Screen Shot 2017-07-14 at 2.15.16 PMAngela was alone and isolated. Frustrated. She had been working on her art business for years without making significant forward progress. Months after making the decision to sell her art, she finally figured out how to make a sale happen, but it had taken so much energy and effort. She hadn’t had anyone to talk to about it. Many of the other artists she knew were hobbyists, or they didn’t know anything either. The few artists she knew who were doing well didn’t have time to help her.

Business coaches weren’t necessarily a great help. Many of them assumed a certain level of experience in business or sales, and it was hard to follow what they were talking about. It seemed like their suggestions just plain didn’t work in the art business.

After several years of struggle, Angela has figured out how to make sales happen, but they’re sporadic and it seems like a lot of work. She has periods of strong sales, followed by long stretches where she wonders if her art business might be over. She sees artists who have it figured out, and wonders what they know that she doesn’t know.

Does this sound familiar?

Are you like Angela, frustrated by the isolation inherent in fine art businesses?

Spending hours alone in your studio is wonderful, but it makes connecting with others a bit of a challenge. Add on other challenges, like the fact that many artists are deeply introverted, and the act of doing business can seem like an enormous challenge. Then there’s other problems: feeling like living outside the major cities is a disadvantage, small galleries going out of business, large galleries consolidating their artist base, and the way that wealthy gallerists and auctioneers seem to hold all of the power in the industry. 

The art world has almost exclusively paid attention to the artists in the Blue Chip galleries. But those artists represent just a tiny fraction of all of the artists out there. The art industry calls the lower-price point artists the “lower art market” because they don’t sell art for hundreds of thousands of dollars. But the lower art market is enormous. In 2016, over $45 billion of art was sold, and just $25 billion of that was the big galleries and auction houses. Everything else was the lower art market. That’s $20 billion that the art world is pretty much ignoring. Those sales don’t end up in the press, and when they do, its usually just a local newspaper or small magazine.

But where are those sales coming from? They are coming from the artist entrepreneurs. The individual artists who have decided that they would take control of their own destinies and learn how to run a business. They are artists who are making a living from their art on their own terms, without being told what to do by rich dealers who demand obeisance.

The point is that the numbers actually look really good for a new movement in the fine art world. The Internet has enabled once-ignored groups to band together and create change. People WANT to connect with artists who are making beautiful, creative, interesting, or challenging art. With so much mass commercialization happening, people WANT to have something original and handmade in their home.

And here’s the really devastating thing. Despite the fact that since 2007, over 25% of all art galleries have gone out of business, they’re not adapting. In 2016, according to the Hiscox art market report, more than a quarter of all galleries had no plans to adapt to the Internet. They’re either willfully blind, or they’re not paying attention. In 2016, more brick and mortar retail businesses went out of business than in the 2008 financial crisis, but at the same time, ecommerce grew by $40 billion.

Finally, artists face enormous legal challenges. In the USA, copyright law was written more than 75 years ago and attempts to update it for the Internet have failed to support solo artists. Corporations constantly steal images from artists online. Health insurance is an albatross hanging around everyone’s neck, but especially the self-employed artist who doesn’t have the benefit of group discounts in the insurance market.

How do we change all of this?

Screen Shot 2017-07-14 at 2.26.38 PMThe fine art industry is at a turning point. Every great art movement is the story of small groups of visionaries working together to change the system.

In 1867, Claude Monet saw that the fine art business was tilted against artists who were doing original, innovative work. He got together with then-unknown artists like Degas, Manet, and others to put on their own show, outside the French Academy, and it was a huge success, birthing Impressionism.

This story of artists forging their own paths has happened over and over again. From the Young British Artists, to the New York Armory show to Gertrude Stein and Picasso, artists find a way to lead into the next movement of history.

The Internet has only accelerated this process. This clustering of like minds is practically what the Internet was invented to do. From parents of special needs children, to religious minorities, to musicians, the Internet has created online communities that nurture their members and help them thrive in their niche interests.

