Ann Rea: (00:01)
Hi everyone. This is Anne Rea coming to you live from San Francisco, California. And I just want to pop in and share with you the three top mistakes that I see a lot of artists making when it comes to money, Specifically the money that they get paid for their art. And one of the biggest mistakes that I see is they’re just conflicted. They’re conflicted about asking for money for their art because they enjoy it so much, and they haven’t– even if they’re professional. Like even if this is their continuous full-time or part-time business, there’s still some internal conflict. And my

Ann Rea: (00:49)
theory and my experience is that conflict is caused by the artist believing, mistakenly believing that they’re actually selling themselves. And really listen to this carefully. When you hear an artist talk about their marketing, and their sales efforts, they will use the term “selling themselves.” Selling themselves. When in fact, no one is for sale. They’re not for sale. But if you think about that, if you believe, and you know, you– life is the story you are telling yourself about yourself. If you believe that you are selling yourself, then you’re going to feel internally conflicted, right? So you are not selling yourself. And hopefully, like if you’re one of my students, you’re actually serving a mission that’s far greater than yourself. And so that helps so many of my students just get out of their own way. Even if they’re super shy, even if they’re super introverted, they’re all down with serving a mission that’s greater than themselves.

Ann Rea: (01:58)
Right? So the tip here is ask yourself, do you use that phrase in your vocabulary? When you talk about your selling your art and marketing your art, do you use the phrase or have you heard other artists use the phrase selling– “I have to sell myself. I have to learn how to put myself out there,” right? That’s really not the case. You’re not for sale. No one’s buying you. You buy house. You don’t buy people, right? You just– still, you’re not for sale, but that’s a big mistake. And I know where this originates. It originates in art schools. So thank you very much art schools, because so many of them have mess with our heads. And when you feel conflicted about something, it’s very difficult to be very successful, right? But that’s– so this is a fundamental thing that I have noticed.

Ann Rea: (02:50)
The other thing that, let’s see, the other big mistake that I see artists making is they’re just not clear on the value they’re offering. Like, look, anytime you ask for money, you need to be clear on the value exchange you’re requesting, right? So you’re going to ask for X number of dollars, and you’ll then have to be confident. You and your customer are going to have to be confident that what they get in exchange is of equal value to the money they pay you or more. But when you’re writing these very confusing artists statements, which speak not at all to the value of what you offer, you’re again setting yourself up for an internal conflict, right? So if you feel conflicted, you’re not very confident and let’s face it. You need confidence to sell art, because nobody actually needs it.

Ann Rea: (03:51)
It’s a luxury. You can have a philosophical debate about that all day long if you like, but bottom line is no one actually needs art. It’s a luxury. So you have to be very confident in the value you’re offering. The third big mistake that I see, unfortunately, this is a big, this happens. Even artists who are selling their art really, really well. They might be selling their art really, really well, but they don’t really know how much money they’re making. They haven’t run the numbers, right? And so those numbers are really pretty simple. How much money are they spending in materials? How much money are they spending in equipment or how much money are they spending on overhead? How much time does it take not only to make the piece of art itself, but then to also do the marketing and administration, right?

Ann Rea: (04:43)
You have to add all that up, right? You have that final figure, or at least an estimate of it. And you subtract that from your total sales. And if you’re not generating a profit, uh-oh. You have a very, very expensive hobby. Right? So that’s another, that would be strike three. Here’s the good news. All these mistakes that are very common are pretty easy to correct. At least in the Making Art Making Money program. They’re pretty easy to correct. And so I’d like to invite all of you to a live Q and A that I’m going to be hosting on Saturday, the 29th at 2:00 PM Pacific standard time. And Joie, if you’re listening, please, that’s my assistant. Please pop in the chat. Or we will later at some point. We’ll put in the comment section an invitation for you to join us on Saturday, the 29th at 2:00 PM, Pacific standard time for a live Q and A. And during the live Q and A, I’m going to– it’s open.

Ann Rea: (05:46)
You can ask me whatever you like about selling art during the pandemic, about pricing your art, about marketing your art, whatever you like. And well, I’ll address as much as I possibly can within the hour. And I’ll also share details about the Making Art Making Money program. If you want to learn about that, if you’ve had, like, I have so many, so many artists sit on the fence. Like really want to enroll, but they’re not sure. And so here’s a live Q and A that I’m going to host again on the 29th so you can be more sure about what the program involves, and how it might be able to help you if you want to sell more art. So again, you want to– Patty says, “That’s what I’m having a hard time with.” What is it specifically that you’re having a hard time with, Patty?

Ann Rea: (06:34)
Well we covered a few things. We’ve talked about feeling like you’re having to sell yourself, right? That’s going to leave you internally conflicted,. Not being really abundantly clear and confident in the value that you offer in exchange for the money you’re asking that’ll lead many artists to discount their art, which is a really bad idea. Because as soon as you discount your art, which is a luxury, a few things happen. Number one, you immediately devalue all your art, right? That’s number one. Number two, you damage your reputation as an artist. And you’ve worked probably pretty hard to get yourself where you are, right? And so also you’ve been insulting and unfair to everyone else who you’ve asked to pay you full price. But if you aren’t in a place in your head where you feel like you’re selling yourself, or when you– or if you number one, or if number two, you’re not clear on the value you’re offering as it relates to the prices that you’re charging.

