A few people have pointed out that 'Art Is Broken' is probably not the most inspiringly positive title for this project . . .
 
Yes, the title is 'a tad negative' :-)  I'm open to suggestions, but there is an important point I am trying to make:
 
The artistic profession, as a business, is very much broken. Most artists continue to struggle because we have not yet learned or applied the lessons that many other types of businesses have learned and documented over the last few decades. We continue to approach our product creation and marketing without a clear understanding of how to build a legitimate business from our efforts. 
 
Let's compare the average artist - who will be typically be struggling financially, and working too hard for what they do receive - vs more successful entrepreneurs:
 
The Artist:
 
Most artists follow a consistent pattern: create some work, list it, and wait for it to sell. If it doesn't sell, create more of the same thing, maybe a little better or different, and wait for it to sell. If it still doesn't sell, then we work more and more on our marketing, spending unreasonable amounts of time posting online, advertising, participating in shows, consulting with other artists, etc.  Some artists start to achieve sales this way, but even these 'successful artists' can usually be found working ever-increasing hours, and enduring more and more stress, to sustain their 'success'
 
The Successful Entrepreneur:
 
Over the last few decades, many companies have succeeded wildly, and many more have not. Many of those who have succeeded have followed a certain pattern - either deliberately or through a bit of luck:
 
1) The vision - they see some pressing need in the world, and they have a vision for how they can improve it. This doesn't have to be world-changing, just something that's pressing and important to somebody.
 
2) Customer Discovery: most artists skip this step, and that is our critical mistake. The successful entrepreneur will take their vision, in it's simplest form - a simple description, mockup, or prototype - and begin to talk to potential customers. Their goal is to find out: does anybody really care about my vision? Is there a real need for what I want to create? Who needs it, and why? How does my vision and my perception of their needs fit with their reality?
 
3) Refine and repeat: if you followed step 2 correctly (it's easy actually - just talk to people!), then you should now have a much better idea of your marketplace. Continue to refine your hypothesis, and then put your ideas back in front of customers and refine it more.
 
4) produce your product and refine your marketing: after you know that you are creating something that people really need or want, then it's time to start making it and selling it (and to continue to actively communicate with your customers to refine your product and your marketing. 
 
If you've done steps 1-3 correctly, step 4 becomes much easier - you know exactly who wants your product and why, and how to reach them. You have a very good chance of succeeding wildly.
 
If you haven't done steps 1-3, step 4 is a neverending struggle. You have a very good chance of failing with this approach, until you eventually run out of time, money, and energy. Most artists skip steps two and three - we go directly from step one 'vision' to step 4 'create a product and sell it', without the proper market understanding to be successful.
 
The successful entrepreneur, and the struggling artist or other struggling businesses, will both work long, hard hours and pour a ton of personal energy into building a business. But, exactly how you structure those efforts will determine the long term success of your business. If you're going to be working so hard anyway, why not be a bit more scientific about increasing your chance of success?
 
Where to go from here?
 
Go to google and search for 'customer development'. Most of the articles will seem unrelated to your business of being an artist, but read them anyway. Then, think about how you can apply these principles to your art business.
 
Do other types of business ventures deserve financial success more than you do? Or, do they know something you do not? Are you building a business, or are you content to just be another struggling artist?
 
 
 

"Artists are perplexed NON -ARTISTS why r u more comfortable spending $ on jewelry, clothing, handbags than paintings?"

Artist Jan Blencowe asked the above question on her twitter stream today (twitter.com/janblencowe_art), which caught my attention for several reasons. I think this cuts right to the heart of the frustration that many artists feel these days - 'I know my art is wonderful, and I know that people have money to spend on other luxuries, so why do I have such a hard time selling any art?'

If you don't know who Jan Blencowe is,  you may be tempted to pass this off as a beginning artist question - maybe she just needs to work on her art a bit more, or learn some basic marketing skills, or learn how to network? Well, Jan Blencowe is a master of all of the above - visit her blog at http://www.thepaintingadayproject.com/ . She is a very talented, accomplished, prolific artist, a teacher, a great marketer, and a very active member of the online and offline art communities. Jan is a professional artist in every sense of the word. But, she still has to wrestle from time to time with the same question as most other artists on all levels - 'why don't more people buy art?'.

So, what is the answer? How can we sell more art?

