Promotional Materials
If you are an artist with the goal of making a living selling your artwork, you must think of yourself as a small business. There are resources available to help you create a professional portfolio, make the most of your advertising budget and get your name out there in creative ways.
Brochures
Brochures are lightweight, easy to mail and are relatively inexpensive to print (compared to slides). Here are a few uses for your color brochures:
- If you are intimidated by "cold calling" or visiting galleries in person, mailing a brochure may be an option for you. They can be sent to many different galleries and art centers where you'd like to exhibit your artwork. Research possible venues and find out if they are open to new artists. When sending a brochure, always include a cover letter to introduce yourself and explain (politely) why they should include your artwork in their gallery. Note: Do not send brochures if the gallery's submission guidelines state they do not accept unsolicited material, or if they have specific terms for submissions such as jpeg files on CD or slides only.
- Hand out your brochures to anyone you meet, as an alternative (or in addition to) business cards. Business cards are great for providing your contact information and web address, but if people are unfamiliar with fiber art they will not learn much from a 2"x3" card. Brochures feature color photos of your artwork, allowing people to see what you do without you having to explain it in words.
- Always bring them along to an opening or exhibition of your work. You can offer to show people other examples of what you do, in addition to the work they are seeing in person.
- Find the most economical printing option. Most printing companies will offer discounts for large orders. This can be great if you have a signature style and can choose photos that represent your work well over time. If you are constantly changing your style and produce many different works per year, you may want to print a smaller number of brochures. That way you can update them more frequently.
Business Cards
There are many options available for business cards besides the standard white. Think about the image you want to project. For example: Customers typically don't want an accountant to be "creative and spontaneous", so the standard black and white no-frills approach would work for them. But artists can get away with the unexpected. Let your business card make an impression.
- Check out "Cool Business Card Designs" for a few inspiring examples: http://creativebits.org/cool_business_card_designs
Digital Photo Frames
A new an innovative way to market yourself. You could keep a digital photo frame on your desk loaded with your portoflio images, accompanied by soothing music, so anyone who comes into your office or cube could view your portfolio. You could ask your boss if you could put this digital photo frame loaded with you images in your company's waiting room - a great conversation piece (ask if you could leave your postcards in lobby as well). If a guest commented on the photos, the receptionist could say: Ms./Mr. _ is our resident artist. Her/his website is . (They become your sales rep!)
Name Tags
You should always wear a nametag to events and openings.
Postcards
Consider printing postcards to promote your artwork. A picture is worth a thousand words, as they say. Postcards offer a glimpse of your work, and they can be used by the customer as stationary or framed for display. Check out the Creative Postcard Club to see unique postcard designs and/or contact the artists who make them.
Quoted from: http://www.creativepostcardclub.com/home.html
- "We are a group of professional designers, illustrators, design students and creatives alike from around the world who enjoy corresponding through our own postcard creations. Bookmark our site and visit often to see how each creative handled their postcard design based on a unique assignment. If you would like to be notified of updates to our site, please send us your e-mail and type 'Updates' in the subject. Send to [email protected]. Visit the join link for more information on becoming a member of our creative community. A fun and challenging hobby to keep graphic artists creatively charged."
Outside the Box
You may consider some other items that you can personalize with your name and contact number. Choose a product that will appeal to the demographic you're after. Here are a few ideas:
Wine labels
These may be coordinated with an open studio tour or gallery event. Note: They can get expensive, so choose your event wisely to make the most of this promotion. There are quite a few printers who can customize a label for you, depending on your budget. Here are just a few exampes:
- Winelabel.com offers options for labels, wine and etched bottles. They even offer tips for organizing parties and events. http://www.winelabel.com
- PersonalizedWine.com offers accessories such as wooden boxes and velvet gift bags. http://www.personalwine.com/
- Bottle Your Brand offers an alternative for those who do not want to mix promotion with alcohol. In addition to wine or beer labels, they can customize water bottles with your personal designs. http://www.bottleyourbrand.com/private-label-bottled-water.asp
Promotional Items & Give Aways
You can customize a few short-run items to use as gifts (and self promotion). They can be given as Thank You gifts for gallery owners, show organizers, or past & current customers. As always, consider your target market and the image you want to project.
- Companies like Cafe Press and Marco will customize anything from pens to tote bags. Marco also has a "Green Store" featuring eco-friendly products.
- Show pictures of your work whenever possible. You may want to choose something that your customer will look at often. Options include calendars, mouse pads, sprial bound notebooks, etc.
Event Tickets
Why depend entirely on the venue to promote your Solo Show or Exhibition? You can customize event tickets; just make sure you explain that they are promotional and people do not need to redeem the tickets at the event.