This article is by Keith Bond, Regular contributing writer for FineArtViews.  You should submit an article and share your views as a guest author by clicking here.

Nearly every day, here on Fine Art Views, you are given advice and suggestions on things to further your art career. Many of you also subscribe to other newsletters and blogs which also give you marketing ideas to work on. There are also books, friends, coaches, and others that tell you to do this or that. 

Sometimes it seems overwhelming with everything you “should” do. Some of the information is even contradictory. This can often leave you frustrated. I know it often leaves me feeling that way. 

So how do you sift through all the advice and still leave time for creating your art? It can definitely be a challenge.

First, carve out time for your art. Make this a priority. You cannot market your art if you don’t have any art to market. Create. 

But what next? What about all the advice on marketing that you are receiving? Truth is, you cannot do it all. To market your work could easily be a full time job. Remember, though, you still need to create. So, that means some things must give. You must choose which things to focus on; which things take priority. This is where it gets tricky. 

How do you know which things will be best for you? What will work and what will be a waste of time? Well, sometimes it is hard to know. I have tried several things over the years. Some things that work for me, haven’t worked for friends of mine. Some things that work for them, haven’t worked for me. 

Each of you is a unique individual artist with unique artwork. There isn’t a “one size fits all” approach. It simply doesn’t exist. You must be willing to do a little trial and error to find what does work. Sometimes you need to just choose something and go for it. 

Here are a few things to consider while deciding where to start (the list is in no particular order and definitely not a complete list – just ideas to get you thinking).

1.    How expensive is the marketing idea?

2.    How much commitment is required for this idea (time, money, energy, and other resources)?

3.    What is the best case scenario if you do this idea?

4.    What is the worst case scenario?

5.    Can someone else do it for you?

6.    How has this idea worked for others?

7.    How has it failed for others?

8.    Does it make sense for your art? 

9.    Does it reach your potential collector base?

10. Does the idea attract new clients or does it nurture existing clients? Or both?

11. Is it really worth trying?

Remember, this isn’t a complete list. Some marketing ideas are small. Some are big. Many marketing ideas require dedication and time. You usually cannot expect immediate results. Are you willing to stick it out with that idea for a while? 

I cannot tell you which ideas to try. But, I can encourage you to make marketing a priority (right behind creating your work). Being an artist requires certain sacrifices. I am willing to spend a fair amount of time on marketing to ensure that I can continue creating art. It beats not doing any art at all.

As I mentioned earlier, sometimes you have to just pick something and do it. I also mentioned earlier to carve out art time for you. As you do that, carve out art marketing time also. Whether you work on it a few minutes a day, or a bit longer, once or twice a week; do something. 

Your challenge for this week is to identify one thing you can do to promote your art. It can be a newsletter, sending a thank you note, sending a press release, making that follow up phone call, updating your website, rewriting your bio, organizing your mailing list (then using it), ordering postcards of your work, etc. Just do something! 

What are you going to try this week? 

Best Wishes,

Keith Bond