First, we need to understand that there are a few fundamental shifts happening in the art world right now. If we fail to understand these changes, and to react to them, we will fail to thrive as artists.

1) Images are a commodity, whether you want them to be or not. There was a time in the world when a nicely painted image was a rare and wonderful thing. These images were available only in museums and galleries, or in the collections of art patrons. Now, images are everywhere - images of all styles and quality and price ranges. Just about any type of image you can envision has been created in many variations already, and is available to view or buy many places online and offline. There are no longer any barriers to creating, selling, viewing, and buying most types of images.

Even the most talented of artists will have to come to terms with this reality - as beautiful as your images may be, somebody somewhere is selling images that are nearly as nice for a fraction of the price you're charging. And, most of your potential customers have no idea why your images are any better or more expensive than similar images. This trend will continue indefinitely.  Our images may still be wonderful, but they are not rare and so they are not in demand.

2) Artists are a commodity.  Artists are everywhere. Each one of us is unique and special, and not replaceable as a person. But, from a market standpoint there are way too many artists, producing way too much art for the current demand, and most of it is interchangeable. Yes, much of it is absolutely wonderful artwork, but there just isn't that much demand for new original art within the traditional art market. There are too many artists competing for the same small piece of the market.

3) The traditional 'art market' is not keeping pace with the growth rate of artists and artwork. By the traditional art market, I mean art shows and fairs, galleries, museums, art patrons and high level collectors, government grants, and all of the other institutions that have traditionally supported the arts. There are simply not enough art venues, and enough customers and supporters of these venues, to support all of the artists that want to sell their work.

So, that leaves us with only three options as artists:

a) We can all continue to fight for visibility within galleries and other art establishments. Many artists are competing for the same limited audience, and we should continue to strive to reach this audience - good galleries and their patrons will probably always be the best way to sell high end artwork.

b) We can establish our own art establishments. We've seen quite a bit of this over the past few years - with artists selling directly online, through online galleries like my own dailypainters.com, and many other online galleries that pop up every day on the internet. This is a great way for artists to take some control over their careers and create new opportunities for themselves, and I'm sure that the number and quality of these new galleries will continue to grow.  But, this will not be enough to help most artists survive.

c) We can find new audiences for our work.   Probably at least 70% of artwork is sold to a relatively small group of people: art collectors, and other artists. These are the people who care enough about art to actively seek out art in their communities and online, and to spend money to support the arts. I don't have any statistics, but I'd bet that this customer base represents only a very small part of our potential audience. This small audience cannot support all artists, no matter how deserving they may be. Artists need to reach out to a larger audience.

If we want to survive as artists, we must find ways to build an audience outside of the traditional circle of art collectors and artists.  We have to make ourselves relevant to the rest of the world.

Let's go back to Jan's original question: why are so many people willing to spend money on jewelry, handbags, clothes, or other luxuries than on paintings? What about all of those high end electronics, fancy cell phones, sporting goods, movie tickets, sporting events, luxury cars, or any number of other frivolities?

Why do you spend your money on the things you buy? If you're like 99% of the people I know, you spend your money first on the things you have to buy for basic survival - like food, shelter, transportation, etc. Then, if there's a little bit left over, you spend it on the things that are special to you - maybe you feel good driving a fancier car, or wearing some new jewelry. Or, you really enjoy watching live sports, or going to concerts or movies. Or, maybe you want to support your church or local charities. Or, maybe you like to buy art.  But, there is one category of things that almost nobody spends their money on:

Most people don't spend money on things that don't have any immediate personal benefit to them!  If we want to sell art, we need to find a way to make our work meaningful and beneficial to 'average people'.

Whether it's a real measurable benefit or a perceived benefit, we spend our money on things that are important to us. And, there are too many possible ways to spend our money - good or bad. So, things like 'pretty paintings' just don't make it onto most shopping lists. Yes, I know that idea offends most artists as we all know how beneficial our work is to the world. But, if most people don't see our work as important to them, they won't buy it.

We need to find ways to make our work - the actual images and the stories we tell about ourselves and about our work - more relevant. We need to get out of the 'art world' and into the real world. We need to ask ourselves not 'why does nobody buy art', but 'how can I connect my artwork to my customers lives'.

