hi I'm Peggy Ferran and we are live with
the understand photography show where we
talk about travel and nature photography
welcome to episode ten number ten ten
weeks so far we've been doing it's been
really fun you can check out all well
this episode later and all of our
previous episodes on our website at
understand photography.com we also put
the show notes on there so if you need a
little refresher there all right typed
write it up in there before today's show
I just want to tell you quickly about
some trips we have coming up they're all
in Florida we have an Everglades trip
coming up in January Joe Fitzpatrick
leads that he's our Everglades expert it
is have a heavily emphasis on bird
photography so if you want if you love
the Everglades you love coming to
Florida in January which is the best
time to come come on our Everglades trip
that's in January in February
we're having a ladies only trip to Mount
Dora Florida and it is a it's a workshop
but it's a very it's a varied work shop
you're gonna learn a lot about all types
of photography and then in May we go to
st. Augustine so again our website
understand photography calm today we're
going to talk about selling your artwork
so many photographers have gorgeous and
gorgeous work but they really they want
to sell it but they don't know how well
I have got the best guest for you guys I
took a class a couple years ago it was a
to date it was called art business boot
camp and I met this woman and she's
amazing her name is Carolyn Edlin with
artsy shark welcome thank you what an
introduction now I have to live up to
them yeah yeah I promised that I will
and I think that that this episode being
all about business marketing selling
your work is gonna be of interest to a
lot of people because you know there's a
lot of folks who love photography
but there's something about making sales
of your work that is just very
satisfying and validating and so
hopefully we'll have some great tips to
help people who are photographers and
want to sell make some progress in you
get started doing that so now your job
is art business consultant right yes
you're kind of your job title it is
actually I run artsy shark calm and it's
a website where we feature artists we
three times a week we are publishing
articles about artists that present
their portfolios and tell us their
stories and two times a week I will have
business articles about marketing sales
pricing you all kinds of different
business related articles I also do
personalized consulting and and work
with artists who are trying to structure
and make their businesses going and she
is amazing I that two-day class was so
good I learned so much and it's helped
me just in you know in my own life and
in helping the people that I teach now
you started off as an artist though
right I did but I was not a photographer
and I will admit upfront I am the worst
photographer the worst so I always used
professional photographers for my
portfolio okay luckily but I was a
ceramic artist and I graduated from art
school I started my studio in 1980 okay
in 1980 yes I'm going to admit and I had
my business for about 20 years
in 2001 I decided that I was kind of
burned out it was ready to close my
studio and I actually did so 21 years
what we did was a lot of production in
the studio so I was wholesaling and
retailing I had a whole staff in the
studio we were selling to 150 200 stores
at any given time Wow very busy
production studio but you know in a
sense those are the days I think the
economy was roaring
artists are doing really well but today
there are some other challenges there's
more opportunity and there's also
challenges and I think that some of the
things we'll talk about today will help
people address and overcome those so you
shut your whole studio down
did you just quit working for a while
yeah I did not go right into the ice
skating this is a weird story but but
it's an interesting one in 2001 I you
know had back and neck problems for
being in the studio and I was really
burned out and I thought if I do one
more retail Fair I'm going to kill
myself it was a really bad and I decided
let me see if I can get a different job
but who's gonna hire me because I've
been self-employed for 20 years so I
applied for some jobs and luckily I got
hired almost immediately as a sales rep
for an art publishing company art
publishers licensed art could be from
from photographers or from other artists
and this was the largest art publisher
in the country actually in the world for
the mass market channel and that was
portal publications they are now out of
business but they were a part of wind
Devon which is still around as a large
art publisher and I was on their sales
force I loved that job and I learned a
lot about sales and I learned a lot that
I really wish I would have known while I
was still owned the studio because I
probably would have taken advantage of
those skills and so I did that for about
three years and I've also I would say
back in 2009 is when I started artsy
shark after I finished with portal I was
a rep for art publishers greeting card
lines and gift lines for a while okay
when I started my blog I just thought
well you know there's a lot of tips and
and and knowledge that I had that would
really have helped me when I was an
artist so why not just start blogging
about it
I took a Community College class on how
to blog
I learned how to do it I've never
stopped since and so I started writing
and slowly just by persistence gained an
audience and at this point we've been
named a top-ten art blog so excited a
lot of traffic so you feel like you
learned a lot because you had your
business for 20 years but then you were
in the art business and different you
were selling what were you selling into
with the we were selling magazine ads or
what we do nothing with the art
publishers what does that make posters
prints are greeting card lines calendars
so we were literally selling art and art
related products to retail stores I see
so I was a Brad a territory rep calling
on buyers and selling them on a
wholesale level I said but I had been
wholesaling for many years my own work
to stores all over the country
and in fact I had sales reps of my own
so it was just stepping into the shoes
of a rep so now how did you come up for
your blog you said it's called artsy
