Episode 06: Find Your Audience

Download the episode by clicking here!

Hi all!

In a previous episode with Annella Kelso, we talked about how important it is to use marketing and public relation skills when trying to build a business with our art

But the question that was left with us was, where do we start?

I remember 10 years ago when I got into my first gallery group exhibition. I got 3 pieces into the gallery show and I thought “This is it, the start of my fame.” As people came and went on opening night, not one person stopped to talk to me, I sold nothing, and I left with no customers or potential leads. I felt shocked and defeated. I had always thought that making it into a gallery was all you needed to do to become successful…but boy was I wrong.

Fast forward to about 5 years later, I got into another exhibition and ended up selling all the work I had displayed. It was a different demographic…a different area…and people knew who I was because I spent time connecting with the community. And that was the biggest, most important difference in those 5 years…I learned who my audience was.

Don’t worry – it won’t take you 5 years to figure out. That is what I am here for.

See that is the answer to the question we were left with. Where do I start?

You start by having a serious reflection on who your audience is…because everything is about the audience.

I used to think I was bad at art, that the only people who would buy it were my dad and friends who loved me…but secretly hated my art. I have a different style of art. I paint in a way where you can clearly see my brush strokes, I use immature and vibrant colors, and often there is a lot happening in my paintings. And I was putting my work on Myspace…yup…and then Facebook…and Instagram and just expecting that people would find it. And some people did, but for the most part, I was left with just my friends and family liking my stuff. I never sold anything. Then, I invested in a website and prints so I could reduce prices…and still didn’t sell anything. So, I thought I should change my entire style of art. Abstract art was popular, so I scrambled to learn how to make it.

Here is the thing. I appreciate abstract art and even have a few pieces in my collection…but the real issue is…I don’t like making abstract art. It isn’t my passion. And I was miserable.

Art school didn’t teach me anything other than the skill of making art. And I am not the only one…it is why I have so many listeners on this podcast…you were left without the important skills.

The whole problem was I didn’t have the right audience.

So, enough about the struggle. How do you find your audience?

It is easier than you think. You need to sit down and reflect on some important questions…and answer them as honestly and as detailed as you can.

1.       What do you make?

Be honest and specific about what you are passionate about making. Maybe you are a surreal oil painting artist, or maybe you like to paint raccoons in fancy hats using acrylic paint. You need to know exactly what you do, why you do it, and what you want it to do for your audience.

2.       Who is your ideal customer?

You need to visualize this person in as much detail as you can. Where do they live? If it is the US that you want to sell art, what state? What city? What demographic?

How much do they make? – this one is important to think about when making your ideal customer…income matters because it dictates if they are able to afford art or not. If you want to sell big prints or a $5000 original…you need to be thinking of people who make 100K or more a year…because the cost of living is so expensive…you want to make sure they have 5K to give when bills are paid. Additionally, it is the wealthier brackets that are willing to spend good money on things they collect.

If you already have a social media following…or already sold some prints or pieces…look at the demographics of those followers…that will tell you a lot of who you are looking for.

3.       Create Personal Connections

You often find your audience (after targeting the right demographic) by connecting with people. Connect with people by sharing your inspirations, your processes of making art, or things that are going on in your life. The internet makes it easy to connect…post videos, live stream, be the real you online with your art.

4.       Don’t try to be everything to everyone.

Look, it is impossible to make everyone happy…and the trick is…the smaller the niche you target, the more successful you are. For example. If I am a photo-real artist that likes to paint horses I am not going to try and sell my paintings to professional surfers. It doesn’t make sense.

Combine what you make with who would like that kind of art and who can afford it and then look for those people.

Paint horses? Search horse Facebook groups…get to know the people there. Reach out to ranches, rodeos, and companies that are about horses. See my point? Figure out who you are looking for and then go find them, build a relationship, and then tell them what you make.

So, before you go do anything else today…sit down with a piece of paper and write down the answers to these questions…then go find 3 groups on different social media platforms and JOIN the groups. Start participating in talking with people in those groups.

I promise you, no matter what kind of art you make…there is an audience out there for you. I just bought a piece of art from an abstract artist who paints what music looks like to her because she can literally see sound.

I also have 4 commissions this month. I found one from a previous student who liked my art, one from a woman who enjoys my style of portraits, and another from a wolf group…a guy just really likes them and asked for me to paint one because I had mentioned a few weeks ago that I enjoy painting wolves.

Connection is key – and connecting to the right people will open so many doors for you.

If you need more guidance or help with this, reach out to me. I offer a free 15-minute coaching session and I also offer personalized coaching packages to meet your needs.

One of my clients just got into her first artist residency. She doesn’t care about selling her art…she just wants to show it.

Another client is hosting their first art contest for their small gallery in Serbia. By the way…if you want to apply the application is open until July 31st 2022…details can be found on my website.

So be sure to check it out, take some time to reflect, and get out of your shell and reach out!

Thanks for listening!