I Am Art

Don't Quit By Ghosting Your Customers- Free Advice For Artists

Let's discuss a thing nobody talks about- quitting the art (or whatever) career or side hustle you told everyone about but you realize is not working or you just don't like. Sometimes the dream is not what you think it will be. It's ok to quit what is not working. It's ok to take time off to reevaluate, too. But, it also feels embarrassing to quit the thing you started after hyping it to all your friends and family. If you have built up any customer base at all, those people can feel let down as well. Here is where all those "be nice, be brave, be you" inspirational posts actually work! Do not quit by ghosting. You don't want your customers to quit YOU. Quit by being nice, being brave, and being you. Here are some suggested things you can post on your shop page, facebook page, or in an email to your clients:
1. Thank you so much for your support! I am closing the shop while I reevaluate my business goals. In the mean time, please visit (list who to visit) for your needs. [note: list sellers of items similar to yours so your customers are not left hanging and abandoned.]
2. The last few months have been amazing! Thank you for your support. I am closing the shop to pursue some wonderful opportunities. In the mean time, please visit (list who to visit) for your needs. 
3. The last few months have been a great learning experience and I could not have done it without your support. I am taking a break to shift my focus and reevaluate. In the mean time, please visit (list who to visit) for your needs. You can also end any post or email with this: If you would like to be notified when my shop re-opens, please let me know. 
Be sure to keep YOUR options open. Time away from whatever you are quitting might give you a new perspective for starting again and you want those customers you worked hard for to return. Quit your thing the same way you started it- by being nice, being brave, being you.

There Is No Price Police: How I Price Art- Free Advice For Artists

Pricing is a touchy subject. The most outspoken on this subject are usually people who don't sell things for a living (other than their advice). When it comes to pricing art, I think a lot about pricing has to do with ego and with goals. My approach is goal based and I am going to share what works for me.
I have been selling art for (at least) thirty years and 18 of those years have included online sales. My business is divided into three categories: art for product manufacturers, art for interior designers and corporate clients, and art sales that are direct to consumer. My prices are different for each category but my goal is the same: art and beautiful products EVERYONE can afford. Typically my interior design and corporate clients can afford to spend more, and often those projects require custom or exclusive art that I do not make available to the general public. Those pieces tend to be large and cost more. When it comes to direct to consumer art sales online, experience has taught me that most of my buyers have a budget. I do not think your income should determine whether or not you can decorate your home. I always make sure that I have art (prints or cards usually) that cost less than one hour of minimum wage. In some states, minimum wage is still $8.00 an hour. I price my cards at $5.95. I know some people reading that just recoiled. I know what it is like to live paycheck to paycheck and still want a treat once in a while and to decorate. A cool art card or print combined with a frame coupon for Michaels can be a game changer when you are on a budget. Will I get rich selling a few cards a week at $5.95 each? No. Will I feel good about doing that? Yes. 
The same image I sell as a greeting card for $5.95 I will also make available as a large framed print for $300.00 for my clients with larger budgets. And for clients with even larger budgets, I make the same image available on other surfaces for $600.00. Most sales are in the mid-range but my main goal is to offer pricing for everyone. 

When it comes to original art for sale online, my base price structure is $10 per inch based on the longest side. So a 5"x5" would be $50.00 and a 10"x20" would be $200.00. If it took me a really long time to complete I will add $25-$50 to that base price. When I came up with this structure, I really just asked myself what price sounds reasonable. If your price is ego driven, $50 might be really upsetting. I have friends who ego price everything they make. Sure they sell one or two $8000 paintings a year to the small section of people who can afford that. I would rather sell something daily at a reasonable price and have my business constantly moving.
Your prices do not have to be set in stone. It is ok to try out pricing and change it based on what it seems your buyers are willing to spend or can afford. I know I am constantly talking about your target market but when it comes to pricing, if your target can afford only $35 and you only sell items for $350, that is a problem. I do not think of selling an art card for $5.95 as a punch in the gut. I am happy to do it! More often than not, the person buying the $300 print will also buy a card. 
There is no price police. If your sales have stalled, try experimenting with prices on some items and see what happens. You can always go back to your old price.

