 Hi Everyone! Robin here. Aletta is away on vacation this week (Aloha
Aletta!) so I'm stepping in with this month's ArtMatters article.
What
with all this talk lately about printed materials to use as promotional
tools, I started having visions of artists surrounded by stacks of
materials, tripping over them, frustrated trying to find envelopes and
stamps. . .
Oh, wait, that's ME in the vision. Well, me several
years ago before I decided that I hated tripping over piles of
postcards, brochures, packets, rack cards and all the stuff I used to
promote, not only for me but for my clients as well.
So here's what I do,
and after doing it for years I can attest to the fact that it WILL save
you time, money, and a lot of stress.
And, if after reading all
this you just don't want to deal with it, email me. I do this kind of work day
in, day out, I'm good at it and fast, and it's a wise use of your time
to pay me to do it so you can get back to doing what brings in the
money: creating your art!
 1. Do a little research and run the numbers:
Think
about it ahead of time and you won't have angst about it later when a
gallery calls and needs info NOW. Figure out what you will need for the
next few months, or for however long before you're going to want to
update/change them (hint: it'll be sooner than you think). Business
cards, postcards, brochures, rack cards, press and info packets? Got a
show coming up? What will you hand out? What will you mail? How many
will you need? What about a monthly mailing of postcards in addition to
your emailings? How many of those?
Printing prices vary widely
and so does quality. Some printers will mail the stuff for you, some
won't. Some will, but will also charge a small fortune. Have resources in place,
online printers or a local ones that you trust. Know what it's going to
cost you to hand out that postcards or mail that packet. You know how to
do it: Total cost of printed items (including shipping & tax)
divided by the number of items = cost per item. Don't forget to add cost
of postage if they're being mailed.
A word about postage: Yes,
you need to know what things cost to mail, ahead of time. Then you'll
probably gasp at the cost of sending it all out and this will change what
you do in the items listed below.
 2. Design once, adapt it and reuse:
When
I design for artists, I create what I call "master files." Very high
resolution layered design files. Each element of the design on a
separate layer. That file becomes sacred, we do knock-offs from that for
various uses. But the main file is set up and reused over and over. The
cost of labor (and time invested) is smaller in the future because the
design work doesn't have to be done again from scratch.
 3. Order in appropriate quantities:
Order
what you need, plus a few extra. These days small printing runs are
very low cost, and you won't have a lot of "inventory" hanging around.
You can change and update it when you need to without the guilt
and cost of throwing away hundreds of pieces you can't use. Also, for
the things you mail, buy enough postage and have it on hand also.
 4. Set yourself up a place to keep it all, at the ready:
I
usually don't send anything larger than a 9"x12" bubble mailer, so my
mailing center only takes up several shelves in the office bookshelf.
Postcards, business cards, brochures, envelopes, bubble
mailers, and clear packing tape are neatly stacked, and assembled info packets are ready for address
labels and stamps.
Online shipping/mailing is fabulous. Set
yourself up with accounts at the post office website and UPS or FedEx
and print shipping/mailing labels from your computer. Stick it on the
package, done.
I have a client who does a lot of
shipping/mailing. They turned their garage into a shipping center after
running the numbers on what it would cost to warehouse and pay a
fulfillment company. They have products organized on long tables, a
separate table for packing and labeling, and enough supplies to last all
year. Again, think about how many and how often you mail/ship and set
yourself up accordingly.
 5. Always always keep some of it with you:
I
mean it! You never know when you'll need them. Often you'll be waiting
in line or out and about and get into conversations with people. "What
do you do?" and other questions. Hand them a postcard, get their card,
add them to your mailing list. They may show up at your website, show or
event!
There, doesn't that feel better?
Write to me if you have questions robin@artistcareertraining.com or post them on the blog so everyone can benefit.
All my best to you and yours,
Robin Sagara
Web Marketing Mentor
P.S. Read all about printed promotional tools:
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