| Last week, I challenged you to identify your ideal collector. Many of you asked me to expound on how to do that.
1. First, you must know who you are and what your art is all about. Don't say something like - I love to paint horses. That doesn't tell me anything about your art or you. Why do you love to paint horses? Dig deep into your art.
Then dig deeper in to yourself - dig into things other than your art. What do you believe? What is important to you? What makes you laugh? What other interests do you have? Who are you deep down inside?
Don't worry if you don't have all the answers. The point is to ask. Look inside yourself. Inevitably, the deeper you understand yourself, the better you will understand what you are trying to say as an artist. If your work is authentic and honest, it will be an expression of who you are holistically as a person.
This is the first place to start.
2. Second, once you begin to understand your art - what it is all about, what you want to say, how you want to say it, why you want to say it - then try to articulate it in words. Write it down. Write down more than just the introspection about the what and why of your art. Also write about the how. Write about your methods, techniques, materials.
3. Now, re-write everything from a different point of view - namely, how it benefits your collectors. What value does your love of thick impasto paint bring to your collectors? What value does your sensitivity to sublime landscapes bring to your collectors? What significance to your collectors are those tender moments you capture between mother and child in your figurative work? Or what about the angst in your confrontational gritty canvases? Look at it from the point of view of your collector.
Remember, people aren't investing in you, they are investing in themselves when they buy anything - whether a hot dog and soda or a fine work of art. People buy to fill a need. Identify both what and how your art satisfies collectors' needs.
4. Now, look at the needs that are fulfilled with your art. What kind of people have those needs and want them filled? When you begin to answer these questions, you will begin to identify your target audience or ideal collectors.
But don't stop there.
5. Do your market research. Begin to ask collectors why they respond to your work. Ask what they like about it. Why they enjoy having it in their collection. Get to know them. Become their friends. Learn who they are and what they like; what they do; what worries them; their fears, hopes, ambitions, etc.
With time, you will begin to identify similarities among your collectors. You will begin to see what traits these collectors have in common. Yes, I admit, this takes time and effort. This is one of many reasons it is important to attend art shows and mingle with your collectors.
6. But, you aren't all the way there yet in identifying your ideal collector. Maybe you are painting dog portraits, but despise the work. Yet, you do it anyway to earn money. If you do #5 above with these collectors, you are defining the wrong group. Know WHO you want to work with in an ideal world. Identify what is important to you in your collectors.
Now, look at #'s 4, 5, and 6 and compile to define your ideal collector.
Now that you have identified your ideal collector, tailor all of your marketing, all of your communication to how your work fulfills their needs. Look at #3 again. Are you sending out the right message? Are you reaching the right audience?
Ann Rea put it this way:
"If I have a 30-foot luxury yacht, is it worth my effort to try to sell to a wheat farmer in Kansas? Well. I might get lucky. Or it might be better to network at the St. Francis Yacht Club here in San Francisco."
Market to your ideal collector.
But if that wheat farmer from Kansas happens to be a guest at the yacht club and wants to buy your vessel, then by all means, sell him the yacht.
Best Wishes, Keith Bond
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