How the Magical “What If?” Helps You Sell More Art

image by libraryman

Artists often ask me what they should do in social media. How much time should I spend on Facebook? How do I do social media without getting lost in the eternal time sink?

I find these questions, when they come from artists, to be a little bit funny. I mean, after all, these are people who sit down in front of a blank canvas and use paint, clay, voice, song, and body to summon power and emotion. How long will it take? Who knows. Some artists work on their pieces for years. Some just a few days. What will they get out of it? In most cases, probably very little.

But they put their whole souls into the unknown. And I find that brilliant.

I’ve mentioned before, and lots of others agree, that artists have an unfair advantage in business. It’s that comfort level with the unknown. The ability to make something out of nothing. The ability to approach each new project with just a vague notion of what it will be.

What if…

“What if?” is a powerful question. What if I painted a picture of Barack Obama as a revolutionary? What if I painted God touching Adam on the ceiling of this chapel? What if a painting didn’t have to have any particular object in it?

Here are my What If questions that I think about when I’m talking to artists:

What if artists didn’t have to be dependent on gallery owners or agents?

What if every artist knew 100 people who would buy from you every time you put out a new painting?

What if every artist received instantaneous feedback from your fans while you were in the process of creating?

What if I can help 100 artists reach an Abundant lifestyle?

In its essence, good marketing is about good communication. The business guru Seth Godin once said that “good marketers tell a story.” Art, at its essence, tells stories. It grabs attention, holds it, and take you on an emotional journey. Even the greatest story ever told needs a vehicle. That’s why Jesus has missionaries. That’s why there is television, the Internet, the telephone and language itself.

We want stories. We crave stories.

When someone lands on your website, they are unconsciously asking themselves, “What if I browse this artists’s work?”

So…what if? What does your site look  like? What story are you telling?

What story are you telling when you Tweet? What story are you telling when you are on Facebook?

If you are afraid of putting yourself out there and marketing your art, don’t be. What if you are terrible at it? Most likely, no one will notice you and you’ll be no worse off than you are now.

But what if you are good at it? What if you just went online and started having conversations with people and inviting them to take a look at your work? What if they said yes? What if they asked you how much? What if you sold a few pieces?

Sure, you don’t know what will happen if you start doing social media. You don’t know what will happen if you blog. You don’t know what will happen if you start spending some time and money marketing your art – but what if you tried?