One of the things that never occurred to me when starting my own business was finding the right audience. I make things that I love and that I am proud of. You think, then, that finding an audience of like-minded individuals who appreciate your art as much as you do will quickly follow. After two years of markets and art shows, I have come to realize that it takes more than just “putting yourself out there”
Finding Your Voice
Many artists try to follow trends. They watch what is popular online, at fairs, and on television and try to replicate that themselves in order to capitalize on what’s marketable. I’m not going to lie, this is not a bad strategy. People gravitate to what is familiar to them. I, myself, have made many pieces because it is trending on social media or because I see someone else at a pop-up with a full booth of paying customers. That is finding a market but not necessarily finding a voice.
Finding a voice means that you have an opportunity to create the things that you love and that you aspire to make. It is finding your muse and making the thing that you would want to buy, not something that you think someone else would want to buy. This is the dream of being an artist, being a trendsetter, and being an inspiration to others.
Finding Your Audience
Here is the rub: you can find your voice but how do you find the people to connect with. Sites like Twitter, Pinterest, and Reddit allow you to find like-minded individuals but making that connection to people in a mass of millions is more than a bit challenging. You always feel like a carnival barker yelling at passers-by to look at your stuff.
A lot can be said for selling online but, with art especially, connecting with people in person is always going to be the best approach. For me, I like to ask people to run their hands over the piece and feel the grain of the wood. This, in my mind, is how you find people who appreciate your work, understand the effort that goes into it, to feel the same passion for the product as I felt when I sat down to make it. I don’t know how this can ever be replicated without getting your product into people’s hands.
The Right Audience
Getting in front of people is all well in good but there is something even more important about getting in front of the right people. Not every piece is going to resonate with every person. Putting your product up in a retail space that is marketed towards discount shoppers is not going to connect you with the right clientele. Trying to sell artwork at a farmer’s market may not help you if the attendees came with the intention of buying fruits and veggies.
Just remember, the next time you are sitting in a booth and no one is stopping by, or you have your product up in a retail store and the money isn’t coming in you might just have chosen the wrong venue. For every failed venture on your journey, you’ll find another that you resonate with the people you meet and, when that happens, you make sure to hold on to it. We’ve had tremendous success at Charlotte Pride, at art shows, and at certain pop-ups around the city, and, as a result, we make sure to attend those again and again while the ones that don’t fair as well, we leave those for those folks who can connect with those audiences.
Don’t lose hope. Your audience is out there and you just need to find them.
By the way: Speaking of finding an audience we certainly found an audience at Your Local Game Store in Charlotte. Check out their Facebook for a post on a piece we just delivered and have on display there.