For example, how many artists focus on landscape paintings but know very little about the scenes they are painting? Maybe some of our favorite plein air spots - farms, beaches, mountains, or whatever - have some special histories and meanings? And, maybe most of the people who most love these places will never step foot into the local art gallery or browse for art online? How can you engage these communities in a conversation about the places they love, through your artwork and your writing?

So, how can we - through our paintings, our blogging, our tweeting, and our other networking - tell a story that is more meaningful and engaging to those around us? How can we identify some small niche and build connections not based on a common love of art, but on a common love of something else - some thing, some place, some shared story and experience? How can we ask the right questions, and listen in the right way, to build new relationships with 'non artists'? Then, how can we tailor our artistic offerings to fit the wants and needs of this new audience?

Twitter, Facebook, Blogs, Email? I don't get it - I just want to paint!
 
Every day I hear from artists that they just don't understand Twitter, or they don't like Facebook, or don't know how to blog. Or, they say 'I tried twitter and didn't sell anything', or 'I don't see the point of writing so much on my blog'.  Is it really worth the effort? Am I doing this right, and is there a better way?
 
This art business is hard work. Not only do we have to create the art, we have to constantly learn all of these new technologies just to keep up. But, once you start to comprehend exactly how these new tools could be used, and what that means for your career as a self representing artist, you may start to see 'social networking', 'blogging', and 'search engine optimization' in a whole new light.
 
First, though, you will have to rethink your marketing angle. Most artists approach their online marketing with a broadcast mentality - they put their work out onto their blog and other sites, and hope that the right people find them.
 
How can the 'right people' find your art if you don't even know who the right people are, or how to find them?
 
The real beauty of the internet - including websites, blogs, email, twitter, facebook, and other tools - is not just in reaching large numbers of people. Instead, it's all about reaching the right people - that small group of people with  a passionate interest in the same things you care about. With the right  techniques, you can engage in meaningful conversations with absolute strangers based on your common interests. And, you can convert these strangers into aquaintances, and then friends, and eventually into lifelong customers and a powerful network. However, you can't do that by shouting into a crowded room - you have to search the room for the right people and really talk with them, and listen. And make sure you're in the right room to begin with.
 
You know, good old fashioned relationship building and networking, just with some new tools.
 
It's not just about 'art'. It's all about the personalities, stories, and interests of the artists and the collectors. Don't just make art because you're an artist. Create art that speaks to you and says something about who you are and how you see the world. Not just a casual, distant observation, but an up close and personal exploration and conversation about something you love, or something you hate, or something you find interesting, or scary. Do not be content to paint normal landscapes or portraits, dig in and say something interesting about these paintings - with your paintbrush and with your keyboard.
 
In other words, tell a story. Say something about yourself and about the world around you. Express your unique personality in your work and your marketing.
 
Once you have something interesting to say, and you know who you want to say it to, you'll find it much easier to have a real conversation.
 
It's hard to go find 'art collectors' on google, or on twitter, or facebook, or even in your home town. Even if you narrow your search down a bit and try to find people who are interested in music related paintings, you'll have a hard time. But, it's very easy to go find somebody, for example, who is an avid fan of bluegrass music in your local area, and talk to them about the local bluegrass music scene - the music, the musicians, the venues, and the fans.
 
If you start with a common interest and a very narrowly defined audience, you'll quickly be able to find some interesting groups and people on twitter, facebook, and other tools. Find these people who share your unique interests, and get to know them and their friends online. With a bit of talking and a lot of listening, you might find a whole new audience for your work, completely outside of the traditional 'art market' circle.  That could be the starting point for a very interesting chapter in your art marketing career.
 
So, don't think of the internet and social networking tools as frustrating new technologies. Think of them as interesting tools to make new friends and build relationships.
 

Is Your Art Broken?

Art is broken. There is no easy, nice, sugarcoated way to phrase it. I've looked at a couple thousand art blogs over the last three years, and most of them were broken.  Most likely, the way you produce and sell your art are outdated and ineffective. If your art is not selling well, as seems to be the case with most artists, then your art is broken, or your marketing is broken, or more likely both are broken. It's not that you're not hardworking enough, or not talented enough, or not smart enough, you just need to find more effective ways to create and market your work. We're here to help you.

We know how hard you work to create and market your work, and we want to help you. At ArtIsBroken.com, we are working on some big ideas to help artists find more effective ways to market their work.