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Tuesday, August 11, 2009

MAM Poll: What's the MAIN way you have sold art in the last 12 months?

Artists may use a variety of methods for marketing and selling their art - but at the end of the day it's often the case that one way tends to be more successful than others. The Making A Mark Poll for August focuses on the way you have actually achieved results in terms of sales of your art.

This month the Making A Mark Poll also will provide data which will updates a very similar Poll done in August last year - see What's the MAIN way you sell your art? - The Results. The analysis of the results last year provided an indication of two key 'need to know' aspects of selling art:
  • What works - the more successful ways of selling art
  • What works less well when it comes to selling art
A slice of allium
graphite pencil on mountboard
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

I've slightly revised the categories to take account of some of the comments last year. These are:
  • Gallery - gallery artist
  • Gallery exhibition - "rent a space"
  • Juried Exhibition (Art Society / Art Competition)
  • Art Fairs
  • Studio sales / Open Studios
  • Commissions
  • Word of mouth / friends and family
  • Via traffic from own website / blog
  • Online Gallery / Shop - eBay
  • Online Gallery / Shop - Etsy
  • Other Online Galley / Shop
It's probably worth noting that if you think the bulk of your traffic to an online site is actually generated via your own personal website or blog then that is what's achieving the sale not the online gallery/shop.

You'll find the survey in the right hand column in the usual place - just below the Blogger Followers widget.

The poll closes early on 31st August and the analysis of results will be posted the same day.

What's the MAIN way you have sold art in the last 12 months?
  • Please feel free to comment on what your experience has been and what changes you've observed or experienced in the last 12 months.
  • If you've got a helpful tip for others trying make decisions about what theis the best way to sell their art please share it.

6 comments:

  1. Hi Katherine- glad to see you are back! Can I suggest another category? That would be invitational shows. These can take place in a gallery or museum but are invitational rather than juried. For many professional artists (at least in the US) these kinds of shows provide very good sales.

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  2. Good point Deborah. Voting has started so I can't alter the survey.

    Invitation shows are to my mind are very similar to juried shows (somebody else decides you're good enough to appear in an exhibition!). I think it would be fine if any votes for that sort of invitational show went under the juried show category. I'll certainly note the distinction for next year - I think this one is going to be annual!

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  3. This is an interesting poll because I have heard that sales in general are down. so it will be interesting to see how artists are selling their work in this economy.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Well the analysis is certainly going to be interesting as I've already got a baseline for comparison.

    It won't be all the same people who respond and it's not quite the same categories however it's certainly better than being in the dark!

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  5. Another category is selling art on the pavements & railings.

    Selling & Making Art on the Streets for an illustrated review of how some artists do this in France, where this way of buying direct from artists is widely practiced.

    Hope you're less 'blogged off' now, Katherine.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thanks Adam

    Maybe this habit varies by country? Useful to know there's a guide.

    I've found, as somebody who writes blog posts on an almost daily basis that it's essential to take a break every 3 months or so. It's less about being blogged out as avoiding that happening! That and a need to get myself organised for an exhibition which invariably takes longer than you were expecting!

    ReplyDelete

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