Our Success Stories

Cory Huff and Book
I'm Cory Huff, founder of The Abundant Artist. Since 2009, TAA has helped thousands of artists learn how to sell their art. I literally wrote the book How to Sell Your Art Online, published in conjunction with Harper Collins. Because of our training programs, dozens of artists have been able to quit their day job and make art full time.

 

 

These are just a few of the artists who have worked with The Abundant Artist in the past.

  • Adam Hall
    I just had my best month ever in November making almost twelve thousand dollars in gross sales. I quit my job. The class, and the help of the Facebook group was one of the best investments I have ever made.
    Adam Hall
  • Anne Kindl
    Yes! I sent a newsletter with a call to action advertising an Open House for my new studio and classes (limited to 8 students) and had a great turn out. I sold prints, filled my classes, increased my email list and had a few prospective buyers. I also sold a painting online with the shopping cart which totally surprised me! Very pleased - this would not have happened without your help turning the social media switch on - thank you.
    Anne Kindl
  • Anita Nowinska
    I booked solo appointments for the entire 3 day weekend, and sold every single piece of art that I had. I made enough money to live on for the next six months!
    Anita Nowinska
  • Angela Treat Lyon
    I’ve made sales of originals I almost painted over because they’d sat around for sooo long. I love seeing many bucks flowing into my bank account! I’d say close to 10K from painting and sculpture sales.
    Angela Treat Lyon

Introducing The Abundant Artist Association

The next phase of TAA is partnering with artists like you to form The Abundant Artist Association. Let me explain.

TAA Association is a members-only program for professional artists who intend to make a living through their art. Our goal is to create an organization that does the following:

  • Helps artists make enough money from their art that they don’t need a day job or supplemental income

    TAA has been doing this since 2009. We have a proven education and training system that helps artists learn business basics and take the steps needed to grow their art business. Within the association, artists will participate in monthly art business challenges, designed to help you take the next step that’s necessary to grow your business.

  • Provides group health insurance and legal advice for artists

    We have partnered with a national health insurance company to provide access to group health insurance discounts. This is made possible through a business partnership that will get better the more members the Association has. Rates right now range from $395 for individual artists up to $800 per month for family plans. The more people we have on board, the better the rates will be. TAA will not be your health insurance provider. All plans will be administered through a professional portal that members will have access to after they sign up. Insurance providers include many of the country’s largest insurance providers. Rest assured these are legitimate insurance plans that we’ve worked long and hard to make sure will benefit artists. TAA is also partnering with Nonprofit Lawyers for the Arts to offer legal clinics and groups consultations over the web. NLA is a national organization that helps artists in nearly every US state.

  • Advocate with corporations to help them improve the way they source art, and cut down on art theft and copyright infringement

    Our goal is to be able to approach large corporations and say, “We represent a huge number of artists and we want to talk to you about ways you can improve your methods for sourcing art." Right now most companies do a cursory search to make sure their art sourcing is legitimate. Buyers are not trained on how to check to see if an artist has the copyright to an image. We want to help these companies be accountable and responsible. We believe that companies want to avoid legal trouble, and developing partnerships like this can only create more opportunities for artists. In the long term, the association will partner with small business lobbying organizations to work with governments to improve copyright law so that it better matches what’s needed for artists.

  • Pushes the art industry to adopt practices that favor artists

    For most galleries, it is standard practice to keep artists separated from their collectors. When galleries go away, the artists are left without a revenue source. We want to unite artists to push galleries to adopt more open practices, including sharing collector lists, more committed marketing for artists they represent, and more favorable commission splits for proven artists whose art sells well.

*Have questions about the health insurance options? We provide more details in this blog post

WHAT WILL THE ART ASSOCIATION EXPERIENCE BE LIKE?

Monthly Master Classes & Challenges so you can feel like a successful artist

Successful artists from many different media and genres will share their tips and tricks for growing their art businesses. Each month we will have a new lesson and challenge for the community to help you grow your art business. All of the challenges are optional, but designed to give you the knowledge and collaboration you need to move forward.

Access to group discounts for health insurance and legal advice so you can have peace of mind

In the USA, health insurance is very complex and expensive. We have partnered with an insurance broker to offer a group insurance portal with discounts that get better the more members are enrolled. Similar to employee plans, you must pay for your insurance, but with the TAA Association discount, it will often be cheaper than what you could get on the open market.