shark artsy shark artsy shark com.com
how did you come up with that name it's
really kind of cats really easy to
remember - well I want a name that was
easy to remember and I wanted a name
that had a real visual with it oh and so
you immediately get this word picture
yeah and a shark is my logo it's it's
always been my logo I am NOT a graphic
artist I'm a ceramic artist so I met a
young man who was one of my featured
artists and he did the logo for me which
I I had the original of the logo and
when I lost it in a computer crash at
one point I only had a small copy of it
he literally left the graphic art field
and became a priest I need a copy of
that logo and he goes sorry I'm like
Anthony please I'm like father Anthony
please it's so funny a great guy great
guy but we managed to kind of pull it
back and when I
did you know the whole theme of the blog
and so forth
we've got a great logo but it's just I
think it's a word picture I think it's
fair it is a good one it is a you know
you're a household word or a studio word
so it was great you are creative I'll
tell you so what about all right so in
your career as a business consultant
mm-hmm
what do you feel like what was your most
the best accomplishment do you have
anything like you're super proud of you
know one of the things that we do that
I've run around doing is I do a lot of
live workshops for artists in fact now
it's it's November I literally last week
just got back from speaking in Maine
Massachusetts Ohio and then I spoke at
RISD in Rhode Island
so I've been all over the place
traveling speaking about marketing and
sales and and putting together your
presentation and so forth
and I've written five courses as well so
I got partnered up with fmw publications
which is the largest publisher of art
magazines okay how to books in the
country and I've written courses with
them there at crafts online University
okay and they keep writing these courses
on you know building a hammie business
marketing pricing selling and so craft
online university craft online
university comm craft online university
deck that's where some of my courses are
oh so and you have courses on your own
website - I do like that's what an email
marketing for artists course and I'm
kind of Oh with a new course soon with a
co-author about artists websites and so
that'll be coming up in 2017 well you
know what I'm gonna just touch on the
email marketing because I teach a
business class for photographers here
locally it's not online yet but I say
always if you need a newsletter you need
to be contacting your customers right so
over the years I've been teaching this
I've never received a newsletter from
anyone Wow
so I started getting really aggressive
okay this class we wrote outlines of
newsletter
they still don't do it you know what why
don't people do what I got to do right
that's it you know what if you want to
sell your work you have to take steps to
do it yeah and and your testimonial as
to the value of a newsletter and I get
your newsletter and it is awesome and
look it's amazing and I think I said
this to you earlier I'm like Peggy you
are everywhere you're like a Wonder
Woman and I know you said yes I've tired
yeah that's how you're getting out the
word about your trips that's how you're
presenting your new work that's how
people know about this yeah what's going
on with you so you're really keeping
people in the loop and so let's just
jump right ahead to something that just
if you get nothing out of this entire
hour folks you need to know that email
marketing and staying in touch with your
audience people who are already
customers of yours and people who are
prospective customers of yours is the
most important activity you can do as a
marketer because what are the odds that
somebody is gonna buy from you the very
first time they see your photography
what are the ads they're not 5% 5 5% 95%
of them are they gonna walk away or are
you gonna get their email address and
are you going to ask them can I stay in
touch with you you're either going to do
that in person at your booth or you go
to do it online by requesting their
address and you're going to put them on
your list email marketing is 40 times
more effective than Twitter and Facebook
combined oh I would think about it I was
just gonna ask you because a lot of
people say well I I put it on Facebook
I'm like that's not good enough so what
will happen
hoarding Facebook wants to get in touch
with you the email you yeah you're right
they notify you on one another power so
I'm telling you folks if you get nothing
else out of this get get your butt off
your chair when you're done with this
and go open a can account with MailChimp
or some kind of an email service
provider and start building your list
and your class all I know is following
up that is what its gonna get you sales
and you're in right of course on email
marketing for artists it's on my site at
our sea shark comp
maybe you can share the
that sounds amazing I didn't even know
that I didn't have done my roof to the
Freikorps it's a hundred and thirty
pages it's got seven videos it's got
templates and all kinds of video my god
bad it's a great course and fat and it's
forty seven dollars but if you use the
code creative just put it all caps the
coupon code creative $10 off its thirty
seven dollars oh my god so there's my
pantry before we even get discounts I do
and that's another marketing tip
probably I don't know I don't know
you're the marketing lady I'm just
thinking you know all the different ways
to sell you know alright so what about
okay so who inspires you and in your in
your work I mean do you do you you know
I would just have to say the initial
inspiration was probably my dad who was
self-employed and I'm self-employed and
as a self-employed person I think this
will really resonate with you as well
and with many of the people in the
audience he said find out what it is
that you love to do and then find a way
for people to pay you to do that
that's pretty awesome and you started
your business when you were young too
well I mean you've been an entrepreneur
your whole life yes I have okay I guess
you know a lot of people like the
security of having a job where you have
set hours and you've got that pension
coming and and I think a lot of people
in your audience probably this will this
will hit home with people there's
