How should I think about the timeline for building relationships with potential collectors?

Building collector relationships works on a very long timeline—think in terms of years, not weeks or months. It’s like putting money into a retirement account: you invest through genuine interactions and consistent marketing, then you forget about it and let time and pressure work. Someone might express love for your work, seem like they’re about to place a huge order, then disappear. Three years later, they suddenly come back ready to buy because you’ve been marketing consistently and stayed on their radar. The compounding effect of these relationships is real and powerful. This is why every interaction matters—responding to contest entries, sending personal thank-you notes, staying visible through consistent marketing—because you never know when that investment will pay off.

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Asked by an artist frustrated by slow sales conversions · Answered by Patrick Shanahan · art-marketing-podcast · 2025-08-29