The Art Marketing Podcast

A buyer asks, "Can you do any better on the price?" Most artists feel their stomach drop — like they just lost something. I don't accept that premise. Want to join Patrick for a live webinar? He hosts one every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Register here: asf.today/webinar It's my strongly held belief that more art gets sold at a discount than at full price — especially at higher price points, especially in person. Once you know that, everything changes. You can prepare for negotiation, and you can negotiate on your terms. Last episode we covered the maths of pricing your art for Q4. This one is what happens after the price is on the wall: the rules, the tradecraft, and why the buyer who negotiates is the best thing that ever happened to you. In this episode: The premise I refuse to accept: that entering a negotiation means you're the one losing How I learned to reject a premise — the story of why I haven't been offended in decades A car dealer, a real estate agent, and Thomas Crown — why negotiating an art sale is different from every negotiation you've seen The one metric (new customers acquired per year) and the long game: you're not playing a one-shot game, and that changes everything Sun Tzu was right — the battle is won before it starts Your three rules: know your floor, have a range of pricing, and never give something up without getting something in return Why negotiation is the greatest thing that's ever happened: it signals intent My Craigslist career — over a million dollars of cars, boats, and gear, and what the "$7,500 cash, I'll pick it up today" guy taught me The serious buyer drives over to look at the car — for an artist, that's the phone call or the Zoom Get out of the DMs: every step from message to email to call to in-person gets more real The asks list: what to trade for instead of dropping your price Q4 is coming — which means sales are coming, which means negotiations are coming This week's homework: write your asks list before Q4. Know your floor on every piece and be comfortable with it. And decide right now what you'll ask for the next time someone asks you to come down. Related episodes: How to Price Your Art for Q4 — the maths this episode builds on Advanced Pricing Strategies for Artists and Photographers — the pricing opus, including the original negotiation rule Discounting Your Art or Photography. Should You? Why Your Website Will Still Be Working in 2055 — the long game

I've worked out with my buddy Dom for years. There's normal Dom, and then there's the Dom who has a race coming up. Normal Dom shows up when I show up and does the same workout I do. Race Dom shows up thirty minutes early, goes for a run first, and then does our entire normal workout on top of it. Nothing changed about Dom. What changed is there's a race on the calendar. Want to join Patrick for a live webinar? He hosts one every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Register here: asf.today/webinar Q4 is that race. And it's the one you didn't realize I signed you up for. It starts October 1st, which is about two months out — and here's what most artists get wrong: mid-October isn't your launch. It's your deadline. Nearly half of holiday shoppers say they start before Halloween. By the middle of October, 40% already know exactly what they're buying. The big retailers figured this out years ago — Best Buy's own press release last year announced they were "putting the creep in holiday creep" and kicking the season off on Halloween. This episode is the broad game plan for getting ready. The tactics come next, week by week, between now and October. In this episode: Normal Dom vs. Race Dom — and the small detail in that story that's really the whole instruction manual Why the "Rule of 7" is marketing folklore with no study behind it, and the 1959 experiment that makes the point far better Effective frequency explained as reps and sets: the same 13 ads crammed into 13 weeks spike and then collapse; spread across a year, they hold The number that should worry you — by mid-October, 40% of shoppers already know exactly what they're buying Attention arrives in October. Money arrives in December. Why that's better news for artists than it first sounds Tell your story first, show your art second — and how that one reordering kills the "I don't have enough to post" problem for good Three questions to answer before you get out of the car: can you transact, are you open for commissions, are you actually marketing The Gallery Test pointed straight at December — what a real gallery does differently for the holidays, and the digital twin of every one of those moves The Bathroom Art Sale — how naming the destination removes the friction that quietly kills art sales, and why "under the tree" works even better Why commissions carry a hard deadline, and what that means for your October This week's homework: answer three questions honestly. Is your website set up so a total stranger can buy without having to ask you a single question? Are you open for commissions? And are you actively marketing right now — not in October, right now? Whichever one you answered no to is where the next two months go. Resources mentioned: Art Storefronts — the storefront engine for working artists Bankrate Holiday Spending Report — nearly half of shoppers start before Halloween NRF Holiday Survey — when shoppers really start browsing and buying Zielske, The Remembering and Forgetting of Advertising (1959) — the study behind the whole episode Related episodes: A Greek Warship, a Horse Named Sally — the full anatomy of a sale. Swap Mother's Day for Black Friday and run it Art-Selling Holidays You're Sitting Out — the calendar as a forcing function The Coffee Shop Test — why your social media is failing The Gallery Test — should artists list prices on their website? The Artist's Guide to Instagram Live — even if you hate being on camera Here's the takeaway. You've been creating for a long time. Not enough people have seen your art. You want to sell it — and Q4 is the single best window all year long to do exactly that. So enjoy your summer, genuinely, by all means. Just keep it in the back of your head that Q4 is coming, and start putting the reps in now. Your art will thank you. Stay Up To Date With The Latest https://linktr.ee/artmarketingpodcast

