Sarah Edmonds explains why building a database of contacts is so important for your long-term art marketing strategy.
Email marketing isn’t dead yet – far from it. With so many messages landing in our inboxes on a daily basis, consumers are more selective than ever about who they follow and subscribe to. The case study with Sarah Manolescue (see below) beautifully illustrates the responsibility she feels in returning that trust through heartfelt, authentic newsletters. Sending a newsletter is not simply a sales tool, it can be used to build a community of people who care about art. It’s a brilliant way of connecting to your readers.
Florals with Satsuma, oil on panel, (23x25.5cm) by Sarah Manolescue
Building a list takes persistence and can become a really powerful tool – it’s your property (unlike your social media channels) and it’s valuable. According to McKinsey researchers, you’re 40 times more likely to get new customers from email marketing than from Facebook or Twitter. Initially your readers will want to see your art, find out more about you, understand your process and ultimately trust you enough to buy an artwork.
Remember, your list doesn’t have to be huge – in fact, a smaller list of attentive subscribers is far more worthwhile.
Starting and growing a newsletter
The good news is, newsletter platforms are often free and incredibly user friendly. This means absolutely anyone can start their own list – Mailchimp is an obvious place to start. How often should you be sending news? Too many newsletters is spammy and followers will soon unsubscribe, so a good balance would be every four to six weeks or unless you have something urgent you want to share! Decide your schedule and try and stick to it consistently. Your followers will look forward to hearing your latest news. When you’re inviting people to subscribe, manage their expectations by letting them know what the frequency and content will be, thus avoiding unsubscribes.
Who are you writing to and what do you want to share? Finding your voice is key to building trust in your audience – it’s the same premise as working out your painting style or your brand. If you are passionate about plein air, belong to a particular group or deeply care about green issues, then include it. It’s what makes you unique and helps to tell your story.
It goes without saying that interesting and visually exciting content will engage your readership from the subject line all the way down to your sign off. Not sure how to create graphics for banners? Try Canva or A Design Kit, both user-friendly desktop or mobile applications. Images should also be lower resolution for quick opening time – Mailchimp does this for you!
Newsletters are a great way to offer exclusives, exhibition news and can act as a virtual gallery, encouraging first time buyers or collectors. It’s really generous to share your process too, products you favour and the techniques you use – this gives readers an insight into your artist life. All of these efforts will encourage subscription and you could also try incentives such as ‘10% off your first order when you subscribe’, ‘Get my free exhibition download’ or special offers for subscribers only. If you receive Haidee-Jo Summers’ lovely newsletters, you’ll note that they always include ‘Painting of the Month’ at a reduced price – there’s no doubt it feels like a special arrangement between artist and reader.
Content could also include film, links to longer blog posts or podcasts, exhibition invitations and recent collaborations. Keep the words concise and genuine and don’t forget the ‘Forward to a Friend’ button. Top Tip for your next subject title – ask a question or share an invitation. Ultimately, newsletters are about ‘News’ and updates from a helpful friend rather than a pushy salesperson!
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Case Study – Sarah Manolescue
Sarah Manolescue
Q. How important are newsletters in your overall marketing strategy?
A. I see newsletters as a friendly way of keeping in touch with an audience that I know is genuinely interested in what I do. If someone has taken the time to subscribe, it’s important to reciprocate and update them with what’s going on with you. And within the digital world, everything is so transient; for example, Instagram is huge right now but will it be in five years’ time? You may have a strong following, but if social media collapsed tomorrow, where would that leave you? A subscriber list is hugely valuable and something you own, so take the time to nurture it and it will reward you.
Q. How do you encourage subscribers?
A. I launched my subscription list when I began writing a blog. Before I published the first article, I talked about it on social media and asked people to sign up in advance. I got a huge response. When the blog post went live, I did another post, and I gained even more subscribers when they had heard my ‘voice’. I have sign-up boxes all over my website (on every page in fact), and sometimes a pop-up box too. People love added value and I try to offer something in my newsletters and blog articles for the collector and fellow artist.
I gain a steady number of subscribers through my website; before I send out a newsletter I will do a story on Instagram, to encourage followers to sign up in time to get the latest one. This works well, because steadily over time, and with very little effort, I am building up a substantial mailing list that will prove invaluable when I really need it, such as when I want to draw crowds (and hopefully collectors) to a solo exhibition.
Q. What are your tips for writing a compelling newsletter title?
A. I don’t get too concerned about a title unless there’s something really important I want to share. My newsletters tend to be broken up into topics so I open with something chatty and general before addressing the topics I want to cover (unless I’m emailing the blog, then I jump right in and the title is blog related). My advice would be to think about what sort of voice you want to develop in your newsletters. Perhaps look at the emails you receive as a subscriber and think about what you like and don’t like about them. Be inspired by other emails and artists but don’t copy what they do – the aim here is originality. You want to stand out from the crowd and be unique.
Q. How frequently do you send newsletters?
A. In an ideal world, I think once a month is about right, a gentle reminder that you are there but nothing too in-your-face. The aim is to gain subscribers and hold onto them so I would only send another newsletter before the month is up if you have something really crucial to say that is also time sensitive. I remember once I subscribed to a newsletter and the emails were incessant, so I unsubscribed within the week! In reality, once a month is manageable, giving you time to work out what you are going to say and design the layout. And don’t worry if you don’t have anything particular you want to say; you can always share some photos of something beautiful you’ve seen that week; as an artist, your subscribers are interested not only in your work, but also how you see the world.
About Sarah Edmonds
Sarah is the marketing manager for Pegasus Art and a freelancer supporting creatives and fine artists. Sarah studied a short course at the Slade School of Fine Art and has a degree from Chartered Institute of Marketing. www.sarahedmonds-marketing.com
This feature is adapted from The Artist October 2020
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