Why you need both binoculars and a microscope to succeed in art licensing
In order to succeed in any business, art licensing being no exception, you need to look at both the big and small picture. It is important to understand what is going on and coming up in the industry at large as well as keeping an eye on the day-to-day operations of your business.
Binoculars let you see farther than you can with your eyes alone. This would be the perspective you are looking for when you are trying to spot trends or forecast your royalty potential for the coming year, for example. This is the work of strategic thinking and planning for your business.
If you notice a new color trend emerging in clothing or furniture, then decide that you will use it in your next art collection – you have your binoculars on. You also have your binoculars on when you register to attend or exhibit at trade shows or make other forward thinking plans.
But no business can thrive with only binoculars. “Watch the big things and the little things will take care of themselves” doesn’t really apply.
So now let’s consider a microscope. The microscope allows scientists to see minute details that aren’t visible with the naked eye. Looking at your business through a microscope is akin to watching the details. Creating your daily or weekly ‘to do’ list, watching cash flow, responding to emails, things like that. If a company or an artist only looks at their business through a microscope, they will miss changes in the market that could negatively affect their business. They might miss key trends on the horizon and not add them to the mix.
The key to a successful business is to use both binoculars and a microscope.
If you are the only person in your business, you need to learn to use both. Or perhaps you have several team members who take different roles. A book keeper works with a microscope with the finance guy, who forecasts and looks at money in a more long-term way, has binoculars firmly in hand. Balancing the long and short term needs of your business will help you stay in business.
– Tara Reed
P.S. If you want help in creating the long-term and short-term balance in your business, consider The Goal Wheel for Artists™. You will learn strategies for balancing the three main areas you need to focus on to build a successful, creative business. Head to www.TheGoalWheelForArtists.com for more information.
Proof that good SEO works!
SEO – or Search Engine Optimization – can help your business. If your website comes up on the first page or 2 when someone enters specific keywords, you could get new clients, more awareness for your art or products, press coverage and more.
If you listened to the free Ask About SEO for Artists call in February 2010 with Daniel Tardent, you might remember that he mentioned that the website for the call was coming up on p. 1 of search engines if someone searched “SEO for Artists”. By adding the key words to the URL, being very specific and honing in on niche key words and simply paying attention to keywords, meta tags and descriptions, I was able to do well. (If you missed it, the replay is available for free – go to www.AskAboutSEOforArtists.com to get your copy.)
I recently learned the power of SEO when Women’s World Magazine contacted me for an article about Bunco.
I have a website, PrintYourOwnBunco.com – that has themed Bunco party kits. In case you don’t know about Bunco, it’s a dice game that got its start in the Victorian Era. Played by an estimated 7 million women in the US on a monthly basis – Bunco serves as the cornerstone of girlfriend gatherings. 12 players. Rolling Dice. Taking chances. Keeping score. Beyond a dice game of chance, Bunco gives women throughout the U.S. a reason to get out and have fun with neighbors and friends.
The article was in the August 30, 2010 issue – p. 26 if you want to check it out!
I obviously did a decent job with the SEO because the magazine found me. They even featured some of the art from free Bunco Score Sheets (the Bunco Queen theme) and a link to my website. This kind of national coverage will surely drive traffic to my site, what happens then remains to be seen. I’m of course hoping for good things!
So, the next time you think filling out the SEO details on your website is too tedious or learning about SEO in the first place is a waste of time, think again!
Here’s to your creative and SEO success!
– Tara Reed
P.S. Check out Daniel Tardent’s “SEO for Artists” eBook* – it is packed with great information!
* this is an affiliate link and I will earn a small commission if you click this link and decide to make a purchase. (Thanks!)
Trend spotting for Art Licensing
I’m often asked how to spot trends. Trends are all around us – the key is to learn to spot them when they are just starting and not when they are already big and about to jump the proverbial shark. There is no tried and true way to be sure that something is a trend – but you can develop habits of noticing things. If you start to see things multiple times – for example, all of the sudden you notice butterflies on clothing then butterflies on home decor – you can take an educated guess that butterfiles are trending.
