What's the real purpose of offering low-priced merchandise in my art business?

Low-priced merchandise serves as marketing, not a profit center. The goal is to establish a beachhead in your potential customers’ homes. When someone has your art on a tote bag, throw pillow, small print in their bathroom, or mug they use daily, you’re in front of them constantly. There is no form of marketing more effective than having your work physically present in someone’s life every single day for years. Email and social media can’t achieve that kind of ongoing presence. You’re playing the long game—people move up the socioeconomic ladder over time. Someone who can only afford a $20 item today might be ready to spend thousands in five years, and when that time comes, you’ll be the artist they think of because you’ve been part of their daily life. Stop thinking about what profit you make on these items and start thinking of them as advertising tools that happen to generate a small amount of revenue.

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Asked by artists questioning the value of low-priced items · Answered by Patrick Shanahan · art-marketing-podcast · 2021-10-20