The U.S. art market was valued at 30.2 billion dollars in 2022, outperforming pre-pandemic valuations. The increase in the market’s value shows that art is in demand. And with that demand comes more artists and products.
It also means you’re looking at a level of competition in the art market that wasn’t there before. Learning how to best navigate the competition and stand out with your brand and products is the only pathway to a successful art business.
Market research can provide you with the information you need to create unique art products your customers want and your competition isn’t making. It can also help you establish a personal brand that differentiates you from the many other artists out there.
Canvas prints, framed artwork, digital art, sculptures, coloring books, and original paintings are just the start of the range of art products available to consumers. Add in the hundreds of thousands of artists producing these products, and the catalog gets even more overwhelming.
You have to figure out a way to create products that aren’t like everything else in the industry to catch your customers’ attention and keep it long enough to develop relationships and inspire purchases.
For example, let’s say you create a line of original watercolor paintings with a specialty line of watercolor paints every year. After a review of customer feedback and sales data, you find that these paintings bring in half of your profit.
You could conclude that the way these paintings are created with that specialty line of watercolor paints makes them unique and that this contributes to the high sales volume. You can then tailor your marketing to emphasize these points.
Market research can help you determine how to make your product stand out. For example, the way you make use of your artist brand voice and where and how you display your product in person can all influence whether or not someone will buy your items. Market research can also play a part in helping you understand what customers want.
If you want your art products to sell consistently, you must know your customers inside and out. You need to know who they are first. Then, you need to understand their preferences and demands so that you can accommodate them.
A huge part of market research is compiling demographic, geographic, psychographic, and behavioral data on potential, current, and past customers. For example, knowing your customer preferences and collecting qualitative and quantitative data on how customers respond to different products can help you determine what types of products to offer. You can use what you learn about your customers to inform product and packaging designs and other creative brand elements that help you stand out.
As much as your art is for you, it must be more for your customers to be successful.
You’re obsessed with a certain art product you’ve been creating and want to introduce it to your customers for sale. But is there a space for that product in the art market? In other words, are people looking for this product and buying it?
You could go for it regardless of whether there’s a demand for the product or not. But it will likely be a long time before you see sales rolling in if you see them at all.
Market research helps ensure you’re creating products that are likely to thrive in the market. For example, sculptures, impressionist art, and contemporary art are some of the most popular among consumers.
Even if you don’t create these kinds of art, it’s good to know what’s capturing people’s attention and driving sales. You may be able to incorporate some elements of these styles into your art to position yourself better in the market.
Use market research to understand the demand for your products and what adjustments you should make over time to help your products sell more consistently.
Many artists get buried in the vast, ever-changing art industry. New artists and products are emerging every day, making it seem impossible to establish yourself. But with the help of market research, you can elevate your art products so that they stay in demand, capture your customer’s attention, and keep it.
Katie Brenneman is a passionate writer specializing in a variety of topics including marketing. You can find Katie on Twitter.
Defining the target audience for your art products is only half of the work with this core element of marketing. You must also use the information you gather about your target audience strategically to fuel connections and drive sales.
There’s a lot of data about your target audience that you can use to your advantage in your marketing content and campaigns. Generational and demographic-based information, in particular, can significantly influence what you create marketing-wise.
Let’s dive into marketing strategies that artists use to connect with individuals of varying demographics and generations.
You’ll likely have multiple generations in your target audience or one that makes up the majority.
Each generation has unique qualities that, if accounted for, can help you create marketing content that resonates with so many of the individuals in your target audience.
For instance, let’s say you’re marketing to a primarily Gen Z audience. Gen Zers are especially fond of social media and user-generated content (UGC). On average, they spent 3 hours a day on social media platforms in 2021.
With this in mind, social media and soliciting video and other reviews from customers to turn into UGC should be a core part of your marketing strategy.
Here are a few other things to consider when marketing to the following generations:
Demographics are characteristics and statistics within a given population. Gender, age, marital status, and occupation are among the most common demographic data points marketers consider for a target audience.
The way you market to your target audience is highly dependent on their demographic information. Or, at least, it should be. Here’s how to make certain demographic information work for you in your marketing:
Whether you want to speak to a specific generation or cater to a particular demographic in your target audience, effectively marketing to them depends largely on your ability to create community-focused content.
Brightspot defines community-focused content as “the practice of creating content focused on and for a specific community, whether that community is based on geography, background, interest areas or other demographics.”
In other words, you create content with your specific target audience’s needs, desires, and behaviors in mind at all times. You’ll attract a lot more people to your art business if you know who you’re targeting and the kind of content they like the most, and actually create it.
Of course, it’s important to leverage as much target audience information as possible when creating your overarching marketing strategy, individual campaigns, and pieces of marketing content. The generation they’re in and their demographic data give unique insights into people that make marketing success that much more attainable.
Katie Brenneman is a passionate writer specializing in in a variety of content. You can follow Katie on her on Twitter.
Many artists create because it’s their passion, and they love their work. However, there comes a time when the reality of paying bills and sustaining a comfortable life sets in.
While many artists pick up full-time jobs to cover their expenses, others are intrigued by the idea of turning their art into a business. If you’re the latter, a shift in mindset and an intense focus on marketing is necessary to make a lucrative business out of your work.
These three strategies can help you think like an entrepreneur and market your art effectively.
Understand What It Takes To Succeed
Your mindset is critical if you want to market your art successfully. When you decide to go from creating art for pleasure to making it for profit, it’s no longer always about what you like, want, or need. Instead, it becomes primarily about what potential buyers want, like, and need.
Educate yourself on the following as well:
Understanding what it takes to succeed online, in particular, is incredibly important as well.
