Julie R. Neidlinger: Lone Prairie Art and Writing

Marketing art.

written by Julie R. Neidlinger 1 comments link this post

I will be the first to tell you that I don't know how to sell myself.

By "myself", I mean that I don't know how to sell my art. I have lots of creative low-level ideas of how to get people's attention, but they seem to stall at creative and never get people to open up their wallet. My biggest method of selling what I make is, sadly, marking down the price. And that's not a successful way of making a living.

Basically, marketing is an unknown for me.

I've identified, over the years, reasons why my selling success is fairly low:

Personality: I don't have the personality for person-to-person pressure-type sales. I am extremely introverted and while extroverted people just shrug that off as an excuse...they really don't know that it isn't. It comes with serious hurdles. (I also don't think extroversion is the preferred personality trait in life across the board, but we'll just let that slide.)

Want: I don't like pushing people to buy something if they don't really want it. Conversely, I don't know how to make people want something. Too much hucksterism makes me feel like a liar and I despise gimmicks and perceived dishonesty in this regard.

Anti-Consumer: I have an irritating anti-consumerism streak inside of me and I hate to feed the monster of consumerism in other people just so I can sell to them.

Closed Mouth Syndrome: I absolutely am not able to talk about myself and my work in glowing terms and positive adjectives which convinces people that yes, this is what they absolutely need made by a person they can without question buy from. I can't brag on myself at all, but customers sometimes seem to need to buy from a person that exudes confidence in what they make.

Trust Issues Part 1: I know I probably need someone to do the selling for me, but I'm too stubborn to ask for help because I think I still need to solve this problem. I also don't trust people much at all, since I've had experience in the past with people who were going to "get your art into the big time" and all they really wanted was a hard copy of my portfolio for their own enjoyment, or some free art as a "sample."

Trust Issues Part 2: I've had to many experiences with shysters, people who order art or commission art or express interest or make promises, and never send the check to pay. I've been contacted by companies that promise to sell my work if I'll only pay $X to list on their web site, and nothing has come of it. It is distasteful to deal with people using up and making money off of artists without concern for the artist. I've been suckered into donating for "good causes" and seen not only no return, but more and more requests for art in which the artist is seen merely as a supplier.

Pride: I have a pride streak that doesn't want to create art for what I call "match my sofa" buyers, genre art that speaks to a specific niche. And, when I do decide that such pride is stupid, (usually when a big bill is due) I feel guilty while creating that art. Such pride is stupid.

Tastes: I have begun to wonder if my personal tastes and aesthetics are seriously off from the masses, since the art and craft items I create (that I know I would swoon over if I saw in a store) don't seem to inspire much reaction beyond a "cute." Cute does not pay bills. In fact, I often get people gushing over things I've made, but I absolutely cannot get them to go the next step, which is to buy. I wonder if they are gushing out of sincerity or if they think I need reassurance that I "can draw" which I don't need at this point in life. I know I can draw and that I make interesting things.

Summary: I can create something that people like, but I can't seem to make anyone want to buy it. That's kind of the basic problem, isn't it?

Solution?: I was emailed a link from someone who wanted to help by suggesting some art marketing books by Jack White. (Not the White Stripes singer, mind you.) These books can be found here:

Right now I do not have the $25 to purchase any of the books (highly ironic, if you think about it), and I always wonder, with my experience with buying such books in regards to writing, if the author is the success because he or she has convinced other people to buy his books. Nevertheless, the books look interesting. I'd love to hear from anyone who has read them or is familiar with their message.