Affiliate marketing, also known as performance marketing is a virtually untapped resource when it comes to artists and promoting/selling their work. So many artists search high and low for ways to make a living with their art, yet how do they manage it all themselves? Some have agents, some have commissioned clients, some have gallery showings, some are licensed and some are winging it on their own. We have to be the creator, the “idea guy”, the marketer and promoter… even when we have all that help. We have to be on top of trends and keep a pulse on the world around us if we’re going to be successful and compete in the every changing market. Who has all that time?
Yet we make it work.
What if you had a fan base that didn’t just buy your work, but helped promote it? I’m not talking about collectors that tell their friends about your stuff nor your facebook friends passing on links to your latest work. I’m also not suggesting you hit up your customers/clients every time you need a paycheck. That gets old after a while (for both sides) and buyers can only purchase so much so often, yet you need to eat every day.
I’m talking about building a fan base – people that love your work – that refer business and customers to other people’s products for a living. This isn’t a community of artist agents nor artist reps. These aren’t art brokers nor dealers. This is a community of online marketers that build their own businesses based on promoting products and services that are property of other companies. This is Affiliate Marketing.
Some of the biggest names in e-commerce have affiliate programs in addition to their standard marketing strategies. It’s not an end all answer, but more of an “addition to”. Billions of dollars in revenue each year are a result of merchants and affiliates working together. Why struggle to do it all by yourself and why sell your art in only one or two channels? Branch out and let others help you in the process.
Note: Affiliate marketing isn’t for everyone. you have to be willing to let go of all the control and let others share in the promotion process. You need to be willing to work with others and listen to what they need as well as communicate clearly what you need.
