Lennon Bone identifies five reasons artists avoid selling: focusing on the product instead of the experience, leading with fear rather than permission, addressing crowds instead of individuals, hiding behind the work, and leading with price instead of story.
These are 5 big reasons that artists think selling feels gross. And if you're doing these things, it might be part of the problem. Number 1, you're selling a product instead of a feeling. Let people know why you made this thing. Let people know what it means to you. Let people know what you hope it means to them. Number 2, you're selling from the fear of not making the sale. One of the best things you can do is ask for permission. Here's what I mean. Hey, I got this thing. If you would like it, let me know. So I can put you on my list. Then when they're on your email list, you have already asked for permission to let them know. There's nothing to fear there anymore. You get to come in bold and say, this is why I'm so proud of this. You said you were interested. Check it out. Number 3, you're talking to a crowd or it feels like an empty void instead of one person. If you don't know or think about who you're talking to and the value that you're bringing to them as you're speaking to them, it's gonna be really hard. Number 4, you're hiding yourself. You're hiding behind your art. Professionalism is not just about whether or not you make good work. It's about Do I like this person? Can I trust them? Do they show up consistently? If you're trying to sell something that's worth quite a bit of money, you better bet people are gonna want to know, who am I giving my money to? Number 5, you're leading with the price and the process instead of the story. I see this from every artist. Oh, I did use these color palettes and these brushes and it took me this amount of time and here's how much it costs. I don't care. Why did you make it? What's it about? You know, where does it come from in your life? What are you thinking about as you're creating this thing? Because what I want is when I see your work behind me, I want to know what am I going to be thinking about alongside you as I look at this stuff. I got a really simple tool called the Art Business Wellness Check. You take 15 minutes, you look at your content, you look at your numbers and goals, and this thing is going to show you where you can improve right now so you can make headway in your art business. It's absolutely free. Just type the word quiz below and I'll send it over to you.
