Marketing for Artists

Someday soon I plan to teach a class on marketing for artists. I do not believe in the glory of the starving artist concept and I see nothing wrong with making money from your art if that is what you choose to do. My goal and my reason for teaching is to help artists succeed in making money from their work.

In this class I share my experiences working in marketing and how I use them to market and sell my own work. Then I teach students how they can do the same. I strongly believe in the power of marketing and in being an artist who makes money from their work. My passion for this is something I relay to my students to get them excited about the possibility of making a living from their art. Not everyone wants the pressure of making money from their passion, perhaps they feel that it will have a negative impact on their creativity, but those that take my class have that entrepreneurial itch and they are attracted to the possibility of making money from doing something they love.

The first step in my class is understanding what marketing is and why it’s important. Students learn that marketing isn’t evil or sleazy and they become comfortable in marketing themselves and their work in a professional manner. Students also learn to use new marketing technologies and where to look for information in the future in order to stay updated. In addition, they develop critical thinking that helps them decide which marketing activities are best suited for what they want to accomplish. Another important part of marketing is building a network, something which can be difficult for those that are introverted. Since many artists are introverts, this class provides strategies for growing that network with specific ideas to help the introverts.

Everything in my class has a practical application and is adapted by the students to use in their own businesses. Every week the class learns about a topic via lectures and readings and then each student creates their own version of it. The class reviews each other’s work and gives constructive feedback. In the end they create their own marketing plans that they can start using right away.

While the concepts for this class are in the just beginning phases, someday soon I will be able to do it and to have the pleasure of seeing others succeed. Is there something you would like to learn? Something you wish I would cover?