I have been reading the "Are there any good shows out there" and the latest about awards. While I agree that many shows are down and that judging is, many times, highly subjective and suspicious, I wanted to add a few words regarding the shows. One problem I have seen is that promoters are not doing their job real well. It is not that they do not advertise, although that is certainly true in many cases, it is that they do not target the advertising to the artists in the show. I have done two shows recently, by promotoers with over 20 years experience each and are well known, where the the Best in Show awardees (rightly derserved) have sold nothing. I have also seen very qualified artists getting skunked because of the crowd wanting lower end goods.
A promotoer, IMHO, has to target the audience to the artists. While every promoter wants to have high caliber artists, if the crowd is not a high caliber artists crowd then it does no one anygood. After all Target does not carry Patek Piliipe watches because their customers either cannot afford a $100,000+ watch or do not want them. It is the same for a promoter. They have to match their artsists to the crowd they advertise to. That is where most promoters fall down. They simply advertise and do not do their homwork and target the audience. This hurts both the show and the artists in the show. The demographics of audiences have changed and the advertising that was successful 20 years ago, or even 10 years ago, must now be refined and rethought.
I aslo think it is up to us, as artists, to ask questions of promoters such as "What is demographics of your targeted audience?" and "Does my art jive with the buying habits of this show?" We may not get answers but this might let promoters know that things have changed.
Comments
Wouldn't it be nice if there was a place we could go to find out what kind of art an area likes? Last year I did Butchertown in Louisville. I researched it. It was an up-an-coming area close to downtown, with people who had disposable income. It was a beautiful area, and the show was very nice. Except that nobody was buying art. They were all buying food and beer. You can research the demographics, but it doesn't give you the whole story. It seems to be all trial and error to me, and more on the error side sadly.
I just watched your video, that was very nice. However, I may be a Debbie Downer, but I really don't think in this area it would make one bit of difference for any artist. They would get their friends saying they saw them, but no sales like what happened for you. I have donated to many many organizations for their fund raising, and not one single sale as a result. I think part of why I don't have wonderful sales is the type of jewelry I make. I know it has a very select buyer. However, I have been in the black for many years, and have taken my family on a few trips with the money I made. It just isn't what I want it to be. I won't bore anyone reading this with all the things I have tried to get into new markets, but some work, some don't. I think it was Churchill who said nothing is more important than persistence. I had my work on Law and Order CI once for about 30 seconds, and I let anyone who would listen know about it for at least a year, not one sale as a result. Yes, it is on my website, www.roxylentz.com
Regarding shows to showcase your art . I made a few phone calls to find out who the program directors were. When I spoke with them I explained that I did something totally unique that might appeal to a broad sector of people . In all cases , they wanted to see my web site first.
According to the people at Channel 3 in Conn, , they loved my site due to the ease of exploring it . I can take zero credit for that. My son-in-law set it up and he is really good. They went on to explain that they visit many sites , looking for interesting creations and interesting people and they give up due to the poor web site and the difficulty surfing them . point being , if you are serious about your art, be serious about your site .
My last spot on TV was in March on a Wednesday , between Wed .afternoon at 4:00 till close of business on Sunday at the Old Deerfield show in West Springfield , Mass., that 3 to 5 minute spot netted me several thousand dollars of immediate sales , not including later commissions of which there were about 6 within a week of the show . One of which was another thousand dollar piece .You can click on my site at burntofferingsart.com and click on the Better Connecticut logo to see the segment and determine for yourself if it is worth the time to try something new .
I have an artist and his artist wife from Florida I stay in contact with via email and Facebook . I am humbled indeed that they communicate with me as his works usually start at around $20,000 and up for originals , Plainly said , he claims any serious artist should devote at least 50% of their time to marketing . Actually, his specific words were that there are a lot of artists out there who make junk, but, they know how to market, and they sell the junk ,while very talented artists do not market very fine , very skilled works , and sell very little.
How about donating to specific causes to get your name out there ? If anyone is interested , I'll tell you which ones my wife and I donate works to and what happens .
Nice info, John. I did Mystic for the first time this year and wondered as to the low traffic on my street- I was on Holmes. I assume much of it was due to the horribly hot weather?
I came from central PA and had done Guildford in 2015 and was satisfied with it.
Last year I did a show in NY state that I do off and on. Indoors. I did not like my spot, but that was the best they could do for me, I guess. I was told that my work had been featured in a spot the show had on their local TV, and I was convinced that it helped people find me- and purchase.
So I find your info on TV spots interesting.
I am glad those spots worked for you. I am not sure our local TV station would give me those times, the morning spot was with a small group, and organized by an organization we agreed to donate to, if they helped us promote. Yes, it is easy to find the income of a city you want to do a show in, but harder to find out what they will buy. I have heard more than one jewelry artist say to never do a show in a high income area, because those women do not buy art jewelry, they buy high end gold and diamonds. There is no way to find that out by income data. I make jewelry that appeals to a certain type of woman, I know who they are, but I don't know where they are. I think the trouble is that, they are few and far between, and I would rather quit than make jewelry to appeal to a wide market, and I can't afford to go to New York for a few weeks, where I know those women are, trying to find them.
I will add an example, a friend of mine who lives in Vermont, makes beautiful enamel jewelry, she came to my area, and did the St James art fair, and barely made expense. It is a huge art fair, very well attended, not a poor area, demographics would not have been able to tell her that, but if the jury had been honest, they could have. I could add more and more to support this, but that is the fact, this area wants traditional safe art. I do this show because I live here, and have a few fans who will look for me, but otherwise, I wouldn't.
