A passion for creating works of art can be harnessed as a business venture but it is important to have a good business plan to back up your entrepreneurial decisions.
Well you might argue that you’re an artist who knows very little about making plans for business. Know that there are plenty of business plan writers out there who can help you map out your ideas. They also act as consultants who can convert ideas into a set of sound approaches in running a successful art studio.
You know for a fact that artists nowadays no longer have to fully rely on art dealers to sell their works. There are now dozens of websites that offer budding artists opportunities to have their art pieces displayed in online art markets. Still, inasmuch as competition is tough especially in the art world, you need call attention to your works in an organized manner.
Use Web Technologies to Reach Your Target Market
It is now standard for artists to harness web technologies like having a website and using different social media sites as a means of reaching their target audience. You can even consider hiring SEO marketers who can help drive and or increase traffic to your website. Just to be clear, your target market is the group of consumers to whom you intend to sell your art work. Yet SEO works best for those who know their target market.
Identifying Your Target Market
Now you have to ask yourself whether you will create for yourself or for those whom you think will appreciate your art?
The ideal answer to that is both; but first you must be clear about the purpose of your art so you will have a clear perception of the kind of audience who will appreciate your artistic expressions and ideas. That way, your artwork will be valuable to you and to the people who can relate to how you artistically interpret their views.
Some may start out as fans who will like what they see on your website, on your Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook accounts, or in your YouTube videos. Other potential consumers may be people in your community who regularly visit the same places or attend the same socio-civic or public gatherings where you draw inspirations for your art work.
Create Opportunities for Selling Your Artwork
Create opportunities for converting them into consumers by engaging them in conversations of sharing and exchanging views. Extend invites for them to visit your art studio in case they live near your area, or will be visiting somewhere near your location. If they do visit, do not make them feel compelled to buy something. Let the interest to purchase, flow naturally to encourage repeat visits.
Still, it would be wise to have something in your studio that visitors will find affordable, especially for those who are truly interested in owning one of your art works. Think of this marketing strategy as a form of planting seeds of desire, since some customers will want to save so they can have one of your more expensive artworks displayed in their home or office.
Creating opportunities for your works of art may include holding workshops or tutorials, or after-class activities coordinated with public and private schools. Remember, the more you get involved with the people with whom you share the same vision and/or mission, the greater the number of potential consumers who will give value to your work.
The bottomline is that in knowing what you intend to do in order to grow your art studio, you will be able to identify actions to include as part of your business plan. That way you can divide your time between creating art projects and creating opportunities for selling them.