Marketing your business can be just as creative, challenging and successful as being an artist.
In almost 16 years as an independent artist, I have developed several successful marketing strategies, including basic image creation, advertising and public relations. My goal has always been to target the right people—in my case, affluent parents with children—with the right kind of marketing material in a consistently applied campaign. Your marketing must be planned and budgeted to make your time and money effective at bringing in new business.

Image Creation
No matter how spontaneous you are in the studio, you must present a poised, professional image to prospective clients. Your walk-in location, your brochure, and your business materials all need to be crisp and attractive.

Location: Linda Weaver's Studio is in the historic Reynolda Village Shops & Restaurants complex, a community of chic boutiques set in the pastoral beauty of the former R. J. Reynolds estate. I have a gallery, a painting room, a camera room and a darkroom in a highly visible and accessible tourist location. I often pose my subjects in the beautiful formal and informal gardens of the Reynolda estate. The Reynolda House Museum of American Art draws affluent visitors to our adjacent Village and prepares potential customers for a unique experience. The studio is a constant advertisement to people visiting our cultural and artistic points of interest.

Insider Tip: Offer prospects a glance at handsome leather albums with 8 x 10 color reproductions of your commissioned work. Organize each album by portrait type—boys, girls, pastels, oils—to show the range of your talents.

Brochure: My sturdy and stylish dark green pocket folder (4 x 9 inches when folded) continues to be my "ace in the hole" for ongoing image creation and pre-selling. Varied inserts—my artist's biographical profile, prices and sample photographs of my work—slip into the pockets along with my business card. This organized approach lets me individualize each packet, while saving me the time needed to respond separately to each new inquiry. The inserts can be economically updated annually as my prices change, without having to reprint the more expensive pocket folder. The complete packet fits neatly into a no. 10 business envelope for mailing.

Insider Tip: It is an irony of business that the more you write, the less people will often read. Remember when you are designing your brochure and related materials that people are busy and distracted with their own lives and work, so it is important for you to be accurate and clear in all the information you print. Leave out tedious and unnecessary life-story blurbs and concentrate on communicating your strengths and capabilities. Be brief but thorough to catch the reader's eye and engage her interest.

Collateral Pieces: This includes professional-looking printed business cards, letterhead and postcards. They need to be on quality stock (80-pound card stock minimum for the business cards) in consistent and compatible colors. Always include two business cards with every piece of correspondence you send out, even invoices. A satisfied patron will happily pass one on to another potential customer.

I now print my own business cards on micro-perforated card stock, using a high-quality, fine-resolution laser jet printer. I scan my portraits directly into the computer and output them on my card for an appealing custom look. These cards are especially handy to distribute to visitors to my studio. Tourists in Reynolda Village seldom realize that the free color postcards and business cards of my work that they take home with them serve as terrific regional advertising for me.
Insider Tip: In all your materials, check, double check and triple check that you have omitted all typos and incorrect spellings. Nothing will deflate your image as quickly as a grammatical mistake. If you're not adroit with the mechanics of language, find someone who is and have him brutally proof your letterhead, ads and promotional materials.

Direct Mail: When a prospective client asks for information, we put her on our mailing list. Several months before a price increase, we mail a letter in our brochure packet to notify our database of the price adjustment and the effective date. Clients may pay a deposit before that date and "lock in" the lower price for one year. This procedure has guaranteed enough work in-house until the public adjusts to our new, higher prices.

Newsletter: I have had a professional newsletter layout created for me, and I try to send it out at least quarterly. I include upcoming special sales events, reproductions of my latest commissioned portraits, and reports on the staff's activities and travels. I always include all relevant contact numbers. The back side is a self-mailer, saving postage and hand-stuffing into envelopes.

Insider Tip: To economize and streamline production, pre-print a year's worth of "page ones" with your logo and masthead in color. Then print the text for each issue in black as the schedule arises. You only pay for the custom color printing once!

Advertising
Advertising keeps my name before the public and helps me generate new business in outlying regions. Remember that promotional activities have to be conceived and executed as an ongoing strategic campaign or they will not be effective. I have learned the hard way that one-shot advertising never works! It is also vitally important to target your advertising dollar specifically to the demographic profile of your preferred customers—to the income, lifestyle, family make-up and cultural/social activities of those customers. Sales representatives from the various media should have demographic composites for you to consider before you decide to run your advertising with them. I have concentrated my advertising dollar in print, television and radio, and recently, portrait brokers and the internet.

Consider the cultural forces at work in your market. For instance, in my fairly traditional, family-oriented community, my advertising draws attention because I feature children and emphasize the need to capture their youthful innocence before they grow up. Also, because the affluent sector of our community is a tight-knit group, I encourage referrals and word-of-mouth with all of my clients and prospects.

If you do not have a studio in a retail location, your advertising and referrals must be your "store window." Budget for more of this important marketing to draw new business.

Insider Tip: On any advertising you do, be sure to include a "call to action," a statement that urges the reader/listener to call your studio to set up an appointment. . .to contact you before this offer expires. . .in other words, to pick up the phone and ACT! You do have to ask for the business.

Print Advertising: The bulk of my advertising has been in print media. I've found advertising in upscale regional magazines like Southern Accents and Veranda effective in generating inquiries. I always run my advertising in color to highlight the quality of my artwork. The extra expense is valid since the impact on my reputation is so great. Not only do I acquire clients from other states, but my presence in glossy publications lends credibility to my professional image locally.
Locally, I've advertised in publications frequented by affluent target markets, for example, the Junior League magazine, symphony and opera playbills. My ads are usually elegantly simple, with a reproduction of a child's portrait accompanied by basic address/phone information. I also advertise in the newspaper for seasonal promotions and deadlines.

