Our new Interactive Art Calendar Product, making the case for selling art on calendars, and how we’ve perfected it with 3D preview technology.
For those of you who are customers or have been following us for some time, you know that every software decision we make here at Art Storefronts is based on customer-success first.
Meaning, we do not build software based on the whims of executives or developers.
Instead, we build it based on what is actually working out there on the ground floor for artists and photographers.
We run tests side-by-side with our customers, we discover new features and optimizations that deliver repeatable and successful results, and we implement them.
This top-down, customer success-first approach to software development is one that results in a product that delivers maximum value to the customer at all times, and is completely in tune with the realities of the marketplace.
That said, we have discovered a key product that has produced enough success for us to take notice and do something significant with it.
By success, we mean that we have a decent quantity of artists, photographers, and art galleries who are already selling significant quantities of this product and we believe you can and should too.
This product is the Art Calendar.
So, Why Calendars?
Last Christmas, we were blown away at the sheer volume of calendars that our artists and photographers were selling. Several customers of ours were selling 1-2 per day!
While these sales have slowed down (they always will after the Holidays), they still remain consistent sellers.
And we like consistent sellers.
So before you make the same mistake that we originally did and write this product off as something not worth your time or attention, allow us to make the case as to why you should take this product seriously (aside from what we already mentioned), and why this product is congruent with your long term objectives of selling more art.
If you already agree that this is a solid product to offer, or you are already selling calendars, skip down.
We want you to see the awesomeness of this new feature, how it is going to once again amaze your customers with your already incredible website experience, and how it will equip you to sell more art calendars than you otherwise would have.
The Case For The Art Calendar
Why sell your art on calendars?
1. Attractive Price Point
Simply put, calendars are something everyone can afford.
2. Easy, Low Friction Buying Decision
No wall space is needed. Often times the reason people don’t buy art (even though they love your work) is because they don’t have open wall space to hang a print. But finding a spot for a calendar is easy.
No spousal/roommate approval is needed. Buying art is usually a process that requires more than one decision maker, but with a calendar, only one decision maker is needed.
3. Wherever It Hangs, It Advertises Your Work All Year Long
Just think about this – whenever someone walks into the home or office of the person who is proudly displaying your calendar, they get to see your work too.
Chances are, these people would have never seen your work otherwise.
Maybe this results in someone going to your site, subsequently joining your email list, or who makes a purchase.
4. It Converts People Who Like Your Work Into Real Fans
When you put someone in the position to admire your work literally on a daily basis, it doesn’t get any more romantic than that!
You will have no better chance of turning this person into a long term fan and hopefully a collector.
5. It Doesn’t Compete With Your Art
When someone (or a couple) decides to fill a specific space on their wall with a specific piece of art, it is at the very least a thoughtful decision making process.
Several pieces are usually considered and narrowed down until one piece is ultimately decided upon. The art piece fulfills the purpose by filling the open wall space.
Calendars, on the other hand, fulfill a completely different purpose for the buyer that purchases one.
The New Feature: Interactive Art Calendar Products
If you’ve ever experienced it, you probably know that the normal way of selling art calendars on a website can sometimes be, and usually is, very clunky.
Usually, an artist or photographer posts a cover image and possibly a few supportive images and text.
This way of displaying and selling an Art Calendar leaves the visitor without a clear picture of what the calendar “experience” will feel like as you flip through it each month, and as such, visitors don’t have a clear picture of what they will be buying, and what the product will “feel” like once they receive it.
This creates “buyer friction”, something you must eliminate if you want to maximize the conversion rates of any product you are trying to sell on a website.
This is where we recognized opportunity to improve the buying experience and help those who are already selling calendars to sell many more.
Your New Interactive 3D Art Calendar
Similar to how we provide an interactive art-buying experience with 3D previews on metal, paper, and canvas, we similarly provide a 3D preview of your art calendar that allows a visitor to “flip” through all of the images one by one.
This allows your visitor to quickly replicate the exact same experience that they will have throughout the entire year, once they hang this calendar on the wall.
Since this is the main reason they want to buy a calendar, we put this experience front and center.
Your Next Steps
Your next step is NOT to go buy 100 calendars upfront, spending a bunch of money on inventory in the process.
Instead, buy 1 or 2 calendars from an online photo lab and validate that your calendar will sell. You will pay some extra money per calendar, but it’s always better to do this and make sure it’s working before you invest more.
This should be really simple and easy to test, and should only take a limited amount of time.
How Should You Price Your Calendar?
We see calendars regularly selling in the $39-59 range, but we believe it is very possible to sell calendars for a higher dollar amount than this (depending on the quality).
We encourage you to run your own tests by starting on the lower end, and then slowly and incrementally raising your prices to the higher end to see what your customers will accept.
A Final Word
You have probably noticed at Art Storefronts that we are not advocating that you sell other items such as t-shirts, iPhone cases, or any other products of that nature.
We are also not advocating that you should avoid selling these products, if you are already successful at selling them.
We just haven’t seen people have much success with these ancillary products, and we also feel that the profit margins don’t necessarily make them worthwhile.
On your own art website, we believe it should take on the same experience as a physical art gallery.
A higher-end experience.
While calendars are not exactly congruent with what an art gallery offers, we believe they represent the most worthwhile exception here.
So, ready to start offering your own art calendars?
This feature is available now to Art Storefronts customers, and it’s just one of many designed to help you generate consistent art sales.
Already a customer? Learn how to add an art calendar to your store in this knowledge base article and visit the forum for an implementation discussion.
[…] are king in this space, so we built an interactive art calendar product type right into our software, but other popular items include coasters, postcards, and coffee table art […]
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