FINDING YOUR "Ideal Buyer" and BETTY BOOP ROSES

BETTY BOOP ROSES
By Sea Dean
Ready to Hang
"6 x 4" 140 lb Strathmore
Dry Mounted on 2 cm Expresso Block
$50

To view my online Gallery of originals please visit Daily Paintworks
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This is another of my favourite paintings. Betty Boop is the name of the rose and it is acrylic outlined in india ink. I would love to find the ideal buyer for this lovely piece.

FINDING YOUR "IDEAL BUYER"

It's that time of year again when the rush of the holidays is over and sales and commissions are a bit slack. I usually assess my business in January, but with the Leslie Saeta 30 paintings in 30 days challenge and my own 30 day ART PARTY, I just didn't have a spare moment.

2013 was a pretty good year. I identified markets for my small works and gained some regular collectors. Thank you so much (you know who your are) :) I found niches for my PAINT A MASTERPIECE classes and developed some new ideas for mini classes. I established my blog and created regular readership. http://www.paintamasterpiece.blogspot.com I strengthened the membership of my Facebook Group GET YOUR ART OUT THERE. And I spent masses of time studying the technique of past masters and top selling contemporary artists.

2014 was more challenging. I've lost three bricks and mortar galleries, one through death of the owner and two more simply closed their doors. My internet sales were slower, but I continue to find new customers around the world. Every year more baby boomers retire and find time to paint which is great for classes, not so good for marketing art.
 
As I assess my Art business, I know I need to get a clearer picture of my market and my ideal buyer. This will help me use time wisely and focus my style. I read a blog recently about branding and an important area of branding is being very specific about your buyer. 

1. If you have regular customers this is the place to start. Send an email to your contact list asking them how they found you and what it was about your work that appealed to them. It's great to get to know your buyers better.

2. Every Artist will appeal to a slightly different audience. If your work is attracting females over 60 that live alone, don't own a cell phone and use the computer only to check emails, the marketing techniques that appeal to a highly social young male professional with all the latest gizmos will not work. 

3. Every Artist dreams of corporate collectors and sales of $10,000 plus, but that may not be who their work appeals to ... selling many $500 works to a different group may be the way to go.

EXERCISE - Look carefully at your work, with as detached a viewpoint as possible. Imagine someone walking away with it all parceled up and grinning from ear to ear. Being as specific as you can, describe the customer. This works best if you give them a name. It's not enough to say my market is females 40 - 60 years old, living in the suburbs. Ask a friend for help. (And for those of you that are in different occupations, try applying this to your own work or your dating experience).

"My ideal patron drives a Porche. He owns a comfortable and stylish townhouse in a fashionable part of Philadelphia. He has sleek new offices in the city with a select group of dedicated staff. On the weekends he goes sailing with friends and several times a year he indulges his passion for adventure travel and luxury spas. He is 58 years old, divorced, with no pets or children. He wears tailor made suits to the office and quality casual wear on the weekend. He sponsors a handful of well chosen charities and has a self managed investment portfolio. He likes to encourage Artists, considering himself knowledgeable in the field and his art collection is stunning."
 
Sorry I got carried away, I'm actually describing my perfect partner, but you get the picture.
Let me know how you get on. I'd be interested in who your perfect client is. 


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