When Do You Need To Develop A New Body Of Work?

Hi, my name is Ann Rea, and I’m a fine artist, and I’m also the creator of the Making Art Making Money program, and I get a lot of questions from artists just like you from all over the world, and I’m going to be tackling a number of frequently asked questions. So let’s talk about what the Making Art Making Money program is. Well first of all, let’s talk about what it isn’t. It’s not just another online course. It is a comprehensive program that has been helping other fine artist for over 15 years. So, let’s talk about what the objective is. The Making Art Making Money program arms artists with skills so that they can sell more art, number one. They can make more money doing it, number two. And they can do it with more ease, number three. How does that happen? Really simply we teach basic luxury marketing skills, and we teach referral sales and marketing, and we do it in a very specific way that pertains to fine art. See the thing is if you’re selling any kind of conventional goods or services, that’s what you’re selling— goods or services. But as an artist your product is “emotion.” So even if you have an MBA, or even if you have a lot of skill, owning or operating another business, it doesn’t always really work when it comes to selling your own art. And I’m going to chunk these answers into three main categories. First of all, I’m going to answer questions around the bigger question, “Should I even apply or maybe I shouldn’t apply?” Okay. And then number two, I’m going to answer this broader umbrella question which is, “What do I need to apply and what don’t I need to apply?” And then I’m going to answer a really serious question which is, “Is this program even legit? Right?” Because you know what? Artists get screwed all the time. I know. I’m an artist just like you. And so we’re also going to tackle that one. “Should I even apply and what is applying actually even mean?” So let me make that very clear. What does it mean to apply to the Making Art Making Money program? Because it’s very specific. So, we invite artists to apply to the Making Art Making Money program and based on your application, which I review. And if it looks like I can help you, the next step is to give you access to a pre-requisite Private Master Class. Now, if it doesn’t look like I can help you, I still will try to point you in the right direction, and give you the right resources from where you are today. Let me make something really clear. This program is not for hobby artists, okay? This program is for professional artists. And when I say professional artist, what I mean is that you have sold your art, and you want to sell more, and you either want to do that on a part-time basis or you want to do it on a full-time basis. So if that’s you, then you might want to listen, and hear some more of the frequently asked questions Let’s talk about the Making Art Making Money program tagline itself which is “Fire your rep. Find your Niche.” So what does that even mean? Now, what does it mean to find your niche? A lot of artists have a lot of misunderstanding about what their niche is, what it means, and what it doesn’t mean. So let me explain it to you. Knowing your niche means you know, with certainty, three things. Number one, you know who wants to buy your art. Number two, you know why they want to buy it. And number three, you know exactly where to go find more people just like them. No artist, no business, will thrive unless they know their niche, unless they can check all three boxes with certainty. So the overall goal of the Making Art Making Money program is to help you identify your niche, and work with your gallery if you want to, or fire them. Part of the Making Art Making Money program is our global community, which is a warm, welcoming, intelligent community. And unlike a lot of online courses, in this program my students actually have study partners of their choosing. Now some artists think, “Oh great. I won’t be so isolated and lonely.” Other artists will say, “You know what, so many artists have been so mean to me, and so snobby, and so competitive, and that doesn’t appeal to me.” I totally get it. But, I want to assure you. One of the things I’m most proud of is actually the community we have built. It really is a warm, welcoming, intelligent community. Do I have to use Facebook? Well, you don’t have to use Facebook but if you want to connect with the community, you’ve got to use Facebook. And I understand some people don’t like it. But the fact is this, it’s a tool, and it’s a tool that can be used to the degree that you want to use it. So many of my students will use it just to connect with their study partners, and nothing else. I want to remind you, Instagram is owned by Facebook. So if you’re hating on Facebook, well guess what? That’s what Instagram is. Sometimes artists will ask, “You know, I don’t know if I should apply to this program because I really don’t like selling myself.” Well, nobody likes selling themselves. You’re not selling yourself. So a lot of times what happens is this confusion that happens. Because your art is so personal to you, it literally feels like an extension of you, but it’s still an object. It’s not actually you. So I’d never teach artists how to sell themselves. What I teach them is to determine and serve a mission that’s greater than themselves. Some artists wonder if they should apply because they just don’t like sales. Well, I