83: The Art of the Pitch

If you have creative work that you're ready to put out into the world, let's talk about Getting it Pitched.

I'm Bonnie Christine and this is where all things creativity, design, business and marketing unite. I'm a mama living in a tiny town tucked right inside the Smoky Mountains, running a multi seven figure business, doing the most creative and impactful work of my life. But when I first set out to become an entrepreneur, I was struggling to make ends meet and wrestling with how to accomplish my biggest dream of becoming a fabric designer. Fast forward to today. I'm not only licensing my artwork all over the world, but also teaching others how to design their creative life and experience the same success. I'm here to help you spend your life doing something that lights you up. I'll help you build a creative business that also creates an impact, changes people's lives, gives you all of the freedom you want, and is wildly profitable. Welcome to the Professional Creative Podcast.

Today we're going to talk about pitching, yes, your work. So this will specifically be for someone pitching their artwork. But my hope is that no matter what you're pitching, if you're pitching an idea, if you're submitting your work for a art or craft fair, or even if you're applying for a job, that you'll be able to have some real takeaways from today's episode. But I want to talk specifically to those of you who are also pitching your work for art licensing or speaking with a company's art director. Pitching my work is something that I've done many, many times over my career and it's tricky, it's difficult, it can be really nerve wracking, and there's some work to do both before and after pitching. So I've pitched my work to different industries, different companies, and I've heard a lot of feedback. I've gotten feedback on my work. I've heard yes, but I've also heard a lot of no's. And I've also heard a lot of just nothing. Because when you pitch your work, you're typically talking to very busy people. And if you're not the right fit or you're not the right fit for the right time, oftentimes you just won't hear anything at all. If you have creative work that you're ready to put out into the world, let's talk about getting it pitched.

First. I want to talk about when you

feel like it's ready. You know, there are many of you who are artists and designers and surface pattern designers. Many of you also run other types of businesses and make other things. But I think probably no matter what you do, you have the sense of a style or a voice in what you do. I think of a signature style almost as handwriting. We all have a specific, you know, impression that we put on the work that we do. And this is something that is typically important to have rounded out before you start pitching your work. Now, note that I didn't say it has to be perfect or groundbreaking because that will hold us back. It doesn't have to be perfect here. It just needs to be, you know, thought through. And so I waited until I had what I felt like was a signature style. At the very beginning, for me, this took about 100 patterns. And in about a year of making artwork, before I came out the other side feeling like I could pull about 30 pieces of work from that collection of 100, that felt like me. That felt like it was my unique impression and my unique approach to creating designs. And so for whatever it is for you, I would suggest just getting the bulk of that style figured out. And there's really no way to do that other than simply do the work. It just takes time to experiment and explore and try different methods. And honestly, you have to make a lot of work that you don't like to get to a place where your vision and your hands. Your hands output are matching each other. And so that just takes time. Give yourself permission to just really embrace the journey. In fact, I've talked about this in episode number 66 in a episode called Cherishing youg Early Work. It's really important, and so just get to a place where you feel like you have a style. Now. This style doesn't lock you in. In fact, if I look back at what I felt like was my style early on, it's not my style anymore because I've grown and matured, and my skill set has changed. But it was back then, and so that's the first thing I would say now. If you're working in surface pattern design specifically, I would suggest having two or three collections that you feel are cohesive. You know, they represent your signature style, but they also show your, you know, ability. Like, how do you approach different themes, different topics, different colors? Can you make multiple collections that look like they were done by the same person but don't look exactly like each other? That's what we're going for. Two to three collections in a portfolio is what I suggest. And then I also just recommend having a clear perspective or a clear story told through your artwork. And so I love to attach personal stories to my work so that when I pitch it, I can share that as well, make it more of an experience for someone. Make the artwork have meaning behind it. And you can do this with any collection release, even if it's something like fine art or ceramics or jewelry. Right. So when you begin preparing for the pitch, there's a couple of things to consider. Number one, ask yourself, how can you make yourself irresistible to your dream company? So, typically, if you're pitching your work, you're hoping to get accepted. If it's something like a craft fair, or if it's something like a company, you're hoping that they will license your work and. And, you know, present you with a contract. And so I love to just flip the role, sit in their shoes. And what would an art director or someone who are making those big decisions, what would make a package just absolutely irresistible to them? And this will be different for every company, but oftentimes it's like a beautiful experience presented in a personal way. And it's full of artwork that's complimentary to their. Their existing lineup doesn't necessarily compete with anything, but it does, you know, complement what they're doing. And then it's also really thoughtful. So you've done your homework. Maybe you know the art director or whoever it is by name, Maybe you've done some research about the company. Maybe you've even talked about some of your favorite products and how your art would potentially work with them.

