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You've set up a great website.  You're active on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Etsy and every other social network.  You've optimized your conversion funnel.  You check your Google Analytics every day.

So why aren't you selling art yet?  All the "experts" told you that you needed to do all these things, didn't they? [1]

The thing is, at my gallery, we sold millions of dollars worth of art, all before Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Etsy and Google.  How did we do it?  By deeply connecting on a human level with our customers.  Even, now, 15 years later, I'm still friends with some of those customers because we connected so deeply in our shared love of beautiful art.

If you're not selling well in the internet era, what you may have forgotten is the human element.  To sell is human.  The internet didn't change that...not in art marketing.

Think about what John Jantsch wrote in Why Your Competitors are Winning:

there’s a really good chance [your competitors] are beating the dickens out of you through the things they do during and after the sale is made...

While you’ve focused on their SEO, social and direct mail lead generation offers you’ve totally missed the fact that they make buying from them a joy...

They’ve removed all friction in the sales process and actually made it something valuable...

They’ve created a smooth orientation process that educates and sets proper expectations for each new customer...

They continue to communicate and educate after the sale...

They go back at a preset time and make sure a great result occurred...

They find out what else needs to be done, how to do it better and how to collaborate more fully....  

They surprise their customers on their birthday, send hand-written notes of appreciation, invite them to valuable education events, facilitate peer-to-peer networking events and introduce them to partners that can successfully add value in other areas.

In fact, you should turn the internet model around to jump start sales.  Forget Facebook, Pinterest, Google, etc....for now.

Focus on doing the things listed above by Mr. Jantsch first.  Then, once you've mastered them all, then maybe think about SEO.  

If you're not making sales, list everyone who's bought a work from you in the past, and everyone who's expressed interest and start communicating with those people and connecting with them personally by phone and email today.

Sincerely,

Clint Watson

FASO Founder, Software Craftsman, Art Fanatic

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Footnotes

[1] Well, all the experts except me.