Learning to Sell your Work

Yesterday, we read a BBC article (it also has a great short film on the subject, we shared on our FB page here) about how crafters have to learn to sell their work.  This resonated with us so much, as one of our main focuses here at The CBN is to help artists and makers market (and therefore) sell their work.
 
Rightly so, the main priority of an artist is the creativity and making of each piece, but how they will be selling their work tends to become an after thought.
 
This usually applies to new artists starting up, as those who have been making since before the time of technology have built up a reputable following and have already obtained the reputation one needs to succeed as an artist. However, having an online presence is always important – it is the strength of that presence that has to be decided by the artist themselves.

There is a huge tragedy in so many creative businesses closing down, or artists having to get second job to supplement their income because they can’t generate enough financially from their craft.
 
After years of learning and honing their skill, they have to let it go because they haven’t been taught the fundamental aspects of selling their work or running their business.
 
This harks back to last weeks post in a way – how artists are developing themselves within an educational environment but are unprepared for the business of selling when they step out into the real world. Maybe this is what leads to that uncertainty and lack of self belief, because they are struggling to sell their work.
 
As the article states, there has to be a balance in how much of the ‘business’ side of things you concentrate on. What stands makers apart from other industries is the creativity required to produce unique, one-off pieces, so marketing mustn’t be generic or impersonal. It is no good getting marketers or standard business advisors to recommend how artists should approach their marketing because personality has to stand out, and the art mustn’t become just a ‘brand’. The most important thing is building a relationship with your audience.
 
Getting the right balance between expressing your creativity, designing and producing your work, then marketing and selling it is probably one of the hardest things to figure out. But if you want to sell your work and make a success of your business, you need to get this right.
 
Having a creative mentor can help as suggested in the article. This may be an artist that you admire, it may be someone that has done the same college course as you. It may be someone who has been in the industry for a while and who you feel you can learn from. The Design Trust has a great article about choosing a creative mentor which helps you look at how to approach potential candidates.
 
And of course, we can also help with any of the practical side you are struggling with.  If you need any advice then do let us know.
 
We can’t tell you how strongly we feel about this.
 
Our main drive is that we don’t want any more artists to give up their craft because they couldn’t make it a ‘business’.
 
 
If you’d like to ask us anything please do not hesitate to get in touch.
 
The CBN Team x