HOLIDAY MARKETING TIPS

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1 artspan.com HOLIDAY MARKETING TIPS No matter your feelings on the commercialization of the holiday season (Christmas ads in September, really?) the last quarter of the year presents unique opportunities to get the word out to potential buyers about your work. Not only does the public at large loosen its purse strings, the media jumps on the bandwagon with special sections devoted to holiday themed gift guides. But to make the most of the marketing potential for this season, you need to get a plan in place early. By early, start planning as early as July or August! That s the time to stock of your saleable work in essence, your inventory. If work in an area like jewelry or ceramics, items that are more readily considered product, you should, by this point, have an idea of which items you want to push for sales, and how much you need to have on hand for holiday season sales. If you work in an area like painting, this takes more work. Although you want to push sales of your higher priced work, keep in mind that many holiday season purchases are for smaller works in lower price ranges. If you don t have high quality images of your paintings to reproduce as archival digital prints, now is the time to get them done. Armed with that, you can then easily create a print series -- if you are an Artspan artist, you should make these available for Prints on Demand -- to have on hand for direct sales at holiday shows. If you are a printmaker or photographer, do you have works available in a variety of price ranges and sizes? If not, adding some smaller, lower price pieces to your offerings, especially if you plan to offer Prints on Demand or sell works directly at shows, as it will add a possibility for those impulse buyers who might think nothing of dropping $30. Once your inventory or action plan for its production -- is in place, following are four subsections for conducting simple and effective holiday marketing of this work. 1. Your Circle of Personal Contacts Or in other words, your family and friends. These people are already positively predisposed to engage with you and be interested in your work and it s a larger group than you might think. This is the quickest way to jumpstart your holiday marketing and is especially important for low cost Prints-on-Demand and other similarly priced items. Be specific with what you are offering, e.g. the latest prints from my landscape series, matted and framed and also be clear on the price range, e.g. affordable, starting at less than $50.

2 Consider revising your website to include a special gallery of the works you are especially pushing and highlighting in your outreach such as Prints on Demand, so people can easily access the work and make an easy, immediate purchase. One simple method is to create a holiday newsletter including your art and other related gift ideas two to four related gift ideas two to four pages is plenty. Although is a primary means of communication and marketing, make a limited number of hard copies to have on hand as well you will want these especially when passing on your newsletter to local businesses and for posting on bulletin boards To make it more enticing, you can offer a special holiday discount for Prints-on-Demand or other lower cost items, and to make it less blatantly self-promotional -- devote space to listings of other holiday-themed art events and fairs that will appeal to the readers. People will be more likely to keep it on hand. A simple trick for developing a list for distribution of this newsletter is to begin with your immediate family and then extrapolate out into aunts, uncles, etc. etc. Make sure to include folks who have married their relatives and who will know you as well they ll be more responsive if they receive their own newsletter. Next, develop a list of friends and their spouses, then list any friends of friends you might know. Last but not least, think of business relationships (where appropriate) and list them out. The latter should not only include people you work with at your office or studio, but also businesses that know your name and with whom you interact frequently. These might include local coffee shops, restaurants or bars, or even that small mystery bookstore you like to frequent. Many such establishments have a bulletin board for local happenings, so ask if you can put up your hard copy newsletter. And last but not least, don t forget those Facebook friends: Those acquaintances you may exchange notes with but never see in real life are genuine prospects for marketing your work, and would probably be quite receptive to seeing what you do. Who knows, they may have been admiring your work from afar but never thought of buying a piece! Reach out primarily via so while you re developing your list, you ll also need to be building your mailing list. If you or an immediate contact doesn t know a particular address, a Google search will often turn up that information via Facebook, LinkedIn, or a similar service. Because you will be spreading this information out fairly widely (and hopefully it will be forwarded from person to person), it s a good idea to create a special address for yourself something as simple as JohnFHoliday@gmail.com will do. Make sure your Artspan web site URL is visible on every page! This is critical you want to enable immediate gratification for those who like what they see.

