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How To Find Potential Art Collectors
Are you having a difficult time driving people to your artist website?
Do the people who do visit your site make a purchase or leave?
Learning who your target audience is and how to find your target audience is an essential step in developing a successful art marketing plan.
The art world has changed over the past ten years, and online art sales continue to increase every year thanks to the internet.
Art collectors have the opportunity to discover beautiful artwork from artists worldwide.
Artists no longer have to create art that reflects a particular subject matter based on their demographics.
It is now possible for artists to develop an art marketing plan that will showcase your unique fine art to people worldwide.
New York artists can build an online presence to people who reside in California, Chicago, or even Italy.
The challenge many artists face is having their artwork seen by their target audience.
Your target audience is the people who have a passion for your artistic style and will be the people who will be interested in purchasing your artwork.
Once you know who you’re going after, you can begin to design a plan around how you will market to them so they can see you, begin to learn who you are, and get to like you so they come and buy from you. (Source: Entrepreneur)
Designing a marketing plan around your target audience will increase your art sales. Defining your target audience will save you endless hours marketing to people who are not interested in your artistic style.
What Is A Target Audience
A target audience is the demographic of people most likely to be interested in your product or service. If you own a plumbing company, your target audience is property owners, both commercial and residential. If you own a toy store, your target audience is parents, grandparents and anyone else with children in their lives. (Source: Balance)
If you are a fine art painter, your target audience will be people who collect fine art.
This is a great start, but narrowing down your target audience will be better for your marketing strategy.
The more specific and detailed you can be, the better.
For example, if you are a fine art painter specializing in painting horses, your target audience will be fine art collectors who also have a passion for horses.
A fine art painter specializing in painting horses is better, but you can even narrow it down more by including the medium you use or what types of horses you paint or even your paintings’ size.
For example, your target audience could be people who buy large oil paintings of Clydesdale horses.
Marketing your art can go two ways.
- You can waste time and throw money out the window marketing to people who are not interested in what you have to sell.
- You can significantly increase your chance of selling your art by marketing to people interested in your art.
How To Define Audience
Before you can start to understand who your target audience is, you will need to know your niche.
What is your niche, or what are your interests?
Once you can identify your niche, you will be able to determine who your target audience is.
I knew as a very young child that I had a passion for drawing with graphite.
I would try to make my drawings look exactly like my reference photos.
I did not understand what I was doing at that time, but I did know if it looked like the picture or not.
I would spend hours and hours drawing, trying my best to make my drawings look realistic and precisely like the image I was drawing.
I didn’t realize that the many hours that I spent drawing were enhancing my art skills. I just knew that I enjoyed the challenge.
I also have a passion for all animals.
After many years of drawing different subjects with different mediums, I went back to my roots. I now specialize in commissioned animal portraits and wildlife using graphite and pastels.
By narrowing down my niche, I was able to build a successful online art business.
Discovering your niche is easy to do. Just look deep into yourself.
What is your real passion?
The more specific you are, the better.
Ask yourself these questions:
- What is my favorite medium?
- What are the dominant colors that I use?
- What is my favorite subject to draw or paint?
- Would I like to provide commissioned services?
- What is my artistic style?
By answering these questions, you will start to discover what your passion is. That will be your niche.
Who Is Your Target Audience
Your target audience is simply a reflection of you.
Your target audience is individuals that share the same passion and interests that you have.
Let’s say that you enjoy painting realism paintings of wildlife with oil paints.
The people who have a passion for wildlife would be your target audience.
You can narrow it down more by targeting people who enjoy realism oil paintings of wildlife.
If you like to paint a particular type of animal, you could even narrow your target audience even more.
Your target audience should also define the buyer persona, including:
- Age
- Gender
- Demographics
- Income
- Employment
The more you can learn about your target audience the more productive your art marketing strategy will be.
This does not mean that you cannot market to a broader audience, but it will be easier for you to land a sale if you put your efforts towards your target audience.
Related Posts:
- Sell Artwork Online By Knowing Who Your Audience Is Part 1
- Sell Artwork Online By Knowing Who Your Audience Is Part 2
How To Find Your Target Audience Online
Here are some free online tools to help you learn more about your potential art collectors:
- Google Analytics
- Social Media Analytics
- Pinterest Analytics
- Facebook Insights
- Engage with your social media followers
Final Thoughts On How To Find Your Target Audience
Selling original artwork and selling giclee prints takes time, planning, and dedication.
To be successful, selling your art, you first need to discover who the people interested in your artistic style, medium, and the subject you create are.
After discovering the people interested in your artwork, you will need to build their trust.
Once you build their trust, you have a better chance that they will purchase your artwork and become a loyal collector.
Take some time to define your target market so you can make better choices with your marketing strategies.
Now that you know how to find your target audience online, it is time to start promoting your art.
You Might Also Be Interested In:
- Get More Eyes on Your Art: 7 Proven Strategies for Online Visibility
- How to Find Your Target Audience for Your Paintings
- Art Consultants vs. Art Advisors: The Pros and Cons
- How to Stand Out in a Saturated Art Market
- Making Money on DeviantArt: Tips for Selling Your Art
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Popular Art Marketing Courses
Are you ready to take your art business to the next level?
Investing in marketing courses and tutorials will maximize your profit and speed up the growth of your business.
Below are some of the most popular art marketing courses that will grow your online art business:
Most Popular – How to Make a Living Selling What You Make by Megan Auman
Most Popular – Build a Successful Creative Blog by April Bowles-Olin
How to Build a Business While Learning Your Craft by Megan Auman
Pinterest Marketing for Makers & Designers by Megan Auman
You can also join me on:
Learn how to start, grow, and monetize your online art business.
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