More on the art of selling
It was a cold night in Florida.
Or at least it was for sick, little, old me, stuck sitting in a plastic chair outside, behind a table covered in my mother’s paintings and my yarn creations.
Inside the coffee shop, just a few feet away, were warm men and women listening to bands and enjoying hot, steamy drinks. I, on the other hand, was working. I was promoting art.
Promotion and marketing are the worst parts of being an artist. They make up the job part of transitioning art from a hobby to a business. What makes the transition even worse is that the art half of the brain (the one artists use) is much different than the logical half of the brain (the one number crunchers use).
Fortunately, it’s easy to get started in this whole art “business.� No one expects a hobbyist to become an international star in just a few steps. It will take years, if it ever happens.
The first step involves a little research and a little traveling. Find community events and locations that support the arts and offer free venues for promotion. In the area of Florida I live, there are a few coffee and tea houses willing to let artists hang their wares for a small percentage of sales. There are also festivals where artists can set up booths for free or a small fee, usually between $20 and $50.
That’s all it really takes, plus the willingness to sit out in the cold with a tepid cup of liquid chocolate, watching people ignore you as they walk back and forth into a packed
coffee shop.
I’m not the only poor, sick, hapless writer out there. Gillian Polack’s sick too, except she has wonderful recipes. And, speaking of food, at Watching Rachel Ray, they’ve got pumpkin recipes. I’m always looking for more ways to cook pumpkins and squash; now I can play some more with my horribly inadequate kitchen.
December 1st, 2007 at 11:32 am
[...] Finding the right gallery by Wendy Withers I’ve already written that many choices are available for artists wishing to sell their wares and the best way to go about choosing is doing a little [...]