3 2. THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX EVENTS AND FAIRS, REAL WORLD AND ONLINE Your next step should be to get a little creative in your thinking. How else can you get the word out during the holiday season? It might be easier than you think. Check local organizations to see if they are holding seasonal art fairs or sales and you ll be surprised at how many opportunities there are. The Bloomington (MN) Art Center, for example, held a holiday art sale last year in the first week of December. Just keep in mind that registration for these events (especially the better known ones) is often at least a month or two in advance, so start scouting this out in September or October. Don t be afraid to get involved in seasonal charity auctions or sales, even if involves donating a piece of work -- while the proceeds usually go back to the institution (although more and more it s common practice to give the artist a percentage back), it s a great chance for you to introduce yourself to a new audience, especially if they are producing an accompanying website or catalog, as the listing will invariably include your website URL. Create your own virtual art fair by teaming up with other artists. The simplest way to do this is to make sure all involved have Facebook pages, and then you can create an event page. Make a page name something easy for people to find on Facebook, e.g. Southern Sierras Holiday Art Fair The next step is to have everyone involved reach out to their circle of personal contacts. Instead of funneling people directly to individual sites, direct them to the fair s Facebook page, where special holiday galleries can be displayed. This will create a large number of people outside your circle who can virtually walk the fair and stop by your booth. If a person is interested in your work they can contact you directly via or Facebook message whereupon you should direct them to your site (which, if it s an Artspan site, is enabled with ecommerce capabilities) and you can conduct your transaction safely. As a side bonus, you will have a new person checking out the rest of your personal website. 3. BLOGS Blogs have exploded in importance and credibility over the last several years and many of them mirror mass media, in that they devote special attention to covering seasonal themes. They are also often more approachable than traditional media. Give some real thought to what kind of person will really enjoy your work (or who has someone who would enjoy your work on their holiday gift list). Does your work focus on a particular part of the country? Search for local area blogs. Maybe your work often focuses on animals search for the appropriate animal lover blogs. You ll be shocked at what a powerful voice these targeted demographics have! Blogs operate differently (area-specific blogs aside) than traditional media in that they are often subject-focused

4 rather than area-focused, and their audience is typically nationwide. And don t forget many of will dedicate time to seasonal themes, such as ideas for holiday giving. Blogs that are dedicated to home design and decoration can be a goldmine for art marketing during the holidays, and most will dedicate a good portion of their resources to covering gift-related unique items for the home, and yes, art fits that bill beautifully. Blogs often like to create give away events and contests for their readers. In return for the publicity you get from the blogger, you might want to offer three to five Prints on Demand copies of your work for such a purpose. The trade-off is usually worth it, and not something you can typically do with traditional media. 4. THE PRESS Despite the decline in local newspapers over recent years, traditional media is still a potential home run if you can interest them in covering you, both in terms of boosting holiday sales and in the additional credibility that press coverage brings. The fact that most traditional media have extensive online versions (which are generally more popular than the print versions) works to your advantage: An article that can include a live link to your website heightens the chance that an article about your or work will convert to sales. Start working on developing your target lists and pitching ideas right away October is the month when most of the short-lead press are collecting ideas for their holiday gift guides, so you should have your targets scoped out and an action plan in place by September. If you plan to target long-lead press, such as magazines, you ll need to reach them by August. Pitch via once you are in contact, calls or other communications may be necessary but is fastest for you and most appealing to your targets. Make sure to include one image; no matter how snappy your pitch is, it ll be the visual that will real them in. This should be small the intention is to be a teaser, not print quality -- and of course make sure the image has your name as part of the file name. Journalists get barraged with hundreds of s every day, and you want to make it easy for them to find you if your pitch piques their interest but they don t have time to address it immediately. Develop a new list even if you already have created one. While many media outlets these days are relying on wire stories from Associated Press and the like, others still follow the old model of moving staff into special Gift Guide editorial positions, and they may be different people than those that usually cover the art beat. You can begin with a simple (or phone query if you don t get a response) to the Arts/Leisure/Lifestyle editors asking if they are doing a gift guide and who should be contacted regarding it.

5 Don t send the whole shebang (print res image attachments, bio etc.) until you ve located the proper editorial target. With traditional media, focus on local or statewide targets, as newspapers and local TV etc. want to report on A) great artists in their area or B) things that are specifically appealing to people in their area. Most newspaper reporters now have a blog on the paper s online version, so check those out as well this can yield some surprising interests and topics not covered in their official reporting. Do a reality check when it comes to pitching national media they want big names or something tied to a big trend that will be instantly recognizable nationwide or globally. Don t give up if you don t get traction from your pitch on the first attempt. Some short lead press will run two gift guides, one in November and another in December. And while is the most efficient way to reach out, don t be afraid to put together a creative mailing to your most important targets, which should include not only a pitch letter and bio, but sample images of your art work, both prints and digital. You may find this to be the season where media and the like are most receptive to your outreach, so it s worth the extra marketing effort. Keep in mind that media professionals are pressed for time, and eager to get good content handed to them! And don t forget some cardinal rules of press pitches: No generic/all-purpose mailings, i.e. make sure your story is relevant to your target s coverage; keep it brief and to the point; focus on why your story is particularly compelling simply being an artist with some interesting work won t cut it, you ll need a unique hook. We just covered specific tips regarding holiday outreach, but please make sure to refer back to the Public Relations and the Artist article series for general tips on developing your newsletter, message, and pitch. Whichever strategies you choose, make sure to take advantage of the unique opportunities this season presents and have a happy and successful holiday. YOUR ARTSPAN TEAM Artspan.com