Did you ever stumble upon the concept of email marketing for artists?
If yes. Then, you would know about the various benefits it brings.
If not, then you must read further to know about it.
What is Email Marketing For Artists?
It is the use of emails to engage and sell art to patrons. Most of the time, it involves updating the subscribers about the latest products. Furthermore, it facilitates offering digital art forms to download. Plus, it can also communicate about upcoming events and exhibitions through newsletters.
Email marketing is an effective means for an artist to retain and grow their audience.
Why Artists Should Do Email Marketing
1. Point of Contact With Audience
Emails work as a direct point of contact with the audience. That means you can start communicating with them the moment they land on your contact list.
Consider your email list like a tribe of like-minded people. That means there is a strong connection with your subscribers.
This to and fro flow of information is the biggest advantage of email marketing. It enables building strong connections around your handmade business niche.
You can have personalized conversations with every person on your list. This leads to a strong network that facilitates fulfilling business goals.
2. Effective and Everlasting Marketing Activity
Every digital marketing guru talks about the high ROI for email marketing. It makes sense to listen to them and learn from their experience. Though until you direct your focus on making email a priority. You will not understand the difference that it brings to your handmade business.
Instagram for artists works well to build a following. But in comparison to social media marketing, the sense of recall is higher with mail. An email subscriber would be more interested in your craft than a social media follower. Thus, staying in touch with your email list proves fruitful in the long run.
Moreover, email marketing is not subjected to algorithm changes like social media. Therefore, email marketing has fewer changes to adapt to, unlike social media.
3. Helps Sell Affiliate Products for Wholesome Earnings
In the initial days of starting an artist journey, it is difficult to sell your artwork. There is a lot that goes into updating the target audience about your craft.
In those times, you can make money as an artist by doing affiliate marketing.
It makes sense to sell products that complement your artwork. That way you help your audience to have a wholesome experience of your art.
With email marketing, it is easy to sell products to your subscribers on autopilot. The welcome sequences keep introducing products to every new person on your list. This further leads to sales that bring passive revenue to make a living.
Selling affiliate products is a huge benefit of email marketing for creative makers.
Some of the examples of affiliate marketing through emails for artists are:
- If you make handmade soaps, you can sell loofahs and soap making tools.
- If you make handmade jewelry, you can do an affiliate marketing of jewelry boxes.
- Or if you make money through woodworking projects. Then, you can mail your audience about buying chainsaw or other handyman tools.
How Artists Can Make Use Of Emails For Selling
1. Offer A Lead Magnet a.k.a Freebie Digital Art
If you receive my newsletters, then chances are that you subscribed to my list via a freebie.
In technical terms, the content that makes a viewer provide their consent to stay in touch is a lead magnet. In the popular culture of digital marketing, Freebie is the term used for the lead magnet.
A freebie is one of the best ways to test an email marketing strategy. There are different ways to figure out freebies for email marketing. But if you are precise about what artwork you will sell. Then, the freebie that acts as a precursor to selling that artwork works the best. Hence, a digital version of art/sculpture works as a good lead magnet.
You must have noticed a lot of free lead magnets for various articles on this website. A visual flow of the email marketing strategy for artists is the freebie for this article.
2. Share Your Craft Through Newsletters
The process of creating art interests the readers. Therefore, if you share with them how you go about making your crafts, it enthralls them.
Sending periodic newsletters is a great way to achieve that connection.
An artist’s work consists of several processes with unique elements. Letting your readers know about them is a great way to include them in your craft.
Being active in communicating with your readers through your work creates strong bonds. Furthermore, these bonds lead your audience to buy your artwork. In a best-case scenario, a few artists are even able to presell their art through email marketing.
3. Promote Your Exhibitions/ Shows
As of writing this post, the pandemic is on. Thus, in the current scenario craft shows and exhibitions are out of scope.
But the good part is that selling through online art blogs and stores is at an all-time high. Irrespective of whether you are seeking success through art exhibitions or through websites. You always have the option to promote to those who are a part of your email list.
This comes as a major advantage since one e-invite works for a large group of people.
What Are the Best Email Provider for Artists
To put email marketing for artists into action, you need email marketing software.
There are a few options that are free up to a certain number of email subscribers. But those free ones have a limit on full-blown features vis-a-vis the paid ones.
The best email marketing providers come with an upfront cost. But that cost gets adjusted with the revenue you make due to their advanced features.
This post may contain affiliate links. That means if you purchase any of the products mentioned in this article through routing via the links in this post. Then, I may end up receiving a certain monetary percentage from the sale. Though the one who purchases through the link does not end up paying anything extra apart from the mentioned MRP on the product. Full disclosures on the Affiliate Page.
I have used a few of them for this website. My experience is as follows:
1. Mailchimp
I started email marketing with a Mailchimp account since it is free for up to 2000 subscribers. Their policies do not allow affiliate marketing. Thus, I looked for Mailchimp alternatives for facilitating monetization.
2. MailerLite
It is free for the first 1000 subscribers. I could never use them since they did not approve of my website.
3. Convertkit
I used their freemium account when they had some promotions. I liked them, but their cost hurts my profit margins. So, I made a switch from them as well.
4. Aweber
They allow selling affiliates, unlike the competition. But their automation features are basic. Thus, I did not continue beyond their one-month freemium service.
5. GetResponse
This is my current and most favorite email marketing service provider. Its review deserves a separate post. But in brevity, its distinguishing features are its :
- Automation options
- Ease of facilitating affiliate marketing, and
- Low cost
Conclusion
If as an artist you find yourself struggling with questions such as:
“How Do I Market Myself As An Artist”
“How Do I Get My Art Noticed”
Then, investing in email marketing is one of the best solutions.
It not only helps you put your latest creations in front of your audience. But it also helps you make money as an artist.
There are several ways to use email marketing to your advantage. But to do the same, you cannot rely on free email providers. Switching to a robust service with good deliverability helps you automate the process.
Before you end up wasting resources on other expensive tactics to sell your handmade art. Do try your hands at email marketing to enjoy long term fruitful benefits.
Header Image Source: Pixabay
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