Note from Cory: from time to time I get pitched guest posts for things that are completely out of alignment with what works in the Fine Art world. In many instances I reject those posts because they’re not relevant. Sometimes, however, a post like this one comes along. Pay What You Will pricing is controversial, and few people in the high-end art world have tried it – but Tom makes a great case here for experimenting with PWYW. I’d recommend giving it a thorough read-through.
Before I get started, a quick disclaimer:
What I’m about to tell you is unconventional.
It’s probably contrary to what you’ve been taught your whole life.
And it may make you feel uncomfortable…
Because of that, many people won’t like these techniques. I get that. And you’ll get no hard feelings from me.
But for the few who have the guts to try these techniques, I promise you this: not only will you absolutely destroy your prior sales and revenue numbers, you’ll impact and delight your customers like never before…
IF you do it right.
And I’m going to show you how.
But first, a little background on how I got started sharing my work and making a profit.
My First Experiment With Giving Away My Art (and making a profit)
I started publishing (writing publicly) online toward the end of 2012.
I started with a small, simple blog and I wrote to one person: me.
I never thought it would go anywhere. I figured the blog space was already supersaturated with people writing on creativity, business, and marketing. On more than one occasion I felt unoriginal – like a fraud.
I kept writing, though, because it wasn’t for other people – it was for me.
Surprisingly, people started noticing. More surprisingly, people started subscribing.
They wanted to hear from me.
In February of 2013, after writing dozens of free essays for my blog, producing a free podcast, and writing and giving away a book and several guides (all free), I was finally ready for something more than thanks and praise from readers – I wanted REAL validation.
Of course, real validation only occurs with an exchange of money (anybody will take a free sample – but how many people buy the whole Frappuccino?).
This meant I would have to charge for my new book…
But I didn’t want to charge.
Not because I didn’t see value in what I was doing (I did), nor because I was too scared to charge (okay, a little bit), but because I believe in helping those who don’t have the means to help themselves.
The last thing I wanted to do was charge money and neglect the few (but infinitely important) people who couldn’t afford it.
I was at a crossroads.
What do I do?
Give it away for free and never receive validation for my work (nor make a living from my art), or charge and get validation for my work (but at the expense of those who can’t afford it)…
Results From a Pay What You Want Offer
In the end, I decided to do both:
I gave my book away AND I accepted payments.
But I never put a minimum on it, nor did I force people to pay up in some other way, shape or form.
If they wanted it, they could download my book for free. Or they could contribute to my creative work (anything from buying me a cup of coffee to treating me to a nice steak dinner).
Truth be told: I didn’t expect to make more than a few pity-dollars from this offer.
So what ended up happening?
With a subscriber list of 166 happy readers, I made almost $500 in the first month.
From a book that I gave away for free.
And Another…100 More Examples
I know what you’re thinking:
But that’s just one example. And I’m a [pick one: high end painter / illustrator / artist / designer], no way this will work for me…
I thought the same thing after my initial results.
It had to be an anomaly. No way this stuff works like on a broader scale, otherwise more people would use it.
So I started researching…
And I discovered hundreds of successful Pay What You Want offers (from artists to game makers to restaurants) that were making WAY more than I ever did, like:
- Zac Gorman, artist and illustrator who’s Pay What You Want Magical Game Time Volume 1 made him thousands
- Bridge Hotel’s Pay What You Want Karma Keg that brings in 10-25% more than their fixed-price kegs
- Larian Studios PWYW video game compilation experiment that backfired — and brought in more money than they ever expected
- Humble Bundle that raises millions for charity and for video game publishers through their PWYW video game bundles
- Joost van Dongen’s hobby project Proun that brought in over $20,000 using Pay What You Want pricing
- Chris Bennet’s Dock Cafe in Belfast that’s run entirely on an honesty-box system
- Libboo, Zoho, Propellerhead and BinaryNow — all software companies that use or have tried Pay What You Want to sell their products
- Perlin Winery in Germany that’s run entirely on PWYW…for the past 10 years
- Little Bay restaurant in London that’s made 20% more revenue using Pay What You Want than their fixed price menu
- And many, many more…
Clearly, Pay What You Want works (for physical and digital products and services).
