Pay a Company to Marker Your Art?

Q: I'm in contact with a company that markets art and artists. For several thousand dollars, they create a mailer that includes a color brochure, an 8 by 10 inch photograph of my work, a cover letter and a resume. They give me several hundred mailers for my own use and they also mail out over 500 to dealers, galleries, publishers, consultants and others who they tell me will have an interest in my work. For a lot less money, I can put together my own mailer. Which do yo think I should do?

A: To begin with, the days of promoting yourself and your art by mail are, at best, numbered (I happen to think they're over). Nowadays, hardly anything beats a good website for introducing and presenting an artist's work, and that, in combination with all the social networking options out there is practically unbeatable. That said, plenty of artists still believe in mailers-- as my mailbox so attests-- so for those of you who do, kindly read on.

Right off the top, I have a hard time believing that over 500 dealers, galleries, publishers, and consultants will be interested in any artist's art unless that artist is really really famous. And if an artist is really really famous, the last thing they need is for anyone to market their art. What they almost certainly need is more art because they most likely can't meet the demand for it. So I'm immediately suspicious of the offer. But if you still want to pursue it, avoid the temptation to get carried away with all the promises, and investigate the situation first.

Speak with a representative of this company and check their references the same way you would anyone else who you are thinking about doing business with. Find out how many artists they've promoted in this manner. Request names of at least ten, contact at least five personally, and find out whether they're satisfied with the results. A legitimate marketing firm with a successful track record won't hesitate to provide references. If they're at all reluctant or only give out a name or two, take your business elsewhere.

Ask the artists they refer you to how much new business they got as a direct result of this company's mailings. Find out whether or how quickly they recouped their initial investments. Ask how the firm is to do business with in terms of promptness, cooperation, quality of work, customer satisfaction, and so on.

In addition to providing artist references, have the company send you at least five mailers they've created for other artists. Once again, if they refuse, end the conversation. If they comply, observe the similarities and differences between mailers. Mailers that all look pretty much the same in terms of layout, wording, and other respects means that the company is not individually customizing, but rather running an assembly line type of operation. It also indicates that the names on the their mailing lists are probably receiving identical mailer after identical mailer and are probably not taking the company or its artists very seriously. Variety between mailers is what you're looking for.

Lastly, ask for names of at least ten dealers or galleries in your city or region that the company regularly mails to and find out how likely they are to respond to mailers. If they're at all hesitant here, forget doing business with them. As an aside, I once asked a company that claimed distribution to over 10,000 international dealers, collectors, critics and other influential art people for names of galleries in San Francisco that were on their mailing list. They sent me that list which included galleries that hadn't been in business for over 20 years, dead people, and galleries that had changed addresses multiple times since they were at the addresses on the mailing list. In short, the list was practically useless.

Now assuming the contacts they give you are still alive and in business, ask whether mailers are received individually or packaged together (the more artists are grouped together in a single mailing, the less attention each artist receives). Find out how many artists they've received information about, how many they've contacted, how much business has resulted, and how successful those relationships have been. Look for signs that the company is respected and regarded as a good resource for meeting and forming business relationships with new artists.

Regarding producing and distributing your own mailer, this is only a good idea if you enjoy designing promotional materials and accepting the numerous responsibilities involved in distributing them. You may save money, but you'll be investing plenty of time writing and laying out your brochure, finding a company to produce it, having it printed, locating names of potential customers, doing mailings, making follow-up calls, and so on.

If neither mailer situation sounds all that appealing, save your time and money and continue making contacts the old fashioned way-- in person and on the internet. Network within your community and online, speak with as many art people as possible, and don't let rejections get you down. In most cases, galleries, representatives, curators, consultants, publishers, and collectors are no more responsive to slick mailings than they are to clean easy-to-navigate websites that contain good representative images of the art, standard resumes, bios, and other relevant information. They know what types of art they're looking for regardless of its packaging (assuming basic neatness, clarity and organizational requirements are met) and don't expect expensive or sophisticated marketing presentations. Getting your art out there is never easy, but keep at it and sooner or later good things will happen.