nothing wrong with having you know what
we would just consider kind of a
straight job or a regular job but really
love being creative really love that
photography so go ahead and do that
you know if photography is a side
business for you because it's something
that you love and that you want to get
into selling I think that's an amazing
way to do it and actually people who've
been in business are some of the best
candidates for having their own
photography business because they have a
sense of how do I organize myself how do
I sell how do I need to keep records
what do I need to do as a serious
business person and if you've got that
background I think
amazing now do you have tell me like a
story of somebody that you helped like
an artist who came to you and said I I'm
an artist I don't know what to do okay
um I know you've got good stories I do
have some good stories that I'm gonna
tell you one that is not about a
photographer but that's okay I was doing
a workshop a couple years back up in New
Jersey and a young woman was there and
she was a jewelry artist and she had
come and to show us some of her work and
she had had put beads together and she
had bought these and she had some
interesting pieces and she'd worked a
little bit with silver she was a metal
Smith and she was very good at it a very
talented person but what she had wasn't
really all that different from imported
work or anybody else's work and she was
trying to find her way and so over the
course of time when she started working
with me individually and we took a look
at her collection she identified a
couple of core pieces that she created
that were in the theme of boating and
yeah so this was kind of her thing she
lived
oh she lived on the lake and she had
some jewelry that had some boating
related imagery and as a theme and we
started there and she actually developed
several product lines that are all
around people who live on the lake they
have boats they love that lifestyle they
they they live it and breathe it and
that's just something that's important
to them uh-huh and so she decided she
wanted to be able to wholesale her work
okay knowing the wholesale market we
worked on developing a line that was
cohesive creating that body of work at a
price point that allowed her to be
profitable at a wholesale level and you
know wholesale is when you're selling to
stores and they're marking up and
selling to the public at a retail price
point so she was able to start out with
a line she went to a trade show
he is selling also wholesale online and
I believe she's getting some reps she
started out with just a couple of local
stores and the last I heard from her she
had 40 wholesale accounts she had two or
three people who are working for her cuz
how could she keep all my bad she's
showing up in magazines she's getting
very large accounts and we're talking
how can you truly scale your business so
that would be in for her that really
fulfilled kind of the vision that she'll
for her business okay now when you said
that to me
mm-hmm okay no photography maybe is a
little bit faster to reproduce but I
just got scared when you said that how
could she keep up with me making that
much jewelry well you help people with
that kind of stuff absolutely okay how
do you scale your business because
you're a ceramic artist that's gotta be
pretty labor-intensive as well it was
but one of the other ways we get around
this is just by building systems into
our business okay how how can we either
make something in the studio in a
streamlined enough way in an efficient
enough way that we can create production
ourselves or and as a photographer this
might be an option how can we outsource
to a manufacturer for example who is
going to put our imagery on products
okay and that we might be able to
wholesale okay we might look at a
different stream of income photographers
are certainly in a perfect position to
license their work so that they might be
working with an art publisher and you
remember I talked about wind Devon and
the beginning of this conversation
that's just one of the art publishers
out there I actually just worked with a
photographer fabulous photographer who
licensed 20 of his images to McCall
graphics oh and another big art
publisher and what they do in the
licensing world is they have a contract
with the artist or the photographer to
license certain images for a certain
period of time
usually two three years to use to
manufacture uncertain products in a
certain geographical area say North
America or globally so that you have
this set contract and they have the
rights to reproduce your images your
photographs but they're not buying your
copyright right that's a licensing
agreement you retain your copyright you
should always retain your coverage right
people to sell your copyright but that's
a different type of agreement but yeah
so that's kind of another stream and one
of the things we might talk about here
before we get those five mistakes is
creating multiple ways of making money
okay and I'm willing to bet Peggy that
you've done that in your own business as
you know I'm pulled all over the place
yeah but tell me some some what if I'm
you know strictly a nature photographer
then I've got all this beautiful
landscape art what would be multiple
ways look at licensing it okay you could
be selling it retail and when you say
that you mean at a gallery
well no retail would be if you were at
an Art Fair oh okay sample we're here in
Florida and as you know a lot of our
various top art fairs down here is
you're really beautiful shows you could
be selling retail out of your studio
okay I have an open studio sale you
could have a pop-up shop something like
that you could be licensing you could
work within the gallery system which is
on a consignment basis okay so if you
were working with that fine art gallery
you'd be turning your work over to them
and you would be getting paid as they
sell your work and that would be
consignment which is a very typical
studio I'm sorry very typical gallery
okay okay there's a lot of ways to sell
so all right let's change the subject a
little bit mm-hmm how technology what
technologies help can help artists I
guess what do you what are you excited
about lately what's going on okay I love
technology okay not just digital you
know I mean a lot of photographers work