get it. I’m not a really big fan of sales myself, but we actually don’t teach sales in the traditional sense. What I teach my students to do is to guide authentic, real authentic, conversations that inspire. And that’s a big departure from what the used car salesman typically does. Some artists will wonder if they should apply because they just don’t like marketing. Well, I get it. If you’re using marketing in the incorrect way, or you don’t know the things that you need to know, then it’s going to be a complete exercise in frustration. But what we teach, again, is not really so much about the conventional means of marketing. We use luxury marketing, and we use something called “Conversational Currency.” So I think that if you’ve got some resistance around marketing, ask yourself, is it because it just hasn’t worked really well in the past? And maybe you need to learn some new skills? You don’t have a career. Why don’t you have a career? Because two reasons, there are no jobs for fine artist. If you’re a fine artist with a job, you are a commercial artist. Okay, not a fine artist. There are no jobs. So if there are no jobs, there are no careers. So, that’s the first clue you’re not going to have a fine art career. The second clue is when you do sell your art, you have to file a profit and loss statement with your taxing authority, a profit and loss statement for your business. So you are never going to have a successful fine art career despite what they told you in art school. But what you can have is a successful fine art business. “Do I need a body of work?” What I’m concerned about is, have you already sold some of your art? Because if you’ve already sold some of your art, it stands to reason that with a proven process, #1, with a supportive community, #2, and with an expert mentor, that would be me. Then chances are pretty darn good. That you’re actually going to be able to sell more. The program is designed for people who don’t have a lot of time and the way that I’ve specifically designed it is to use an approach called “micro-learning.” What does that mean? What does that look like? Well, I have deliberately designed each one of my closed captioned video lessons to be less than 5 minutes each, and that includes the quiz. Then the student can implement what they’ve learned at their own pace, and they can complete the associated assignment at their own pace. This program is deliberately designed to increase your focus and your self-confidence, for that matter. As a matter of fact, the average graduate experiences has a triple increase in their level of focus and their self-confidence. The average student will come into the program, having a level of self-confidence and focus on a subjective scale of 1 to 10 and about a 2.0 to 2.5. Graduates average an 8. So that’s a triple increase in your level of focus and self-confidence. You change your style if you want to change your style. What you will have to do is you will have to create value. And that is a mix of things that we teach inside of the program. If you’ve already sold your art, that’s proof that you have created value. Sometimes artists will ask, “Well, I have my personal work, and then I have my work that I sell. And how do you deal with the two?” Well, let me just tell you. I don’t believe in having personal work, and work that you sell. I want you to create work that has meaning to you, and importance to you. Because then you will have meaning and importance to your collectors. Some artists are really concerned that they need to have a website or upgrade their website. And like I say this, “Hold your horses. You don’t need a website. You can sell your art online without a website.” Now, should you have a website later? Yes, you should. But not until you know your niche. And I could save you a ton of money, and a ton of time, and a ton of heartache right now. If you’re about to build your website before you know your niche. If you are thinking about building an elaborate website before you know your niche, please don’t. You’ve got the cart before the horse. “I’m not that techie and do I need to be really techie?” Well, I will tell you that I have a student who is selling quite well, and she didn’t know how to use Zoom before she joined. So, absolutely, you have to have some basic computer literacy, and you’ve got to be able to read directions. But no, you don’t need to be a computer programmer, and you don’t need to be super techie. “What if I’ve never sold my art?” Well, here is my stance on this. I want my students to be successful, because my students’ success is my success. If you’ve already sold like $2,500 worth of your art, I’ve got a pretty good track record in knowing that if you do the work, I’m probably going to be able to help you sell more. There’s no guarantees here, but I probably will be able to help you sell more. Now, if you’ve never sold your art, then I’m not a 100% sure, but maybe you are. And if you feel like you are willing to really work hard, and apply yourself, but you haven’t yet sold $2,500 of your art, we’ll have a little chat and find out if I can help you because I certainly have helped artists who have never sold any of their art sell. How much is it going to cost me to apply to the Making Art Making Money program, and get access to that Art and Money Master Class pre-requisite?” Well, it’s going to cost you nothing to apply, and if you’re accepted you’ll get access to the Art and Money Master