Note: This post How to Create the Best Brochures for Your Art Business is a guest post by Peter Minkoff
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Running a business is always difficult, but when you have an art business, the struggle is all the greater. It often means targeting a very specific, narrow audience, and fighting for funds, gallery openings, and exhibitions is even more of a burden. Add to that, turning that business into a profitable one takes time, effort, and proper strategizing, even more so than for a regular, service or product-based operation. In that sense, marketing this unique business model is becoming a staggeringly difficult process, one that calls for immense creativity – beyond what you’ve already poured into your works of art.
That said, one of the simplest, most effective ways to gain attention from your target demographic and possibly spark some curiosity and interest for them to make a purchase is to create outstanding brochures exemplifying your work. This is where the challenge becomes even greater – you need to make the brochures exceptionally appealing to even have a chance to get someone interested in your artwork. Here are a few tips to get you started.
Define your campaign’s purpose
Depending on the type of art you create, you also need to be mindful of how people perceive your work. Knowing who is most likely to purchase your art and to actually talk about your brand to people around them can help you define the core goal of your brochures and come up with the best ideas to market your work through your brochures and other marketing tactics.
This time, for example, if you want to get more website visitors, more social media followers, if you want to sell a specific collection of your work, or raise awareness of something important you’re working on – you should let that purpose guide your design process and your choices when designing your brochures.
Collaborate with professionals
Much like you’re a skilled expert at what you do – your art – you should remember that marketing is an art form of its own and that working with someone who understands your brand can help you market it more effectively to your target audience. For example, you can collaborate with Infostarters who are experts in visual marketing and transforming written content into branded, appealing visuals, including brochures.
Many artists today choose to work with design professionals in order to preserve their identity in the process and to ensure that they will send the right message with their marketing materials. Doing that takes expertise and experience, hence the need to find a good match for your specific brand.
Think minimal thoughts
Minimalism is not just about putting less on your brochures and other marketing materials just for the sake of a currently popular trend. It’s actually so much more than that – it’s a marketing strategy that takes into account how your brochure readers will perceive your marketing collection. They’ll likely be impatient and just skim your writing, or skip straight to your artwork.
To prevent them from throwing out the brochure or lose their interest mid-reading, you should use short, concise sentences packed with meaning and try to say more with less. Think of your written segments as another form of art and use it to convey key messages without going into too many details. The same goes for your design options. Stick with less rich design so that your art can “pop” and steal the spotlight.
Merge digital with print
Brochures might be envisioned to come solely in print for some art businesses, while others limit their production to the digital realm exclusively. If your demographic will benefit from it, why not merge them into a unified strategy that will help increase your chances to reach the right people and get them to browse your beautiful artwork?
In fact, you can use this opportunity to add your digital outlets onto your brochure and invite people to check out your latest digital gallery via a QR code you print on the brochure. Then again, you can add your social media profiles to invite them to follow you for more of your great work and lead them to the latest events, gallery openings, and auctions. And your digital brochures can contain photos and original imagery reflecting your physical art studio, and other details that could help bridge the gap and provide a more immersive experience.
Establishing your art brand today requires ample imagination, effort, and knowledge. Get to know your target audience, fuel your brochures with the same creativity you use to create art, and above all, make sure that you disseminate your branded materials across all relevant channels, to reach as many interested people as possible. Hopefully, your brochures will help you not just sell more, but grow your reputation as an artist over time.
Popular Art Marketing And Sales Tutorials
Below are some of the most famous 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
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