Marketing tactics: Generate hype to sell more art

WHY NO ONE IS BUYING

Artists often feel like the way to sell more art is to make better art. While honing your skills certainly helps, it ultimately doesn’t make sales for you. 

Have you ever seen a successful artist that you genuinely thought was bad at art? Me too. 

That’s because for one: all art is subjective. I’m sure their fans didn’t think it was bad. And for two: they marketed well so they could find those people who thought it was good!

Don’t put ALL of your energy into honing your artistic skills. There are people who love your art as it is right now. You just have to market better to be able to find them. So you’ve got to generate hype to sell more art and rally excitement around your new work. 

For anyone to be enthusiastic about it, you have to show the emotion first. So throw that modesty right out the window before we get started. 

Here are my favorite artist marketing strategies you can use to finally stop asking, “Why aren’t people buying?”

SHOW YOUR PROGRESS

Post pictures during the making of your new piece or project. People love seeing these behind-the-scenes takes of your artistic process. They also love watching progress videos — don’t you? It’s mesmerizing to watch an illustration take shape in lightning fast time.

Aside from visuals, share the struggles you’ve encountered during its creation — conceptually or technically. Not sure whether to center the theme around a moose or a wolf to portray your latest hiking trip when you saw both for the first time? Talk about that choice. Had trouble drawing that amazing bowl of soup at your favorite local diner, so you spent an extra hour making a second trip just to take a reference photo? Reveal that! 

People love knowing what really goes into any piece of artwork they buy.

An inside peek gives people a reason to follow your progress not only in a single painting but also as an artist. How does this drawing compare to previous works of yours? Are you inspired by something new or is it a crowd-favorite subject matter? Take others on your journey with you.

MEDIA COVERAGE

You may think you need to be the next Shepard Fairey to get in the news, but you’d be wrong. 

As a former editor and feature journalist, I know for a fact it’s not that tough. You may not become a national sensation just by sending a pitch email, but I’m sure your local paper or a niche magazine will be interested in your art. 

Being featured in a publication or your local TV news channel can establish massive credibility for your business while helping you generate hype to sell more art at the same time. It will give you another aspect of your career to talk about (don’t be afraid to be proud of your accomplishments!) and something for your tribe to be rooting for. 

Want your name in flashing lights? Ooor how about black ink print?

The easiest way to get media coverage is to follow these simple steps:

— Identify a publication that would be interested in your work based on THEIR audience’s interest. Remember that their job is to serve their paying customers, so cater to them.

— Craft a relevant story around you or your business to pitch to them. This theme will be the most important part. You don’t have to write it out in full; that’s what the reporter will do. Not sure how to tell a story about your art? Read my article here.

— Call them. Emails get lost a lot. Pick up the phone and call the writer or contact person for the media company you hope to reach. Talking on the phone will give you a higher priority above all the folks who DM or email. 

— Pitch your story. Offer to send pictures with captions and be available to verify details at any time. Make it easy for them to write it and and appealing to their audience and goals. 

— Follow up if you don’t hear back within a week. 

I’ll be writing a post exclusively on getting media coverage soon, but these basic steps should get your through the door and into the news. Repeat these steps for a few different publications and you’ll be sure to land one! Extend the enthusiasm beyond your immediate fan base!

ANSWER OBJECTIONS

Buyers will always have objections to spending money on something, even if they reeeaaalllyyyy want it. 

You have to push through this resistance by being a good salesperson and answering their questions or addressing concerns before they’re even raised. 

Common objections are:

— I can’t afford it.

— I don’t need another luxury item.

— What if I don’t like it once I hang it up?

— Is it good quality?

— Is the artist reliable? 

— Will I get my stuff shipped in time?

Answer to all of these when promoting your piece. Put it on sale to make it more affordable or justify the price by highlighting the quality they’ll get. Explain your return policy, your damage policy, your shipping policy. Show off positive customer testimonials to ease the minds of future buyers. 

I created a FAQ page on my shop that applies to all my prints and policies. I put custom work pricing on there and try to answer things in advance so I don’t have to put in extra leg work to answer a heaping pile of DMs and emails. But I make sure to answer those as quickly as I can, too. A FAQ page makes it easier because you can copy and paste your answers from it to become more efficient and make sure you’re including everything you want to say. 

Be honest and be consistent with your policies from person to person. 

If you do this part right, you’ll not only dry out those wet blankets in your fan base, but you’ll still generate hype to sell more art in the process. Turn it around early on.

If you’re not sure how to deal with objections to selling your art, this article will be helpful to you. 

VIDEO IS KING

Video can often say more about your product or painting than you could ever say in words. 

Video will show size, quality, and vibrance better than a photo. Pick it up and toss it around in your hands, or stand next to it and get a detail zoom-in. 

