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Small Business Decision

The business of art is full of choices and decisions, and rarely is there a map or an instruction book. I can find things on the World Wide Web, but often the advice is contradictory, or geared toward folks who live in cities or sell in galleries. This forces me to do my own thinking, an exhausting proposition at times.

For the upcoming show on June 30, “ART: INSPIRED BY MINERAL KING”, I have been painting diligently since January. Many pieces have sold, so I just keep painting more. 

Last week I made a small decision: I am not going to show photos of the newest pieces I’ve finished on the blog. Instead, I am saving them for the actual show. Afterward, I will post them here, hopefully with a SOLD sign on them.

This is a marketing decision. Might be good, might be dumb. As my dad used to say, “Time will tell”. (I prefer “More will be revealed in the fullness of time”.)

Then what shall I show you today? How about Piper and some weird white poppies:

There are white poppies in my yard. Piper is puzzled by this.

5 Comments

  1. A smart decision, in my humble opinion. “Don’t show all your cards up front” as they say. Save something special for the show (“Come to Silver City on June 30 if you want to see my latest creations!).

    And then I will look forward to seeing photos in July of all the paintings you sold!

    (Hi, Piper!)

    • Thank you, Sharon! I never know the right way to do all these marketing configurations. (Hi Sharon, from Piper)

      • I know . . . self-marketing can be awkward. But you gotta do what you gotta do if you choose to be a self-employed artist. I think you’re doing just fine! A daily blog entry is far more than most of us accomplish!

        • Sharon, the thing that drives me nuts is that I can do all the work – posting, keeping the site current, painting, drawing, shows, lessons, presentations, but I don’t know how to get people to read, look, buy, sign up, attend, etc. No matter how much I (or the organizers of an event) publicize something, we hear, “I didn’t know about it!” or “You have a blog??” or even “You have a website?” Yikes.

          • Ah, the bane of every blogger–how to “drive traffic” to your site. There are plenty of articles on the ‘Net about that, but I think word-of-mouth and posting your blog site as part of your email signature is a good start.

            Of course, I’m not a good one to ask–I type up a prayer and praise blog for our choir every week, and out of 100 or so members, it gets maybe 5 or 6 views a week?

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