Part 2: Spacetaker s Arts Marketing Series

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1 Part 2: Spacetaker s Arts Marketing Series Art Festivals: Pricing, Presentation, & Sales Special thanks to Mitch Cohen, Missy Alwais, and Taft McWhorter for their contributions to this workshop.

2 Presentation Grab viewers attention How your work is presented? What's in your space? Do you approach the patron? What do they see? You? Boxes? Stuff or art? On the spot marketing

3 A few seconds to capture attention.

4 Eye Catchers -

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7 No

8 No

9 Presentation says a lot

10 Signs - Banners

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13 You ve captured their attention Now what?

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15 To Talk or Not to Talk Personal style Type - Does your work need an explanation or education? Acknowledge - "Hello" Don't be pushy! They sell themselves.

16 To Talk or Not to Talk Some "products" need an education to sell. Even artwork- that doesn t necessarily require an education- becomes more attractive when the customer knows the process. The customer becomes even more intrigued if there is a story.

17 Education

18 Is there a story behind your work?

19 What's your story?

20 A story makes it personal.

21 Personalized Work

22 Presentation matters! Your work- should be presentable - If matted, clean with nice edges. Frames - quality, good condition. Glass - clean and smudge free. "Ready to hang"!!!

23 Before & After First booth- pvc to heighten tables Recently- Drapery, lighting and display create an atmosphere now.

24 MARKETING ON THE SPOT!

25 Signs Business Cards Guest books Show schedules

26 Put your name out there

27 Guest books Business Cards

28 Let them "take" you home! Hand out business cards. Make postcards with your show/gallery schedule. Keep a guest book for notices.

29 Create a mailing list!

30 The King of business cards.

31 Leave an impression

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34 Define Yourself Artist, business owner, retailer, wholesaler

35 Price your work -Not too high -Not too low -Competitively with similar work Know your market or niche! Price according to what your market can bear. What are your goals? Do you want the public to primarily: -Appreciate your art for its VALUE -Appreciate your art for its AESTHETICS

36 Too High: If your work is unknown - don't price it to keep it. Your family loving you doesn't make you collectible. Don t be so proud of your art; be proud of someone OWNING your art. If you aren t selling, your prices are likely too high.

37 Too Low: Art is subjective; consider perceived value. Inexpensive work may be seen as having no value. Rationale: - It's Cheap. - You don't want it; why should I? - I'm prepared to buy something that s worth it. (Keep in mind that even if you sell your work at a discount, you should maintain its RETAIL price.)

38 Go Shopping! It is RESEARCH! Look at what other ar+sts/designers are crea+ng not just colors, designs, and trends, but Pricing! Retail vs. Wholesale - If you are doing your research at a bou+que or gallery you are looking at the retail pricing. Public The end consumer. Retail A retailer is the gallery/bou+que/shop or the ar+st directly if showing and selling to the general public. Wholesale/ ar+st A wholesaler is the ar+st/produc+on selling to the person/retailer that is going to be selling to the general public.

39 How to determine pricing Keep in mind who you are selling to. Are you selling directly to the Public or to a Retailer? Public Public is willing to pay a fair price for your art based on your research, you should have a good idea of what the market will allow. Retailers must make money, and s+ll be able to sell your product for a fair price. Retail ar+st As the direct seller to the public, your profits will be higher selling directly to the public. As the ar+st/wholesaler, you must be able to make money, but price fairly for the retailer to s+ll make their money too. Wholesale- ar+st

40 How to determine pricing Public $100 Let s assume your research discovered that your piece of art could sell for $100 (keep the math easy) Retail $50 You are selling your item to a retailer who is going to buy 12 pieces from you. You let the retailer know that they can sell these for $100. The retailer needs to make a minimum of a 50% margin on the item. Meaning, they cannot pay you more than $50 to make this item. Wholesale- ar+st If the retailer will pay you $50 for an item, you need to determine your COGS (Cost of Goods Sold). How much does it COST you to make this item?

