Do This!
Artist Marketing Newsletter Focusing on Action Steps

What's Going On: Announcements /Classes
>>>Do This: Find the Connectors
Tip / Find of the Week:  The Tipping Point
Artists Respond: What They Have To Say

The Do This! newsletter is sent only to subscribers. You can subscribe using the instructions in the column at left. Instructions for unsubscribing and changing your email address are at the bottom of each issue delivered to your inbox.

WHAT'S GOING ON

: : Special Request: ARTIST'S INSURANCE : :
Pam Caidin, http://www.pamcaidin.com, wrote in with this request last week. I thought it might be relevant for others, so I'm posting it here, but asking you to post your replies for all to see on my blog at http://stanfieldart.typepad.com. Surely someone out there has a good answer for this!

"I am having a hell of a time finding insurance to cover me while I am traveling to a show and while I am at the show. There are several facets involved:

1. My truck is covered, but not the contents, so if it gets stolen or  destroyed, I have no coverage for my booth or my inventory.
2. Same need at a show. My booth and my inventory need coverage for damage from weather or theft.
3. I need liability while at a show, in case someone gets hurt in my booth."

Apparently, Pam checked into the Craftsman Protection Plan and it wasn't all it was cracked up to be. If you have any leads for good insurance, please post it as a comment on the blog at http://stanfieldart.typepad.com

: : New Book:   CULTIVATING COLLECTORS : :
No more excuses for not having a mailing list or staying in touch with your buyers and collectors. The updated version of Effective Newsletters & Mailing Lists has finally arrived! The new title reflects more the purpose and content of the book. Mailing lists, email, telephone calls, print newsletters, e-newsletters, and following up. http://www.artbizcoach.com/books/cc.shtml

Those who had previously purchased Effective Newsletters & Mailing Lists can request the new book at http://www.artbizcoach.com/books/ccrequest.shtml

I just finished reading Malcolm Gladwell's seminal business book entitled The Tipping Point. In it, he describes groups of people that are indispensable to getting the word out about a new product. In other words, they are the ones who generate the buzz. They "tip" the product or idea--turning it from forgettable to highly desirable.

The three groups Gladwell identifies are the most powerful forces in marketing today: Connectors, Mavens, and Salesmen. He uses them to describe everything from the success of Paul Revere's ride to health epidemics to the Hush Puppies shoe fad to young boy suicides in Micronesia. Fascinating stuff, but I don't want to get off track here.

We all know Connectors and have them in our lives. Connectors are "masters of the weak tie." They're not our best friends, but we know their names and they know our names. Even more importantly, they know the names of lots and lots of other people and we "rely on them to give us access to opportunities and worlds to which we don't belong." They can connect us to people that might otherwise be beyond our reach. Equally as important, they enjoy playing their role.

If you've been reading my writings or taking my classes for any amount of time, you know how much emphasis I put on your mailing list. In this day of advertising overkill, unwanted emails, and too much junk mail, messages get lost. More to the point, messages are overlooked or overshadowed by one from a different messenger. The solution is personal, face-to-face contact. And, when you can't do that, the solution is finding a Connector to help you spread the word.

If you use Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox, you can forward this page to a friend by going up to your menu and, under "File," select "Send"  or "Send Page."  Or just copy and paste this URL into a message: http://www.artbizcoach.com/dothis

TIP / FIND OF THE WEEK: The Tipping Point  

And, if you have time, I highly suggest reading The Tipping Point to understand this phenomenon. It seems critical to understanding how to market anything these days.

Find it at your library or on Amazon at:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0316346624/artbizcoachco-20

ARTISTS RESPOND 

In response to last week's "Learn These 5 Lessons," Nancy Wilkoff of Tucson, AZ, wrote:

"Your suggestion about having bumper stickers is right on! I carry a permanent ad with my license plate: ART MKR."

See Nan's art at http://www.nwilkoff-finearts.com

Marianne Konvalinka of the Gypsy Gallery in Boise, ID, wrote:

"Your advice to communicate professionally extends to all members of the arts community. We have an artists' coop that rents spaces and does shows quarterly, has a booth at the Saturday market, etc. When I do a call to artists, I am always amazed at how unprofessional some of the responses are. We need people to be responsible and pull their weight in the group and the initial response is an indication to me of whether an artist can do that or not.

"I have also been involved in planning shows and had artists just not show up on day 2 or commit and not show. Again, they don't get invited back. Always send a 'Thanks for inviting me, but I can't make it' note if you think you might ever want to work with the group in the future."

http://www.gypsygalleryart.com

More about the Nigerian art scam from Randall Brown, Brown's Gallery, Boise, ID:

"In reference to the response you received from Rita Thornton, I too had a similar experience, only worse. The 'buyer' sent me a cashier's check for the purchase price with an extra $1000 for shipping. He had requested I send him a refund for whatever amount was left over from the actual shipping costs. I packed the piece but didn't ship it until I took the cashier's check to the bank from where it was issued. It took a few days, but they confirmed that the check was counterfeit. I nearly sent the painting, paid for the shipping and then wrote a check to him for over $700 left from shipping. Apparently this scam is pretty wide spread."

Copyright © 2005 Alyson B. Stanfield. All rights reserved. 

I encourage you to forward all or part of this newsletter as long as you include the above copyright information and this link: http://www.artbizcoach.com . Internet Explorer users can forward this page by selecting "File," then "Send" then "Page by E-mail." 

The Do This! newsletter is sent only to subscribers. You can subscribe using the instructions in the column at left. Instructions for unsubscribing and changing your email address are at the bottom of each issue delivered to your inbox.