Class at no charge. Now based upon your application, we’ve got a few programs so it depends really upon your application. So if you decide to apply, please be thoughtful and mindful about what you put on the application, because it’s going to affect my recommendation. “Is this program legit? Is it a scam?” Well, let me put it to you this way. I’m a fine artist, and my art and my approach to selling my art has been featured on HGTV. It’s been featured in Inc. Magazine, Art Business News, Fortune Magazine. I mean, there’s a few. Okay, I won’t go on and on about it. I think you get the point and I’ve been helping other independent artists now for over 15 years about 23 different types of fine artists from 20 countries and counting. Some artists may still be skeptical. Well look, here’s the thing. Do your due diligence. Listen carefully. And if you’re still super skeptical, I want to ask you not to apply to my program. And the reason is this, if you have been burnt and you’ve been hurt so much that you can’t trust a legitimate program that’s been around for 15 years, I’m probably not going to be able to climb that wall and help you. And it’s exhausting to try to overcome that level of skepticism. So I am not here to sell you. I want to be abundantly clear. I’m not trying to sell you on this program. I’m on a mission to help artists take their power back from the scarcity and permission-based art establishment, and it’s very personal. So this isn’t a sales pitch. What I’m trying to explain to you is the application process, and who this program is for, and who this program is not for, and everyone is welcome to apply. But I really only accept currently about 39% of all applications. This program is designed for super busy people. That’s who I had in mind when I created this program. How many sales are you losing right now year after year because you don’t know how to properly market and sell your art? Here’s a statistic that I want you really take in. I teach luxury marketing, and I teach referral sales, okay? Referrals generate over 80% more sales where the artist keeps 100% of the money. Compare that to making only one sale, not 80% more, but one sale, and giving half of it away, on average, to a representative. Just think about the math. So you might not have a lot of money to spare, I get it, but that’s probably an indication that you need to learn how to make more money. I don’t want to put anyone in a financial, you know, imposition, but think about the logic, it’s not— you’re not spending. you’re investing “I’m just not sure I can do this. I mean it sounds great. But I’m just not sure I can do it.” Well, that’s exactly why we have an application process, because I’m not going to let you into the program unless I feel confident that I can actually help you. And if I don’t feel confident that I can help you in the Making Art Making Money program, I’m going to offer you some other options that will help you where you are today. So a lot of artists in this point think, “Yes, I know. I’m really interested. But I’m not sure I’m going to get my family, or my spouse’s, or my partner’s support on this. I totally get that. So let me point some things out. This program is only available by application, and you’re not going to get in unless I’m actually confident that I can help you. So that’s #1. #2, I want to honor the fact that your loved ones may have really legitimate concerns, right? Because they see maybe you, or maybe other artists struggling, because those artists are spending a lot of time, and a lot of money, and getting little reward, and that they don’t have a plan. And I tell all my students, “A plan to sell your art without a plan is a plan to sell no art.” What I typically do is if an artist is accepted, I actually suggest that they share this video, or they can even share the Art Money Master Class with the other people in their life that they have to make this decision with. Now, I also want to remind you of the graduation requirement. You do not graduate from the Making Art Making Money program until you’ve earned back your tuition investment through the sale of your art at a minimum, and you have a year to do that. Now if you still have questions that haven’t been addressed here, then you can send them our way, and we’re happy to answer them. So if you want to learn about each of the eight courses inside of the Making Art Making Money program, your next step is to go ahead, and apply, and we’ll give you access to the prerequisite Art and Money Master Class, which is brand-new, and we’ll also give you all the details about the eight courses inside of Making Art Making Money program. Don’t doubt it for a minute. sign up. I mean, this is a best gift you could give to yourself. Go ahead and do it now. Then you’ll be able to— you’ll be where you want to be a lot faster. These are real steps that you can take, and you can practice, and then you can be happy, and make art. And sell it! Invest in yourself like you’re the person who’s going to take charge of it. No one’s going to give you anything. You gotta go take it. Thank you for giving us this opportunity, and creating this amazing program because you’re changing lives, which I know is what you wanted to do, but I’m just letting you know you’re actually doing it. I love my study partner. She was it’s like a match made in heaven kind of thing. We get along really well. And so it’s not— maybe you’ll meet a stranger that will become a friend.