The question is: how?
And what does a high end artist need to do specifically to make Pay What You Want bring in more revenue than a premium, fixed-price?
The answer is all about your pitch:
The 6 Step Perfect Pitch Framework
In my book The Complete Guide to Pay What You Want Pricing, I analyzed what hundreds of successful Pay What You Want offering have in common, and synthesized that data into an easy to follow, step-by-step framework, what I call The 6 Step Perfect Pitch Framework.
While this is the general framework you need to use to successfully sell something as Pay What You Want, if you’re trying to sell high-end art, there are specific techniques you should use that will dramatically increase your revenue, reach, and impact, which I’ll explain below.
Step 1: Clarify Your Offer
Sounds simple and it is.
Although simple isn’t always easy.
The artist might think she doesn’t need to explain her offer – it’s a painting on canvas, what’s so hard about that?! – but that’s lazy thinking.
The artist, more than anyone, needs to explain what he or she is offering, and in terms that the happy customer can understand.
We know it’s a painting on canvas. So what? How does this painting change me, my world, or my feelings / emotions?
It might sound like common sense, but it’s important to consider when selling your art: you’re not selling something practical (art doesn’t do anything by itself), you’re selling an intangible (‘value’). What is that value for the onlooker?
To help you clarify the offer for something like artwork, it helps to tell your personal story, how you created the art, etc.
Which leads into the next step…
Step 2: Show the Customer You’re Human
If you’re selling your art in person, this is easy.
Best advice: be personable and reach out to the prospective customer. Get to know the person you’re selling to and tell them your story (see above and the reference to ‘clarifying the offer’).
Pay What You Want works way better in person than online, which means you have an advantage in person (the person can look you in the eyes and will be compelled to pay a high price).
What if you’re selling art online?
Same rules apply, but the tactics are different:
1. Add pictures and videos of yourself onto your site.
2. Talk about the tools you use and why you use them.
Tell us the number of hours you’ve put into each project. How long and hard you work to create the perfect brush stroke, etc. More on this later (and why the story behind the art matters).
3. Write like you talk.
Don’t get stuffy online. Write passionately and casually. Slang and lingo are fine if it’s you.
Whatever you do, don’t be stiff.
Step 3: Appeal to Idealism
Just because you’re offering your art as Pay What You Want doesn’t mean people will actually buy your stuff…
You still need to give us a REASON to pay.
The best way to do this is appeal to the customer’s / audience’s idealism:
1. Reference generosity, karma, good will, etc.
Sometimes just mentioning karma, generosity, or good-will will do the trick, but the more this idealism is a part of your story and your art, the better.
2. Talk about WHY you do what you do.
Be authentic, transparent, and show us your battle scars. If you’ve been doing this for 10, 20 or 30 years, we want to hear it.
The blood, sweat, and tears you put into your art make a difference in how we value it.
And when we find out you’re offering your art as Pay What You Want because you believe in people, in art, and in the concept of ‘value is in the eye of the beholder’…guess what – we’ll pay generously.
Step 4: Anchor the Price
Anchoring the price means showing high prices of similar products (or variants of the same product) to get people ready and willing to pay a premium.
This is a psychological technique marketers have been using for years to sell us high priced things.
Apple IPads are a great example of this – they should be sold for a couple hundred dollars, but Apple sells them for 3 times this. They do this by setting their highest price model at an extreme premium ($800-$900), which makes their lowest priced model ($400-$500) seem cheap.
But it’s not – it’s still ridiculously overpriced.
Putting a sign that says: “Choose Your Price!!” next to your art piece is inviting people to pay you less than you’re worth.
Putting a sign that says: “$5,125 Karma Pricing: Pay What it’s Worth to You” invites us to consider the intrinsic value of the art (and how generous you’re being for letting us decide).
The conversation is no longer a guessing game (what SHOULD I pay for this?), it becomes a question of value (I get to decide what this is worth to me and I see what it ought to be sold for…so what IS it worth to me?).
