017: THE POWER OF WORKING IN AN ART NICHE

 

 

One of the ways of becoming for more intentional and successful in selling and promoting your art is to be very specific about what you do and why you do it.

In order to do this you need to make choices.

1. Choosing to become really clear and consistent in your artistic style. (In my previous podcast episode 16 we looked at the process of developing your own style.) 
2. Choosing a specific theme, subject or in a distinct technique in order to reach a specific art audience. We can also call this working in a niche.

I know many artists resist working in a niche and the idea of specialising sends many artists running for the hills. You may feel that by choosing a niche or a specific genre or subject will limit your creativity. And I totally understand. It is wonderful and exciting to try new things and push the limits of your techniques. This is part of being an artist and the power of being a creative.

Why does it pay to specialise?

Imagine you have 7 footballs you can hit one time or your could choose to hit one ball 7 times. Which do you think will go further?

This is the same when you choose to specialise.

Of course there is nothing wrong with making your art, experimenting, trying new styles and enjoying your art.  If you want to continue doing that then this is fine. It is already such a joy that you know that you are an artist and that you have the ability to express yourself.

This is such a gift and many will be touched by what you make.

But if you want to reach your art audience and actually start to sell a build a body of work, generating a consistent income with your art then specializing is key.

Knowing your niche doesn’t limit your business, but instead it gives you a focused approach to go after potential art buyers who will truly appreciate your gifts and creations. Think about it, there are millions of artists, designers, and photographers in business today. It’s much easier to find the right buyers, if you market what you do clearly.

Example

Instead of saying “I create paintings,” you would say “I create oil paintings of colourful wild flowers bouquets” or, even better, “I create large-scale oil paintings of wild flowers bouquets from the Cape Town area speaking about the beauty and importance of preserving our environment.” 

The last statement makes it much easier for an art collector to understand if they may be interested in your work or not.

I really want to challenge you. Take time to think about this. Even if you are not ready yetit is worth investigating.

Do you think you will sell more art if you start to steer your work in a very specific and intentional direction?

Of course we are all in different phases of our art journey. There is a time where you are skipping and jumping between different themes and techniques.

You are in the exploratory phase.

And this is necessary when you are discovering your artistic style. But if you want to grow in your art and art business then it is time to make some choices.

If you want to succeed with your art business you will have to choose. Sure you can do everything but your will not grow your art influence.

If you want to get more clear about your style;

1. Who you are as an artist,
2. What you actually want to say,
3. How to connect with your audience.

Then my Artist Success Guide is worth checking out. This guide will help you take steps and give you more clarity and help you take those hard choices.

Click the link below to access this resource.

What a niche is?

Working in a niche is all about finding out what makes you unique and focusing on that.

Think about it what would you rather be?

Do you want to be a small fish in a very big pond or a big fish in a small pond?

Here are some advantages of working in a niche?

1. It brings clarity,
2. Makes marketing easier, 
3. Helps you connect with your art audience,
4. Helps you decide whether to accept a commissions,
5. Will help you keep your focus,
6. Set yourself apart from others,
7. Become the go to person,
8. The keywords you use and the clarity you communicate will make you be found more effectively online.

How do you determine your niche?

Find and developing your niche takes time. It could be that you work in a certain genre and people comment that they love it and your audience is drawn to a certain style that you  make. Then it would be wise to listen to these signals. 

Once you know who you are, what you love to do and why you make you art, then you can do some research as to where your art audience is. You can find out if there is a market for what you do and if people are willing to pay money for it. 

Different kinds of niches with artists examples?

1. Passion - Who are you? What do you want to say?

Here are some questions you need to ask if you want to find what you are passionate about:

1. What do you really enjoy doing?
2. What gives you energy?
3. What keeps you up at night?
4. What gives you a sense of fulfilment?

Dougal Patterson - Surf Photographer

2. Palette - What technique do you use to communicate what you love to do?

Mitzy Renooy - As a child she was fascinated by Rembrandt's use of paint, she would go and see his work at the Rijksmuseum and would look up close and then take steps back and be mesmerised that what seems to be blotches of paint would merge into a realistic portrait when viewed at  a distance. This has become signature in her paintings. In a future podcast I will be interviewing Mitzy about her work and her chosen techniques

3. Purpose - What is your message? What is it you want other people to hear?

Ai Weiwei - Is an Artist know for his large installations. Recently his work was seen in various locations in Europe. He wanted to address the rising problems around the refugee crisis. He used hundreds of abandoned lifejackets and cladded public buildings and the facades with them.

4. Places - Geographical locations

Rachel Tenalach - Paints beautiful vista's of the Treasure Valley area. She has become the go to artist for business and art buyers who want a painting of these unique Idaho scenes.

5. People - Cater to a specific audience

Is there a certain people group you can attract to your art?

Maybe you live in an area where there are many tourists. Can you cater for them? Can you make art that is easy for them to carry in suitcases? 

So many different groups of people

It is fun to search Facebook Groups for examples. There are just so many cool groups. Do a search a discover them.

I found a group all about cultivating mushrooms and Norwegian Fjord Horse Art. If you are an artist that loves Norwegian Fjord Horses and you paint them then there will be immediate connection between you and your audience when you share the same passion.

Your passion will connect you with people.

Example artists that are working in a specific niche.

Steven Smith is an artist that allows movie hero’s to star in his paintings.

Sand Artist Gert van der Vijver uses his sand painting experiences to communicate a message of hope and reconciliation. Gert is invited to conferences all over the world to share his beautiful art and this even gave him his own television show.

Canadian Artist Steven Spazuck -  Is a fumage artist. A technique using a lighter. The fumes make a mark on the paper. Steven now has joined forces with famous lighter company, Zippo. 

 

Once you've defined your niche, it becomes that much easier to focus your marketing or decide the best arena for selling your art.

 When you decide on a niche then you will be able to communicate so much clear really target and find you art collector and start selling more art. You can get really clear about your messaging and be able to connect with those potential art buyers more effectively.

That is all for this week.

Next week I will be back with another episode of the Help I am Artist Podcast.

Question

Are you active on social media? Have you ever thought about using Instagram Stories to connect with your potential art audience and getting more attention and drawing people to your website. 

Here are some facts that may interest you:

• Nearly 1.7 billion accounts use the Instagram Stories format daily.
• Spend an average of 53 minutes in Insta per day

Instagram stories is a platform that is here to stay and cannot be ignored if you want to get more attention online.  We will have a look at how and why to use Instagram Stories to promote your art.

If you do social media then I would love to hear from you. Send me a DM in Instagram and share your Instagram Story Experiences.

 Don't forget if you want to get more clear and confident about your art then check out this FREE ARTIST RESOURCE.