It will do a great job of answering questions of quality and help counter some of those objections.

Talking about your work during the video face to face will help customers connect with you, feel more comfortable with you, and ultimately increase the “know like and trust” factor you build in any relationship. And the better the relationship, the better you can support each other. 

Use video when you’re announcing your painting. Post it on social media. Be brave and go live with your video — Instagram and Facebook notify your followers when you do this and there’s a bigger chance people will actually pay attention to it. Record a short video answer when people DM or email you questions about your product — people love knowing they got a video that’s for them exclusively, like how you’d FaceTime or chat with a friend.

Did you know that one third of all online activity is spent watching videos? THAT’S A LOT. People looove the reality of experience that film gives them. It’s like being right there in the room with you. Not only that, but marketers who use video grow revenue 49% faster than those who don’t. That’s a huge jump when you’re feeling like you’re not making enough money with your passion. 

You don’t need a fancy camera or a studio to serve as your background. Just be real and be open about your work. And be amped up! Spread the excitement through your recording and I’m sure you’ll start to generate hype to sell more art.

HOST AN EVENT

What’s the most hype thing you could do to draw attention to your new work? 

Throw a party!

No, but really. 

Host an event. Rent a hall for a day and turn it into a makeshift gallery. Hang all your new work, invite your friends, their friends, and spread the word. Serve some refreshments and hang out with your art as the atmosphere. Sell a few, if you dare.

If money or travel is an issue for you, throw a release party at your house and do the same thing. 

It’s not weird, I promise. I can’t tell you how many cool artists, musicians and other creatives I’ve met by going to somebody’s house show. In my opinion, those are the BEST parties. They’re personal, cheap, and the most hype. 

If you want to, collaborate with other artists to host the event to make it work. You can all be releasing something new to celebrate.

You could even use another art show or vending opportunity as the unofficial release party of your new collection. I’ve done this many times. It brings people out to the show who otherwise wouldn’t come and it’s no added stress on you.

Make it work however you can, folks!

SHOP UPDATES ARE GOLDEN

If you have your own online shop (which I highly recommend) it’s useful to have designated shop updates. 

Shop updates are days where you take branded photos of all your new work and list them for sale on your shop at the same time. Uploading them all in the same batch saves you time and it allows you to feature pieces again that you may have finished a few weeks ago. You can post multiple pieces and multiple times during the countdown to remind everyone to get ready.

The days leading up to the launch can be filled with storytelling, product info, and more. People need to get excited about the chance to buy work before it sells out. 

Besides, studies show that a person needs to be exposed to a product or brand 7 times on average before purchasing. It’s not spamming! It’s marketing! Why do you think you see the same commercial during one Hulu episode like four times? Repetition is key. Shop updates help give you a reason to post about your work again. 

COUPONS OR BONUSES?

Putting things on a limited-time sale is a well-known way to get people to buy things. The pressure of knowing you could save money on something you already want as long as you buy it today is a powerful thing. I know I rush up to Blick when they send me those enticing coupons. 

But some artists think discounting their collector-worthy paintings is belittling and devaluing. I totally get that. I’ve only ever offered one coupon in my entire artist career and it was really hard to do. 

However, there’s an alternative that gets the same results.

Instead of discounting, you could add extra value. Throw in a small painting with your latest series if they buy before Tuesday. Or offer free shipping. Or give them a shoutout on your social media pages when they buy. Add another element to their purchase that will entice them to pull out their wallet with the quickness WITHOUT having to lower your price. 

And whether you’re giving them 20% off or giving them 20% more value for the price, they’ll feel like it’s a steal. Both tactics work wonders when trying to generate hype to sell more art. What makes you want to impulse buy faster than a good deal? Nothing! So get to it. 

WHO’S YOUR HYPE MAN?

Enlist your friends and loved ones to share your work. 

Let them know that they don’t have to spend money to support you. A simple share online when you put out a new piece can allow it to be seen by so many fresh eyes. Free advertising is so valuable. Comments, likes and shares help your work get seen in the world of algorithms, so tell your hype man (or woman) to get busy.

If your friends get tired of their whole profile looking like an online gallery or shrine to you, don’t worry. You can always pay Facebook to be your not-so-personal hype man too. 

Just make sure you’re getting the word out to new people when you release that new masterpiece. 

MARKETING IS THRILLING

If you’re not trying to generate hype to sell more art, you’re selling it wrong. Marketing is exciting. Your art is exciting. Your brand is exciting. So be thrilled!

It’s not about the art. It’s about how you market it. Your marketing will determine if people buy or not. Promote it. Spread the word. And do it every time you release something new, especially if you don’t churn out a new drawing every day.

It’s not the what, it’s the how. 

So how are you hyping your artwork up?

Share your strategies in the comments below.