How should artists think about running marketing and sales campaigns?

Every business runs marketing and sales campaigns—restaurants, gyms, Apple, the gallery down the street—and artists are no exception. You are a business. Campaigns can be new releases, studio sales, holiday promotions, behind-the-scenes series leading to an offer, email-only flash sales, live events, collaborations, waitlist reveals, or ‘30 pieces in 30 days’ for Christmas. Each campaign is a proxy for getting attention. Run one, debrief it: what did I learn, how can I improve? The first campaign feels awkward, the fifth you’re competent, by the twentieth it’s easy, and by the fiftieth in two years you have a machine. The skills compound and stay with you—they never expire.

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Asked by synthesized from teaching · Answered by Patrick Shanahan · art-marketing-podcast · 2026-05-01