in that digit
realm they're you know they have almost
too many tools the choices are endless
yeah I left another photographer some
other technologies - okay
and some of them for example I love 3d
printing I'm just kind of a big fan I
think it's really awesome I'm not quite
sure how you might use it as a
photographer but there are other there
are other technologies that help you
scale your business quickly laser
cutting is certainly one okay so if you
could use that in your studio I think
that's awesome sublimation printing now
this is something really cool and
absolutely could be used by
photographers okay now I have a story
here about an artist that I know she's
not a photographer folks but it doesn't
matter because it applies to what you do
- she actually was painting with alcohol
inks on on tile okay and her work
alcoholics gives a very flowing
beautiful kind of a watercolor look and
she was doing these beautiful landscapes
and she's paying them on ceramic tiles
over and over and over one at a time
right that would be production but in a
hands-on way and then she discovered
sublimation printing and what this
technology does is it takes an image
that you can put into your computer and
you can alter it to what size do you
want to make it alter the colors and so
forth and it is a method of printing
using heat that actually works on many
different substrates so it would work on
metal it would work on ceramic you could
put it on fabric you could put it on
plastic many different surfaces you
could put on a mug for example okay and
she was putting it on ceramic tiles and
then started putting her images on
jewelry sublimation printing literally
turns the inks into a gas and then
forces
into the surface of the substrate so
that they literally are embedded they're
not just on the surface they're not
going to scratch off they're not like
silk screening or something
they are literally embedded and they're
they're wonderful because they give a
very true representation the colors are
very true and it's a fabulous very
interesting technology so here's what
this artist did
she's now bought her own sublimation
printer and I think she paid three or
four thousand dollars and she's quit her
job her husband is getting ready to quit
his job
and they're going to be putting her
images on all types of products so what
does that do for your business
Wow number one you're not just working
in one format anymore suddenly you can
offer your collection or you're lying on
tons of different products at tons of
different price points how could this
expand what you're offering to your
customers that's cool yeah cool
so alright so let's back up to let's say
because people who come through my
training center mm-hmm
or you know take our online classes
they're usually beginner to intermediate
photographers so they really want to
sell their artwork but they have no clue
like what would be the first step you
know that's a great question
and I and I actually love working with
beginners and one of the reasons is that
when when you talk to a beginner and you
tell them what's possible you know and
they're not set going down one
particular Road then the world just
opens up for them and anything is
possible and there's nothing I like
better than talking to somebody about
something they've never heard of then
talking to someone who said oh my gosh I
would have learned this I wish I would
have learned this ten years ago yeah so
if you're a beginner hey you tuned in at
the right time
so I would say this absolutely taps into
kind of the be okay the theme behind
what we're talking about which is the
five biggest mistakes that motorists
make okay and as beginners or even not
so beginners
one of the big mistakes that people make
as artists or photographers is just in
their portfolio itself because they may
not have a clear direction they might
have a lot of interests but their
portfolio might have some of this and
some of that and some of that and you
know pictures of animals and they're
under water and they're up the trees and
then maybe they've got some still life
work and they've got some abstracts and
they've got this and that and it's just
all over the place
the problem with being what I call a
generalist is that you're so diverse
that nobody really gets what you are
really about I encourage people to have
a direction a focus and a niche if you
have a niche that you are in then you
really have I think the power to move
forward in a very directed way and I
think that artists who are all over the
place should decide what is it that I
really love to do or at least be able to
put their work into one or two very
strong collections that are in very
cohesive groupings with a signature
style that says this is my work so that
if I saw your photography and that was
all hung on the wall I would know that
every single one of those photographs
was taken by you what is it that you do
that tells me this is my work this is
what makes me different from everyone
else there's a zillion photographers out
there right what distinguishes you that
makes you different from everyone else
because if you don't have that and if
you don't know what it is and if you're
not able to tell the world in general
what it is then then you're going to get
passed over because people can't really
relate to and remember you what is it
that makes your work memorable it's so
different from everyone so it's not
enough just to have beautiful images you
have to get all that beautiful images
out there you know absolutely when
okay I often judge at our local art
Association and it's not just
photography it's all types art and
mostly most it's mostly photographers
and jewelers those are the two main you
know it's like we need workers we need
rated categories so anyway but it's so
typical for photographers especially to
not have a style you know one guy and I
know this guy he's an amazing
photographer he put one really bright
cheery flower picture and it was on
acrylic so it was shiny and bright and
it was beautiful and then they had this
dark black and white cityscape and it
would just it was beautiful but I mean
he had three I can't remember the third
picture but he had three pictures that
didn't even look like they were from the
same photographer and they didn't he
wasn't qualified for the show and I I