Note: Price anchoring is a technique you ought to be using whether you use PWYW or not.
Step 5: Steer the Customer to the Right Choice
Once you’ve hit all the other prerequisites mentioned above, you still need to help your customer reach the RIGHT choice.
Do you want someone taking your art for a quarter of what it cost in materials to create?
Absolutely not.
So you need to steer them to the right choice:
1. Tell us about the high-quality materials you use.
Again, this comes down to story-telling (notice a trend?). Tell us a story about the canvas, the brush, the wood, the clay, the stone, whatever. Tell us about how this is the most premium stuff on the planet for the particular use you’re using it for.
This kind of detail (and passion) gives us a story to tell others when we show them the art we bought (and isn’t that the end goal for most people buying art – to show it off?).
2. Give us a rough estimate of how long you spent on this.
Hours? Days? Months? Years? The more time we think you’ve spent on something, the more we value it.
3. Let us know what your artwork normally sells for.
What is the average price people pay for your art? The last few pieces of artwork you’ve sold, what is the average? What is the highest someone paid for one of your pieces?
This gives us a frame of reference for what we ought to pay and directs us to the RIGHT choice.
Step 6 (BONUS STEP): Throw Charity Into the Mix
Simply put, if you add charity into a Pay What You Want offer, you’ll make more money.
It’s been proven in several psychology studies and there are dozens of businesses and artists that prove it on a daily basis (Humblebundle.com is a great example of this, and I’ve done the same thing with my business and arts journal, The Creative Entrepreneur).
People want to be generous. You need to give them a reason to be generous. Pay What You Want is a start…but when you throw charity into the mix – game over.
That’s the story we want to tell ourselves when we WILLINGLY pay for something we could get for less (or free).
Of course, it needs to be congruent with your original message (in the case of my business and arts journal for entrepreneurs, we actually fund entrepreneurs with a portion of all donations. It’s a perfectly congruent charitable message).
And if you’re thinking using charity is just gaming the system…
Good!
I hope MORE people game the system. The more people who add charity to the mix in what they’re offering, the better off we all are.
How to Test PWYW Pricing in a Small Way…
I know there will be a handful of people who are still skeptical about Pay What You Want pricing even after reading everything I’ve presented here.
And that’s okay – skepticism is good.
So for those truly skeptical people, I propose a simple experiment that will show you how powerful this technique is, while insuring against major loss.
I call it A/B split selling your audience.
Note: this only works for people who have built a relationship with their audience / customers / clients and who have REPEAT customers.
If you haven’t done either, better work on that first.
For those who have, here’s what you can do to test PWYW in a small way.
The next time you get commissioned for a work, or the next time someone comes to buy another piece of your artwork, instead of giving them an invoice or showing them the price, simply give them a blank invoice or receipt with the total number of hours you spent on it and itemized cost of every material you used (from paint brushes, to paint, to canvas, to whatever).
Then have a line that is empty that says price next to it (or something similar).
Give them this invoice or receipt and let your repeat customer decide what to pay you.
Why this works:
Have you ever felt the inclination to lower your price when someone asks “how much?”
That’s the same human nature that involuntarily compels us to INCREASE the price when someone asks us: “what’s it worth to you?”
Further, by doing this with a repeat customer, someone you’ve built rapport with already, who knows what the value of your art is, you’re almost certainly going to get a higher price than you would have originally charged.
And, in the small chance that you don’t, you can switch back to fixed-price invoicing for that client or customer (they’re clearly not very generous).
While this may seem like a trick, it’s not: it’s merely rewarding those who are generous with the opportunity to BE generous, while asking to be paid what you’re worth for those who aren’t as generously inclined.
At the end of the day, everybody in the transaction wins.
Results From People Selling Premium Products or Services Using PWYW
So what are the tangible results of doing all this?
One of the best examples is Matt Homan – a speaker, facilitator and consultant. The majority of his work is with lawyers and law firms (and also bigger corporations like Microsoft).
While Matt doesn’t sell art, he does sell something similarly intangible with his consulting. Here’s how he handles customers (and his results):
In Matt’s own words:
“I always hated time sheets, and kept experimenting with ways to price my services that weren’t tied to the time it took me to provide them.”