41 How to determine pricing If the retailer will pay you $50 for an item- How much does it COST you to make this item? Cost of Goods Sold: from wikipedia This amount includes the materials cost used in crea1ng the goods along with the direct labor costs used to produce the good. It excludes indirect expenses, such as distribu1on costs and sales force costs. Materials used to create the piece of art (everything) + Labor (yours and anyone else that you have that helps you) + Shipping, distribucon or sales people working for you = COGS (Cost of Goods Sold)

42 How to determine pricing Public $100 Let s assume your research discovered that your piece of art could sell for $100 (keep the math easy) Retail $50 You are selling your item to a retailer who is going to buy 12 pieces from you. You let the retailer know that they can sell these for $100. The retailer needs to make a minimum of a 50% margin on the item. Meaning, they cannot pay you more than $50 to make this item. Wholesale- ar+st $30 Using the COGS formula, if you need to sell this item for $50, ideally, your COGS would be under $30 could be higher if you can make more in bulk. If you are a one at a +me product, you need to make more per item.

43 Why Does the Retailer need TO Make So Much Money? A standard Margin percentage for retailers is a 50%, basically taking their cost of the item and mul+plying by 2. Some items have a higher margin and some have a lower margin, but for the most part, retailers love the 50% 50% margin is important for retailers to figure in cost of running a store: - Overhead (rent, wages, u+li+es, shopping bags, displays, insurance) - Ability to markdown merchandise that is not selling, not just your item, but all the items in the store. On average if a store can maintain a 35% average margin, it is doing ok. - Retailers try for a mul+ple item sale. - Profits increase as they sell more units per single transac+on. - Profit from 1st item sold is usually eaten up with overhead costs- the 2nd and 3rd item is when the store starts making money. - Great retailers try for average of 3.2 Units Per Transac+on. (UPTs)

44 Be A Retailer! If you are working a show, you are the retailer. Charge the retail rate! Ask the client if they are familiar with your work, or how they found you. If they were a referral from someone and are familiar with your work, it means they know what they are ge]ng- you can charge more! Be A Wholesaler! If you have some artwork that can be done in a mass produc+on type, you can be a wholesaler. Can you afford to be a wholesaler? - Can you produce enough items to make your money? Remember, you will not yield as much on each piece, but if you can make enough, you will sell more at one +me. (Each shop will buy at least 6 of an item.) Different shows require different pricing- be aware of your surroundings. What are other people are charging for similar items? Nutcracker Market (hosted by Junior League of Houston) draws a high end, mainstream crowd. Mark your items higher there than you would at the Winter Holiday Art Market. Be a partner to your retailers, let them know what you sell the item for at a show and give them confidence that your art is going to sell fast!

45 Again, the bottom line: Materials + Labor + Time + Shipping + MarkeCng = Your Costs to Create Still at a loss? Try this formula: Price = $ per square inch (3 ft x 2 ft painting = $ )

46 More suggestions: Get your work out there. Establish a goal to start a list of 400 collectors who own your work- this is your client base. Collect contact information and cultivate ongoing relationships with client base. (This will be the basis of your business.)

47 Once you have a client base: Approach clients with new work. Extend special privileges to clients. When relationships are strong, you can call on clients in hard times. For instance: I m still selling work, but the galleries are hurting; Consider purchasing a piece at a discount to help support Artist X s career. Raise prices by a specific % each January. Condition and create the expectation in client base. Build perceived value. Doesn t need to affect selling price- just RETAIL. Work your client base- know what drives them. Self-promotion- difficult though it may be- is key.

48 Discounts: Not a bad word in the art world. All serious collectors ask at some point for discounts. Discounts do not necessarily devalue your work or your image. Know your bottom line. Have the lowest possible price in mind before starting the conversation.

49 Benefit of Art: Art is subjective. No one will ultimately be comparison shopping. No objective standard for pricing. Again, price as your market can bear. Work your client base to raise that ceiling.

50 Diversifying Markets: Are you exploring every avenue? You don t have to necessarily pigeon-hole your work as fine or decorative to maximize the benefits of both. If you are a visual artist, have you thought about using your images for things like note cards, tote bags, etc.? Are you investigating all kinds of outlets? (Gift shops, specialty retailers, book stores, coffee shops, restaurants, markets, etc.)

51 Avenues of passive income: Designers Decorators National Art Services: sells art to trade ( Skyline: sells art to hospitals ( New Era: publishing company that sells to retailers like Pier 1, Ethan Allen, etc. ( (Consider public versus private collections.)

52 $ Variety At festivals, provide a variety of price points, including inexpensive items: Matted prints Greeting cards Smaller paintings "Bruised" pottery (Christine is resting her hands on a print bin.)

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