It's just going to set you apart

from the rest because as you can imagine, in the world of pitching, there are a lot of people who are doing a poor job at it. They're, you know, blind copying multiple people on the same email, and they're not doing their homework, and they're forgetting to put their contact information, and their work isn't a good fit. And so if you can just go a little bit above and beyond, it's really going to be an easy way for you to stand out from the crowd. So step into the shoes of the creative director that you're. That you're getting in touch with and evaluate your work from their perspective. What are they looking for? What would they love to see? You know, another thing to consider is what you actually say and how you outreach. And you have to think about this person's life, how busy it is, and how many pitches are they getting. So don't write, you know, an entire book to them in an email. Keep it short, concise but impactful. Something that's fun for them to read. Or fun for them to open in the mail. You can use this perspective to address and fill any gaps in your portfolio, as well as really work on your pitch strategy. Next, I want to talk to those of you who might feel ready to pitch, but you're just not sure where to start pitching. And so the very first thing you have to do is choose a path. And usually this starts by selecting an industry to begin with. So there are many, many industries. In fact, I'm so excited to tell you that the free download for today's episode is a list of industries that you can choose to begin your art licensing journey with. So you can get that download it over@PropriationalCreative.com and you'll get an entire list of, you know, the industries that we typically see people license their work in. So just to be clear, you need to choose an industry to start with. This doesn't necessarily limit your future opportunities. I think I've shared with you that that one of the most amazing things about licensing your work is that contracts are typically industry by industry. So if you license your work in one industry, let's say wallpaper, well, you can take the same artwork and license it in another industry, like fabric or kitchen textiles or rugs and flooring and things like that as well. So it absolutely doesn't limit your future opportunities, but it does give you a starting place, so something to really wrap your mind around. It's so very helpful to just have

a clear starting point and it breaks

that big overwhelm down into a place that you can actually get started. Once you identify the industry that you want to start with, you'll begin researching companies. Now, this is a little bit tricky. It's not necessarily an easy part. You're going to have to do a little research, a little Googling. You can also start looking at your favorite products or go window shopping. You can also look at your fellow, you know, artist, social media, friends and websites and just see where people are licensing their artwork in different industries. So what you want to do is maybe pull together eight to 12 companies that you want to start with your pitching. And so anytime you see a product that you love, you'll typically be able to find the company that manufactured that product on the back or on the packaging or maybe on their website. Now, once you identify these companies, what I recommend is putting them into three tiers. So you don't want to pitch to, let's say you have 12.

You don't want to pitch to all

12 at the same time, because if at all possible, you Want to avoid the situation where you get an offer that you're not necessarily that excited about and you feel like you want to wait to hear back from, like your dream company instead, and then you're in a tricky time, you know, spot. So what I suggest is that you break that up into three tiers. The top tier is going to be the companies that you would just, you know, they're your dream companies. You would love to work with them. It would be an immediate yes if they made an offer to you. Now, the middle tier are companies that maybe are not as big of a deal. Maybe they don't have, you know, international distribution, but you still think that they would be a great opportunity that you would likely say yes to. And then your lower tier is like, well, if this is the only opportunity that I get, it's a great starting point. You know, you're aligned with the company. They may be much smaller, they may be just starting out. They may only have, you know, representation in a couple of stores or a couple of towns, but it would absolutely be a good starting point. And then you want to pitch in order of those tiers. So pitch your highest ones first. Because these companies are typically bigger deals. They typically have the longest turnaround. So you can imagine they're getting pitched more frequently and they're busier, so you'll likely hear back from them the slowest. So pitch to them first and give that the time that it needs. And then depending on what happens there, if you don't get an offer, you can move to your mid tier and the same thing goes for them. You'll work the mid tier, you'll see if you have any opportunities. And if nothing comes from that set of pitching, you can move to your bottom tier. And you can still feel really good about saying yes to something in your bottom tier. Because it all just builds on each other, right? That's something that you can add to your portfolio for the next time. When you're looking at the companies that you're going to pitch to, just make sure that your work aligns with the company's work, but also their brand and their values. Actually have a story I can tell you about this. I got a licensing contract for a cell phone company, a cell phone, like a case company. And so I was excited about it. It was probably what I would consider a mid tier company. It wasn't even anything I had been pursuing, but the opportunity came to me, it looked great, so I signed the contract and started to get to work. But it was about a year after I confirmed that I was going to do it to the time where my artwork was about to be released. And I don't know what happened in between that year, but I went to their social media and they must have completely changed their strategy, but all of a sudden all of their cell phone cases were being shown in like very provocative ways. And I just felt like this is no longer a good fit. Like I cannot in good conscious announce this partnership and send all of my people over to this website and over to this social media feed because it is like not in line with my brand values. And so I just emailed them and backed out of the contract. I lost some money because of it, but I said this is no longer in alignment with my company's brand and my company's values and I will not have my artwork released on it. And so we just dissolved the contract completely. And I lost a little bit in, in that, but it was that important to. So you have to make sure as much as you can going into it that your work is going to be aligned with the company that you're working with and then just do a deep dive onto their websites, their social media. Make sure you gauge the fit. Are you a good fit from Brandon values like I mentioned? And also is your artwork or your product a good fit with their lineup? So again, you don't want it to be competitive. You also don't want it to be like an extreme outlier. You just want it to be complementary. So now that you have your work complete, your industry figured out, and your list of tiered top companies, it's time to make the move.

