CREATE YOUR MONEY MAP (Marketing Action Plan) Advertising

Many artists ask if they should be advertising to build their business.  I think advertising is great and can be a helpful promotional tool. But it’s not worth advertising if you don’t have the expendable budget.

My advice is to save advertising, whether on Google AdWords, in a trade publication or in a dedicated trade show directory, for when you have begun to exhaust your promotional tool list – all the other items, such as exhibiting at a trade show, keeping up with social media, refining your website and creating feature articles for trade and consumer magazines and relevant internet sites.

What I don’t like to see is advertising be put ahead of all the other promotional tools which are, frankly, more cost efficient and often more effective (obviously depending on the media and your goals).

CREATE YOUR MONEY MAP (Marketing Action Plan) Public Relations

Today public relations experts have a wide variety of ways and platforms in which to share a story.

They divide this new media mix into 3 categories: owned media (your website, email database and social media), earned media (traditional PR stories and articles featured on television, radio, print and electronic venues), and paid media (advertising).  The best media plans incorporate all of them to some extent.  But again, do what you can and do it well.

Once you have some social media exposure, give public relations a try.  Here are a list of the primary art, character and new brand subjects that the press will care about:

Trade – manufacturers & retailers (business-to-business: B2B)

• New agent/artist agreements
• Release of new collections
• New deals between artists and manufacturers
• New product lines from manufacturers
• Sales results
• Industry Events (trade shows & other)
• Business announcements, promotions, alliances, etc.

Consumers – buyers (business-to-consumer: B2C)

• New products and product lines
• Where to find them in stores and online
• Events (autographing, presentations, etc.)
• Art shows, galleries

CREATE YOUR MONEY MAP (Marketing Action Plan) Social Media

Social media, I will just go on record as saying, is public relations. But I have separated social media and public relations for our Money MAP exercise, since they require different tools and tactics to implement them.

Social media is has outgrown the ‘maybe’ to the full blown ‘gotta-be-in-it-to-win-it’ stage. So you either commit to doing social media or you stay out of the game and lose that potential connection to manufacturers, colleagues and customers (consumers).

But whatever stage you are at, make a commitment to doing one thing and doing it well.  For example, if you like to jot out notes multiple times a day as you do things, then Twitter is probably a great fit for you.  Once you decide, then stick with it before adding other social media platforms to your daily and weekly roster.  Here are a few tips to incorporate:

• Tell Stories – let evidence start with a story, because people respond to stories, not data.
• Be Creative and Artful – tell your stories through all the new tools available, Tumblr and Storify, as well as with video, photos and audio slide shows.
• Choose the Right Channel – LinkedIn for business, Twitter for broader reach and topics, Facebook can get more personal, Pinterest can showcase collections and products.
• Be Honest – social media has ushered in the age of transparency.
• Work together – fuel your efforts by aligning and collaborating with people and organizations who share your same beliefs and causes; sharing hashtags can be a powerful way of rallying around a time critical event.

CREATE YOUR MONEY MAP (Marketing Action Plan) Direct Marketing

When thinking about putting direct marketing on your MAP (Marketing Action Plan) and subsequently onto your calendar, you will want to consider a plan for releasing new collections that you can stick to. 

If you are developing collections for a trade show, then perhaps pick 2 or at the most 3 other times during the year to launch your latest work. Your direct marketing should include updating your website, sending sales letters (or emails), and launching direct mail campaigns (electronic or printed) for each wave of new collections created.

You can do your direct mailing campaigns to via a low-cost (Constant Contact) or no-cost (Mail Chimp) email service.  But be aware that if you send a generic piece to an email list, it is likely your email, whether a promotion or a portfolio release will go to their spam folder. Avoid this pitfall by collecting personal names and emails whenever possible. These services can usually get an email into their personal in-box if it includes their name.

Other alternatives include sending individual emails to clients and prospects with one PDF attached or a link to a new section of your online portfolio, as well as the old-fashioned and still impressive (yet wildly more expensive) direct mail piece.

Direct marketing needs to be scheduled so you don’t forget to do it.  Really, it’s one of the most important promotional tools you have at your fingertips. And don’t forget to try and schedule your efforts around the manufacturers’ trade show schedules.

CREATE YOUR MONEY MAP (Marketing Action Plan)Trade Shows

Trade shows are marketing events with very specific audiences.

By bringing everyone together in one place, trade shows provide opportunities to meet people you wouldn’t be able to afford to meet if you had to travel all over the U.S., or even the world, or have access to these executive level decision-makers. So think about investing in trade shows when your budget allows, but be sure to work hard on your promotions before the show to ensure that you get the most bang for your budget.

There are trade shows for all types of audiences. Make sure you know, before booking to attend a show, who are the booth exhibitors and who attends the show.  I always recommend ‘walking’ the show as an attendee before you spend the dollars to exhibit, so you can get the lay of the land and check out your competition.

One of the reasons I put trade shows as the first promotional tool, is because they have fixed dates.  This means they need more lead time and planning, so you will want to get them on your calendar for the year as soon as possible.  After you have decided on your trade show events, other promotional tactics can be devised to enhance your trade show experience and results.  On the All Art Licensing website’s resource page, we offer a list of trade shows which are often attended by artists wishing to license their art for a variety of product categories, such as the AmericasMart, International Housewares Show, Licensing Expo and SURTEX.