TAA will also be partnering with Intellectual Property lawyers to hold legal clinics for members to ask questions about copyright and other legal issues.

Collaboration with Other Artists so you can feel like your fellow artists have your back

Through our exclusive online community, you'll be able to find other artists who work in similar media, including all kinds of painting (even digital), sculpture, photography, mixed media and more. The TAA Community includes artists from every part of the world - our goal is to help you find a real friend to collaborate with in the first two months of joining.

Move the Art Industry Forward so you can be a part of something bigger than yourself

As a trade association, TAA Association will advance the interests of artists by negotiating with corporations and government agencies to create better sourcing processes and move away from the dreaded "spec work" problem. We will also work to help artists avoid the pitfalls of predatory galleries or other art businesses.

How Much Will It Cost?

Here’s the plan. This is a pre-sale launch. There’s some work to do to make all of this happen. We need to build out the membership community, create the first few challenges, and make some updates to TAA’s existing course content. We also need to pay for the insurance portal. All told, it’s probably about a month’s worth of work. We are pre-selling association memberships for one month, with the understanding that we will be live before September 2017.

FYI: Everyone who purchases now will be grandfathered in on future pricing changes. We won't be changing things on you in the future. 

What Artists Are Saying About TAA Association

Here's a small sampling of what members of TAA Association have said just in the first month. 

FAQ

Why wouldn’t I just join my local art association?

Art Associations are great, but they are almost exclusively focused on helping artists improve their artistic technique, not learning business skills. Some associations have occasional guest speakers or juried shows, but business skills and connections are not what these associations were formed to do. 

I can’t afford it!

The traditional response to this is "you can't afford not to!" I'm not going to say that, but I will say that businesses take money to make them work, and the most important investment that a business owner makes is in themselves. We believe that if you'll join us, you won't regret it. 

I’m a successful artist who doesn’t need business training. Why should I join?

You may not need the business training that we offer, but we have group health insurance discounts and industry connections you can't get anywhere else. If you have succeeded, you realize how lonely it is at the top, and we can help you connect with other successful artists. In addition, we could use your help with our industry advocacy - the voice of successful artists will only make the art industry better. 

Is this only for American artists? 

No! You can access everything in the Association, with the exception of the health insurance discounts. 

That means you can take advantage of the courses, the challenges, the community, and other opportunities. With tens of thousands of readers from all over the world reading TAA's blog, we expect to have a fair number of members from the UK, Ireland, Australia, and other English speaking countries, as well as a few from the non-English places as well (we're looking at your France and Brazil). 

Can I get more details on the health insurance? 

Sure. We wrote a blog post about it here

How to Sell Your Art Online: the Courses

101

How to Sell Your Art Online 101: Your Story

HTSYAO 101 is intended for emerging artists who are still trying to figure out how to tell their story, who their target collectors are, and what their niche is in the art world.

Here’s How it Works:

As soon as you join the course, you’ll get a series of video lessons, transcripts, workbooks, and other resources to help you create – and grow – a success online art business.

This program will give you practical advice you can implement immediately, to get your first online art sale in 30 days or less – or if you’re already making sales, this program will help you double your sales in under a month.

Whether you’re just getting started, or you’ve been selling your work for years, you’ll get the exact strategies I’ve used to help hundreds of artists kick-start their online art sales.

Included in this Course:

  • Lifetime access to the entire course
  • 5 Lesson Modules with videos, transcripts, and workbooks
  • Access to bi-monthly live coaching calls, including the opportunity to ask questions in advance.
  • A 2-month membership in The Abundant Artist Association, including access to a private online community of association members, monthly challenges, and legal assistance.
  • Exclusive bonus content including over 10 hours of recorded video and audio interviews with successful artists, access to an exclusive painting module from Scott Christensen’s best-selling ocean painting video course, access to Melissa Dinwiddie’s Great Clutterbust course, and The Abundant Artist’s printable Art Marketing Checklist.

How to Sell Your Art Online 201: Sales Funnels

201

HTSYAO 201 is intended for artists who know how to tell a good marketing story and sell their art, who want to learn how to scale their business by building automated sales processes.

