Networking Via Guest Interviews

Recently I interviewed a dear friend and fellow blogger, Jennifer at Plushpussycat. about her adorable greeting cards and marketing tips.  

I really wanted to share another persons perspective on how to get started marketing their art on greeting cards.  It's such a rewarding process and perfect for those who are new to marketing.

What I didn't know when I wrote that post was how far reaching it would be and the reciprocal effects it would have on my own blog!  I have gained new followers and many page views - thank you!  

I guess it boils down to the power of networking.  If we are sincere about wanting to share our own strategies for success and also willing to invite our associates to share their strategies, then I believe we create a win-win situation.

The power of the guest interview is underestimated.  Two or more people putting their heads together and sharing twice as much information to an even greater audience.  Besides the new friends you make! 
Doesn't get much better than that.

My first post on marketing for beginners is here , and the interview is here .

Art Marketing Guest Interview

As a follow up to my post Art Marketing for Beginners , I was graciously allowed to interview my dear friend and blogger, Jennifer Rydell at Plushpussycat .  I asked Jennifer to tell us a little about herself, her product and how she is marketing them.  I think you will find this quite inspiring!

http://www.plushpussycat.com/

1)  Please tell us a little about yourself and what you do at Plushpussycat . 

Hi! I create whimsical photo stories, and greeting cards from them, using my own handmade plush characters, recycled and repurposed materials, and dollhouse miniatures. I also make miniatures and am working on several dollhouse projects.

2)  Why did you decide to create greeting cards from your photo stories?

I was making these little scenes, taking photos of them, and putting the stories on my blog. I printed some favorite photos on business cards, and within a few days time I'd had two people tell me that specific photos would make wonderful greeting cards. I took it as a sign and just went for it! I had my first greeting cards printed not long after that.

3)  How do you create the scenes for your cards?

First there's an idea that gets in my head and just won't go away! I start imagining characters, gathering supplies, and refining my ideas. Finally, a certain mood will strike me and I set up the scene and start taking photos. Sometimes I get just what I want the first time, and sometimes it takes days of photo shoots to get what I want. It may be months from initial idea to final product.

4)  How did you go about marketing your cards?

I started out blogging about what I was doing and gained a precious, dedicated following. I added an Etsy shop, a Facebook Page, and Twitter and Google+ accounts. I post regularly to all of the above, plus I frequently hold blog giveaways. I also give out my business cards, which have my images on them. The last business card I gave out helped me land my first brick and mortar location (a lovely bookstore called Green Bean Books) for selling my cards. I was also asked to do a diorama at Green Bean, which should hopefully introduce more people to my work. 

5)  What advice would you give someone who is just starting to market their cards?

Believe in yourself! Do what you love to do, and share about it with others. Start a blog--you can make wonderful friends, and it can open your world in so many ways!   


I found Jennifer's words and advice very inspiring, didn't you?  Please visit Jennifer's blog at Plushpussycat and see the wonderful images and stories she has been creating - as well as links to her sales venues.

Information Overload

Ever arrive at a moment in your business as an artist when you hit a wall?  When you ask yourself career altering questions like "Why am I here?".  Reality staring you in the face with hard data like lack of sales, little return on the investment in social media exposure, leading you to seriously contemplate dropping the art all together?

I'm an information junkie, a compulsive researcher, so I'm always reading and listening to experts on marketing.

Yesterday I hit a wall.  My head was swimming in self doubt.  Is it my marketing?  Is it the economy?  Or worse, is it my art?

This morning it hit me - the aha moment - I have been here before.  This is what I call the saturation point.  I can assimilate no more information, nor can I effectively move forward.  I need to stop, take a deep breath and take a break.

Ultimately the best thing we can do at this juncture is to distract ourselves with a totally unrelated activity.  This is when I am most grateful for my day job, which is quite unlike my art business.

Go for a walk, a bike ride, a drive or shopping trip.  Just step back and let the dust settle.

Look at the depressing life of Van Gogh, or the many changes that Picasso went through.  All artists struggle in some way or another.  It may be the nature of creativity.

After these comparisons my optimism will return, theorizing that perhaps I am ahead of my time, or maybe I'm just not marketing to the right audience.

More importantly, just recognizing information overload when I see it, and halting all other fatalistic thinking, will set me aright.

I am grateful for the sign, and give in to the invitation to slow down, regroup, detach and take a new perspective. 

I welcome your thoughts or tips on this subject.

Art Marketing for Beginners

There are a million websites and books out there on marketing art, so I am going to focus on only one avenue for beginners from my own experience.

Producing your art on greeting cards

This is where I made the biggest impact with my photography about twenty years ago.  Actually, I wasn't even going to do it because it seemed the market was already saturated with amazing art cards.  It was the supportive words of a dear friend who said each of us are unique in what we have to offer, "your work is unlike anyone else".  That was the confidence boost I needed.

Where to start

After many hours of research, books, interviews, trial and error, I decided to do it myself.  Armed with only a Windows 98 operating system and an Epson photo printer, I began printing out all of my best photographic images on quality Epson paper.

I decided on the Strathmore acid free photo-mount card stock, with matching envelope.

I added personalization by hand signing each image and adding a label on the back of the card with my contact information.

The final touch was a clear cellophane sleeve to place them in protecting the image.

The result was a 4x6 photo on a 5x7 card that could easily be framed!  Wa-la!  Affordable art.

Cost breakdown

My cost per card was around $1.50 including the use of ink.  These could retail from $3.95 up.  Cards now retail for $4.99 and up.

Pay close attention to your costs.  Include everything from the ink (if you are doing it yourself) to the shipping charge on your supplies you order.  Take your "total" cost and then break it down per card, this is your real cost. 