Mark your calendars for this, October 19th through the 21st. Because our annual conference for Creative Immersion

Live is coming up, we've gathered a

spectacular lineup of industry leaders, artists and entrepreneurs like Amy Porterfield, Morgan Harper, Nichols

Glotonmo and Nicholas Wilton, plus many, many

more for an unmatched virtual conference experience. Immersion Live this year is all about the art of business for the professional creative. Over three days, you'll unlock strategies to guide your business effectively, refine your designs and establish a flow, flourishing creative career.

And the best part is that you

can experience it all from the comfort of your own home.

We do a live virtual conference like nobody else.

Sessions will allow for real time interaction, questions answered, and a sense of community

that's honestly hard to match.

Our event kicks off with Open studio

night on October 19th, where you'll get

to peek behind the curtain of some

incredibly successful artists and designers.

The next two days, you'll immerse yourself in keynote sessions and workshops where you'll learn, interact and have all your questions answered.

Come engage with like minded creatives, make meaningful connections and open the doors to collaboration.

We're also recording every session so you can revisit and absorb this wealth of knowledge at your own pace. Head ON over to bonniecristine.com 2023interersion live to join us.

You've got to take the initiative. Now, this requires a lot of research for every company. You're going to have to Google and figure out what everyone's art director or creative director or point of contact at that company is. Oftentimes this is on the website. Oftentimes you have to dig really deep and kind of go into the archives of the Internet and figure out who it is. Sometimes you may have to just pick up the phone and call the company and start asking questions. Now, if you're like me, this is super nerve wracking. My husband knows that I don't even like calling in pizza takeout. I always make him do it. And so imagine me calling a company and trying to talk about licensing my work and that I'm an artist and I want to talk to their art director. It's so incredibly nerve wracking. So much so that I've gotten better at it. But at the beginning, I would literally write a script so that I could just read off of it like, hi, my name is Bonnie Christine, I'm an artist and I'm wondering if you license artwork. If so, could you get me in touch with your art director or your creative director? And you know what? This is where 10 seconds of courage comes in. Because as nervous as I was as soon as the conversation began, it was always so incredibly lovely, you know, Side note, every art director for the most part that I've ever talked to is incredibly lovely. I mean, think about their job. They get to work and consider beautiful work all day. And so they want to hear from you, they want to get to know you, they want to see your work. Now, I suggest having a portfolio if that's what you're pitching, that is really universally accepted. Meaning I don't think you need to make a new portfolio for every pitch. I like a portfolio that can serve me in many different industries, but I do think that you can tailor your pitch to the company in other ways. So maybe you do some mock ups that you attach in an email that is specific to that company or that industry. Definitely do your homework so that you can talk about the company and let them know that you've really researched it. And then of course, if you can figure out the person's name that you're trying to contact, contacting them directly and calling them by name really goes a long way. So when you pitch, you could pitch in an email, you could pitch over the phone, or you could pitch via snail mail. But I suggest including any notable licenses that you have already, any notable press mentions that you have, definitely a link to your work. You'd be surprised at how many times this gets left out. A link to your work, your website, your social media and contact information. I also think that it's important to just maybe attach like a quick reference guide to your work or like a one sheet overview that has all of the information on it. That way they can print it out, pass it around, or at least see you at a glance. Now, as you can imagine, once you start pitching, things can get a little bit complicated. So I suggest pitch really staying on track and being on top of organizing who you've talked to, who you've been in contact with and where you're at in the process. So I use a spreadsheet, I love Google sheets. And so I keep a sheet with all my pitching, all of my licenses on there. And so it has the companies, they're listed in tiers and then they've got the contact outreach as well as any, you know, notable information, like if I know the art director's name, their email, their phone number, and then when I've emailed them, spoke with them, mailed them, just to track where I'm at in the process and whether they've responded or said yes or said no. So you can use anything here, spreadsheet. You could also use a good old fashioned notebook, pen and