The Sweet Spot - Marketing Vs. Technical Expertise
by Debra Keirce
The following article was written by Debra Keirce, a regular contributing author to The BoldBrush Letter.
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The Sweet Spot - Marketing Vs. Technical Expertise
This month I’m pondering something that applies to all creatives - painters, musicians, dancers, writers, photographers. As artists, we often hear that the better we get, the more sales we will have. Still, there are artists whose technical skill is jaw-dropping, and yet they remain obscure. Meanwhile, we watch as someone who churns out trendy art and is good at “working the algorithm” gains acclaim. Is the time and money I am putting into getting better in my craft REALLY going to pay off in the long run? This is a frustrating reality for a lot of dedicated artists.
After many rounds of this discussion, and years of wrestling with this tension, I’m offering it up here again for debate.
Where is the Sweet Spot?
I have come to believe that there is a sweet spot. In that spot, your own marketing gets you noticed and remembered. Your accomplishments as an artist intersect that spot in a way that people take a second look, and recognize your level of talent.
This spot occurs in a different location for every artist. There are the extremes, and everything in between. One may be great at creating art, but their marketing doesn’t reach very many people. So while they have a few loyal collectors, they have not gone viral and probably never will. (Great art and average marketing results)
Another less accomplished artist might get noticed by a huge marketing team who thinks they can make a lot of money promoting the art. The next thing we know, that artist’s name is well known and sales are through the roof. (Average art and great marketing results)
What is Your Passion?
In the end, I believe it all depends on what your personal dreams are. We all want to be a master artist with collectors lining up to buy our work. But do you dream more about getting better at your craft or at getting better sales? I really think it’s our passion that drives this bus. And there’s the rub. If I am PASSIONATE about becoming the best painter I can be, but I WANT to be the best at sales and name recognition, I think nine times out of ten, the marketing falls short.
In the long run, passion wins.
That’s not to say that you can never improve. There are so many business resources. You can also hire someone to do it for you. There are lots of ways to improve in the art we create too. The sweet spot is always in motion. It also changes with the market, with cultural tides, and with the artist’s own journey. Sometimes you’re ahead of the curve. Sometimes the world isn’t ready. Sometimes you’re just shouting into the void because your marketing doesn’t match the power of your work.
But once in a while — BAM — something clicks. You hit that intersection of visibility, talent, and authenticity, and people feel it. That’s when they buy. That’s when they remember your name.
From Our Collectors’ Perspective:
Art is about connection. Skill matters. Marketing helps. But connection is the glue. People connect to what they perceive as genuine passion or truth. Marketing can manufacture visibility, but it can’t fake passion - not convincingly, not long-term.
The consumers who observe our marketing and creating efforts are critics. They will tear down a cringy post or a piece of art they don’t relate to in seconds. Mind you, that marketing or art took us many hours to create. Viewers don’t care. They react. Part of what they react to is our talent. Part is our authenticity. Part is the read they get instantly on where our passions lie.
We all know that the best thing we can do with our insight is to encourage and help each other improve. But the public at large has no obligation to do so. The public can be influenced by great marketing or great technical skills … to a point. I propose though, until that sweet spot lines up for the artist they are looking at, they will not be making a purchase.
So What Do We Do?
I think the takeaway is keep getting better. Keep creating from a place of truth. And learn enough marketing to be able to amplify what you're passionate about — or find someone like FASO’s art marketing team, who can help you with resources that allow you to actively market your creations without compromising your vision.
In the end, the work we do when no one is watching builds the foundation. The marketing shines a light. But the light has to fall on something worth seeing.
Do you agree? Agree to disagree? Do you think the sweet spot has shifted for you lately? Or are you still chasing it? I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Debra Keirce
www.DebKArt.com
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As you can see, at FASO, we actually do, and,
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Click the button below to start working
with an art website host that actually cares about art.
Another intriguing post Debra. Thanks. I haven't found the sweet spot yet. Happy with my artwork but struggle with getting new followers on social. All the enquiries I get seem to be from scammers who have no about info, few posts or friends. I keep painting regardless because I love doing it so much. I hope that passion shows through in my work.
Yep, yep and yep. It's far more important for me to achieve my original goal: to figure out HOW did the artists who have come before me DO that? But in the intervening years, I've created stacks of paintings that few people (who are not my very supportive friends & family) see. Not even through my wonderful FASO website, for which I will be forever grateful -- but more on that in a minute. (*)
Not that you'll be able to answer this, but this is my dilemma: What does one do when one lives and works and paints in a European UNESCO city, *dripping* with culture and history -- and with proprietary galleries that are devoted to either historic art works, i.e., museums, or 20th C artists, or are small, very private galleries devoted solely to one local artist/owner's work?
Not very conducive to want to get out there and introduce myself and my work. And no, hobbyist clubs and orgs don't exist here like they do in the States. And no, I don't have the money to open my own gallery! ;-)
I've had one chance in 15 years to share a fellow artist's exhibition in one of the local hospitals (which he finagled because he's a native who knows VIPs) -- but when he saw that my work was "better" (his term for more accurately drafted and impressionistic), he got cold feet and I've never heard from him since. Like we suddenly became competitors and he found himself wanting. Unnecessarily so, but we've never been able to discuss it since.
All this to say, some of us not only don't know quite where/how to put ourselves out there, some of us feel rather smothered by our local circumstances. Trapped in backwaters with zero artistic opportunities or in places and other cultures where there's so much established art, it's a mystery as to how to be seen and taken seriously.
Long story short, I'm building my skills (I hope!) and portfolio, so I'm ready for my move back to the States and a cute lil artsy town, where I already have a house at least. XOXOXOXO
(*) Regarding FASO: I'm disconcerted by the many adverts in FASO newsletters advocating we switch(?) or create another site with ANOTHER website company (Squarespace, was it?) I really wish FASO would clarify that. Perhaps they did at some point early on, but I have enough trouble keeping my FASO site updated and I thought you prided yourselves on helping us with our marketing? So why tout a different company's talents in those things? Just thought I'd get that off my chest.