Insider Tip: Always insist on getting value for your advertising dollar. If your ad prints in colors that make your subject look like a green alien from outer space, insist on a substantial discount or a free ad in the next issue.

TV and Radio: "Talk radio" has been successful for me. I've run with the local AM station we all grew up listening to every morning for weather, traffic and news information. I told the station sales representative that if the announcers would visit my studio, I would buy live advertisements. They all graciously came by the studio, and two of them invited me to the station for live interviews. The one-minute "live ads" became three and four minutes because announcers were familiar with my studio and liked me. Needless to say, this helped me generate name recognition in the area.

The merchants in Reynolda Village have undertaken seasonal co-op TV ads to encourage visitors to our shops when traffic is slow. We ran our rather expensive schedule during peak news hours to capture an informed, affluent target market. Each merchant had a "donut" spot within the longer ad, and the series rotated weekly.

Insider Tip: Spend the money to assure that your TV advertising is professionally produced. Never let a viewer think your ad is a "homemade product!"

Portrait Brokers: Brokers have helped me generate new business in geographic areas where my other advertising has not been strong. The broker commissions are worthwhile because each "foot in the door" in a new community creates word-of-mouth referrals for future portrait.
Internet: To keep up with the current trends in marketing, I have joined a group of other portrait artists on the World Wide Web. My website has an "online gallery" of my work for interested prospects to review, a particularly handy benefit to people who cannot visit my studio firsthand. Because I don't have the time or skill to design a home page, I contracted with A Stroke of Genius and allowed Cynthia Daniel to do the computer work, while I reap the responses and referrals.

Insider Tip: Confirm that your website has an e-mail address so prospective customers can contact you, and be sure you check your mail and respond PROMPTLY!

Public Relations
In addition to image building and advertising, I pursue public relations to further my reputation and give something back to the people who have helped me succeed. This is a particularly satisfying marketing strategy for me personally. It includes special events, charitable contributions and Human Interest features.

Special Events: Each year the merchants in Reynolda Village host seasonal sales events, and I always participate. The most successful event is the Holiday Open House in late November, which is heavily attended and often introduces new customers to my work.

For my 10th anniversary gala a few years ago, I decided to paint a portrait of another artist in our area. I chose our beloved symphony conductor for a "masterwork" freehand oil. He was delighted! The gourmet shop across the courtyard from our studio was also celebrating a 10th anniversary, so we collaborated on the party. The chef furnished an elegant spread of gourmet goodies. A symphony ensemble played on the balcony overhead, and I unveiled the large portrait for a discriminating audience of about 400 invited guests. I had several hundred color prints of the portrait made so the conductor and I could autograph them in gold ink and distribute them to our guests that evening. I often visit offices and homes to this day and see these little prints adorning the walls. The symphony printed a two-page reproduction of the portrait in their brochure. The evening was a huge success and has generated repeat interest in my work.

Charitable Contributions: I receive endless calls and solicitations to contribute to worthy causes and events in the community, and I cannot participate in all of them. I donate one pastel portrait to a private-school auction, again to capitalize on the affluent target market in the area. The recipient almost always upgrades to a more expensive portrait and/or commissions me to paint siblings. I have learned to attach a deadline to these gift certificates to avoid having to complete them during my busy season.

Human Interest Features: Several years ago, I acquired a portrait of an unknown gentleman from a closed photography studio. It finally occurred to me to ask the local television station if they could do a feature on the "mystery man" to see if someone in the community could identify him. The cameras came to the studio three times to report on the portrait, interviewing people and encouraging response. The stories aired on the evening news and were the talk of the town. People dropped by just to see the mystery painting! Eventually, it was determined that the portrait had been missing from a small North Carolina college for 11 years, and the rightful owner returned to claim it. Again, the cameras rolled and we were on the news. I am looking for another Human Interest "mystery" to capture more free prime-time marketing!

Insider Tip: With this kind of publicity, the low cost can be offset by the lost control you have over the event or information conveyed. Be sure you know who you're dealing with and communicate your image and priorities before you collaborate to keep the publicity positive and professional.

Press Releases: So much has been written about writing and designing press releases to the media, that I can only add: Do them! They work! Any good volume on marketing will outline the basics for you. Let press releases be second nature to you, and continue to send them even if the first few are not picked up by the media. Send a press release to your local and regional media any time you win an award, attend a class, lead a seminar or go on a career-related trip. If you win a prominent commission, attain a professional-development office, or schedule a gallery exhibit or opening, send a press release (in plenty of time for the notice to run before the event).

Insider Tips: Always include your photograph with a press release, which will make it more likely to be published in print media. Always send a thank-you note to the editor who picks up your information. Build a marketing bridge in your community!

Live Your Dream
My most important Insider Tip: Believe in yourself! You must visualize your success and give your career all the creative energy you dedicate to your artwork. My life's dream has always been to become a successful artist, and now I am fulfilling that dream beyond the scope of my early expectations. You can do it too!


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Linda Weaver lives and works in Winston-Salem, NC. She has received national acclaim for her portraits of children and adults, has participated in numerous competitions and received many awards. Her studio is in a restored cattle barn on the former R. J. Reynolds estate.