Traditional marketing strategies are helpful. However, the business world is becoming increasingly digital. Knowing how to market, connect with customers, and run your business online is the only way to ensure you don’t get left behind. Start by studying the ever-changing nature of the digital world, the behavior of digital natives, and the importance of flexibility while marketing your art.
Understanding what success takes will help you think more like a business owner. It’ll also help you approach marketing with intent and strategy.
Lean Into Digital Marketing
As mentioned above, the world is becoming more digitally focused. This means digital marketing is a must. Without it, you won’t have as broad a reach, nor will you have as many opportunities to boost brand recognition and awareness.
Educate yourself on the basics of digital marketing first. After that, create a detailed digital marketing strategy. Include the following details:
Ultimately, your digital marketing channels should work together to give potential customers and fans a cohesive experience with your brand. It’s also essential to network relentlessly on your digital marketing channels and pursue other networking opportunities.
Network Relentlessly
Digital marketing can get any artist’s foot in the door, but networking can take you a step further. Genuine relationships with successful people in the industry can help strengthen your reputation as an artist and get the right eyes on your work.
Social media marketing is a tried-and-true strategy for artists and small businesses with a tight marketing budget. You can consistently post original content and take advantage of user-generated content from those who’ve purchased your art.
More importantly, social media is beneficial for not only increased traffic to your art website but also for networking. You can connect with other artists and partner with them to promote your work. You can join groups on these platforms and share your online portfolio, advice, and thoughts. You can spark and contribute to meaningful conversations with thought leaders, experts, and entrepreneurs in the art world.
Networking can also happen through crowdsourcing. Crowdsourcing for any business involves getting feedback, work, or information from a large group. You can ask for feedback on works-in-progress and marketing content, opening up the opportunity to connect with fans and potential buyers.
Get into crowdfunding, as well, and it’s a win-win. You get your name and art out there while raising funds to put back into marketing or another aspect of your business.
Networking can get you and your business into doors that talent alone can’t. So, don’t neglect its importance.
Conclusion
To market your art as a company would, you must first shift your mindset to mirror an executive's. Then, lean into digital marketing and network relentlessly to turn your passion for art into a profitable business.
Katie Brenneman is a passionate writer specializing in lifestyle, mental health, education, and fitness-related content. When she isn't writing, you can find her with her nose buried in a book or hiking with her dog, Charlie. To connect with Katie, you can follow her on Twitter.
by Guest Blogger, Katie Brenneman - An online portfolio is an artist’s bread and butter in this digital age. Maybe you’ve already put a lot of time and effort into building a beautiful portfolio or website showcasing your work.
However, it’s not exactly effective if no one is looking at it.
Unfortunately, you’re facing an uphill battle. Search engine algorithms will automatically skew toward more established artists. So, it’s time to step into the world of branding and marketing.
Thankfully, you don’t have to have a lot of experience in the advertising industry to make your portfolio stand out. Let’s cover a few quick tips on how you can boost your portfolio’s presence and get your work the attention it deserves.
If you already have an online portfolio, one of the easiest ways to get more visitors is to master the basics of Search Engine Optimization (SEO). You’ve likely heard of keyword searches and how important they are to getting noticed. However, there are also things you can do to optimize your site internally, including
By making your portfolio a priority, you’ll naturally boost SEO. But, if you’re still struggling to attract visitors, take the time to learn the basics when it comes to keywords and what people are searching for, and you’ll see an even bigger boost in your digital audience.
Even if you’re not a marketing pro, almost everyone is familiar with at least one social media platform. Use that to your advantage to market your portfolio.
For example, Instagram is an ideal platform for sharing photos and artwork. It’s a great place to share pieces of your work and inspire people to head to your website or portfolio for more. It’s easy to use, but make sure you’re always optimizing your photos and sharing the right sizes, or they could end up looking blurry and unprofessional.
You can also use Instagram and other social media platforms to connect with potential fans and followers. It’s a great way to spark conversation and boost word-of-mouth interest in your portfolio.
While it’s true that everything seems digital these days and you should absolutely have an online portfolio, there’s still something to be said for print media. People still like tangible things, and something as simple as a flyer with a QR code that leads back to your portfolio can be impactful and interesting. Consider leaving flyers or brochures in places like
You can also choose to work with an existing publication that caters to art lovers or even other artists. Doing so will help you hone in on your target audience and can bring your brand and portfolio to life in a way that digital can’t always capture.
Whether you’re a budding artist trying to get your name out there or you’ve enjoyed a long career but need a marketing boost, use these ideas to boost the presence of your online portfolio, and engage with those who want to support you and your work.
Katie Brenneman is a passionate writer specializing in lifestyle, mental health, education, and fitness-related content. When she isn't writing, you can find her with her nose buried in a book or hiking with her dog, Charlie. To connect with Katie, you can follow her on Twitter.
Light Space & Time Online Art Gallery (LST) is very excited to announce that they have adopted and changed their domain extension to .ART. Their website URL has been changed and it is now www.lightspacetime.art.
John R. Math, Gallery Director explains the reason for this extension change, “The .ART extension has been a long time coming for the art community and it is finally here to be used by art organizations, art museums, artists and art galleries.”
Math continues, “The .ART extension helps to immediately identify www.lightspacetime.art as a member of the art world and it now positions the LST gallery as a player in the international arts community.”
The vision of the. ART extension is to responsibly advance the art world through technology and creativity. The mission of the .ART extension is to create a global community; to build new territory on the internet that is dedicated to the world of arts and culture.
Light Space & Time Online Art Gallery would like to inform their followers to change their web browser bookmarks from the old .com extension to the new www.lightspacetime.art address.
