SO YOU WANT TO HAVE A STUDIO TOUR

SO YOU WANT TO HAVE A STUDIO TOUR

Here’s the great news. Every­one who comes to your stu­dio are com­ing BECAUSE THEY WANT TO SEE YOUR WORK. Keep that in mind. ALL are poten­tial buyers. So make it a great expe­ri­ence for them.

MAKE IT AN EXPERIENCE

• Greet them at the door and make them feel welcomed.

• Make it an expe­ri­ence — have some wine or hot cider, grapes, cheese or anoth­er snack.

• Have nice music playing in the background.

DISPLAYING YOUR WORK

• Here’s where Less is More. I know it is a big temp­ta­tion to put out ALL your work, think­ing if they don’t see it, they won’t buy it. However, if there is too much to see, it could work negatively. It will be visu­al overload and per­sons won’t be able to focus on that one object that will speak to their hearts. Have faith. Though there will be less work, you will end up sell­ing more. You can con­tin­ue to fill those emp­ty sold spots with anoth­er piece. Don’t hang from ceil­ing to floor. Negative space is gold­en. It draws atten­tion to the piece that is sur­round­ed by space.

• Price every­thing so if you are busy talk­ing with some­one else, anoth­er per­son will know the price and not get frustrated and walk out. Give price, medi­um, and if pos­si­ble, a short descrip­tion of your inspiration for the piece.

KEEPING IN CONTACT

• To follow up, you MUST get their email and address. Thank them for com­ing to your stu­dio. If they agreed to be on your email list, add them to your month­ly newsletter. You want to keep your name and what you do in their minds. I’ve had several peo­ple call me up when they were look­ing for a gift. Follow‑up, follow‑up, follow‑up. This is your busi­ness. You want to sell year ’round. Not just at shows.

ADVERTISE

• If you are doing your stu­dio tour through an Arts orga­ni­za­tion, to get the biggest bang for your buck, don’t just rely on the Stu­dio Tour’s advertise­ments. Send out newslet­ters, tell your friends, pass out your brochures everywhere you go. Write up your own press release on prlog.org, send out post­cards, and so on. And list links to the Press Release on sites for free like http://EverWondr.com. Post the Press Release link on your Face­book page, Insta­gram, Twit­ter and in your newsletter.

Excerpt from Jude Lobe’s ‘So you want to have a Stu­dio Tour’ pamphlet