Getting ready for the holidays!
First of all, if you’re reading this at the time of publishing in September, I’m sorry! As much as I personally love the holidays, I do admit talking about it in September is early for a lot of people. But, I’m here for the greater good. I would like to highlight that even though we’re 3 months away from December, those weeks can go very fast within an art business.
The holiday season is a busy period for artists as well, with people looking to purchase thoughtful gifts for their loved ones. So here are a few tips and strategies you can use to have a successful and enjoyable holiday season
Know how your market works
If you sell to the US market, you can expect that 43% of consumers are likely to begin their holiday shopping by the end of October. Whereas in the UK, the figure is 18% for that timeframe, and the real jump in purchasing doesn’t happen until November. In Ireland, around 35% of people start purchasing gifts in September-October. This is good for you to know so you have an inventory of art pieces available to those who want to buy during that time period and through to December.
Figure out your timelines
It’s good for you to count backwards for deadlines so you know you can give yourself the appropriate time.
Below is an example of roughly calculating a timeline for getting prints ready for the holiday season:
Sample Timeline
As you can see (with this very rough timeline with assumptions), the weeks are not slow passing by. You are the expert of your own process and business, so you’ll know exactly how much time you’ll have to prepare in order to release a new collection of pieces for the holidays.
How are you going to sell
The holiday season can present a lot of opportunities as buyer spending peaks, with fairs opening up everywhere and an abundance of online shoppers looking for the perfect piece of art as a gift. Our suggestion here is to be deliberate in your actions. Seek out fairs that are most aligned with your work and price range and choose an amount of fairs that won’t have you burnt out at the end. This is also a time of year to enjoy some quality time with friends and family, as well as resting, so you don’t want to be feeling unwell from exhaustion. If you map out your intentions now, you’re in a much better place for November/December.
Finally, share your work!
People won’t have you automatically on their radar unless they see you and your work. Make sure to have a plan in place, whether you want to post daily, every second day, or once a week. This will help people remember you when they're thinking of getting someone a piece of artwork as a gift. It also shows that you have work to sell. Sometimes, if artists aren’t posting or are active online or in-person, people assume they’re working on a collection. But that shouldn’t stop you from posting the odd Instagram post to show that you’re working on new work. People love hearing that, and better again, promote your mailing list to give those people an opportunity to get a sneak preview or the opportunity to purchase early.
If you want to make sure that your holiday season sales go as smooth as possible, sign up to our Advisory Session today!! Places are limited so be sure to sign up soon.