Here’s a silly video about trend spotting that I was inspired to create today because a few of my friends called me from an event in New Jersey and I felt like the grounded kid missing the slumber party. We were joking on Facebook and Twitter about NJ – and I asked if I needed to wear a Bump-It to join the fun. (Not that I could since I was sitting in my studio in Oregon!) Then inspiration hit – my friend Angela and I headed to the store to pick up a Bump-It and the rest is crazy accent history. (Please forgive my slipping into a southern accent at the very end… oops!)
I hope this amuses and inspires you – I’m putting myself out there with this one! 
@FawnKey, @KimBeasley, @KellyRudolph, @KellieFrazier, @AlexMandossian and the rest of my teleseminar secrets friends in New Jersey – this one’s for you!
Here’s to your creative success!
– Tara Reed
What are the implications of doing both Gallery work and Licensing – guest post by Alyson Stanfield
Alyson Stanfield, also known as the Art Biz Coach, recently emailed me to get my opinion on this question she received from an artist. Since I’ve never done gallery work, I gave her my best guess and suggested she let me share her opinions with everyone over here at the Art Licensing Blog. Here is what Alyson had to say…
Elizabeth St. Hilaire Nelson licenses reproductions of her collages through home retail stores. She asks:
How does this affect the gallery and or collectors who hold the originals. As the artist we retain the right to the image, yes? So, do we have to notify the gallery that it’s going into licensing? or the collector who purchased the original?
Yes, it’s true that you retain the right to the image. I encourage artists and galleries to educate collectors* of this fact at the time of sale.
No, it isn’t required that you notify a gallery or collector that their original image has gone into mass reproduction. BUT, it is a courtesy. If you want to maintain healthy relationships with people, you should look at the situation from their point of view.
Collectors of original artwork aren’t necessarily savvy about the reproduction market. They have no need to be because it’s not where their interests lie.
Imagine being a collector of originals who happens to run into a work of art you think no one else in the world owns? You and I both know that owning reproductions isn’t the same as owning the original, but it has the potential to be an unpleasant surprise to the collector.
With a little bit of effort on your part, the collector will be thrilled to own the original source of such a popular image.
Now, about those galleries.
You should always notify a gallery that your work is going to be licensed. If you think a collector might be unpleasantly surprised coming across multiples of your work, increase that unpleasantness tenfold to get a gallery’s response. Or, just say bye-bye to the gallery.
The gallery has invested time, space, and sweat into selling your work. Check your contract with the gallery first and then discuss the situation with the gallerist. I would encourage this step before signing a contract with the licensing company. I would further hope that you would discuss this in advance of joining other gallery stables.
Why risk important relationships?*
It’s much harder to overcome damage to a relationship than it is to notify collectors and galleries in the first place.
– Alyson Stanfield, The ArtBiz Coach
Thank you for sharing your insights Alyson – helpful as always!
– Tara Reed
P.S. Alyson is the author of “I’d rather be in the studio!”* a great business reference for any artist serious about their business. I highly recommend it for your art library. She also has a wide array of audio and live class options that you can see on her site at www.ArtBizCoach.com*
* I’m proud to be an affiliate of Alyson’s and the links in this post are my affiliate links. I will earn a commission if you click them an make a purchase. I appreciate your support – it helps me keep blogging!
New Product to keep your Art Licensing Data Organized!
If you are new to the art licensing business, organizing your data might seem like no big deal. You create art, you show it to manufacturers, they license it and you get paid. What’s so hard about that? Nothing when you are starting out and have the mental capacity to remember everything.
But what happens as you grow?
More art… More manufacturers… More contracts… Montracts coming up for renewal… Mew people interested in the same art… Ms it available in that category? Who has licensed that collection again? Where did I jot the notes? Which contract should I look at again?
And don’t forget the art collections – what are the names, are they coded, what are the codes, where is it backed up, have copyrights been submitted, have you received your registration numbers… ?
The data you need to manage and coordinate grows like a snowball rolling down hill – you want to control it as early as possible!
I’m very excited to announce that there is now a solution that is accessible to any artist serious about licensing. I’ve been working with Hal at CampSoftware.com to create a database for my business and from the start, wanted to design something that could work for others as well. (I honestly think he dismissed this idea with a “yeah, yeah, another one of those clients” at first, but then he came around!)