They Work Hard For The Money- Free Advice For Artists

Over the years as my business grew larger and more successful, one of the things I struggled with the most was losing the one on one interaction with my customers. I started selling online in 2000 and with every order I shipped, I included a handwritten thank you note. I got to know my customers over the years when they would add pieces to their collections, order gifts for friends and family, and buy art for new homes and offices. When it got to the point that I needed to partner with people to fulfill print orders, my biggest fear was about customer service. It was hard for me to let go of the handwritten thank-you note.
Customer service is important. Think about how you feel when you go to Starbucks and the barista gets your name wrong. Think about how good you feel when the barista not only gets your name right but adds a smiley face to your cup. The feel good feeling is something you want your buyers to have. Always keep in mind that a person works hard for the money they just spent on your goods. Nice packaging, proper name spelling, and a thank you goes a very long way.
*Use clean packing materials (no amazon prime boxes with your name scratched out). *Address your package properly. Make sure your buyer's name is spelled properly. Double then triple check the name spelling.
*Include a thank you. It does not have to be a fancy card. It can be a handwritten note on the invoice. *Ship items quickly. You want your customer to know they are a priority, not something you will get to when you have time. If you only ship on certain days, be sure to specify the days wherever your item is sold.
*If shipping things is not your strong point, use a service like UPS or FedEx. They will package and ship all in one stop. Packaging large items is NOT my strong point. When shipping a large canvas to clients, I take the item to be shipped with a thank you card and I hand it all over to the friendly FedEx or UPS person to package

Not Keeping Up With The Art Joneses

I think of February on social media as the season of seascapes and flower paintings. In January, artists are all excited about trying new styles and expressing themselves differently and they start showing their new stuff and hear crickets or whatever the sound of fewer like taps is. They freak out and panic and start painting what was selling for them when stuff was selling-- beaches and flowers. Beaches and flowers sell, always. Beaches and flowers get likes. They are always winners. 
Sometimes when you are exploring new styles, it can take quite a while to figure out your take on it. That is the whole point of exploration and experimentation. They both take time and trial and error. It is indeed possible that nobody on social media will like your art. You don't have to make excuses for that or feel like a failure. Not all art will work, just like not all cookie recipes are good. It is ok to need to make money and to fall back on what works. Do both! There is absolutely NO LAW that says you must make only one thing and stick with it forever. Experiment with new works and make what you know will sell. The only limits are ones you put on yourself. Showing your new stuff may not be what your faithful flower painting buyers like, but it will attract new buyers. If you don't give your new works time and stop showing them out of fear, how will new buyers see them? Chances are sky high that while you are experimenting with new styles, you will learn new things to incorporate into your faithful sellers. Let go of the fear of fewer likes and just make art. Let go of the fear that if you go a couple days without posting new work you will be forgotten.
Let go of the fear of needing to keep up with the Art Joneses. Art is not about keeping up, it is about self expression. 

Fake Followers Is Real News

Today the New York Times  has a feature story called "The Follower Factory" all about how people on social media buy followers. If you are feeling insecure about your follower count, you MUST READ IT! Google it or look at my retweets for the link. I have been saying all along in my #lindasfreeadvice series that people buy followers and likes and that you should not use another person's numbers as any type of guide to success. This article supports that point. The great thing about the article is it shows you what a fake account looks like and how the number of followers a person has and the number of likes are often way out of balance.
I am not judging anyone for buying followers. I know without a doubt that many people I follow have bought followers and likes. I absolutely get that people need to earn a living and often that living can depend on how popular you seem. I can imagine how scary that must feel. My only worry is that all the fake numbers will make other people feel bad about themselves or their art because fake numbers are hard to live up to. 245 real followers who pay you for your art far outweighs 24k bots who YOU PAY.
My broken record advice is still the same: Keep doing what you do and don't rely on anyone else's social media follower count as a measure of anything.

Life Is The Challenge

January is my least favorite month on social media. I am at the age in life where I am even more annoyed than usual at the gang mentality of resolutions, 30-day challenges, and labels for your life- especially when all of those things mainly serve as a way of financial gain or popularity for the originator of the idea and not the participant. I wholeheartedly believe in improving your life when you feel you need it. Before you participate in one of these events, ask yourself what it is you really want to gain so you are not setting yourself up for feeling worse about yourself or your skills. 
When it comes to the art challenges, do you want to feel part of a community or do you want to bust out art like a robot? If you do just want the community, great! That is ok. I do think practice makes perfect when it comes to techniques, but I am not a fan of 30-day social media art challenges for making you more legit as an artist. I do not think you have to make art every day to be a successful artist. A big part of being an artist is how you think and see and less about how you hold your paintbrush for 30 days. So many ideas come when you are NOT making art. Just cranking out art because you want to be part of a group does not leave a huge amount of space for adding life and voice to your art. I do not think anyone's value as an artist should be determined by whether or not they can keep up with others. Art and self-expression should be something you feel moved to do. It should not be a competition or a race. Life itself is a challenge. 
It's ok not to make art every day. You are still an artist if everyone else is making art and tagging each other and you are watching The Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills. You will probably get some great ideas while everyone else is competing for likes.

