I don’t think I’m wrong in saying that most artists would rather be making art, than trying to market art. And yet both are necessary parts of being a professional artist.
For some artists, a gallery or agent will take over the marketing/selling side of things, allowing the artist to just focus on being creative. That kind of freedom comes at a price, however—sometimes up to half of the artist’s earnings.
But recently I had an idea for a NEW type of artist’s agent; one who will specifically help you to market and sell your art online.
You see, after writing articles here on EmptyEasel for just over 8 months, I’ve begun to realize more and more the power of the written word on the internet. Not only does EmptyEasel receive tens of thousands of page views every month, but it also reaches people in almost every country around the world!
So instead of splitting half your profits with an art gallery or a traditional artist’s agent, I’d suggest starting a blog and hiring a writer to be your “agent.” Better yet, get together with a bunch of other artists and hire one writer between all of you.
Yes, I know that many artists have their own art blogs already, and that’s something that I’ll always recommend.
But I also understand that there are plenty of artists who are NOT writers. And I’ve seen many art blogs that don’t do as well as they could simply because there isn’t enough actual WRITING in them. (Remember, search engines can’t send you visitors based on your images—they need text!)
Yet another problem: for some artists, writing may take so much time that it keeps them from making art.
Which is why I think a new type of art blog—with several artists represented by one writer—could be a good solution all around.
And because of the power of Google and other search engines, a good writer will be able to represent your art over the internet in a way that far exceeds what a traditional agent could. Not right away, certainly, but within six months or a year, perhaps.
The key element in this idea is finding a person who can consistently churn out articles (I’m talking five days a week) based on the type of artwork you make, critiquing or assessing your artwork, comparing your artwork to famous artists, or even just describing your artwork.
Perhaps they would make 10% of every sale, or just earn a flat fee per article. The amount would be up to you, but certainly you’d come out better off than with normal gallery commissions.
Now, I haven’t seen this specific thing happening so far but I’m pretty sure it would work. Multiple artists means there’s plenty of art to write about, and a professional writer means better articles being published more often—which Google loves.
I’ve even got a name for it. . . an Art Pod. But let me know if you come up with something better.
In the meantime, if you’ve been thinking about having someone else handle marketing your art—I say go for it. Just keep in mind that the best person for the job might be a good writer.