That’s when Matt stumbled across Pay What You Want pricing (which he refers to as You Decide Invoicing):
“I always give clients the option to pay me what they think I’m worth at the conclusion of the engagement. I explain to them that once we’ve gotten to the pricing discussion, I trust them to treat me fairly. When they agree to my novel approach, they get my “You Decide” invoice that asks them to write in an amount for my fee and give me an explanation for why they paid what they did. And even when clients would rather pay me a quoted price, I still give them a money-back guarantee.”
Novel approach, but does it work?
“Since I’ve been doing this, my sense of the value I give my clients has increased. I’ve recognized that my clients don’t care about the time I spend working for them, but rather the results they get from working with me. Quantitatively, my income has doubled in the past year, because clients pay me more on my blank invoices than I would have charged them. I’ve also increased my per-engagement price (when I’m asked to give one). I now charge roughly three times what I would have quoted before my pricing experiment began.”
While not directly art related, Matt shows what’s possible with an open mind toward Pay What You Want pricing, and proves that sometimes PWYW pricing is the best technique to find out what your work (or art) is truly worth.
Generosity Pays
I know Pay What You Want is a scary thought.
So many artists struggle to get paid what they’re worth that the thought of removing price altogether will make some cringe (I’m sure some artists stopped reading after they saw the headline).
I’m not suggesting you discount your work. And I’m not saying take a lower price than you believe you’re worth, either.
Those are losers games.
What I am saying is generosity pays.
And if you can figure out a way to harness the generosity of others, you’ll not only increase your revenue, you’ll increase your reach and impact because the people doing business with you can’t help but spread the word.
Generosity pays – and it spreads.
But it always starts with the generous act of one of the parties.
Maybe that should be you.
Edit from Cory: Check out Tom’s page that he put together just for TAA readers. Good stuff.
UPDATE: If you want a deeper explanation of PWYW pricing, with real-world examples from artists who are doing it, check out this free webinar that Tom and I put together.
* * *
Tom Morkes is an author, publisher and all around instigator. He’s the author of 3 books including his most recent: The Complete Guide to Pay What You Want Pricing, and he recently launched The Creative Entrepreneur – a donation-based business and arts journals for entrepreneurs, artisans and creative of all types. If you’d like to connect, send him an email (tom {at} tommorkes.com) – he always responds.
Cory, thanks so much for letting me write for your community.
If anyone reading this would like to learn more about PWYW pricing, I’ve put together a list of free articles and interviews I’ve done over the past 3 months.
You might find it valuable:
http://tommorkes.com/theabundantartist/
And if anyone has any questions, comments or concerns – shoot. I’m happy to help and explain this stuff 🙂
This is the first time I have read an article like this, and it makes sense. I am a self-taught artist, I have fears before I get into a painting, but yet there is inside of me a passion for art. My daughters grown, married with families of their own, wants my art into their homes, so I paint for them, free of course. A dear close person asked if I would sell to her one of my paintings, and I said “No, but I will gift you with an art piece.” I have three names before me of long time friends that I am going to do paintings for, free of course. I can’t bring myself to charge family and friends for my artworks, and now I am going to start letting people online set their own prices for my artwork. My house is filling up with my artwork.” I live in an area where there are poor folk, and family and friends, are mostly poor folk.” And I have always thought about if a washing machine goes out, and they are stressed out, can I earn enough to pay for this washing machine that they may need. There is a house we pass every Sunday morning when we go to church. A little house in need of paint, and I always think of that house. Can I make enough to provide the paint where we may paint this family’s house? And this is someone I don’t even know. I don’t believe I am a artist of my own will or ability, I think God has placed this passion within me, for a purpose, and he is enabling me to paint. Psalm 138:8 And your article may be the answer for me to get this going. I want to paint the rest of my life, and to do good for others with it.
Thank you for making this article available to read. I followed your suggestions yesterday, to shift a piece of art work I’ve had on my shelf for over a year. Today I got a very good offer! I thank you and I thank God, it really works
Street performers use this psychology on the crowds they entertain. Give the show away for free, ask for what it’s worth once they’ve seen it.
