Marketing Photo question – answer
1 – Question:
“I have some opportunities to have some of my work shown at a couple of City Hall and similar venues. Am wanting to know if others have done this and if it is a good way to sell prints?”
2 – Answer:
Any venue where the public is invited has the potential of being propitious for sales. However, it is important to keep in mind these pointers:
1 – Has there been art shows organized there previously?
2 – If yes, how successful were these shows?
2 – Is this a public show where you actively sell your work (such as a street show or similar) or is it an exhibit where you hang your work and ‘hope for the best?’
3 – The venue is only one of several elements in defining your eventual success or failure.
4 – In the light of the previous remark, how much experience do you have with marketing and salesmanship?
5 – Do you have a ‘VIP’ list of collectors you can personally invite to the show?
6 – Is your work and pricing structure appropriate for this venue?
7 – Will the organizers advertise the show or is this up to you?
8 – Will the organizers want a cut of your sales, and if yes is their cut agreable to you or excessive?
3 – Advanced Marketing Seminar:
I will be offering an Advanced Marketing Seminar in Spring 2012. A pre-registration list is opened with a special registration price offer. To get on this exclusive list email me at alain@beautiful-landscape.com with the words ‘advanced marketing seminar’ in the subject line. There is no obligation, you’ll just be first notified and you’ll have save money when you register. It’s all good.
Alain
Great info Alain
I am also in a situation I am not sure of, a bit different than the person asking the original question. I shoot people fishing in the landscape (amongst other things). I have a fishing tackle shop that would like to stock some of my work, but they wanted to take half of the sales price. That would leave me with little after costs, so I have not yet got any work for sale there. I have no experience in selling through a retailer, so am unsure how to go about a fair deal. If I sell a 8×10 print in a larger mat size, unframed for say (as an example) $225, and my cost is around $75 (cost of doing the shoot, printing and matting) then there is $150 profit per print, obviously the retailer would take a cut, but how much do you think is reasonable given this example? I would prefer for them to buy some stock from me, and then they can sell them for whatever they like, but due to the nature of the subject and shop, I don’t think they would sell enough volume to consider this option. Would it be reasonable for me to offer them a set commission amount per sale, independent of print size and cost? Sorry for all the questions, but once I started typing they just kept coming.
Adam,
Wholesale is always half of retail. So if you sell your work for $150 retail price (going with your example), the wholesale price will be $75. It’s your responsibility to set the price so that you make a profit. To do so you may have to increase the price.
Some products don’t work for wholesale and need to be sold direct to the public. This may be one of them. It’s hard to say without knowing more. Pricing is a complex issue.
Have you read my book “Marketing Fine Art photography?” I have an entire chapter on pricing in it. Here’s the link to the book:
http://beautiful-landscape.com/Ebooks-Books-1-2-3.html
Alain