Your calling card

Reproducing your art on greeting cards is a terrific way to market your art.  It's affordable to produce, and it's a great way to get yourself out there.

Retail gift shops, book stores, and galleries will often purchase your cards wholesale or consign them for a commission.

To further market your art using these cards, you can give them as gifts, donate them to causes, or leave them as samples with prospective clients.

Press printed products

Also known as print on demand (POD).

Nowadays it has become much more affordable to order your cards from professional printing companies online.  They are competitive with their prices and paper options, so it's worth it to shop around.  You can do a Google search for professional printing, or professional photo printing services.  I've also included some links below.

Your professional image

Some of you may cringe at the idea of putting your fine art on a greeting card - as if it were demeaning your talent.  Don't go there, look at it as a way to share your art with an even larger audience.  There are art lovers out there who cannot afford original works of art who would treasure it on a greeting card.  Personally I collect art on cards because I know so many artists and couldn't possibly find enough room on my walls for it all!

Original Art

If you are a painter or sculptor you'll need to first photograph your art.  Again, there is a lot of helpful information on the internet that can assist you in doing it yourself.  Maybe you could trade work with a photographer friend.  I once traded my photographic services with an artist friend and obtained some fabulous art.

Recommendations

I use Bay Photo for most of my printing needs.  A friend of mine uses Moo  .

I love the card stock and printing quality at Fine Art America , which is also a terrific hosting site for artists.

I have also heard good things about Nations Photo Lab .

Try out a few and see how you like their quality and service.  Most of them will send you paper samples.

There are also sites like Zazzle . CafePress , and ImageKind that you can join and put your images on any number of products!

Be your own agent

Gathering the courage to take your greeting cards to that first gift shop may seem daunting.  You have to start somewhere, so if it seems too scary to start with a cold call, perhaps start with a shop where you know the owner, or use a friends referral.

I guarantee you that once you take those first few steps you will gain confidence in obtaining new accounts, as well as finding joy in the process and making new friends!

It's business

Selling your art can become a business.  From greeting cards you can expand in to prints and products.

So keep good records!  Document your purchases of supplies down to the pencil (expenses).  Document your sales (income), and your mileage to and from anywhere that has anything to do with your art.  Note the dates for these transactions, and list in detail what transpired (description).  Excel is a great program for this.

If you keep good records it will save you headaches down the road.

I welcome your comments or questions on this topic.  Let me know what companies you enjoy working with, or additional tips.

Good luck in your adventure!

Sunflowers in December!

I am happy to announce the new Girasole Print page is now up! 

After having spent most of the day setting it up, listing the sizes and prices, then adding PayPal buttons, it is operational!

You can visit there now by clicking here .

I love this part of the process - offering a fun and unique item for my friends and fans, and at great prices!

These images are all professionally printed from a reliable company I have been using for over four years.  They do superb work and ship fast!

I am offering these to you the old fashioned way:  you order, I ship.  I am a one person operation.  I will hand sign all the images and pack them especially for you.

While I still use and enjoy the print on demand companies, I feel the need to return to a more personalized service, a service where I can provide the attention to quality and detail.  I want to get to know my customers, because really, they become friends after a while.

These images are available as glossy prints, mounted on 2mm styrene, or on aluminum, in sizes ranging from 5x5 to 20x20.  Details are on the page Girasole Prints .

Girasole has been a best seller image for me since it's creation in 2006.  I've been told it just makes people feel good, and that's what my art is really all about.  If I can create a little happiness then I have done my part here.

Visit the page here and take home a little happiness.  From me to you.

New Plans for the New Year!

I have emerged from my meditations and marketing courses and books with a new vision!  2012 will be the beginning of a new trend in marketing for me, perhaps in creativity as well. 

I am beginning 2012 with four new series of limited edition prints.  I know you photographers gasp when thinking of "limiting" anything we do, but alas, I feel the time has come.  When they sell out, I will just have to create something new! 

I am limiting these to 100 per image, any size.  I know, risky, but what fun!  Of course I may also be laughing at the end of the year when some of them don't sell, but that's the fun of it I think.  Everyone likes something different, and I am always intrigued at what my public likes.

So I will be getting these up sometime in January, available only here on the blog, so stay tuned.  I first need to get the Girasole page up, which is coming,  am just waiting for a few new prints to arrive so I can photograph them.

Meanwhile, you can still purchase greeting cards of the limited edition prints on my site at Fine Art America, www.jenigray.com .

The series are:  1) The New World.  2) Pop Series.  3) Looking Glass Series  4) 2012 Series.

Have a terrific holiday everyone and a successful new year!

Art & Photography Part II

Upon further reflection from my first post on this subject, I have more to say about this.
 I'm thinking the mediums need sub-mediums.  Let's explore them just in photography.

At one point I was calling my work Evolution Medium while I was creating the 2012 Series.

These images literally evolved from my original photographs.  I would add color, effects, more color, more effects, until I got something I really liked.  Perhaps it was the dark days of winter that lead me to this, but the end result was a collection of light and color that intrigued me.

Another project I created was The New World series.  In these I would keep as much of the original image as I could so it would be recognizable to some degree by the viewer, then I just added distortion effects.
Like this one:

The scenes are realistic but they still have movement.

A good picture is just a pretty scene until you overhaul it.  Having said that, many viewers prefer a pretty scene, and there are some amazing ones out there!

So maybe that pretty landscape is realism and the tweaked post production is abstract; creating the art after the image.

So what do we call these new mediums?  And who are we, the ones creating it?  Are we artist-photographers, or photography-artists?  Are we digital artists?  Or post production artists?  Edit-artists????  I welcome some feedback on these ideas or if you have found yourself in a similar quandary..