No doubt we’ve all seen the many posts about people not selling anything on Imagekind. I have sold a few things, but I’m not yet ready to quit my day job, unfortunately. The sales to complete strangers are obviously the ones that give you the most boost, psychologically at least. I have made 4 sales to “strangers” However, most of my sales have been to friends who have seen prints of my work and also follow my postings at my photoblog. One thing that I wish Imagekind would provide when you make a sale would be the name and contact info for the customer for follow-up marketing efforts, and a “Thank you” note. All you know about the customer is the city in which they live or the print is being delivered to.
I think that you can’t just post your artwork here at Imagekind, and leave it at that and hope for the best. Here are the steps I am taking to try and boost my sales at ImageKind.
- I have a photoblog
- My photoblog is johncorney.com. I try and post something to the blog at least once a week. Often it is to announce new work I have just finished working on, other times it is to give Photoshop tips. Before I publish a new blog post announcing new work, I always publish the work to Imagekind first so that I can provide a link to the gallery or individual work at Imagekind. I use Feedburner to provide feeds that people can subscribe to as well as the ability to subscribe to email updates whenever I post new content. (Click here if you would like to sign up for my photoblog email updates)
- On the blog I provide a mix of posts announcing new work and tips on Photoshop and the like.
- I print my favorite works and hang them in my home for visitors to see. I change what is hanging every few months. The obvious next step is to actually invite friends and family to visit! Don’t be a hermit! I got the booklet of samples of the papers available at Imagekind, and tested printing on several of the papers. I now get everything printed on the rag paper. Even though it is one of the most expensive papers, I find it is the one that adds most in terms of “artistic” value to the prints. Prints on this paper look like art, not photos.
- I’m working on an exhibition for later in the year. So far most of my sales have been to people who have seen prints or know me. I believe exhibiting your art will boost sales.
- I give away prints of what I judge to be my best work as gifts to friends and family. This keeps them interested in what you’re doing and helps turn them into fans of your work. Also, since they no doubt have visitors to their homes, it gives you further exposure.
- I got a lot of my artworks printed as greeting cards and give them away as gifts and use them instead of cards from the store for birthdays, etc.
So those are some of the steps I am taking to try and get some sales.
These are the works I have sold so far from Imagekind:
Red Pastorelas Devil
Red Wall at the Silver Mine Ruins La Aduana
Clay Birds above the Villa Hermosa Courtyard
Red Dog
Doorway at the Ruins of the La Aduana Silver Mine
Osteospermum Lavender Bliss
Sunset at Crystal Cove State Beach #1 (sold twice)
Sunset at Crystal Cove State Beach #2
Sunset at Crystal Cove State Beach #3
Sure to Rise Jesus (this one I ordered myself to sell to someone in New Zealand who had seen the print at a friend’s house. I had given the print to my friend as a gift when I visited NZ earlier this year)
Peacock (this has sold as both a print and as a greeting card)
Anyhow, hopefully there are some ideas here that will help with your marketing efforts. Let me know if you have any questions.