felt so bad because he came up to me
he's like what happened because he he
was definitely I mean his pictures were
good enough but but they were all the
judges just went you know and that and
it doesn't it's not necessarily that you
don't have talent because your work
could be incredible but unless I say yes
oh I love that I love what this guy does
if if you're confusing me then I don't
know where to go with that and if you're
online showing your work say on your
website and I don't really get it if I'm
confused or you know I don't get a sense
of it what do I do
I click away I just go to the next I
mean you're just gone so what are you
going to do to grab someone's attention
and to pull it in in a very compelling
collection of work that you're sharing
no matter your no matter what medium you
are in this is so important who are you
and what defines you and how can you
explore in great depth that direction
that really that really pulls you and
that you want to share with the world
and that was one of the biggest things I
got out of your two-day workshop yeah
that workshop was so you gave so many
ideas on how to help hone your
nitch fine yeah you use that word niche
yeah I'm using that word and I think you
know the next problem that that people
have is literally their images if you
were not a photographer if you were
jewelry artist for instance that other
big group that we talked about one of
the and I would say the second biggest
mistake that they make is that they have
horrible photographs now who is a
terrible photographer me I'm terrible
I'm the worst I'm like you know I can't
get the focus together I learned a few
things I've taken a couple good photos
that's my my limit luckily artists send
me beautiful photos so I don't need to
worry about taking too many of them
myself but I've just got to tell you if
you are not a photographer the value of
your work is conveyed by the images that
you show if someone is not holding your
work looking at it in / in person if you
are sharing your work in any way through
your marketing efforts online to a jury
you'd better have outstanding photos and
I mean money shots gorgeous photos that
just make your work look better than it
is in person because your competition
has that everybody knows artists who are
well known they're outstanding in you
know whatever medium they are in they
get into all the shows their works and
all the photos you know the magazines
everybody knows them why because they
have outstanding images they're able to
show their work at a higher level than
you know what's out there in the crowd
now when you're talking that high level
when you're talking about that you're
talking about the presentation of the
artwork not the actual artwork because
it's a little for us as photographers
talking about the presentation so
whatever jewelry artist if you're a
painter I want to see outstanding photos
okay
photographers we know no glare no poor
focus the lighting should be right no
horrible backgrounds if you're a really
good photographer and you have friends
who are artists and you want to be
really kind to them help them learn to
take great shots and I know Peggy
you teach people yeah and you've written
an article for me that
it's very very well received how to take
photos of your artwork if you can't
afford a professional photographer but
it is a nice little side business for it
is also because I have people bring
their art to my studio
yeah photographs are them but I have
something to say to all you
photographers out there if you're like
yeah yeah well we've got the photography
death part down I'd like to talk about
the portfolio of a photographer one of
the biggest problems that I see
photographers have is that they've got
fifty thousand pieces in their portfolio
and it's this massive overkill and they
can't I mean they need to hone it down
to meaningful pieces in a manageable you
know a critical mass okay I've had
photographers say you know I was out in
this field of flowers and I have this
one this one this one this one and this
one and I'm like a no maybe - yeah you
need to be able to choose and I think do
you find that this is a big problem for
photographers you're actually able to
weed out
that's images that's such a great point
how many images is the right amount well
I think it depends on what you're doing
if you're if your body of work is is
very narrow and just today I looked at a
photographer's work I looked at his
portfolio and all that this guy
photographs is insects and it's really
interesting I mean I'm like I love what
and in a very interesting way yeah now
if he had 50 photos of different insects
that would be cool with me okay I don't
want to see 2,000 otherwise it would
just be like it's too many you know but
and they have to be different well it
doesn't you don't like that you know I
don't want to see them posed and you
know the same yeah that's too much if
you want to sell your work and you have
five different choices that are so
similar how will anyone make a decision
they don't yeah they can't make it you
solve the well overwhelm them and then
they just leave so here's what I would
suggest if you've got a fabulous shot
and then maybe one alternative and
somebody's looking at me and maybe it's
a picture of a horse or something this
is really great in that one too
what I would do if I were you you know
which one is the bestseller right or as
the photographer you know which one
would look really fantastic be
consultative and selling and saying you
know I love both of these equally this
one would look great with a certain mat
and a certain frame I could really see
that you know as a centerpiece of real
focal point this other piece is slightly
different which one which one do you
like and let's talk about the strengths
of it so that you have some input into
how they might hang it or frame it or
where it might be appropriate perhaps
they need to buy both because as a set
that would be a really perfect
presentation she's always selling right
so in your presentation when you are
showing someone your photography are you
showering in groupings and you should
they should be because what that's what
I called a suggested serving uh-huh you
know put them on the wall and we show
them any grouping and they're like wow
look how much greater impact these make
as a grouping then they then it did if I
