I want to offer a different perspective that might change the way you think about every print you sell. Let’s start by asking a simple question: how much is each person who likes your art worth to you? More specifically, think about how much a print or painting could have earned you after someone did not buy it. Even people who never purchase individually still have value to your overall sales if you approach it the right way. Let’s explore this alternative way of thinking about your sales.
As an online fine art and photo lab, FinerWorks specializes in giclee prints, canvas, and photo prints. This puts us in a great position to learn constantly from the artists and photographers who use our services. Even though we operate online, we also have customers who visit our facility in San Antonio, Texas. Whenever I can, I take the time to speak with these artists and learn about their work and sales strategies.
Through these conversations, one thing becomes clear: what works for some artists does not always work for others. So how can you develop an effective marketing strategy and increase your sales?
The Beginning of an Improved Marketing Strategy
First, assume that you already have some sales. With sales comes a wealth of data that can help improve your results. But instead of focusing only on actual sales, consider the people who don’t buy as part of a new perspective. Among those who do not purchase your prints, originals, or art-related services, there are two groups: potential buyers who might buy and people who will never buy.
To build an effective strategy, start by filtering out those who will not buy. You may not be able to remove them all, but even a partial understanding allows you to explore ways to attract more sales.
Identify Different Viewers of Your Art
Understand the difference between someone who merely stumbles across your work and what we call qualified potential buyers. People who accidentally find your art are the least likely to purchase, because impulse buys in the art world are rare. These viewers still have value, but too many of them can make it harder to identify ways to improve your marketing.
The potential buyers are the key. By studying their habits and questions, you can better understand who your real audience is. In business terms, these are qualified leads. Online, we call them qualified visitors. Regardless of the term, these are people interested in displaying your art and capable of buying it, even if they do not purchase immediately.
Eliminating Non-Qualified Buyers
To minimize the number of people who will never buy, you need to focus on reaching the right audience. This does not mean hiding your work entirely. Instead, understand how people discover your art. Is it through word of mouth, online search, or gallery placements? If you are unsure, find ways to test and measure how your audience finds you.
For example, if you sell drawings of comic book characters, comic book conventions might be an ideal starting point. Other options include art shows or collaborating with artists in similar niches. Back when I ran a gallery-based website, I traded links with sites that my potential buyers were likely to visit. One important tip: do not rely on a single method. The first strategy you try may not work. Testing multiple approaches is key to finding the most effective ways to reach your qualified buyers.
Quantify the Value of Your Leads
Finally, assign a value to your qualified buyers. This may sound like a business term, but it is simple in practice. Count how many people are genuinely interested in your work and estimate how much each one is worth to your sales.
Salespeople use a similar technique. For example, a vacuum cleaner salesperson who makes two hundred dollars per sale but sells to only one in twenty customers is effectively earning ten dollars for every person they speak to. They analyze the data, tweak their pitch, and gradually increase the average value of each interaction.
You can apply the same principle to your art. In online sales, track the revenue generated over a period of time and divide it by the number of sessions or visitors to your store. This gives you an estimated value per visitor. Offline, count the number of people who visit your booth at a show or gallery and divide your sales by that number.
Once you know the value of each visitor, you can invest in ways to attract more qualified buyers. Over time, small improvements compound into meaningful growth. By learning from your data and adjusting your approach, you increase both the reach and effectiveness of your marketing.
Applying This Perspective
This approach changes how you view every person who interacts with your work. Even those who do not buy can help you refine your marketing, improve your presentation, and find ways to attract more actual buyers. Growth is incremental, but knowledge is power. Just like the salesperson improving their pitch, small changes in how you reach and engage your qualified buyers can make a significant difference over time.