Asking is an art form in itself.
John, true. It’s very similar.
But – and I hope I clarified this in the article – for PWYW to work for HIGH END art, different rules apply.
For the random passerby, a street performer ought to be happy with a few spare coins.
A better version of this is found at the bars in Nashville TN – where everyone plays live music at every bar, no cover, no charge…but someone (either a band member or a friend helping out) walks the bucket around to collect donations.
This is one step better than the street performer because they go out of their way to get you to contribute (and you feel terrible enjoying their music and not contributing if they put their bucket in front of you).
Oh, and these bands make thousands a night doing this.
Take this one step further, to high end art (paintings, etc.) and you need to not only get in peoples faces (in a good way – see above re: nashville tn live music), but you need to actually develop a relationship with them.
When we know who you are, when we’ve bought from you before, and when you give us the opportunity to pick our price…well, that’s a game changer.
It won’t work for every piece of art or every offer – but the reality is this: the truly generous in your crowd – your BIGGEST fans (the top 1-3% of your superfans) WANT to give more.
This lets them.
And it more than makes up for the losses (on average).
Food for thought!
Thanks for commenting 🙂
– Tom
I am a American missionary in Mainland China. I have been writing a full-children’s ministry program from the Pastor’s choosing a children’s pastor to the curriculum and messages for ages 4-18. I am a writing in English and will post it on my website in English, but it will be adapted and translated in to Mandarin. I have been struggling with charging for it all because I need to bring in money to complete the project, but I really do not want to charge, because there are many small churches that cannot pay the big bucks. And, in China they really cannot afford it… what I have read here today is along the lines of what I was thinking of doing but did not know how. Thank you.
Joy, that is wonderful.
I’m so glad it inspired you.
Yes, I think PWYW for something that would work REALLY well – because it will inspire others to contribute to the cause too.
Keep me posted and let me know if you have any specific questions on how to implement.
What is the best way to build an audience while the creation of the materials is in progress?
Joy that’s a tough question bc the answer is it depends. Depends on the art and the audience. Depends on what medium you’re comfortable sharing your work in. The generic answer (because it works) is get a good looking website that let’s you show off your work and work in progress. Build relationships with people who will share your work. Give stuff away free (digital) and slowly build trust over time.
Building an audience is hard (at least it seems for most people) mostly bc it takes time, effort and consistency.
Hope that helps a little!
Tom, thanks for the great article and let me ask because so many of us display our art online, are there any website companies you would recommend for both displaying and selling PWYW from? All that I know of set pricing for a fee then you add your price, Print-On-Demand which would not allow PWYW. Thanks
Rich, if you’re still selling physical (prints, copies, whatever), but just want to have a shopping cart online…
I use Gumroad – which allows me to add an address capture field to the ‘checkout’.
It’s seemless, easy and beautiful.
Only downside: they don’t accept paypal.
So yes, you could rig up a site using just Gumroad, and I think it would still be powerful (though not as automated as more expensive options).
Let me know if that answers your question or not!
Thanks Tom, sorry I missed this. And I do sell POD, but I also want to sell digital files. However I’ll certainly check out your Gumroad suggestion. Again thanks.
This is a really fascinating concept and as a long time artist I have never thought of doing this ….. just considered it as something museums do, like the Met in NYC. As an artist (over 50 years) it has been drummed into me to not under price my art as well as keep it competitively priced for one’s location and to slowly increase prices over time as one’s reputation grows.
My major concern is whether if I were the only one or one of just a few artists in my local area using PWYW then would I be seen as a bit desperate to sell. at any price? If I were offering to sell my art at lower price points than I currently charge would I chip away at my reputation as a serious artist in my community? I am thinking that maybe PWYW might work best for online selling but maybe not as well here locally in my town or studio. Moreover maybe a PWYW site should only feature works not available anywhere else.
And finally I also think it could be a big problem for an artist who has their work already in galleries. A lot of galleries don’t like their artists to also sell from an online website let alone from a PWYW site.