To address your Comments Roxy, I was on at 12;00 noon 3 times and the other two times at 3:00 P.M. The specifics are as follows: from the 12;00 noon spots was an average of 4,400 hits on the website . those are not my findings , they are those of my web host. The 3:00 P.M. spot was the best overall with excellent sales, commissions and long term residuals . Those 3 PM 'ers really bought and many came to subsequent shows . Regarding demographics , Every artist can check on those via computer to see what the medium income is for any town . By the way, I do not believe in luck . I believe when we succeed it is because of desire, skill and analysis combined with opportunity .
I have a comment on a few things. One, yes, the promoters know their demographic, and they need to own it. The artists may not know the demographic, but the promoters should, and not accept quality work they know won't sell. I have done TV promo, usually at 6am, and it resulted in absolutely nothing, because the only people watching were people who never buy. You are lucky it worked for you.
Sad to say, most promoters do not have a view of success. They are in it for the money . I preface my comments with the word, " most " . There are a good number of promoters out there who really want the artist to be successful and come back to multiple shows , and succeed . They advertise via TV , radio, Billboard, and email blasts as well as giving out postcards to the participating vendors . I know one promoter from Conn. who advertised extensively and the show was still slow. She offered rebates to the participating artists for upcoming shows.
Truth be told, the burden of getting in a successful show many times depends on our asking the promoter pointed questions such as ,: What was your traffic last year ? Do you know what average sales were for your vendors? What was the average sale ? Which medium was most successful ? What is the median income of the area . Do you really jury and kick out the crap resale junk, or do you tolerate it , thereby devaluating the show ?
Do you as an artist track your business? I have 25 years of detail per show, such as cost, weather , driving miles , Hotel costs , meals , Misc. expense , after which I track sales by the hour . and where the customer is from ( I get addresses and emails ) . I also send a personal "Thank you "card to each and every customer who buys from me . I track what they bought and where .
Let me give you some helpful stats that might aid you in getting good shows . First off .....This is an election year , and I can show proof positive that every four years , sales are way off in fine art till after the election by as much as 30% . I , and 4 of my artist friends have tracked this info. for 25 years . hard to dispute when all 5 of us come within 2 percentage points of each other on the stats .
Know your economic quirks , for example, I live in Connecticut . We have a 6.35% sales tax . Rhode Island has none on fine art . I did a show in Westerly R.I in June , it is right on the Conn. Border . My first 8 sales were from people from Conn. One of my biggest shows on the year is in Scituate R.I. , about 10 miles away from Northeastern , Conn. . Again , 8 out of the first 10 sales were from Conn. residents .Where do you think I do most of my shows ? same thing with New Hampshire . No sales tax. I do several large shows up there each year , and if you go out into the parking lot to check license plates , you see mostly out of staters .
Know your demographic !!! then pick the show after careful questioning . be aware of outside changes to existing shows . A good example is Mystic, Ct. One of the oldest and historically best shows in Conn. For the last two years , the church on the main street by the show has offered cut rate prices for their parking lot with no jurying and they accept anything for the show including resale and junk .
Here is the catch !!! they place a ton of signs on the roads directing potential customers to the church show , there by cutting into the Fine Art show . I have had many old customers tell me the show is going downhill due to the "crap " sold at the other venue . Crap is their word, not mine .
That leads into my next point . Advertizing !!! Ask what method of advertising the show will employ . It is your right . ask other vendors who have been there before if they are happy with the promotion . I'm going to give you a good example of hoiw advertising works . I did a show on TV in March on a Wednesday ( THis is not about me , it is about advertising ) . Within 15 minutes of my leaving the TV studio , I had 3 calls resulting in 6 sales . When I got home I had an email from a gallery who got a call from a high end customer from Nantucket who wanted to purchase several pieces of my work. I did a show that Sat and Sun, in Mass ., when I got inundated with people who saw the show and they bought . ( 15 works ) .
My point is, " push the promoters to advertise and follow up ". Truth be told , we are mostly responsible for what we sell . remember those "Thank you cards I mentioned ? . Well, I also track who bought what , and where . When I complete a new work , I take a 5 x 7 glossy photo of the new piece and look to see who bought something like it in the past year , and I write them a card, enclosing the photo and tell them I was just thinking this might be a nice companion piece for their last purchase .
Now, think about it , would you be pleased to know a salesperson or verdor remembered you by name and what you bought ? We all like to feel important . Those cards net me a 61% return . For every card sent , 6 buy or they order a custom piece . Those repeat customers are our best buyers .
Don't just blame the promoters . Look unto thyself . Ultimately, we are the only ones who control our sales . We make conscious choices . Some fail and some succeed , but ..... Learn and always keep learning and analyzing . remember the definition of insanity ..........Doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result . Don't get caught up in that downward spiral .......................
Totally correct, John, and then when the show attracts the wrong crowd for the work that is being displayed, not only does that crowd not come back next year, neither do the quality exhibitors. That is why show reviews are so important for artists so they know what they are signing up for. You sit/stand/sleep at a show because nothing is happening when you know there are places where your work will sell. When no one comes into the booth you know you are in the wrong place.
We sold handcolored black and white photos -- did they sell everywhere? No. They worked best in the North, or in southern markets where there were visitors from the Northeast and other larger cities.
Does the promoter just want the bodies to be there or does she/he have a broader view of success?