How to Get Your Artwork Noticed

The image of the "starving artist" is ingrained in everyone's mind. It's not just the fact that art is a tough thing to sell in a volatile economy. All too often, artists are far too focused on the creation of art itself to know how to get the message that their art exists across to the public. Being an artist and being a salesperson may seem to require two diametrically opposed thought processes, but that's not necessarily true. As much as marketers need to use their creative faculties to build brilliant advertising campaigns, it behooves artists to channel their inner business maven in service of their art. Here are a few simple ways that artists can get their message to the people.

Think Like a Businessperson (Occasionally) 

This skill might be the toughest one for an artist. It's also one of the most necessary. The first question that you should ask yourself is what the message of your art is and who you're trying to reach. Yes, artists often do things just for art's sake, but there usually is some idea that they are trying to express through the medium of art. In either case, think logically about the potential audience for your work. Do a little demographic research and find out if there are a lot of those people spread around your area, or only a few in a single town. If you're actually selling your work, make a budget for your art production and then make a sales forecast. Whether you're monetizing your art or not, employing sales strategies like these can get your life's work noticed and valued.

Learn Social Media Skills

Social media is one avenue for making your work public that leverages the innate creativity which all artists bring to the table. A Facebook presence is almost a given these days, but sites that have a specific art focus, such as Pinterest, need to be considered. Another good idea that's been all but forgotten these days is a regular newsletter. Make a weekly or monthly newsletter that showcases your art and the art community in general. Then create a professional email address, get the address noticed by putting it on business cards that you give to friends, attach your newsletter to the emails you send and brighten someone's day while getting yourself noticed. Don't overlook getting a professional website that showcases you personally as an artist either.

Show Persistence 

Anyone who's just breaking into the art scene and hoping to make art their life is told one thing: be prepared for rejection. Don't just be prepared for it though; be prepared to overcome those disappointments by being relentless. Claude Monet himself faced rejection and nonetheless managed to make something of a name for himself. The next publisher you talk to or the next competition you enter could be the one that gives you your big break. Remember that every time you get rejected is also an opportunity to get feedback and learn what you might do differently next time. Life is a learning process; if we were perfect, we'd have nothing to strive for.

Be Your Own Advertisement

Whenever the opportunity presents itself, nothing beats getting out in public physically and showcasing your work and yourself. Going to conventions and trade shows are ready-made places to sell your work, but there are reasons to attend them even if you don't sell. Those reasons are called contacts. We often like to think that the art community is somehow above valuing the subjective judgments of movers and shakers within the community, but they're looking to find good art as much as you're looking to make it. Get out there and make new friends.

People all too often scoff at those who say that they want to make a living doing art. The truth is that it's certainly possible to make your craft into your business. It's just as valid to keep your art separate from money entirely, though even if you do, using sales strategies to get yourself noticed is quite valuable. Think of this as an art form all its own.