creative corner
Welcome artists and creative people of all kinds! This page is for those of you who are trying to make it in the arts or just love the art world. In the coming issues we'll have information for visual artists, sculptors, musicians and performing artists.
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marketing for artists: creating buyer profiles
Think of a buyer profile like a modus operandi or MO for your current and prospective customers/buyers. It is a way of identifying your niche audience so you can reach them with effective marketing.
Ask yourself these questions:
- What problems or questions do these buyers have?
- In what language do they communicate?
- What about your artwork would appeal the most to them? (theme, price point, colors, size, etc.)
- How much money do they have to spend?
- How educated are they about art?
- Are they one time buyers or long-term customers?
- What other interests do they have?
Creating buyer profiles helps you focus in on your target market through your website and:
- Write content (words) for those buyers in language they’ll understand and relate to
- Design marketing materials and visuals to appeal to those buyer profiles
- Make it easy for them to find the information they want
- Show them other options they may not have thought of
- Remove any obstacles to sale
- Give them as much information as they request
If you were a wildlife painter, for example, then your buyer profiles could be:
- existing clients
- galleries & museums that represent wildlife art
- wildlife animal lovers
- wildlife art collectors
- book publishers who need wildlife art or illustration
- environmentalists and conservationists
So think about who your main buyers/customers are. Remember one of those should always be existing clients, so you really need to come up with 3-5 profiles. Write 1-3 paragraphs on each profile. It might help to answer the questions in the beginning of this article to define what their needs are.
Every website should focus on no more than 6 profiles so site visitors will not be overwhelmed. If you do several different types of art, consider having separate websites for each major category of art you do if you end up with more than 6 buyer profiles.
5 Things To Remember When Reaching New Buyers
- Pursue your dream buyer: loyal, long-term customers that can provide you with steady income
- Always provide timely and useful information and photographs
- This is not about YOU, it is about THEM
- Find out what they want, need and value and frame your communication and contact with them accordingly
- Maintain the relationship without annoying or abandoning them (a balance between patience and persistence)
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Recommended Links
Art Books You Should Own
Oldies but goodies that should be in every artist's bookshelf:
Marketing for Artists CD
Based on Susan Lee's successful Marketing for Artists presentation, this highly informative CD can be viewed on your pc or printed. It includes the following sections:
- Marketing for Visual Artists
- Public Relations for Visual Artists
- Marketing & PR for Writers (information for published and non-published writers)
- Photoshop Tutorials
- How to Photograph Your Artwork
- Portfolio Creation and Organization (hard copies and online galleries)
- Complete clickable links to recommended instructional videos, marketing books and software
- Clickable links to artists resources on the web including grants, mailing lists, benefits for artists & more
Order your Marketing for Artists CD now for only $15 (+$5 S&H)
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