Do products sell themselves, or do I need to actively market my art?

Products never sell themselves—not yours, not anyone’s. Ask any successful business owner in any industry and they’ll tell you the same thing. Everyone loves to think they can just put a product out there and if it doesn’t sell like crazy in three months, something’s wrong with the product. That’s not reality. You have to market, and as soon as you stop marketing, it’s over. You can never stop marketing—not to brand-new people you want to reach, not to people who’ve bought from you 25 times. This is true whether you want consistent income, the freedom to go full-time as an artist, or to travel. There are no shortcuts. The fundamentals of building a successful art business haven’t changed in seven years and won’t change in the next seven or the seven after that. The sooner you learn and get good at marketing, the sooner you’ll see the success you want.

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Asked by general teaching · Answered by Patrick Shanahan · art-marketing-podcast · 2020-08-21