The document summarizes strategies that art galleries and dealers can use to boost business during slow times, including tweaking existing marketing initiatives and introducing new programs. It provides examples of galleries that have successfully adapted their marketing approaches, such as sending personalized letters to best clients or changing the focus of their mailers. The key recommendation is that marketing efforts should remain front and center even when funds are tight.

1. Art World News
OCTOBER – NOVEMBER 2015
Ruth-Ann Thorn at EC Gallery in Breckenridge, CO. Page 10.
Slow times are inevitably challenging for gallery owners, but
changing things up can make all the difference, whether it’s in-
troducing a new idea or tweaking what exists. While some are
choosing to adapt their current initiatives to the changing retail
environment, others are introducing new marketing programs
and products to help breathe new life into day-to-day business.
Timothy Tew, owner of TEW Galleries, Atlanta, says that even
in slow times, marketing must
remain at the forefront. “We
are constantly marketing so
to do more would not be our
automatic response, espe-
cially if money is tight,” he
says. “However, sometimes
it is important to change the
marketing that is being done.
We might, for instance, do a
more impressive mailer or
we might scale it down so
it is more focused. I do think
a personal letter to a group
of your best clients is also an
WHEN A NEW PERSPECTIVE
BOOSTS RETAIL ENERGY
THE INDEPENDENT NEWS SOURCE
QUOTE OF THE MONTH:
“Any brick-and-mortar business
has to prove these days to their
clients what they can offer
beyond some online art site.”
Steve Sonnen, page 30.
ROAD SHOW COMPANY
LOOKS FOR GALLERY
PARTNERS IN
SMALLER MARKETS
The Road Show Company,
producer of turnkey art
shows, mostly through
partnering with galleries in
primary markets, is now
expanding its reach to those
in regional markets. The
article begins on page 14.
ARTCLAIM DATABASE
FOUNDER NOMINATED
FOR INNOVATION AWARD
The nomination recognizes
the innovation that the Art-
Claim Database has brought
to art market due diligence
and the value of its services
to financial institutions,
wealth managers, auction
houses, museums, and gal-
leries alike. See page 16.
DEALERS TACKLE
SOCIAL MEDIA ISSUES
Today’s buyers have chan-
ged. They walk around with
handheld devices that talk
to them, entertain them,
guide them into town, and
right to your door. So how
do we get those buyers into
your gallery or frameshop?
Maria Bereket, social
media and branding strate-
gist, shares her views.
Turn to page 22.
ARTIST VITAE:
JAY JOHANSEN
“I am seeking the drama
and experience of human
expression, recreating it
through experimentation
with color, light, medium,
and texture,” says Jay
Johansen of his work. The
full article is on page 26.
continued on page 10
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2. PAGE 22 ART WORLD NEWS
MARKETING
by Maria Bereket
Today’s buyers have chan-
ged. They walk around with
handheld devices that talk to
them, entertain them, guide
them into town, and right to
your door (with their credit
card stored in their Apple
Pay App). So how do we get
those buyers into your
gallery or frameshop? The
answer begins with your
“optimized” website.
Search Engine Optimiza-
tion (SEO) is necessary to
doing business today and
means search engines can
pull you up on the first page.
Google uses over 200 differ-
ent factors in ranking the vis-
ibility of a website. But my
advice is to start the process
of making your website visi-
ble—and effective—by fo-
cusing on your customers. If
you follow the steps I have
outlined, the powers of
Google will find you, rank
you, and yes, optimize you.
Have a Goal: Your website
needs to have a purpose,
just like your retail store.
They are one and the same.
Your storefront is where you
display examples of your art
and custom framing. Your
choices of what to display in
your window, and how it is
displayed, set the tone of
who you are as an art gallery
and custom frameshop. How
your window looks helps
passers by to decide
whether to come in. Your
store itself is where you
house inventory, display art,
and meet customers. You
work there, frame there, en-
tertain there, and make
money there. Your website
isn’t that different. People
“walk” by and glance in the
“window” making decisions
about whether or not to stay
and see what is inside.
I recently conducted a so-
cial media workshop for a
group of P, Buckley Moss
dealers. Most of them had
been feeling the slow rise of
the economy since the crash
of ’08. “Nothing is the
same,” said Paul Welsh, co-
owner with his wife Carolyn
of The Art Loft in Collinsville,
IL. “We got a Facebook page
for the shop, but that really
doesn’t do anything. Why do
we need a website too?” I
heard it over and over about
how “it used to be” and how
this new generation is so dif-
ferent and disinterested in
art. I disagreed. “Give them
information—lots of useful
problem-solving solutions for
a generation of buyers who
don’t know what they don’t
know.” Your website attracts
information-seekers. This
turns strangers into visitors
and visitors into leads. Once
the leads feel comfortable
they become customers and
then something magical hap-
pens—they begin promoting
you—for free! Make your
website goal a place for an-
swers.
