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TreelineStudio
Newsletter
March
2008
The
Art of Business: Low-Budget Self-Promotion
To help you
promote your business a little effort proves that it doesn't take
a wad of cash to promote yourself -- just targeted and timely
persistence, and more than a little gumption.
I
have yet to meet many artists who love to get out and
self-promote. It's not much fun and takes up time that could
be used to work at your craft. So here's the good news.
Self promotion doesn't have to be difficult or distastful
and it certainly doesn't have to be expensive. Here are some
pointers to take you in a direction that you may not have tried.
Devise
a plan that makes sense for you. It's courting failure to
think you'll go on a self-promotion blitz if that's not possible
due to your personality or time restraints. A self-promotion plan
is a lot like a diet -- better to create one that you can live
with for a long time than a crash course.
You're
always in self-promotion mode. It's not a once-a-month or
every other month thing. You should promote yourself all the time,
with everyone you meet, every phone call, every chance you get.
That doesn't mean you have to be pushy or loud, just let people
know what you do and how excited you are about doing it.
Whatever
you do to promote yourself, know exactly what your purpose is
and why you're taking the action. Create focused goals and realize
that you need to provide a benefit (or solution) to everyone you
connect with in the business.
Think
outside the box. If you're marketing yourself (I sure hope you
are..) the same way you always have, it's time for a change.
Specific
Tactics
Now,
some tried and true methods to pump up the promotion volume.
Do
you have a list of clients? You know... people who have bought
from you previously. Many things in business have changed, but
the 80/20 rule still applies: Eighty percent of your business
comes from 20 percent of your clients. Your best prospects for new
work are with the clients you already have.
Ok....whip
out that list and call-email-snailmail etc.. your clients and let
them know what you have been doing. No hard sell here, just
a "letting you know what I have been up to and what new work
I have produced!"
Do
you work with Galleries? If you don't why don't you....Pay
them a personal visit with your portfolio. Even in our world
of email and virtual white boards, a personal visit remains the
most powerful relationship-builder. If you are on a visit to
another town, take the time to visit even a minor gallery, make
arrangements to stop by to say hello and shake a hand. That's how
salesmen get insignificant customers to become significant ones.
Visit a gallery you say?? Horrors!!.....you can do it,
it just takes planning and the rewards can be tremendous.
Ask
for referrals. Most new business for creative professionals comes
from referrals, so it makes sense that most of your new-business
promotional efforts should be directed toward building a referral
business.
The
best way is simply to ask for referrals from your clients,
friends, vendors. Ask questions such as "I'm looking to
expand my business, do you know anyone looking for my type of
art?" or "If you run across someone looking for my type
of art, please feel free to drop my name." Offer to
reciprocate and do reciprocate whenever you can.
Play
the networking game. The list of networking possibilities online
and off is long. You may already attend meetings at local art
clubs and graphic arts groups. There are also software-based user
groups. Don't overlook Chamber of Commerce meetings and other
business gatherings. And of course, there's the trade show circuit
where many a contact can be made often serendipitously. I
attended a trade show twice. It netted me a distributor that
increased my sales by 300%.
Online,
get back on those graphic arts and marketing bulletin boards and
poke around boards specific to the type of art that you do. Add
your two cents to discussion threads -- you'll be amazed at the
conversations you can strike up. You can network even more
proactively by teaching seminars and workshops.
Even
though it's unlikely that potential clients will come to your
classes, just having your name in course catalogs can help. And
teaching adds a certain legitimacy to your resume that can be
helpful.
Networking
is not a selfish technique. It's a two-way street. You can be a
friend simply by clipping articles of interest and sending them to
people you know. Call people out of the blue when something
reminds you of them. Give genuinely to the people you know, and
good things will come back to you.
Make
Warm Calls. It's a rare creative pro who likes to make unsolicited
telephone calls, but to get prospects, sometimes you have to do
some prospecting. Remember life as a newbie? If you had the
gumption...you had to make cold calls. Luckily, once you've been
in business for some time, cold calling turns into warm calling.
So
fire up your contact-management software and start calling people,
beginning with former clients. Strike up a conversation, and don't
be afraid to ask for referrals, even casual referrals. Then follow
up on those as well. Check your local paper for news of companies
expanding or moving into the area. Keep your ear to the ground and
call whenever a possibility emerges. Warm calling can
be tedious and time consuming. But if one warm call nets you a new
client, your efforts will have been worthwhile.
Work
the publicity machine. It's pretty easy to get a mention in
your hometown paper. Draw up a short press release to announce a
new show, award, or contract. Throw in a picture, and chances are
you'll see yourself on the local page.
For
a wider reach, try trade magazines and newsletters, which are
always looking for contributors. Declare yourself an expert and
write an article about design, art tips, news tips....whatever you
think your expertise is. (Just make sure your topic relates to the
publication's field of interest.) Even if you write for free,
you'll have another piece for your portfolio that shows you're
more than just an artist. Publicity begets publicity and before
you know it, you might have journalists calling you for
interviews.
All
of these suggestions cost next to nothing, but they do take time
and commitment. However, several of the techniques are
self-perpetuating, so the more you succeed, the less work
promotion will be. Takes too much time you say???
Nonsense.....As with most people I read the paper
almost every day. I focus only on the pages that would be of
interest to me... some tip that can increase my sales. So
can you....
Networking
on line? I can't, I don't have a computer... well I have too
agree there are some artists that do not have a computer...but
that's becoming like the dinosaur...going, going - gone out of
style. I network just 1/2 to 1 hour a day. I make it
my purpose to go online after breakfast and read my syndicate
feeds and newsletters. I get at least 3 or 4 invitiations a
week to apply to a competition or to apply to join a group. Just
this month I recieved an invitation to sell my work on an online
art store. I am in discussion with them re fees. Where
did they get my name/website? I didn't call them....they
contacted me. From the results of my online marketing.
I market to so many places of interest to me that I have
almost lost count of where it all goes. With the online
marketing comes online networking. I publish and reply to a
lot of online newsletters, blogs and feeds so it is natural that I
am going to increase my exposure, and you can to. It just
takes a little organizing of your time...it is worth it.
Many
thanks in part to my friend, Eric from the Art Institute of
Pittsburgh for some of his good advice.
Have
a great day........
David
Brougham
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