How to Find Clients for Your Art
One of the hardest parts about growing your art business is finding new customers and clients! If you’ve ever asked “how do I find clients?”… you’re in the right place.
Spoiler alert: You don't need a giant following to be a successful full-time artist. You just need a killer strategy for finding the RIGHT people for you. And that, my friends, is what we're serving up in this post.
Understanding Your Customer
The first thing you want to do is make sure you truly understand WHO your customer is. Learn everything you can about your customer so that you can show up as a solution to their problems...exactly when and where they need you.
This will look different depending on what type of business you’re running.
A graphic designer working with small businesses on logo designs will have a different strategy for finding clients than a wedding photographer, but the core principles will still apply.
So, take a step back and think about what it is you offer in your business, or, if you don’t have a business yet...what might you want to offer in the future based on your interests and skillset?
Then, it’s time to figure out…who is the type of person who is going to LOVE that offering?!
Identify Your Customer
The process of identifying your ideal client is marketing 101, and it’s referred to by some as a customer avatar, target client, target market, etc…
No matter what you call it, make sure you take this important step of really figuring out who your customer is through and through.
You’ll want to know things like…
How old are they?
What interests do they have?
What shows do they watch?
Where do they shop?
What’s their daily routine?
You’ll want to learn all about them, so look into their likes, dislikes, fears, desires, and figure out exactly how you can best serve them.
Example: If I’m a wedding calligrapher and I decide my ideal client is brides with medium to large wedding budgets, I might go on Facebook and join some groups for wedding planning and see what that audience is posting about. What are their questions? What are their primary struggles? And how can I show up as the answer to their problems?
For more examples, check out our YouTube video on How to Find Clients for Your Art!
Listen and Adjust
If you’ve defined a thorough customer avatar, and you’re putting your offering in front of those people, but they just aren’t buying…you may want to ask yourself some of these questions:
Is your price point in line with how/where they spend their money?
Is your product or service completely new to your audience? (Because that means it’ll take a lot of education to explain the value!)
Is your product or service their best option, or is there a competitor out there that they prefer? How can you become their best option, and how can you articulate that clearly?
Don’t forget - you don’t need to just guess what the answer to these questions is. You can ASK. Engage with your audience by talking to them, asking them these questions, and accessing their needs.
What to Do Next
Once you know your client inside and out, and you’ve tested your product or service with that market and know you’ve got a good thing going...it’s time to expand your reach.
Here are some ideas on how to do that:
Create a blog on your website and answer questions your audience is searching for (SEO, baby!)
Be a guest on the podcasts they’re listening to
Show up at events they’re attending
Speak at conferences they’ll be at
Target them in Facebook or Instagram ads
Create social content that will grab their attention
Offer a freebie download that will help solve a problem they have
Encourage past clients to refer their friends to you
Want to learn more about finding the right clients for the art YOU make? Check out the video below!