Here’s a video demo of the just released Art Licensing Manager. This product is sold through CampSoftware.com but because I paid to have it developed and decided how it should function, I’ll get a commission for each product sold. (Consider that the FTC disclosure, thanks!) Watch the video then get all the nitty-gritty details over at www.ArtLicensingInfo.com/data.html. You can download a free trial to see how you like it before you commit to buying the full software – what have you got to lose? Check it out today – this has been a business-changing system addition for me and I hope it can be for you as well!
– Tara Reed
Cheryl Hodgson once again provided valuable insights into the legal issues surrounding art licensing
Once again, great questions were asked and helpful answers were given by Attorney Cheryl Hodgson. Last night Cheryl was my guest for the third time as part of the Art Licensing Info Monthly Ask Call Series – we had some technical excitement (something about Comcast and the conference call service switches maybe?) but I edited out as much of that as possible.
Here is what we covered:
- Should I make my company an LLC?
- How do business DBA’s work if I already have an LLC?
- How can I protect a product design concept that I might submit to a company with art?
- How to respond to Trademark infringement concerns.
- How do we determine if we can use what seem to be common sayings in our art, without having trademark issues?
- How do you protect your tagline?
- If we register copyrights in groups, does it limit our protection?
- What recourse do I have if I see something created commercially that looks a lot like an image I posted to my website?
- What are the rules about using paintings of private homes for commercial use?
- Should we add copyright watermarks to everything we post to the internet?
- Do I have to re-copyright art if a company slightly modifies previously registered work? Say color or layout changes?
- Can I still copyright my designs if I’ve posted them on my blog or printed them on cards?
- What should you do if you find out your images have been copied?
- Do you recommend artists audit licensee accounting records regularly?
If you want a copy of the audio replay, it is $15 through 8/28 and $25 thereafter. We appreciate your support in purchasing these calls – it helps us continue to attract and create the great content artists have come to love and expect each and every month!
What’s coming up next…
Wednesday, September 15, 2010 – NEW EXPERT Dena Fishbein will be answering your questions. Head to www.AskDenaDesigns.com to learn why I’m so excited to have Dena join the ranks of Ask Call Expert.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010: www.AskPaulBrent.com
In addition to answering questions from artists, Paul Brent will discuss how to plan your art collections for a trade show. Planning your collections, pacing yourself to get the work done and designing for trends for the new year.
Here’s to your creative success!
– Tara Reed
P.S. Learn more about Cheryl Hodgson on her blog at www.BrandAideBlog.com – be sure to sign up for her ezine to continue to build your legal savvy muscle!
The August Ask Call will Answer your Legal Questions about Art Licensing
Just a quick reminder that attorney Cheryl Hodgson will be answering the questions submitted by artists like you tonight. If you’ve signed up for a call before, you should have received the dial-in details by email.
If you’ve never participated, head over to www.AskCherylHodgson.com and sign up. Since we have already organized the questions, you can just put “no question” in the box then fill in your name and email and you will get the dial-in details.
The call is at 5:30 pm Pacific / 8:30 pm Eastern and will last for an hour. It’s free to listen live. The audio replay will be available Thursday and cost $15 through 8/28 and $25 thereafter.
We will be covering copyright registration and enforcement questions, pros and cons of business forms (LLC, Corp, etc), trademark questions, contract questions and more.
I look forward to chatting with you tonight!
– Tara Reed
P.S. Don’t forget! Let’s get social on Twitter (use #ask when tweeting so we can find you!) and Facebook during the call. CLICK HERE to download all the details.
Join me on the Art Channel this Saturday, 8/21/10
The Art Channel is a new community for artists of all disciplines to communicate, collaborate and support others of like mind.
Created and hosted by Alissa Fereday (who I met, oh yes, on Twitter!) has weekly events featuring artists and experts to help artists of all kinds learn, grow and thrive. It’s an open forum at all times for you to connect and share with each other.
I’m honored to be the guest expert this coming Saturday, 8/21/10 from 9 – 11:30 am Pacific / 11 – 12:30 pm Central / 12 – 1:30 pm Eastern. Come on over and join in the discussion!
– Tara Reed
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