate on online media, you can make a real dent. Natasha Wescoat continues to impress me with her tireless effective ongoing cutting edge efforts in the online world. If you do golf art, then getting some golf bloggers to mention you would be excellent. You just have to go where the interest and content fit your plans and product. The possibilities are endless. The research might lead you to subject matter you hadn't previously considered.

Broadcast PR to Traditional PR Outlets Is Always a Winner.

Take advantage of PR outlets such as PRWEB to broadcast a press release to thousands of media. My advice is to fund your press release at least at the $80 level at PRWEB. By comparison to any other media spending, this could be the biggest bang for your buck. You can also try Now Public if you are on a budget, but you won't see the reach of a funded PRWEB press release.

To get your arms around an idea that can be utilized in media in an ongoing way might require you to think about it for sometime before you get clear on what your UAP (Unique Art/Artist Proposition) is. But, if you cogitate on it long enough, you will figure it out. Your first thought may only be a step in the right direction. You may need to alter your course to adjust to changes in plans or because the opportunity is not what you thought, but is still something worth pursuing. There is no quick fix to working publicity effectively.

None of this happens because you wish it so. It requires the 3 Ds...Desire, Discipline and Details. That is, you have to truly want it to happen, you have to apply yourself with dedication and you have to study to know how to work as smart as hard to get the payoff you want. Putting it all together is not an easy task. But when you consider what other efforts have the potential to do so much for you, you'll likely agree a job worth doing is worth doing well, especially in the area of public relations.

As with anything else, the more quality time you put into it, the better your results are certain to be. But to make it happen, you have to plan and then you have to act. Once you do, good things will happen you couldn't imagine beforehand. My all-time favorite quote is from Goethe who eloquently and passionately brings this notion to light:

Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative and creation, there is one elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings and material assistance which no man could have dreamed would have come his way. Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Begin it now.

~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832) )

Making a Mark, Making a Difference in Your Town

We've all seen or heard of the "Day in the Life" type series where hundreds of photographers spread out around a city or area to capture its essence on film. Arguably, the most famous and ambitious would be the Day in the Life of Africa project. An offshoot of such an idea comes from conceptual artist Carl Pope with his The Mind of Cleveland project where he asked people to share their inner voices in 10 words or less to become part of a poster-mural artwork for Case-Western University's Humanities Week. It also will become an art exhibit at the Cleveland Institute of Art.

Projects like these are worthy on multiple levels. They raise awareness for cities or countries, they raise money for needy causes, they raise awareness for the artists who participate in them. The question then becomes what can a single visual artist, or perhaps an art league or art school do to create such a worthy project for their town or region? I think plenty could be done. One of the things they have in common is one person had the idea and energy to make something happen, to make a difference.

Depending on how fast one works, as with Carl Pope, it could be a solo project. Or, depending on how well one plays with others and exudes leadership qualities, it could be a marvelous collaboration. The project doesn't have to be a day in the life. It could be a year, a week, a month or have no time frame at all.

For example, my hometown is Alton, Illinois. It is a picturesque hilly river town situated on the Mississippi just east of St. Louis. If local artists there decided to paint whatever about it they find special the results could be produced into a book to be sold online, in local gift shops and visitor bureaus. Individual prints could be sold via Imagekind.com. A Web site could be created. It could become an annual project. The proceeds could be used to fund an existing charity or a new one if that were more appropriate. The sky is the limit on what and how such a project could be used and how much good it would do.

What might you personally get out of starting such a project? Notoriety, new customers, new galleries, a wider circle of influence, sense of accomplishment, benefit of doing something worthwhile for others and your hometown.

If you have read my book, How to Profit from the Art Print Market, (click on the cover top right of this page for more details of this shameless bit of self-promotion, which is something I hope each of you practice regularly), you know Stephen Covey is someone I greatly admire. I paraphrase one of the things he says here, "There is no limit on the amount of good one turned-on person can do."

It is easy to fall prey to the false notion and think our individual contributions can't make a dent or difference. Stephen Covey and I would disagree. If there is a nugget of inspiration in this blog post for you, then seize it, turn-on and turn it into something good for your community and yourself. You'll never regret you did.

Happy New Year!

P.S. An excellent tool to help you conceptualize and manage such a project is The Brain touted in my previous post. 

Blog Rush - Generate Targeted Traffic to Your Blog

There are numerous tools one can use to drive blog traffic and find new readers. Obviously, some will work better than others. The folks at Blog Rush have developed a program that looks like a winner to me. If you have a blog, take a look at how Blog Rush can help you find new readers for it. If you have a favorite blog, let its publisher know about Blog Rush. I am certain they will thank you.

You will find the Blog Rush widget on the left side of my blog. Click on the link on the bottom to learn how you can use Blog Rush to help you grow your traffic and awareness. Or click on the image below.

Artists, Toot Your Horn - Tout de Suite

TOOT YOUR HORN

Regular readers of this blog know I also am a guest blogger on Absolute Arts, one of the Internet's most heavily trafficked art sites. This weekend November 16, I have a post there titled Artists, Toot Your Horn - Tout de Suite. The topic is self-evident. It simply implies if artists don't toot their own horn, who will do it for them, and who will hear or know about them? And, that there is no time to waste in doing so.

If you've committed to a career making art, or you aspire to one, you are a rare person. We will take it on faith you are blessed with the talent and tenacity to tackle the tough formidable task of establishing a successful small business in a field crowded with many ambitious players. This blog is aimed at helping you achieve your goals and besting your competition.

Getting ahead in such the art world requires efficiently multi-tasking a variety of activities, including the all-important task of confidently letting the world around you know you are here. Really, as a successful artist, you are much more than merely here or arrived, you are the one who brings to those whose lives you touch something special, unique and out of the ordinary. Part of your success quotient is in your ability to communicate about your art, about yourself. In other words, to toot your horn.

In my Absolute Arts blog post, I mention a couple of books. One, I believe will be so helpful for just about anybody it is worth mentioning here as well: Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen. Published in 2002, this remarkable book remains on the Amazon.com Top 100 list and is ranked #1 in three separate categories there. It has a 4.5 star reader review rating and has been reviewed an astounding 359 times on Amazon.

By comparison, my book, How to Profit from the Art Print Market (linked top right of this blog) has garnered 10 reader reviews since being published two years ago. This is much closer to the average for most books. I'm proud it regularly ranks in the top 20 Business of Art category on Amazon. This is gratifying given its narrow focus serves a relatively small audience as compared to a general self-help or business book. I hope you find time to read the blog post on Absolute Arts and the book mentioned here. And, if you haven't read my book, I'll toot my own horn and suggest you order your own copy while you are on Amazon.