Newbie- need advice on selling digital prints
Richard Clarke
sorry if this question has been answered before.
I have created a number of B&W images using a digital camera as the original
format, and then merging and manipulating them into the final result using
photoshop. I have had a set of 4 of these images turned into 8 x 10
photographic prints at a local printers and am quite pleased with the
results.
I was pondering on the possibility of selling them, but have little idea of
how to present them or how to go about finding an outlet and how much to
charge.
Any pointers would be most greatfully received.
Cheers
James
PR
<a...@jamesclarke.removethisbit.2000.freeserve.co.uk> wrote:
I saw this exchange in a different group many moons ago, and was so
impressed with it I saved it for future reference:
From to...@design-write.com Mon Jun 25 19:46:36 2001
Newsgroups: rec.arts.fine
Subject: Secrets of success selling limited editions
From: Tony <to...@design-write.com>
Date: Mon, 25 Jun 2001 17:46:36 GMT
What are the secrets of making limited editon prints that sell out in
a
few weeks?
An example is an artist in my province who I heard recently sold out a
limited edition of 250 giclées in about five weeks. Apparently, each
print sold for $695, for total retail sales of about $175,000.
Other than having excellent images, tear sheets and magazine
advertising, what are the secrets to building such a high level of
support from collectors?
From barrys...@earthlink.net Tue Jun 26 16:34:38 2001
Newsgroups: rec.arts.fine
Subject: Re: Secrets of success selling limited editions
From: "Barry Stevens" <barrys...@earthlink.net>
Date: Tue, 26 Jun 2001 14:34:38 GMT
Tony asked, "What are the secrets?"
The secret is - there are no secrets.
There's a process that should be able to connect any artist with
customers
for the artist's work. Rarely, a print will simply catch the public's
fancy,
be in the right place at the right time, connect with people who fancy
the
print and who have the money to pay a comfortable price. This can
happen,
and it obviously did in the case you mentioned. It is roughly
equivalent
with standing in the middle of a field in a thunderstorm holding an
umbrella.... you might be struck by lightening, and you might not.
Some thoughts about "the process", and quick examples, for those with
the
interest.
Have a good "story" for the artist and the work. Build a unique
mystique for
the artist. The mystique of the artist carries over into the piece.
From the
customer surveys I've been doing, the customer is buying both.
Get press releases out to appropriate local and trade media. Write the
copy
for an article describing the artist and the work -- small local
papers
don't have enough reporters, and they'll be tempted to use the
material
as-is in a Sunday feature. Bigger papers will eventually have to
assign
something to their Arts Reporter on a slow week, when no natural
disaster,
war, or sex scandal dominates the news. If your press releases and
images,
together with a biography establishing that mystique, appear
consistently in
their in-baskets.
Go to galleries with a finished plan for an exhibit. The gallery
owners are
busy, and are usually focused on the dollars-per-square-foot that they
can
get from the works hanging on the walls. I've put together several
such
exhibits for my wife Nanci's work, complete with media coverage.
Work with non-profit groups - help them with fund-raising - donate a
piece
to an "opportunity drawing", proceeds to go to a charity, as part of
an
event which itself gets publicity coverage. Let the non-profit people
sell
tickets to the opportunity drawing, and hand out brochures about your
work
at the same time.
There are more steps in the process, but the list can get bulky. And,
I'm
finding that it would be very useful to many artists to have someone
else
executing this process for them, and they would like to spend their
time
doing their art rather than with the process of selling it.
Does this process work?
My wife's work has picked up steam - oil portraits, acrylics, pastels,
etchings, work on logos, interest in moving an (unfortunately large)
inventory of 8,500 prints of 17 images, big outdoor murals, people
coming to
galleries to see (and in some cases, thank God, to buy) her work..
This new
push started with telling her story - State Department "brat", lived
all
over the world, parents took a liking to animals, brought 'em home,
rehabbed
everything from fishing leopards to a sun bear, to... well, her mother
put
her foot down when dad tried to bring home a baby elephant. Saw real
poverty, spent time with "convicts, cannibals, and kings"... Nanci had
to
lose the shyness she's had for the 30+ years she's been doing her
work. She
had to feel comfortable about putting herself "out there", about
telling
people who she was and what her work is. Once she was willing to
expose
herself to potential buyers, and spend time with them in social
settings in
galleries, people started to buy - not just the work hanging there,
but in
many other areas as well.
I'm working with a photographer, who is creating images that to anyone
else,
would be an annoying double exposure, or sloppy darkroom work. But,
people
who see the images first grab their hearts, then reach for their
checkbook.
He gets $150-200 for a framed piece that he can make himself for about
$35-50, depending on framing. He's lived around the world, done things
that
people usually read about... built a software company, got tired of it
(and
by it), and turned his life in a whole new direction. He gives talks
about
his art, and shows the pieces. They sell on the spot. Once he gets his
biography done, and it gets out to a number of media, the same
building
process can go on with him.
Then there's the glass artist. I met him by asking his wife (before
she was
his wife) out several times. She was working as a waitress. She sat
down one
day, put her arm around my shoulder, and said "you gotta come home and
meet
my man." I did. we've been friends ever since. I was one of a number
of
people who helped them assemble a "compound" on 29 acres of land no
one else
wanted. "Well, breakfast is over - lets go out and assemble a building
to
house the hot shop." Apprentice programs, education programs in
schools...
an interesting note about his childhood... when he was 13, he and his
dad
dynamited the top of a hill and created a flat surface they called
"Earth
Station One", a landing pad for UFOs. They didn't get permits in
advance...
created quite a stir. Again, a story for the artist and his work. His
vases
sell for $3,000 - $20,000, his lamps sell for $4,000.
Finally, there's the woman gourd maker in the desert. She assembles
exquisite gourds, creating animal and indian imagery using inlays of
silver,
turquoise, mother of pearl, and paint... she's a fugitive from a big
advertising agency.... doesn't want to do the corporate thing. Smaller
gourds (6" in diameter) sell for $350, the larger ones ($10,000-
$40,000)
Can YOU do this? Yes. everybody has a "story" - everybody has
something
unique about themselves and their life... artists are no exception.
--
http://www.ransen.com/
Repligator - Easy graphics effects
Gliftic - Easy decorative tilings