Selling Fine Art Prints and Marketing - tips from the Pros

Another week and another dive into the business of art. I’ve traveled down many rabbit trails and a few rhinoceros trails lately and picked up several treasures along the way.

The first teacher I sat under is Tracy Lizotte who runs Tracy Lizotte Studios. I watched one of her videos called, “How to Sell Fine Art Prints in 2024.” Here are my notes on her suggestions with my comments in italics.

1. Sell standard sized prints – this makes sense and I assume she means 8x10, 11x14, etc. So far, I have mainly used the size of the canvases that I have been able to find second hand and haven’t paid a lot of attention to dimensions.

2. Open versus limited edition prints (discontinue those that are not selling) – I have considered this, but didn’t want to box myself in. The logic here is that people will want something that is in short supply or at the very least they will feel some urgency about purchasing.

3. Create new prints that go with old ones – I think this is to encourage people to purchase sets. You are, in essence, creating a collection.

4. Don’t make prints of smaller (less expensive) art pieces

5. Limited edition prints – Hmm…I have this listed separately but it sounds like a repeat of #2

6. Print on Demand – this is what I have done with Pictorem and has the advantage of no initial outlay of money. They only print what someone orders. More on this under a later topic.

My next teacher this week was Sergio Gomez and, although his videos are long, they are filled with some good information. I watched several of his videos and have others saved to watch later. Here are some points he made that resonated with me from “4 Mistakes Why Your Art Prints are not Selling:”

1. Not defining your target audience – I have thought about this before a little, especially in terms of my originals, but this is the first time I was challenged to articulate it. I’ve decided that my originals are targeted at serious collectors who appreciate the uniqueness of my medium.

2. Poor quality or presentation – I am pretty sure that Pictorem’s quality is excellent but, just to be sure, I have ordered a stretched canvas print of my mosaic, “Yellow Sunflower,” to assess it for myself. 

3. Ineffective Price Strategy – this refers back to the idea of limited editions and no sense of urgency.

4. Poor Marketing Strategy – yes! My weak point. He encourages reposts since only about 20% of followers see a post. Maybe change it up a bit. He also encourages a build up to a new release to get people excited and anticipating it. I think I could do this when finishing up a mosaic – just take a photo of a corner or minor detail.

The next video I watched from Gomez was “How to Market Your Art Like a Pro.” Here are some main points:

1. Develop a unique brand; describe your work in 3 words, 3 values that describe what you do; what inspires you? – this challenges me and is one I am going to pursue further in another video of his called “How to Write an Artist Statement That Stands Out.”

2. Build a strong online presence; bottom line – make it easy for people to find you; have a presence on ALL of them but focus primarily on one – again, I am challenged because I have steered away from some out of distaste (TikTok, etc.). I have also let my business FB account lie fallow and I am considering looking into revamping it. I had a real-life example this week of why I should do this:

   1. I found a FB page that focuses on Mosaic Creations so I followed it and posted one of my pieces.

   2. Not only did I get a ton of questions and positive comments, I noticed that even though I posted it through my personal FB account, my business FB had quite a few visitors. People were looking for me! That’s exciting!

3. Participate; in shows. Say yes to opportunities (show up) – I’m trying but need to work on this. One needs to consider costs. For example, I paid $75 to join a local arts group to be eligible for a juried show. I was selected but the date for the show is November, which is after my membership expires. So the total cost of that show for me to enter is $150. I know, even if I don’t sell anything, I am getting known so I have to believe it is worth it.

4. Collaborate; with other artists of all kinds (music, dance, etc.); with businesses – definitely something to consider and be creative with.

5. Offer merchandise for those who can’t afford your bigger pieces – this has me researching other print-on-demand providers for things like mugs, clothing, postcards, phone cases, etc. I like the idea but don’t want to invest in these items up front and want to ensure quality.

6. Connect with People; network, be polite and follow-up – I have no trouble with polite but engaging and follow-up could use work.

I did watch one more video from Gomez (hard to stop since his topics are so relevant to what I need to learn). This one was called “Unveiling the Secret: How to find your Art Collectors.”

Spoiler alert: if you want to watch the whole video, don’t read further.

He uses a triangle pyramid to describe 3 types of collectors: serious, moderate and casual. After describing each in detail, he says that the bottom line is that you can’t find them, you just need to make it easy for them to find you.

This relates back to making sure you have a presence online which I will continue to work on.

So much food for thought and avenues to pursue … do your art and prosper my friends!