When you’re expecting guests in your home, you suddenly become keenly aware of dirt, dust, peeling paint, musty odors, and worn furniture. Your prospective art buyers deserve no less consideration. What impressions will they get when they call, write, come into your gallery or booth at an art fair, or when they visit your website?
Most artists will begin defining their relationship with their prospective collectors before they ever meet. This relationship begins when someone reads your brochure, your email, your printed stationery (letterhead, business cards) or visits your website or blog.
Take a look at your marketing materials. Are they professional-quality with an attractive logo that is used consistently across all your materials for branding purposes?
Are they clear and easy to read?
Can your potential collector look at them and understand quickly what media you work in, what your unique vision is, how to see more of your work, and how to get in touch with you?
Have you made it easy for someone to contact you by offering both your phone number and email address?
Do you offer an easy way to obtain more information, such as an opt-in box on your website allowing them to subscribe to a blog or newsletter?
Is there a photo of you on your brochure or website, and something about your personal life that will help them decide if they want to know you better?
The things that potential collectors hear and see about you, before even buying something, can provide fertile soil for the after-sale cultivation of that relationship, or they can create a barrier that has to be overcome before a sale can even be made.
You only get one chance to make a first impression. Make sure that your branding is in place and that your marketing materials and website are polished and professional.
Your information will NEVER be shared or sold!
