| Face Time Matters.
We need to be deliberate in our networking with collectors, students, agents and peers. Right?
Relationships are a cornerstone of marketing and sales.
Even now in 2020, when we can't always be face to face, those who find ways to keep communicating have an advantage.
Just a few years ago, my husband who still had a flip phone would insist that my social media friends weren't real. He couldn't fathom how you could have an actual relationship with someone you never met in person. The covid pandemic has next door neighbors interacting mostly online now.
Whole conferences are being conducted through webinars. Groups are meeting online to draw from "live" models who are sitting in front of studio cameras miles away. Talk about a change in the way we network!
What has not changed is the importance of continuing to meet and get to know the people who are interested in us and what we are doing.
The amount of effort we put into face time with our people is never wasted. Just because we can't gather anymore, doesn't mean we need to stop communicating.
It's never easy to let go of how we are used to doing things.
I am witnessing firsthand how brick and mortars that are not up to speed with the latest technology are struggling to get there. The old model where collectors gather at show receptions every month to see new art from the gallery's featured artist is gasping for air in this new world. Many of the venues that were able to put those art pieces online and hold virtual receptions are doing well.
Museums, art schools, art societies and galleries that relied mostly on walk in sales, have been scrambling to find new ways to engage with people. Those who are doing well are leveraging their online market AND they continue to reach out with letters, emails, phone calls and even virtual events. Some are creating gift bags of crafts and prints that are purchased online and delivered curbside. Everyone is having to use new methods to garner sales, and there is no one size fits all.
On the flip side, some events may work better with a virtual audience.
I know of at least one company that facilitated in person workshops and art retreats in France. Even though their business came to a screeching halt this spring, they far exceeded their income this year.
They did it by reaching out to all of their instructors and arranging virtual workshops that can be held at a lower cost for people across the globe, in larger numbers than the in person workshops could accommodate. They are such a good example of looking at your network, assessing its current need, and then reaching out to everyone to make it happen.
A museum fundraiser I have been a part of for seven years has a collector's dinner at $150/plate before the $75/person reception on opening night. People drop their contact info into boxes for the pieces of art they want to purchase, and at the end of the night, boxes with more than one name in them get the lucky "winner" announced.
Amazingly, the museum staff managed to pull off all of these moving parts of their sale this year...virtually.
They sent catered meals to the collector's dinner people, and held an online dinner party. They sold viewers the spaces in their reception night web conference for the opportunity to fight to buy each painting and sculpture as curators presented them. I think they may have sold more art in their fundraiser this year than any of the others!
Likewise, a museum I am involved with in Montana moved their annual fundraising auction outdoors under a tent with plenty of space for social distancing. They had a successful in person event. But more than ever before, they reached out everywhere they could to promote the event. Because of the pandemic, they really upped their online marketing and public relations. It paid off for them.
I have heard from several established artists that their commission business has spiked during this year. If you sell commissions, this is a good time to advertise that you do, especially with holidays approaching. Of course these are always done online for the most part. But with more people at their computers these days, there may be more access to your collectors.
What are some ways to up your networking game you may not have thought of?
What sorts of projects can you do online to create a new income stream, and also have real time contact with other human beings? I'm talking about tasks that require phone calls, emails, and interactions. This is how networks are built and relationships are strengthened.
Also, people are eager to follow those who are brave and are trying new things in these uncertain times. You can and should integrate all of these activities with your FASO site. Let people know about your successes AND failures. You gain more followers when you share your secrets.
Please add to this list in the comments. These are just the things I have seen other artists doing. If you are good at tech stuff, could you host online workshops for other artists?Those peers who live far away but would be great to partner with - Can you grab a few of them and create an art show together? It could be online in your separate studios or physically in one location.If you were a bookkeeper or accountant in a past life, you could offer this service to other artists.Do you have an artist friend you could trade studio and secretarial assistant services with? They help you and you help them a few days a week? You may both learn new studio and business practices from each other.Professors at local colleges are really busy figuring out the virtual classroom world right now. If you offered assistance to one, you might meet a whole new group of people, and gain some knowledge too.Some artists have a side business writing biographies, artist statements, resumes, grant and fellowship applications for a fee.Could you create a business where you sell holiday gifts to companies? There are still businesses that look for ways to make their employees (even the virtual ones) feel special at the end of the year. If you create functional art like pottery, baskets, ornaments, etc. this seems like a natural fit.Think about what you'd love to immortalize with your art. People love horses. Can you work with a local stable and paint or sculpt some of their animals? Maybe an owner would buy one. If not, you can enter them in shows. Not into horses? How about the local animal shelter?Event and wedding planners are looking for ways to make smaller gatherings more memorable. Perhaps you could partner up and create paintings of the landscape or the building interior before guests arrive. That could lead to painting wedding party commissions.With print on demand companies, and soon FASO, making it easy to drop ship, you could start a monthly club where subscribers receive prints, cards, coffee mugs or other products with your art on them.Are there art jobs you have always wondered about but never looked into? I've always thought being a court artist or working with law enforcement would be interesting. A friend of mine is teaching a workshop this week for court and law enforcement artists.What are some ways you can freelance the skills you have developed over the years? Consulting services for people setting up their new studios or revamping existing ones? Are you good at organizing art shows? Charge a fee for people to participate in exhibitions you set up in different venues. Have you mastered iMovie? Offer to make videos for people who haven't.Have you ever organized an art swap? Collect a fee for artists to swap supplies, artwork, books, etc. | 