Beware The Time Wasters

I've been getting a lot of the "call me to discuss" emails from potential clients who I know are not actually real clients. In 2017, nobody calls anybody anymore. Busy people with a mission to get a project done email the details up front and have no time to play phone tag. One common thing that happens with commercial designers is they find your art online and negotiate with their clients before actually finding out if you can or will agree to their prices. They bank on an artist being desperate, dumb, and somehow the only person on the internet without access to google or any other artist friends. They think if they can get you to give up your time and TALK to them, they can convince you to do what they want, the way a car salesman does. They make their own deals involving your art then come to you after. Sorry, people, we know your game. We talk to each other. This business maneuver is different than the obvious scam where a guy says his wife was looking at your art and wants to buy $25k worth of art. These types of time wasters are trying to drum up business for themselves and hope they can just pay you ten percent of what you would normally charge since you spent an hour on the phone with them and their client can offer "exposure" you will do it. 
Click and Scroll and you will see an actual email exchange between me and one of these people. I blanked out identifying info. I did not respond to her final request to call her. I work with many design agencies who place my art in their commercial spaces. Never once has one asked me to rush to the phone to call them before a deal was in place or contract with me signed. If a designer really wants to use your art or product, the details will be in writing up front.

The Studio Does Not Make The Artist

I love to see artists and their studios. Heck, I love to see everyone's house, office, wherever they do their thing. It's just interesting to see someone else's environment. But when it comes to being an artist on social media, I think it could be a stressful thing if are in the mindset of thinking you need a studio to be an artist. Being an artist is about having a passion, not about having 4 walls. Think about it, prisoners in small cells have been known to create beautiful works of art in their cells with just ballpoint pens. Cancer patients make art while they are hooked up to IV machines. Emo teenagers make art in notebooks in uncomfortable chairs attached to desks. When you have the desire, it does not matter where you are. The studio does not make an artist. An artist just fill a studio with art. 
If you really want the studio feels, you just need a corner to call your own. Our mom was an artist. She loved to paint. When she had to downsize, she argued that she could not make her art in such a small space. Karen and I would remind her how I make art in a closet! She hated giving up her art room and we kept encouraging her to make art at her kitchen table. As much as she wanted to be angry about downsizing, it took her all of two weeks to start painting in her new space. Her passion to create took over and all was well. 
The size of the space where you create does not define or determine how successful you are or your value. I live and work in a 1300 square foot house and have created large works for hotels I could never afford to stay in. Still, if you asked me if I want a studio or an indoor laundry room, guess which one I would choose...the laundry room! Go ahead and share your art corner and don't worry if it looks like anyone else's space. It's fun to see what everyone has in their version of a studio and how they define it for themselves.

Age Appropriate Comparisons

I hate that "comparison is the thief of joy" quote. But in this case, comparison being the thief of success works. Just like comparing whatever is going on in your 50 year-old body to what is going on in a 20 year-old body, comparing your current state of success/failure as an artist to someone who has been doing it for decades (or ten minutes) won't ever end well. An audience of 20 year-olds reacts to things differently than an audience of 47 year-olds. If you design products for established adults, fretting that you are not getting the same result as the artist peddling only pink products to 25 year-olds, you are setting yourself up for disaster. By all means watch, observe, and learn, but be careful about setting yourself up with unrealistic comparisons. What works for someone else may not work for you, and what works for you may not work for someone else. First, be true to who you are. Do what you do best and if you see someone else in your same career age bracket doing their thing with better results, try to figure out what that thing is before deciding it just means you suck. Do they interact with people more? Do they post different kinds of photos? Do they share their personal life or are they all business? What can you do differently? Don't just do what they do, re-evaluate what you do that works, what doesn’t, and what you could do differently to get the result you want. 

Google Still Reads Your Blog

For years people have been talking about how blogging is dead. I think that is true to an extent- blogging has evolved to new platforms like instagram and facebook. I confess that I pretty much never read blogs unless I see a post on social media where the person has more info on their blog or their shop is part of their blog and I am looking to buy. Not only did I stop reading blogs, but I stopped keeping one- sort of. A couple years ago when I fell in love with the ease of instagram, I made a conscious choice to not really stop, but move my personal posts from my blog site to instragram. I have a website for my art licensing and fine art and I keep my personal posts here. I made a post on my personal blog years ago to let people know that instagram is my new blog. However, I kept my blog site up (and attached to my work site) for one reader in particular: The Almighty Google.
While my readers have moved with me, Google still reads my blog. I post to my blog a few times a week with details on new art for sale. If you moved away from your blog but did not delete it, keep in mind your most loyal reader (Google) and be sure the links to your current whereabouts online are current. Even if you never update your blog (typepad, wordpress, etc.), be sure your contact info, social media links, and shop links are up to date.
If you are not sure what Google is reading, google yourself! Is your long-dead blog coming up first? If a potential buyer or client googles you, will they reach your neglected site first? Make sure your clients can easily find you when they use Google!