"Nightfall, California Coast"
Oil on Canvas mounted on board, 30" x 40"
"Fall Colors, Napa"
Oil on Linen, 20" x 30"
I am the Contrarian Art Marketer
by Clint Watson
This article is by Clint Watson, former art gallery owner/director/salesperson and founder of FineArtViews. You should follow Clint on Twitter here.
"Be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful" - Warren Buffett.
Warren questions the wisdom of the masses, and thus wasn't invested in dotcoms in 2000 or residential real estate in 2008.
Just because something is popular doesn't mean it's a good idea. In fact, in investing, it often means it's a bad idea. This is sometimes called contrarian investing.
I'm the same way. I question everything. And the more popular something is, the more I question it. You can call me "The Contrarian Art Marketer."
There is definitely an online "echo chamber" effect out there. And when an idea starts echoing loudly, I start questioning it.
The echo chamber tells artists that SEO is extremely important, but I say it's not all that important. The echo chamber says that you need to develop a USP, but I say you are already developing a Wordless USP. The echo chamber says that having a really professional looking portfolio and image is important, but I say chill out - that's not all that important either. The Echo Chamber goes crazy over Facebook, but I'm not so sure. The Echo Chamber currently loves Twitter, but I questioned that too (and have sort of had to eat crow on that one). The echo chamber thinks a gallery must be in a great high-traffic location, but I used sell tons of art from a location that had zero walk-in traffic.
I'm sure that as the contrarian art marketer, I've missed the boat on some of my thoughts, just as I'm sure Warren has missed some good investments opportunities. But overall, it's served me well.
And it can serve you well too.
When "gurus" give you advice about your art career and ideas about marketing.....question it. Question everything. Especially if you're being charged for the ideas.
Question everything, and if it's an idea that's echoing loudly, or there's money to be made (like, currently, in selling "social media courses") be skeptical. However, try to minimize the chance of discounting an idea too soon (like I did with Twitter). When considering an idea, ask an artist who actually sells a lot of art what they think of it. Or at least ask someone who has a track record of selling art. Trust your gut. Does it make common sense? Can you find an example of an artist who's been successful with the idea? Or better yet, more than one? Will it hurt to wait a bit and see if the idea is a fad? (Waiting has been one of my best strategies. I've watched online services come along, gain traction, get hot and die before I had a chance to "check them out.")
Importantly: does it take you away from creating in your studio?
The most important thing you can be doing is creating your artwork. So even if an idea is "good, you might want to skip it for better uses of your time. You need to focus on the ones with low-time investment and high-payoff...so that you can get back to creating.
Sincerely,
Clint Watson
Software Craftsman, Art Fanatic, Contrarian Marketer
PS - sometimes ideas that were once "hot" fall out of favor, but remain effective or become even more effective: Hence my personal penchant for art marketing with phone calls and, especially, email newsletters. Newsletters are relatively low-time investment and high payoff. For most artists, SEO is a high time investment and a lower payoff.
PPS - "Questioning Everything" includes questioning me too. Everything I just wrote could be wrong. :-)
This article appears courtesy of FineArtViews by Canvoo,
a free email newsletter about art, marketing, inspiration and fine living for artists,
collectors and galleries (and anyone else who loves art).
This article originally appeared at:
http://clintwatson.net/blog/16163/I-am-the-Contrarian-Art-Marketer
For a complimentary subscription, visit: http://www.fineartviews.com
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