paper, or you could use a project management system like Trello Notion. Airtable is another type of spreadsheet or asana. It is so important to track because you'll be following up with your pitches and your outreaches at different intervals. And so you're going to want to set reminders, put it on your calendar, or keep it in a way that you're tracking in a really easy way to follow. So I suggest once you pitch, you know, maybe give it one week and if you haven't heard anything, follow up at the one week mark, give it another week, follow up again. Okay, so now you're two weeks out, then at that point I would give it like maybe two or three weeks before I reach out one more time, just to close it out. Now there are some other things you can do as well, there are some Google Chrome extensions that you can install or some email, you know, systems that you can use that will show you if your email has been looked at. You can also do some things like if you have a portfolio, or let's say you record a little video for them, you'll be able to see if it's been viewed. And I like this because if you're three weeks out from contacting them and nobody's even opened your email or looked at your video or looked at your portfolio, that's a good indicator that you likely have the wrong contact information. And so rather than give up, you kind of take a different direction. Maybe you call and ensure that you have the right person. So I do like being able to track, you know, what action has been taken on the other side. You know, alternatively, if they've viewed your portfolio 25 times in two or three weeks, you might take that as an indicator that they're very interested. And so maybe you give them a little bit longer to look at it. If it's been opened and looked at once and then never responded to, that would probably mean they're not interested at this time. So that can be really helpful as well. The key to success here is really being patient and also really being persistent. You know, you may want to go into pitch seasons in your business, so maybe you pitch, you know, once a quarter and so you track everything and you make this big effort and then you start do it again the next quarter for a different industry or something like that. I do think that if you're just pitching all the time, it can be a little overwhelming, but absolutely, persistence is key. And when I say persistence, you know, sometimes I hear people say, I've been pitching and all I've heard is no. And I'll say, well, how many, how many times have you pitched? And they'll say, Well, I pitched 10 companies. And I always say 10 is not enough. We're looking for like 100.

Okay.

Because one yes out of a 99 no's is 100% worth it. Okay? I have absolutely heard no at least a hundred times. And so it's persistence. It's really refining the process and just sticking with it. Now, speaking of no's, I just want to talk about handling rejection. You, you will hear no. We all do. And it doesn't necessarily, you know, get easier, but it does get more easily manageable. So hearing no is just could be for any number of reasons. It could be because of your work, but likely it's because maybe they're not accepting new work right now. Or maybe you're not a good fit right now. And so anytime I hear a no, I'm always super gracious. I'm always super grateful for the time that they took to even view my work. And I always ask if they would be two things. I always ask if, one, they would be willing to just give me one piece of advice on my work, and two, if they would be interested in seeing my next collection. That way I can keep their email on a special list that I send, maybe just, you know, artwork updates to or I have permission to reach out to them when I have a new collection in, say, six months. And so I think that's important. Now, I wouldn't put them on your email list. They didn't say that you could start emailing them your newsletter every week, but I keep them on a separate list that only gets notified when I have new work. You know, learning how to handle rejection is just part of it, and it's honestly one of the most constructive ways to be able to improve and enhance your work and your workflow. So just know that as part of the process, every single person hears no more than they hear yes. And that it absolutely can help you get to a yes. So as a recap, we have discussed knowing when you're ready, how to prepare your work for the pitch, how to choose your industry and tier your companies, how to take the initiative and start reaching out, and then how to stay on track. Don't forget, the free download for today's episode is a list of industries that you could consider if you're interested in licensing your art again. You can get that over@PropriationalCreative.com in today's show notes. And just remember that pitching is as much of an art as the thing that you create is. It is a mixture of preparation and courage and persistence. And every no brings you closer to that yes that can change everything. So, my friends, now more than ever, create the beauty that you want to see come alive in the world. And remember, there is room for you. See you next time.

Bye for now.