only bought one piece yeah I love that
that's good you don't even have to say a
word you're just going to show it
photographers know the power of an image
so you're showing the you know that
powerful image of your work in a
grouping suggested way to frame it yeah
frameless if that's better right or
suggested size if something that you
have would look great as a 24 by 36 show
it in Scituate oh that you know of a
really powerful impact that it's making
in a room okay so I'm gonna back up to
the question for the beginner the most
important thing is to get the portfolio
together mm-hmm and get it together with
a niche figure out how you're gonna
print if you're gonna do canvasses or
whatever however you're gonna offer it
short
figure all that stuff out
the portfolio has to be tight so that
would be the first step mm-hmm so then
what well I know what I would do me I
would hire Carolyn help me please Muncie
and I think that it actually is
something that what when you're putting
together that portfolio that you just
talked about who who is gonna buy this
from you
so like Gujarati so know your audience
who is your audience you have got that
great all those great photos of nature
or Birds and I know you've got a lot of
a lot of photographers you speak with
who photograph Birds all right okay so
say I'm a bird photographer yeah okay
are you photographing certain types of
birds maybe I know what photographer and
all she does is hummingbirds oh and she
is astonishing I mean those birds are
just amazing in and out that I know they
are all she does is hummingbirds that's
from it and you know what there are
collectors there are fans or people love
to feed the hummingbirds that's her
niche so maybe your niche would be
pelicans okay in Florida work it what if
you only took photos of birds and a
certain preserve a certain area like the
birds of the Everglades the birds of the
Everglades and people who love the
Everglades or the birds and the keys if
they love the keys their you know their
vacation home is in the keys or it's a
memorable place that they want to come
back to a great family vacation perhaps
they were married there then you could
tap into a certain interest of theirs
which is the Everglades are the keys or
that okay so all right so I'm honing it
down so now I've got my I got my
portfolio it's tight it's full of birds
from the keys yeah how do I reach that
out I got my audience to fight well
wait why defining your audience because
they're people clearly they either
travel to the keys or they live there or
you know they want to go there maybe
they maybe their dream is to go on this
fabulous vacation to Key West may they
have been there yeah so you know and
interestingly enough and I want to and I
think this really ties into photography
okay
when I worked for the art publisher and
we saw posters and prints what was the
number one category always it was called
bon voyage
they were travel posters of the most
amazing places that makes you were dying
to go to
yeah so what did you do with it you
bought that poster and you put it up in
your cubicle or you dreamed you just
wanted to be in Maui or you just wanted
to be in the Keith because you you know
who wants to be working in a cubicle
right that's boring oh great panelist
brought some another element that's a
great a lot of resonance a lot of
emotional value to that person that's
good you know what if you could connect
on line in groups that in in vendors or
stores or websites that cater to people
who love the keys and that you would
present the birds over the keys maybe
have a book about it
what a wonderful keepsake so okay so our
dad look so I've got and I don't live in
the keys so how am I gonna sell to
people like that when I be on the
Internet yeah absolutely so on my own
website but how would people find me
well you could sell on your own website
but I'm willing to bet that there's
people who are fans of the kids Facebook
groups for people hi the keys so you
would just start posting and talking
about the key join these groups find
people who love the keys invite them to
your website put your email marketing
opt-in get them on that email list and
every week they're gonna be receiving a
new picture of great birds from the keys
or you know beach shots or whatever it
is that you do because you found people
who really care about that and when
they're ready to make that purchase
they're gonna buy from course to you
because they've already got that
connection and they you know what you
just made that easy because one of the
problems we have is a lot of people who
come to this area who take them out of
my classes they are either snowbirds or
they're retired or semi-retired and they
don't have the energy and ambitious to
go full you know like I'm gonna spend 80
hours a week you know building up my
photography business they want to dabble
I'm sure and it's fine and that's a damn
but that's that's a weight that's like a
good way to put your baby toe in and
start start becoming known without a
whole lot of effort right and you know I
think that that it follows we're talking
about these these five steps that you I
know this takes people making them we're
gonna summarize those because we're
talking about them but we're all over
the place well the first one is that we
don't have a portal for all the other
number two they don't have a good
presentation out their portfolio right
number three they do not know who their
audience is and you need to know who
should be buying from you why because
you need to connect with them you need
to go where they are how can you find
those people if if your audience are
wine lovers hey need to be at the wine
festival you need to be out there you
know connecting with those people and
then that's three the fourth I think
absolutely ties in with your audience
and it is the story that goes with your
photography okay you know art is a very
emotional purchase would you agree with
that people fall in love that's without
what you do and I'm thinking back to an
art show my husband and I went to last
fall I think was up in Sarasota and
there was this and it was bird
photography actually I don't remember
plug-in but this work was incredible and
he had this absolutely stunning picture
of a heron kind of a sunset and the way
that the the sunset and the water was
