How do major sales to celebrities or wealthy collectors actually happen for artists?

Major sales to high net worth individuals and celebrities almost never happen through direct targeting. They happen through serendipitous connections that you could never have designed or predicted. For example, one artist made a $35,000 sale to an interior designer—when she tracked down how it happened, it turned out the interior designer’s daughter had been following the artist on Instagram for quite a while and told her mom about the work. These connections feel like serendipity when they occur, but they’re actually the residue and by-product of consistent marketing execution. By focusing on correct, consistent marketing year-round and understanding your audience has a bell curve distribution of income levels, you create the conditions where these ‘random’ opportunities can occur. The sale comes through unexpected connections rather than deliberate targeting of wealthy individuals.

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Asked by an artist wondering how big sales happen · Answered by Patrick Shanahan · art-marketing-podcast · 2021-02-03