Pricing Your Artwork - Taking a Two Step Approach

How much is your art worth? If you are interested in selling your art but don't know what to ask for it, I believe the key to pricing artwork is by doing a little bit of market research. And the first place to start your research is by finding other like artists in your media. This task can be accomplished by two methods. One is using the Internet and the other is by physically visiting places where artwork like yours is being displayed for sale.

Online Research

Go to Google or any other search engine and type in the type of artwork that you do, such as, "oil paintings", "stain glass windows", or "ceramic figurines", for example. Visit the sites of these other artists and see what they are charging for similar quality and size work as yours.

Another place to do some market research online is eBay and other auction sites. These sites will help provide a realistic viewpoint of what is available and what people are actually willing to pay for art like yours. You want to find out the winning bids. This will give you insight as to what people are paying for the type of work you do.

Research on Foot

Visit art galleries in person to find work similar to yours. Keep in mind these works of art will be priced much higher to include commissions for the gallery owner. The artists will also be more well-known and will naturally command higher prices just on the basis of who they are. The gallery visit will give you a good feel of how much the higher end pieces are going for in the marketplace and will give you a price point to shoot for once you become better known as an artist.

You will also want to go to local art shows and craft fairs to find out what other artists in your media are selling their work for. Ask the vendors lots of questions and take notes. Don't neglect visiting the art studios of local artists. You can learn a lot when you talk directly to the artist, see the quality of the work they do and listen to what they can tell about where and how they market their work.

In Conclusion

By using this two-step method you'll be well on your way to figuring out the ideal price to charge for your artwork. All it takes is a little bit of research, some market testing and tweaking. There are no hard and fast rules when it comes to pricing your artwork. Try to be subjective when pricing. Test your pricing structure and ask your potential customers what they would be willing to pay for pieces of art like yours. This will result in some valuable information and ultimately lead to sales. Keep in mind your art is only worth what others are willing to pay for it. Create value in your reputation as an artist and over time the public will be willing to pay more for your work.

Mobile Marketing Helps Food Waste

How does a mobile phone save food from being tossed in the trash?

If you're anything like most businesses your probably looking at mobile wondering how it can be effective in your business. One of the best uses can perhaps have a huge impact on a problem that is estimated to cost about 47 billion per year in the US alone.

We are of course looking at the huge problem that we as a society have of throwing out food simply because we have not seen it. Sounds strange right, unfortunately it happens all too often. Our grocery stores and markets fight is battle everyday. How can they draw attention to products that need to be sold soon or else thrown out?

In the past they have had few options except for posting signs and calls to action in locations through out the store. Unfortunately this also has an adverse effect on consumer because all of the "sale" signs all end up bending together and work to desensitize a consumer to the special.

Recently we interviewed a select group of grocers and found that the average grocery store lists about 2300 "sale" signs at one time... there is no possible way that they can use that many and expect to draw any bit of attention to the products.

Fortunately using a properly configured location based marketing platform that all can change. In a recent survey conducted by Flurry analytics they concluded that mobile is growing 10 times faster then computers did in the 80's. These are staggering figures. This means that for the first time retailers and in this case more specifically grocers have a direct channel to consumers eyes

This channel also can be managed to control inventory on a store by store basis. The smartphone knows where it's at a grocer can publish their specials where a consumer can now see each of the valuable offers in their immediate area. Unlike printed material these offers can be updated as often as needed or changed on the fly once the special inventory all has been sold.

Unlike many other mobile marketing strategies these also are completely permission based offers. Meaning a consumer walks into the store and opens your app to receive the specials. You deliver valuable content when the consumer needs it the most. They are also 20-60% more likely to make a purchase when they walk in your door so it makes the most sense to make certain that they see all of the offers you have for them.