reflecting the bird almost looked blue
and just gorgeous and so you know he was
telling us where he took this photo we
met him in person
and it turned out I wasn't quite sure if
this would fit the space in my home and
it didn't fit the space and I didn't
make that purchase but knowing the
artist and him being able to pull out a
postcard at the show and my taking a
little cell phone shot of the image
and writing down the dimensions mm-hmm
he was so helpful to me and telling me
about that story and wanting to say look
you can even take this home if you want
to you can always return it to me I mean
just that kind of service just that
connection I really wanted to buy what
he made well as he talked about the
birds and where he went to take their
photos and what type of bird is this
where do they live why is that
meaningful living in Florida I love
having a Florida home everything in my
house is about Florida oh really I'm
sorry I'm not gonna buy you know a
mountain view I everything is about the
ocean the finish the beach because
that's what I love so who is your
customer and how do you share with them
the story behind what it is that you do
where were you when you took it what how
did you get there what were the
difficulties in shooting those photos
you know what else it's so funny to say
that because we have a very famous
photographer in this area called Clyde
butcher you probably know who he is and
the first time I saw him speak I thought
wow this guy is really good at its
selling and marketing he he put it was
at the Naples Art Association he put
this huge picture of his printer on the
wall and then he had the story next to
it basically making it sound like he was
the only one with a printer like that in
the world which he wasn't of course but
you were so impressed that he had this
big printer and he had I mean I think it
was like eight feet tall a picture the
picture of his printer but that was the
story of how he does these large format
printing and it was interesting
important it is so important
number one it completely validates you
as an expert and a professional with
what you're doing when you saw that this
man could could you know make an 8-foot
you know picture out of his printer no
it was all of his purpose printer I mean
you knew that and there was actually an
artist in my area and she has a huge
printer too she's she's a painter uh-huh
but she prints out work in any size you
want and she'll even frame it I mean and
I know her and and and I can tell her
story and you when people buy your
photography they buy that bird from the
Everglade
or whatever they buy and they know you
or they know about you if they haven't
met you you know they'll tell your story
when they show your photo to other
people who admire it in their home I
bought this from this artist in Florida
and he takes these photos in the
Everglades this particular shot was in
an early morning it was just they loved
that why that's such a great tip it
becomes part of the owning of the art
right story is you can't separate it I
love this reason they buy from you is
because of your story and because they
love it they love the image and they
love about the artist and they've met
the artist or they know about the artist
and they're on their list and and there
are proud to own a piece of yours and
they're going to talk about that it's
pride of ownership you know it's funny
because I'm thinking of another story
did you ever get those greeting cards in
the mail by some handicapped artists or
whatever because they always go into the
handicap of the artist and then they're
selling the greeting cards and I thought
yeah that's really effective because I
have paid for them because like you know
person overcame something I want to end
it was nice artwork - that's very true
and I think that's actually kind of an
offshoot of the story and that's cause
marketing if you say 10% of all the
proceeds will be donated to breast
cancer research especially if you're a
cancer survivor and you've got that
personal connection or there's a charity
a children's charity or you know
something that the shop or cares about
have you ever noticed that if you donate
a piece of art to a charity for an
auction where do the prices go way way
up yeah they they will overpay for your
work because they want to support that
cause that's something that's near and
dear to their hearts what are some other
things that are really valuable just to
shoppers in general made in America
yeah you know handmade yeah hand limited
edition that's signed by the artist what
if you put a certificate authenticity
and with the world good all that please
always to add value and as we tell our
story and add value our work becomes
even more important and worth more money
to the people who buy from us so there's
a ways to you were talking about
upselling yeah oh this is just
increasing the value of what we make all
right so what we're so forth
we're number four okay that is the
fourth is is to tell your story okay so
we've got a great body of work that
makes sense in a cohesive your style in
a direction that is our own number two
the presentation of your works if you're
not a photographer we want excellent
photography if you are hey I'd like to
see a photo of your work in situ in a
great environment third we talk about
understanding your audience and who
ought to be buying from you who's do you
really connect with and who can you tell
your your story to and forth is that
story what is the story about you about
your work about how you make it that is
meaningful to the people who are gonna
buy from you because they just eat that
up
they love that so that's the fourth so
what's the fit what's the fifth is you
got to get started and you got to get
your butt in gear and you have to take
action it's easy to sit around and talk
about this but what are you going to do
first if you are serious about selling
what you make then you've got to have a
plan your plan can't be oh I'll just do
some more marketing moves here that's
kind of vague but if your plan is hey I
need to organize my portfolio I'm gonna
do that this week I'm going to
understand what it is that I do and then
I'm going to start writing a paragraph
about each piece that I want to present
in my collection and I want to make that
emotional connection are you going to
start honing your collection for the