But nevertheless a fascinating idea.
Stan, thanks so much for the thoughtful comment.
Couple things.
1. PWYW isn’t selling art at a lower price point.
In fact, if you do it right, you end up with a higher price point.
2. If there are other artists in the area, then you should definitely use PWYW – it will set you apart.
Want to REALLY leverage this? Add charity into the mix.
Let people know they’re buying your art for whatever price they want, but then have a portion of the funds (5, 10%, whatever) go to funding art – focused local initiatives.
Now THAT is a story I want to tell people and one that I would pay a premium for.
Of course, try and test this in a small way.
Just cause you sell ONE item PWYW doesn’t mean your whole catalog must be.
Good points Tom. Yes I was assuming that selling PWYW here locally where I live (a small upstate NY town) would result in lower sale prices but unless I test it out I won’t really know. And what do you mean about “doing it right”?
I also can add in a 10% portion for supporting local arts and see what difference that makes.
Stan, what I mean by ‘doing it right’ is that merely slapping ‘choose your price!’ on something is the wrong way to go about it.
I go into some detail in the article I wrote above. For example: combining PWYW with Charity has been tested and proven to increase sales and revenue versus fixed pricing. Now those experiments weren’t for high end goods / high end art, so it may not have quite as high revenue result for that (if you normally sell your art for $1k +…unless you can GET IN FRONT of that audience that is willing to BUY for $1k+).
Does that make sense?
Also, and this is what I tried to explain in the article, is that the story you attach to things is important.
If the 10% is an afterthought, it comes off forced.
Can you really integrate the local art support into your sales pitch? Cause then you can crush it with this technique (it tells a better story, and we buy stories, not things).
Cory, I’m a big fan of Seth Godin. When you opened this article with a disclaimer and then mentioned the PWYWP, I thought to myself – “sounds like Seth Godin” – his books continue to be filled with amazing marketing, personal improvement tips, etc. Great concepts! Thanks for sharing this with us……I’ve actually been toying with a “giveaway” project from my own studio, so this article hit home for me:) Dianna
Dianna – thanks so much for the kind words.
If you like Seth’s work, you might love my PWYW book ‘2 Days With Seth Godin’ (it’s PDF…if you want the kindle version, it’s fixed price on Amazon – no options for PWYW there :/ )
Keep me posted on your project!
Hi Cory!
I love this article and the idea. I would be interested to try it at some point, but I’m a newly emerging artist, and am already struggling to get value for my art from other people and getting them used to paying for it. I was wondering how you think this method would work in a farmers market booth setting? I sell my jewelry, woodburnings, paintings, and prints at farmers markets during the summer, and I wonder how this would work there? I would love your advice. Thanks for the great article!
Kirsten – here’s the beauty of PWYW – you don’t have to sell everything you make this way.
Just try it out on a few pieces, or one type of art, etc.
Would it work at a farmers market? Absolutely – just make sure you tell a good story: why are you using PWYW? If it’s for ‘karma’ or ‘goodwill’ etc. it’s inspiring – it makes me think I ought to pay what I can (and then some) for it, because then I’m helping those with less means to have the same art.
I mentioned to someone else in the comments above – charity or nonprofit is a really powerful way to create a story around your art. If you think it’s congruent, consider teaming up with a charity or nonprofit or initiative.
Also, don’t be afraid that using this technique for some of your art devalues what you do.
It doesn’t.
There are literally dozens of examples of people offering PWYW and when they do it the right way (see article above), they come away with more than they would have using fixed pricing.
It works for art too.
You just have to frame the story the right way (again, see above, or check out my PWYW guide about this).
Hope that helps Kirsten
I was very intrigued by this concept. A friend of mine asked me to create a big header. I painted it, took time out of my day and told her to pay what she felt it was worth. To tell you the truth I was disappointed. The price in my head was was $10 more than what I received. I gave her the time break down and process. While this concept might work in some cases it did not work in my case.
