Everybody knows the first and everybody ignores the second. Don't be everybody. This post will cover; What is the 2nd biggest time of the year to sell art, why, and why no artist or photographer can afford to ignore them 👇
The biggest art selling time of the year is no big surprise.
It's the 4th quarter. The last three months of the calendar year. Which contain Fall, Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and the run up to Christmas.
So the question becomes what is the 2nd?
Outside of Q4, the Summer Selling Season represents the second best time, all year, to sell your art or photography.
Technically it starts in May and runs through the end of Summer.
Let's take a look at a graphic that helps visualize the whole year and how the summer season stacks up.
If Spring is your baseline (normal art selling time). New Years represents a 1.5x multiple of the baseline, the summer season represents a 3x multiple and Q4 or the holiday season a 5x.
Based on the data no artist or photographer can afford to miss the two biggest times of the year.
First, you are probably wondering who the heck we are and where did we get this data?
Good questions both 👇
In case you were wondering Art Storefronts has everything you need to start, run, and grow a successful art business. We are coming up on our tenth year in business and 👇 is how our over 13000+ customers feel about us. We have been reviewed over 2000+ times on Trust Pilot, Facebook and Google.
We have been compiling data on these trends for near ten years now and year in year out its the same pattern.
While Q4 is the obvious one that everybody knows about, the summer selling season is the one most artists and photographers sleep on.
Let's start by getting in the reasons why its such a great time to sell your art or photography then we can wrap up with what you need to do to take advantage of it.
Side note... I you want to see what we can do for your art biz leave your details below and we can show you.
You create, we do all the technical stuff that makes it sell.
What makes the summer so amazing is a confluence of events and seasonal occurrences all working together to drive art and photography sales.
While everybody understands Q4 (Black Friday / Cyber Monday) we find that almost no-one ever talks about or understands just how big the summer season is.
So let's delve into the reasons why.
First, the summer season is packed with selling opportunities.
Defined here as existing holidays and events in which merchants and vendors of all stripes and sizes will be running sales and promotions.
The smart artist knows that by running their promos and campaigns in concert with what the biggest and most successful brands and businesses do; they are able to benefit on the increased level of consumer demand all those businesses drive with their massive ad spends.
Have a look at a few of the big ones in the summer selling season.
Mothers Day, Memorial Day, Fathers Day, 4th of July and yes even Prime Day, are huge sales holidays/days in general and amazing art selling holidays specifically.
Even with just these holidays the season would be amazing.
Here are the events that supercharge them 👇
Let me explain the nuances of each and how they combine to create the 🔥 that is the 2nd biggest art selling time of the year.
When people move it means new spaces, decorating all over again, and new and open wall space that your art would look lovely on.
Consider the following data 👇
Combine the summer selling opportunities + the fact more people are moving then an any other time all year long is already stacking up nicely. It just keeps getting better though 👇
Whether its hitting the show and fair circuit in the summer or its artists taking time off to enjoy the summer weather and travel one thing is certain; in either case their marketing suffers.
Anytime distractions happen to artists and photographers its just about universally true that the first area of their business that suffers is the regular and consistent marketing.
If you think to these situations in your current life, and when they crop up generally, ask yourself honestly....
Do you post to the socials and send as many emails as you do normally?
Nope (thanks for being honest) and don't worry, you are not alone.
When other artists are taking the summer months off that means you are marketing against way way less competition then normally.
Which means your social posts, emails, and sales campaigns will get seen by way more eye balls.
As we continue to stack these facts things just keep getting better and this next one — which is profound in and of itself and almost never discussed — is the cherry on top 👇
Just like that resort pool pic above, when summer comes, consumers all over this country and others take some much deserved down time / vacation time.
They relax, they unplug, they are not working, and as it turns out — this is the profound part — their cell phone usage spikes.
When your potential art buyers are spending more time on their phones that means they are more receptive to your emails, your social posts, and your marketing messages. They are going to see way more of then than normal.
Art Storefronts learned this first hand during Covid. When the whole world was locked down at home our marketing efforts EXPLODED. We were able to reach 20x our normal audience sizes in just about anything we did.
Summer, while not as crazy as Covid times, is still crazy high in comparison to the rest of the year.
All the smart artist needs to do is be actively marketing during the summer and just by showing up they win.
When we combine all these factors...
Combine the summer selling holidays + everybody moving + the lack of competition + attention at an all time high and it's little wonder the summer is the 2nd biggest art selling time of the year.
Now that you know this, the question becomes what will you do differently this year to take advantage of it?
You create, we do all the technical stuff that makes it sell.
At the time of writing this post Mothers Day — the first major art selling holiday of the summer season — just wrapped.
Here are some stories to motivate you to get into gear ASAP!
Art Selling Holidays work for sales PERIOD. The smart artist knows oftentimes it has nothing to do with who/what the holiday is actually for. They are just reasons to buy which is why you can't miss these holidays!
Sometimes, it's your first time running a sale during mothers day and you are just getting started.
Others, it takes a few times to get the hang of it.
So what sells exactly on Mothers Day then?
Originals
Prints
Large Prints
Merch
Sculptures
Even art that has been sitting around for years (you have anything matching that description 😘)
Here is the thing.
It does matter if it's the Mothers Day sale or Memorial Day Sale, Fathers Day or Prime Day, 4th of July or End of Summer Sale.
They all represent opportunities the serious artist, that wants to grow their business, knows, they cannot miss.
It's less about the event in question and more about the consistency of always showing up with your marketing messages when it's opportune to do so.
It's all summer long.
It also does not matter what you sell; Originals, Limited Editions, Prints, or Merch.
Why?
All art or photography businesses are driven, at their core, by collectors 👇
The first art selling holiday, of the 2nd biggest art selling time of the year — the summer season — is gone. Don't miss all the rest.
If you want our help to get your art up on a website, with the ability to sell, print and ship art and merch, and have us do some of the marketing for you. Then hit the form below and let's chat about it.
You create, we do all the technical stuff that makes it sell.
If we can't teach you, no one can!