right audience finding that audience and
move forward with ego with marketing it
Wow you got to make steps you got to
check them off the list
and even small increments today I will
review my portfolio that'll take a nap
whatever you know it's funny you said
that because I was interviewed for a
podcast called shutterbug life and I the
man who puts it on his name is Linford
Morton and we became friends and I've
never even met him face to face
okay and it was I don't know a year more
than a year ago but we hit it off over
the phone and we had a great interview
on the podcast and we I don't even
remember how it started but we decided
that we get together on the phone every
week to review our goals Wow what did
you do this week or what are you gonna
do next week because otherwise you get
so caught up in life it's life is so
busy yeah so we we do want to distract
it I love that strategy Peggy and
honestly without even giving it a name
what you've done is you have an
accountability partner yep and the two
of you are keeping each other on track
yeah and so he's gonna say so Peggy you
were gonna change your website how'd
that work for you
yeah and without being judgmental or
screaming at you oh yeah if you said I
blew it this week I really I I got all
tied up in this and that then he's gonna
say okay well let's put it on the
schedule for next time and let's see in
a week from now what have you gotten
done it's exactly what we do and you
know what that's an easy thing for for
photographers they can do that
completely free I hope that everyone
who's listening to this and artists who
you don't want to get serious are going
to get involved in a community where
there's other photographers and artists
there and trade ideas learn resources
and meet other people who might be a
good accountability partner for you
because then you can do that completely
free okay that's just a way to as you're
doing keep yourself honest to keep
yourself moving forward and eat those
goals that you have it's so easy to get
caught up in the day-to-day stuff and
there's so and just like I was saying I
feel like I'm being pulled in a million
directions sometimes so it's nice that
somebody says you know this is you got
to get on this I do to him we do to each
other I've done the same thing it's like
I have this one major project and it
keeps getting put off week after week
and it
yeah so I can relate to that yeah okay
so now earlier you told me that you have
a call to artists going on right now I
actually do so tell us about yesterday
and thank you so if you're interested in
being featured and promoted as an artist
boom and you've got a great portfolio
and a great story those would be perfect
people to apply if you go to art sea
shark and that's a RTS Y sha arc a.com I
have a call for artists going on right
now I'm looking for 48 artists to
feature and promote in the coming month
it will run through the winter months
into 2017 we feature three artists a
week we present their portfolio and in
their own words they tell their story
their inspiration what's important to
them their technique and so forth we
share a link to their website we share a
link to their Facebook page their
Twitter feed whatever social media
you're on so that people can see your
work and we have so many visits to our
site and so many subscribers that your
article gets placed in front of
thousands and thousands of eyes now I
can't promise anything because I don't
know what happens you know in any
individual case but I've had artists who
got galleries who made sales who got
licensing deals who got invited to be in
exhibits through their feature and their
features permanent it's on there forever
currently we have over 850 artists so
far they're all on the site with a big
site and they can always share their
link so folks the deadline is November
18 2016 at midnight Eastern Time so go
to art sea shark calm and check out
become a featured artist and look at it
see if it's right for you there is a
jury fee of $20 and there is a
submission form to fill out and we do
evaluate each artist based on their
website so you would need at least a
Facebook page or some kind of an online
presence to apply wow so exciting
and all mediums are eligible oh my god a
very cool artists well your website is
very very heavily trafficked - it is so
get over 35,000 visitors a month oh my
god oh my god no tell us your website
one more time
artsy shark calm artsy shark calm and
again we're gonna have that in the show
notes on the understand photography
website as well so I think that God
you're a good guest I have learned so
much I'm like oh my gosh I didn't say
anything yeah well as you can imagine
I'm a speaker I do workshops all the
time on these topics and the most
wonderful part of it and you ask me you
know what's the most satisfying thing to
me is really watching people put their
dreams into action and creating those
goals and then reaching them so it's
just a privilege to speak to artists who
are beginning to speak to artists who
who want to get started to be on a show
like this and just to talk and just do
something absolutely free is they a get
out there get started you know there's
so many resources that you can take
advantage of as a photographer I know
Peggy that you offer a lot of them
absolutely free great tips great
opportunities resources and so forth so
thank you for having me and thank you
for for helping photographer South Oh
Thank You Carolyn edlin arts eat shark
thank you okay so next week's show we
have a guy who I've known a long time I
have not known him well but I've known
him a long time because Gareth Ratcliffe
and his wife Jan Soderquist were big
wedding photographers when I started off
here in this area
well Gareth has made the transition from
wedding photographer to landscape
artists and he has got a fascinating
story I mean he did a Kickstarter
campaign he did all kinds of stuff right
now he's in the second stage of the
Great American coastline because as
Carolyn said he found a niche he's so
he's gonna be a great guest that's next
Friday at 4 o'clock on the understand
photography Facebook page the show notes
from today are going to be on the
understand photography comm website they
so much for for watching the understand
photography show we'll see you next
Friday at four o'clock Eastern Time