Thanks for.the comment Priscilla. This is the nature.of pwyw. Sometimes people contribute Very generously and other times not. The idea is if you do it consistently the generous contributions will outweigh the less than generous contributions (If you frame your offer right)
This is so great! I believe in the art of generosity and tend to give away a lot of my art, just because it’s something I love being able to do. I am working on a Conscious Kid’s Coloring Book and decided that I’m going to offer it as a pay what you want model.
I already gift 10% of all profits to nonprofit + social good organizations, but I think for the coloring book, I will pick a specific charity that aligns with the purpose of the coloring book – living an intentional life + living a life that is true to you.
Thanks for sharing your methods. I’m going to share this model with my community of mindful creatives – I’m sure they are going to love the idea!
I have read most of this offer. I love it. I haven’t read all the testamonials. I trust this works.
I will figure out how to recruit others to help me get started in blog/etsy/hub/u tibe and other ..
I lack the know-how or in very least I am held up as artis,t as my images need to get put on tfg which makes them archival (a few are on j peg and do not do the images, justice at all in comparison).
From this, I can have excellent giclees o rat least wonderful prints on paper for larger retail distribution.
I was also thinking og going door to door to sell art. Currently I have just gone to a copy place, and not the best as they are inconsistant with results. However, my original images I have copied this way, cut, are ready to be pasted to journals I bought. I also bought blank cards/envelopes. I am decideing on complimentry font for any additional info to be included on journals (such as transparent labels with the font of choice listing name, number, email. This lables easily sticking to place. I also will do card boxes. Some of the cards will have inserted inspirational sayings. Most my own, but some from universal forum of famous folk whose quotes are out there already.).
I want to sell my writing too.
I am putting together a “romance-enhancement” book. Original stories, spicey in places but poignant. Thought about calling adult novelty home businesses to see if they will buy my book. (as one choice of disribution). I could have one book done via stapels or vista print. I am wanting the pages to be coated, waterproof. If possible so the reading can weather, water; hiding in tub or at beach in sand.
If anyonereads this, I would be open to hearing fropm you.
I so want to now, make a living as an artist.
I also want ot lecture on theme of : my art/and art as spiritual guidance/following and Way Shower … this is me and I believe, that this is you too. Unique and just naturally deserving to have it all.
Thank YOU. Rizzah
484-892-7735
beedousdreams@yahoo.com
swcoyoteheart@gmail.com
Very interesting article. I have been thinking of doing something similar, and came across this article which made things more clearer. I understand your imphasis for high end original art, but can prints-on-canvas an option too? And how is PWYW different from bidding on artwork?
Hi Sonia – I think this works even better for prints. PWYW differs from bidding in that you are asking a single person to name a single price, where an auction is usually competitive and participants can increase their bid. Check out the webinar that Tom and I did on PWYW pricing with more real-life examples from artists who are doing it. https://theabundantartist.com/pay-what-you-will-pricing-webinar/
Hi Tom and Cory!
I want to share my PWYW experience with you.
Since I read this post almost a year ago I wanted to try it and finally this past weekend I did it and it was a success!
I´m a mixed media artist based in Argentina and for the last couple of years I´ve been offering on line classes for people around the world.
I usually launch 3 or 4 classes during the year so I have a bunch of them not very active actually.
The past weekend I choose one of those classes and offered it in PWYW mode and I earned almost $700 in 48 hs. NOT BAD for a class it wasn´t giving me any profit lately.
Besides that lots of people emailed thanking me for the chance to take one of my classes in such an accesible way.
I´m so glad I tried this and I want to thank you both for this post.
PWYW really works if you do it in the proper way.
I plan to build a schedule for PWYW through the year.
Thanks again!
Huzzah! So glad it worked out for you Guada!
Hi Corey and Tom,
Very interesting way to offer a piece of art! 🙂
I assume that if I try the PWYW on a one off copy of a digital image printed in canvas end well framed, I can expect to succeed and get an interesting price similar to the traditional medium!
Let me know your thoughts on that idea!
Regards
Alain Lemire
W: https://www.lemireart.com
Hi I love this idea. What if a low offer is made, would it be ethical of me to turn it down, or do I just accept, no matter my loss?