extremely true. I think doing pre-sales or crowdfunding allows people to get a way better sense of demand while also actually taking in revenue they can use to buy inventory, cover shipping supplies, etc
This. It's the same as back when you'd create a FB event for a party. Tons of people will RSVP yes or maybe, then just flake out. Not sure what the psychology is there, but it is certainly a thing!
True! It’s always the 1% to 10% of people who follow through, so that’s a great way to estimate roughly how it could go. Don’t know why but it goes like that. I know it sucks because then you don’t need 100 people “interested” or following you, but 1000 or 10000 🥲
This SO true and something I was completely unprepared for. In my inexperienced mind, I thought my main goal was garnering interest. Turns out, from those that appear interested, only a fraction will go to your shop. From those that go to the shop, only a fraction will put items in a cart. From those that put items in a cart, only a fraction will actually purchase. And that fraction is your mom. 🤣 I really gained a lot of perspective in my first year of trying to get an art business started! Haha
I feel like this channel is the real life practice of “success isn’t pie”. There is room for everyone to have success and generate things for the world to enjoy. I really enjoy all your videos! Been slowly making my way through your older ones and I appreciate how you coach.
This mighta been THE video from you of all time for me. I feel like such a nuisance any time I talk about my photography and services I offer, so this was so helpful. Your channel is my go-to for running an art business, and thank you for all the knowledge you have to offer!
I just discovered Kelsey and think she is an amazing person and resource for all of us who have trouble navigating in the realm of art marketing. After seeing your reply to her video, it was so good to hear that implementing her strategies has helped you in your journey as an artist. I wish you much success.
This is such a great video. If I could offer a helpful tip for those writing your content for your sales page. Remember this page is FOR your customer, yes it's ABOUT you but be sure to talk about yourself and your product through the lens of what your customers want to know. You'll be surprised how much superfluous content you can cut. I'm a web designer who gets a lot of dull and irrelevant content handed to me. And this is the single biggest thing I see small businesses struggle with.
Happy to hear the live went great! I was so sad I missed out on it, but I'm still working through the workbook once again and its helping a ton. Hopefully you'll do more of those in the future, I only saw it on the email list once which I'm glad I signed up for. You really do have to push your product to be seen if you're proud of it. There's a good chance your following still misses it in the sea of the internet.
Kelsey, I cannot stress enough how helpful and inspiring your videos are. Thank you so much for putting this out here. One of the first things that I'm going to do when I'm able to stablish my art business is to give back to you. I hope you know how valuable your work is
yess this is so refreshing! In terms of talking about my art, I was feeling like I was drinking water from a fire hose but this simplifies it so much! Thanks!
Not everything a person makes can be used in a way that we can give it for free. I can understand items that will get people to buy more of, like candles, lotions, etc. But let's say a souvenir piece.. we give that away for free for feedback if someone loves it (even though they could've told us what they thought of it before even getting it), and since now they have the product, they don't need to come back and get more of it, since they already have it. My parents did this when we had a small business. They'd be constantly giving away free products that we worked so hard for and people didn't feel the need to come back cause they got it for free. So, samples and products that need to be rebought, yes.. but one time pieces, no.
Art Biz 101 seems a misnomer. As the spouse of a long time artist who has struggled with her marketing and who is also not a fan of the potential demands of social media in order to drive sales, I am astounded by the comment that if an artist can't give away some of their product for free in return for customer feedback, said artist "has a serious problem." Really? Maybe that's a strategy for artsy/craftmakers, but certainly not a serious artist. That is so art student thinking. My wife often chastised her college students for doing pieces for free because it only served to undermine every other artist in the field struggling to make a living. Your art is your work and your work is of worth. Customer feedback is not an artist thing. It is a product thing best left to the Amazons, Ebays and Etsys of the world.
Yeah, same. This was the time I decided to scroll the comments section and I’m glad others felt weird about that too. However, I think what she meant may have been reproducible products like a small snippet of her course ie. how to sketch, or a small postcard print, and not a whole piece of oil painting.
to launch a new collection or a big product like a course? you totally should! it's crazier to expect your audience to see only 1-3 posts you make announcing something. they don't need to be high effort, an IG story or a community post are super low effort and spread the word.
Love the channel, love your energy, love your beautiful face. Keep it up, the world needs more people like yourself. Would you like to make some art together? For fun, not for sale. Money is so boring.