Here’s How it Works:

When you join the course, you’ll get a series of video lessons, transcripts, workbooks, and other resources to help you create automated, scalable systems for your art business, so you can start making money consistently and be able to live the life you want.

Need help knowing what to do at each step? There will be a decision tree in the course that will help you decide what to do at each step of your sales funnel. For example, if you have tons of social media followers, but you’re not getting many leads, we’ll help you brainstorm a few ideas to grow your sales leads.

Included in This Course:

  • Lifetime access to the entire course
  • 4 Lesson Modules with videos, transcripts, and workbooks
  • Access to bi-monthly live coaching calls, including the opportunity to ask questions in advance.
  • A 2-month membership in The Abundant Artist Association, including access to a private online community of association members, monthly challenges, and legal assistance.
  • Exclusive bonuses, including a one-of-a-kind set of pre-written emails for marketing your art, access to Melissa Dinwiddie’s Great Clutterbust course, and The Abundant Artist’s printable Art Marketing Checklist.

How to Sell Your Art Online 301: Media & PR

301

HTSYAO 301 is intended for artists who are looking for ways to drive lots of traffic to their websites, get more attention for their art, and make more sales.

Here’s How it Works:

When you join the course, you’ll get a series of video lessons, transcripts, workbooks, and other resources to help you create automated, scalable systems for your art business, so you can make more money and have more fun talking to people about your art.

Need help knowing what to do at each step? There will be a decision tree in the course that will help you decide what to do at each step of your sales funnel. For example, if you have tons of social media followers, but you’re not getting many leads, we’ll help you brainstorm a few ideas to grow your sales leads.

Included in this Course:

  • Lifetime access to the entire course
  • 4 Lesson Modules with videos, transcripts, and workbooks
  • Access to bi-monthly live coaching calls, including the opportunity to ask questions in advance.
  • A 2-month membership in The Abundant Artist Association, including access to a private online community of association members, monthly challenges, and legal assistance.
  • Exclusive bonuses, including pitch templates for media outreach, access to Melissa Dinwiddie’s Great Clutterbust course, and The Abundant Artist’s printable Art Marketing Checklist.

Artist Websites That Sell

Artist Websites

Artist Websites that Sell is intended for up-and-coming artists who need an effective and well-designed website that matches their artistic skill and will work to sell their art.

Included in this Course:

  • Video modules that will teach you how to fascinate your collectors by creating a unique visual brand that fits you and your work.
  • A photography and copywriting crash course on what kinds of photos to get, how to craft your website copy, how to gather testimonials, and legal stuff to include on your site so you are irresistible to your collectors.
  • Guides to the best WordPress, Squarespace and Shopify templates for artists and what makes them successful and profitable.
  • Exclusive bonus content including 3 example design briefs so you can see what website research and brand design looks like, and a checklist with everything you need to remember to include in your website.
  • Access to bi-monthly live coaching calls, including the opportunity to ask questions in advance.

This course is available as either a self-study course or with the addition of 30 minutes of personalized one-on-one coaching at the beginning and the end of the course.

Facebook Marketing for Artists

cp-fbmarketing

The content of the course has been refined over four years, and is focused on the questions asked by clients of The Abundant Artist. While we do cover the basics of how to get started, the majority of the course is designed to introduce you to the powerful tools that Facebook makes available – that almost no artists are using.

By the end of the class you’ll be stuffed with ideas on running your own Facebook marketing campaign. You’ll have set up and optimized your own artist’s Facebook page. You’ll be uploading images and updating your status like a pro, you’ll be interacting with your fans and followers, and you will be able to use Facebook’s massive advertising platform to grow your business.

Your Facebook page will be a fun, interactive place for your fans and collectors to hang out. And, most importantly, you’ll be on your way to creating your thriving online art business.

Included in this Course:

  • 4 Lesson Modules with videos and full transcripts.
  • Exclusive bonus content including more than 50 example posts, ads, and more.

This course is available as either a self-study course or with the addition of an hour-long personalized one-on-one coaching session at the end of the course.