Using Your Happy Clients to Sell Your Art

by Jill Meyer | April 18, 2019

The truth is no one physically needs art. It will not keep you warm at night; it will not fill your belly when you are hungry. Art is more complex in that it feeds your psyche and surrounds you with emotional warmth. As an artist with amazing talent and beautiful pieces, how do you find your buyers? In truth, you don’t have to find all your buyers, the happy owners of your art will find them for you. Let’s look at how we get other people to sell our art.

Digging deep into the bucket of art marketing strategies we find the basic element; appealing to the raw emotions of a buyer. The light froth skimming the rim such as trendy looks, features, and frills will not convince the buyer that they need your piece of art. No one wants to be convinced and coerced let alone high-pressure or gimmick tactics. People want, for example, to feel that their life will be better just being surrounded by your artistic creations. Notice the word ‘feel’ in the previous sentence. One way to relate to your buyer is to tell them your story or the story of how you were inspired and developed a piece of art. This will connect an emotion to your piece.  Our brains engage more when we’re hearing a story and feel an emotional connection to the subject.

In Psychology today, Dr. Susan Weinschenk talks about the power of storytelling to gain the interest of whoever you’re talking to. She says, “Everyone likes stories. We like to listen to stories, read stories, watch stories (movies, TV, theatre) and tell stories. In fact, stories are our normal mode of information processing. Stories are so normal to us that we don’t even stop to think about why that is.”  She goes on to explain the telling stories activates different parts of the brain, the olfactory sensory areas, your motor cortex and even your empathy areas. By activating these areas, the audience, or potential buyers, become more engaged in what they are listening to.

The ability to make relationships and share your story with a client is essential. Finding a common ground or a similar experience will create a bond and trust. Once you’ve made that relationship, shared your story and produced an amazing piece of art for that client, they will merrily tell your story to others for you. A referral for you as an artist is monumental. Make sure you ask for it! When your customer shares images of your art, ask them to tag you! Ask for the referral just as you would ask them for a payment, it’s all part of the process.

Crafting the connection, telling your story then asking for the referral; this process will exponentially build on itself. It may start off slowly, but with consistent content, character and outreach you’ll build a client base of people that will help you grow your brand as a genuine esteemed artist. People will hear of your talents from their friends and invest in your art.

Jill Meyer is the Managing Editor of Notes on Design. A Scottsdale, Arizona resident, Jill is an artist, decorative painter, interior designer, and writer.

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