Hey Artist,
Today I want to break down the four stages of Marketing.
In Brief they are : Awareness, Consideration, Conversion, and Retention.
So great! What the hell does that mean?
Well, here is the thing.
Most Artists fall into the trap of only starting to tell people about their work when it is up for sale or about to be in a show.
The problem with this, is that it takes most people a while to get comfortable with something they don't know about before they are willing to buy.
For example, if I approached you in a parking lot selling DVDs of a film I made out of the trunk of my car, it is unlikely that anything could get you to buy it.
Not the poster.
Not my heartfelt story.
Not my assurance that this movie will change your life, and that buying it will allow me to make even more movies.
Makes sense, right?
The reason people will line up for a Marvel movie that they haven't seen, is that those movies now have a reputation.
But, most likely, you aren't at that point yet.
For the first six months of marketing yourself as an artist, you have one job:
Get people to know that you exist.
Make the best work that you can, and put it out everywhere. If you can, document the process of making it. Live stream about your journey. Do whatever you can, to get seen.
Do not focus on the quick sale. Don't focus on being number one on amazon, NY times, etc. Your goal is to create awareness for yourself as an artist, not just the one piece of art you are trying to sell.
Only after people have heard of you is it possible for you to be considered as a solution to their problem.
"What problem? I'm an artist."
Not to them.
Very few people have the goal of "Supporting the Arts". And the ones who do, like to do it publicly. They are spending millions to build a new wing in a museum, not finding independent artists and supporting their work.
Your customer wants your art because they are trying to watch something new, want a cool original thing hanging on their wall, or because they want to escape.
Or perhaps, you are doing something that they secretly dream about doing, so they want to contribute and share ownership (the exception to the "Supporting the arts" rule earlier).
But first they have to know you.
So, tell the world who you are.
Thanks for reading.
And as always,
Thanks for making art.
E