Why should I offer lower-priced items like prints and merchandise if I'm a fine artist?

Lower-priced items make it significantly easier to acquire new customers, which is critical because more customers means more eventual collectors. These products lower the barrier to entry for people who love your work but aren’t ready or able to buy your higher-priced pieces yet. Each sale—even a small one—gives you a beachhead into that person’s world and opens the door to romance them into becoming a true fan and collector over time. Additionally, these items help cover your business costs (website, marketing), keeping you at breakeven so you can stay in business long enough to succeed. Print-on-demand merchandise also creates fans who want to support you and be part of your world, and they might become your most vocal advocates on social media and through word-of-mouth.

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Asked by a fine artist resistant to selling prints · Answered by Patrick Shanahan and Nick Friend · art-marketing-podcast · 2024-02-20