What foundational marketing work must I have in place before spending money on advertising or hiring help?

You need to be able to do ‘a hundred pushups’ first—meaning you must have all the fundamentals executing consistently before paid marketing will work. This includes: capturing emails regularly, emailing your list on a consistent basis, posting on social media regularly, executing sales when appropriate, ideally going live on video to talk directly to potential buyers, and having live art shows or events. You need all these aspects of a robust marketing system working together. No consultant or paid advertising can succeed without this foundation in place. Think of it like a McDonald’s franchise—you need to know how to do every job in the restaurant before you can run it successfully or hire others to help.

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Asked by an artist asking about marketing budget · Answered by Patrick Shanahan · art-marketing-podcast · 2020-08-11