Make Things Easy to
Find and Learn: Look at
your website and I mean look
at your website like your chil-
dren look at it, or, if applica-
ble, like your grandchildren
look at it (assuming they are
18+). What do they see?
Design Matters:
• Is the overall look simple
and clean?
• Are the colors relevant
and exciting?
• Is the navigation easy,
step-by-step?
Researchers have found
that you have one fiftieth of
a second to make an impres-
sion. You are beautiful or not.
And the more crowded and
overwhelming the design,
the less beautiful it is.
Content Matters:
• What are you telling peo-
ple?
• What problems are you
solving?
• What language are you
speaking in?
One of the biggest mis-
takes a website makes is
that it is written from your
perspective. Talk like your
customers. Use their lan-
guage and yes, ask a
younger person to read what
you have written so that you
don’t sound like yesterday’s
news.
Blogs Matter:
• People make buying deci-
sions based on the infor-
mation they find.
• Google doesn’t care
where the information
comes from as long as it
contains appropriate key-
words, is relevant to the
search, and accessible.
• Every time you post a blog
to your website the
search engines grab it, an-
alyze it, and then kick it
into the river of informa-
tion for people who are
searching. That same blog
can be reposted on your
Facebook page, then by
one of your followers on
their social media site, and
voila—you instantly be-
come an expert in your
field.
Barry Watson, owner of
The Framery in Marietta, GA,
looked very puzzled when I
made that declaration at our
training. “What exactly am I
supposed to write about on
that blog?” he asked me.
Well, I responded, “What
do you do every day at The
DEALERS TACKLE SOCIAL MEDIA ISSUES
continued on page 24
Your website is the portal to your
success: Attracting, converting,
closing, delighting.
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3. PAGE 24 ART WORLD NEWS
MARKETING
Framery?” He looked even
more puzzled at that point
and said framing, then selling
art, then talking to people,
and then the truth came out:
“I solve people’s problems.”
So that is what you write
about. Every single problem
that has come through your
doors since you first opened
your business. People cha-
nge, problems don’t. Be the
expert.
Formats Matter:
• Stick with two fonts. One
Serif (like Georgia) and
one Sans Serif (Verdana).
• Use relevant colors to
separate text.
• Include pictures that relate
to the text—not just art
images.
• Keep it short. Bullet point
short!
• Include hyperlinks to re-
sources—they are engag-
ing to a younger buyer.
I told Carolyn Welsh that
she had to get a website.
She went home and spent
one whole night searching
templates for just the right
look and feel for her busi-
ness. “I wanted it to be
friendly like me,” she said. “I
spent hours figuring out what
colors felt like us!”
Smartphone Friendly Is
Not Optional: The smart-
phone has finally taken over
desktops. That means that
most of us, you too, are
probably reading this and
lots of other things on your
smartphone. But when was
the last time you viewed your
website from a mobile de-
vice? Did the text stay the
same? Could you navigate
easily? Could you make a
purchase if you were ready?
Having a website that isn’t
smartphone friendly is like
not having a website at all.
We live in a 15-second atten-
tion span society and when
we are ready to do some-
thing we don’t have time to
waste writing down your
Web address so we can go
home and look you up on a
laptop.
Your Website Is a River,
it Must Change: Think
about the person who found
your website through an ad.
They look for information and
answers and decide that you
might just be able to help
them. “It takes at least three
visits before someone will
make a major purchase,” ob-
served Laura DeRamus, co-
owner of the Canada Goose
Gallery in Waynesville, OH.
“They come in and look.
Then they go home to see if
it fits in their home. They
come back and look closer
at the colors and size, imag-
ining if it works with the living
room or not. And then they
return with a friend who will
support them in the decision
to buy.”
Your website should offer
the same three-visit options.
It should change as your
store changes, with new in-
formation, and new seasonal
energy to make people want
to keep coming back. And by
changing the content often,
the search engines will love
it too, rewarding you with
higher rankings!
Your website is the portal
to your success: attracting,
converting, closing, delight-
ing. And it is a process.
Focus on the customer’s ex-
perience, and the optimiza-
tion part will pay you back
with visitors who have prob-
lems that only you can solve.
Maria Bereket is a social
media and branding strategist
who works with small busi-
ness owners. Her mission is
to educate everyone on the
importance and fun of living
in a socially connected world.
E-mail her at: mbear88@
gmail.com for information,
or visit her website: www.
designbearmarketing.com.
SOCIAL MEDIA
continued from page 22
Epson made a splash at the
Graph Expo 2015 in Chicago
in September with the intro-
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P-Series large format print-
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including Epson’s Precision-
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Leveraging Epson’s Ultra-
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set, the 24-inch SureColor
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management and verification-
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The SC-P-Series is avail-
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inch, $3,995; SC-P8000,
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44-inch, $5,995. To learn
more, visit the company’s
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EPSON DEBUTS SURECOLOR P-SERIES LARGE FORMAT PRINTERS
OCT15-Dpt-Marketing-page2-K_Layout 1 11/6/15 1:11 PM Page 1