Ann Rea: (07:41)
Or if you don’t know even if you are generating a profit, you’re going to be prone to discounting your art or donating your art with this thin hope of magical exposure. You don’t want to hope to sell your art. I mean, if you could like turn nothing at all from what I say today, it’s this, you don’t want to be hoping to sell your art or dreaming of being a successful artist. You just, you need to make a plan. It’s really simple. It’s about having a specific goal, and having a plan and third having support, right? Having expertise because you want to avoid mistakes that are A, Going to cost you a bunch of money. And B, take you a ton of time that you probably probably don’t have, right? Because most artists just don’t have the time left to keep making the same mistakes over and over again.

Ann Rea: (08:36)
So come to live Q and A on Saturday, the 29th of this month at 2:00 PM Pacific Standard Time. We can ask you, there you go. I think Joie just put that in the chat. So yeah, in order to qualify to come to the live Q and A, you have to apply to a first enroll in a recorded private Master Class where we actually just recorded this class. And it’s great. It dives into all of the very specific strategies and techniques that I teach artists and also gives details about the Making Art Making Money programs. So we ask that you first apply and watch the private Master Class. We’re going to learn a lot and then come to the live Q and A on the 29th of this month, where you’re going to learn even more. And, just FYI, the private Master Class is free.

Ann Rea: (09:32)
There’s no obligation. And the live Q and A on the 29th of this month is also free, and there is no obligation. So I hope you’ll join us. And don’t be shy. Ask away, you’ve got, you got me live. I’m happy to help. So I’ll see you, um, on the 29th and hopefully we’ll see your application come through. Now, when you submit your application, please fill it out. Like really, it is an application. That doesn’t mean you’re going to be accepted. I am actually going to personally review your application. If it looks like I can help you, then I’ll invite you to join the private Master Class, and the live Q and a, if it doesn’t, if it doesn’t look like I can help you, I’ll be honest with you, but I’ll still try to give you some resources and point you in the right direction, because it’s not for everybody. But the only way to find out if it’s for you is to actually apply. That’s the only way to find out. And Rachel says, “I just need to learn how to make around 2K a month and love doing art.” Well, where do you, what do you make now? Rachel?

Ann Rea: (10:39)
She says, she’s ready. So that’s

Ann Rea: (10:42)
great. I love that you have a specific goal. I would say, Rachel, it’s easier to plan a goal for like, what do you want to make in the next six months, total versus 2K a month, right? Because it’s harder to be consistent le making around 2K a month, than it is to just say, “I’m going to make two times six over $12,000 within the next six months.” That’s what I would suggest because you know, that way maybe you could have just a few commissions or a few sales or a few events and hit your goal within one month. How would you like that, Rachel? Right. So if you create that possibility, it’s absolutely possible. We teach a process in the Making Art Making Money program around this. Rachel says, “Okay, if I’m lucky, if I can make anything from it.” Well, that’s not luck Rachel. If you rely on luck,

Ann Rea: (11:43)
you’re screwed. You have to have a plan. So there’s no dreaming. We don’t do dreaming hope is a beggar. Okay. We don’t do dreaming in the Making Art Making Money program at all. I actually– Joie, if you’re listening, would you paste the Making Art Making Money manifesto into the chat for Rachel and anyone else who’s interested in learning kind of our global perspective on selling art? I think it would be really helpful because it’s very, very different from what you learned in art school. If you went to art school, for example. Or what you learn in general, our approach is very, very different. And I think you’d benefit Rachel from taking a look at that. So Joie, if you can hear me pop that into the chat, and if you, if not, Rachel, we’ll come back later and we will make sure that you get a link to the Making Art Making Money Manifesto.

Ann Rea: (12:43)
Oh, there we go. Okay. So, um, we just popped into the chat, Making Art Making Money Manifesto. Rachel says “I’m in the process of moving from one state to another to follow my heart, my dream of making, selling art for a living.” Okay, well, moving from one state to the next is not going to be, you got to do more than, Rachel. You’re going to need some support. You’re going to need a plan. I would say a plan to sell your art without a plan, as a plan to sell no art. So you’re going to need some resources, Rachel it’s um, I always say selling art by yourself too hard. It’s too lonely and it’s no fun. So, Rachel apply at least to the private Master Class. And if it looks like we can help, we’d love to have you join the live Q and A on the 25th at 2:00 PM Pacific standard time. All right. Well, that’s all I have for today. Thank you for tuning in and listening. I hope this was helpful. Remember, just to recap, um, you know, if you believe you’re selling yourself, which you’re not, you’re going to feel eternally conflicted about selling your art and you’re going to struggle. So you remember you’re not selling yourself selling smart, right? And hopefully if you’re in my program anyway, you’re serving a mission that’s much greater than yourself. So even if you’re shy or you’re introverted, you’re quite confident.

Ann Rea: (14:09)
Number two, you

Ann Rea: (14:12)
have to be very clear on the price you’re charging, as it relates to the offer that you’re– you have to be very clear on the price you’re charging as it relates to the value you’re offering. And one thing to be very clear about is one person may value what you have to offer. The other person who doesn’t even care about art is not going to value it at all. Right? So that’s that’s okay. It’s okay. You have to do is find your niche and then last but not least, you have to be clear on what your profit is, how much money are you making? Because if you’re not making a profit, this is a hobby. So you can get all insulted right now. But I, I suggest that you not get insulted. When I say your art is a hobby.

Ann Rea: (14:54)
If you’re not making any money, because it’s just an IRS definition, right? It’s just a definition. At least, at least those of you are listening here in the United States. If you are selling your art and you are still not generating a profit, you have yourself a hobby. And there’s some significant tax consequences to not generating a profit. So just be aware of it. Don’t take it all personal. Everyone starts with hobby, including myself, right? I just want you to be informed. And so you can act on that information and be empowered. That’s all. Okay. So I look forward to seeing all of you on the 29th, who can make it go ahead and apply first, and we’ll see you then.