The most powerful skill you can learn in 2026 isn't Photoshop or marketing — it's typing what you want into a chatbot. Here's how to actually make AI work for your art business. Want to join Patrick for a live webinar? He hosts one every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Register here: asf.today/webinar Most artists get garbage results from AI because they skip one critical step: context. In this episode, I break down exactly how to create context files that turn generic AI into your personal assistant — plus a prompt that lets AI interview you to build the file automatically. In this episode: Why AI gives you garbage answers (it's blind, not dumb) The 15 context files every artist should consider building The meta move: using AI to create your context files Where to save them in ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini The habit that changes everything The "Interview Me" Prompt — copy and paste this into any AI: I want to create a context document about my art business that I can use with AI tools. Interview me by asking one question at a time. Cover these areas: Who I am as an artist (background, medium, style). Who my customers are (demographics, where they find me, budget). What I sell (products, price points, bestsellers). How I talk and write (voice, tone, words I use). My business goals for this year. After the interview, compile everything into a clean document I can save and reuse. Ask me one question at a time and wait for my answer. Context files to consider: Artist Bio — your story, background, philosophy Customer Avatar — who buys, demographics, budget Product Lineup — what you sell, prices, sizes Brand Voice — how you write, words you use or avoid Tech Stack — computers, printers, software, OS Collector List — past buyers, what they bought, notes Show Calendar — art fairs, festivals, deadlines Pricing Strategy — how you price, margins, why Marketing Channels — where you show up, what works FAQ Doc — questions people always ask Vendor List — framers, printers, suppliers Studio Setup — physical space, equipment Art Style Guide — medium, techniques, subjects Business Goals — revenue targets, 1yr/5yr vision Competition Notes — who else, how you're different Where to save your context files: ChatGPT Projects: chatgpt.com — New Project — Upload files Claude Projects: claude.ai/projects — New Project — Add to knowledge base Gemini Gems: gemini.google.com — Explore Gems — New Gem Related episodes: Context is King: Stop Having First Dates with ChatGPT Every Time (2025)

In 2026, everything is fake — fake content, fake influencers, fake engagement. But here's what's always been true: story is what takes "not selling" to "selling." Van Gogh died unknown with 900 paintings worth nothing. Frida Kahlo was overshadowed by Diego Rivera for decades. The Impressionists were literally mocked. Same artwork. Different story. In this episode, we look at what changed — and how you can apply the same framework to your art in the age of AI. Want to join Patrick for a live webinar? He hosts one every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Register here: asf.today/webinar Links Mentioned: Lulu Meservey's "Standing Out in 2026" The woman who turned Van Gogh from worthless to $10 billion

In this episode, we sit down with the creative powerhouse couple Jency and Aaron Hogan, who've built a thriving art business from their Louisiana home. Discover how these two artists balance their individual creative practices while supporting each other's artistic journeys. From Jency's vibrant mixed media paintings that explore themes of mental health and personal growth, to Aaron's stunning wildlife photography captured across the country, learn how they've created a sustainable creative life together. Want to join Patrick for a live webinar? He hosts one every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Register here: asf.today/webinar Connect with The Hogans: 🎨 Jency Hogan (Mixed Media Artist) Instagram: @jencyghogan Linktree: linktr.ee/jencyghogan 📸 Aaron Hogan (Wildlife Photographer) Instagram: @eyewanderphoto 🛍️ Shop Their Art: Website: hoganart.shop

Your emails are landing in spam. Or worse—the promotions tab where they go to die. You've tried everything: better subject lines, different send times, smaller segments. Nothing works. But here's what nobody's telling you: Gmail doesn't care about any of that. They care about replies. And today, I'm showing you exactly how to get them 100+ Email Reply Ideas - your sandbox https://blog.artstorefronts.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/100-Email-Reply-Questions-for-Artists.pdf Get an Instagram Audit - I will be sure to be gently https://arttipsdaily.com/instagram Want to join Patrick for a live webinar? He hosts one every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Register here: asf.today/webinar Speech to Text Ai Apps - take the voicepill & you will never look back Wisper Flow - most call it "Flow" https://wisprflow.ai/ Willow https://willowvoice.com/