I wish to market fine art photography from my website
(judithrush.com).  Before I can do so, I must establish a profile of
characteristics (demographics) of those persons who are apt to buy
fine art photography online of this type.  Are they young, educated,
wealthy only, older, single, employed, students, etc. etc.
2nd, Having once arrived at the profile, I need to know if the market
can stand another competitor such as judithrush.com.
3rd, Given there is indeed a market for the product and room for one
more in that market, I need to know how I go about targeting that
particular market in promoting this website.  In other words, what
does the preponderance of information regarding this shopper's online
behavior tell us re. how to reach him or her? What does he look for
when he is shopping for this product (photography)?  Price? Quality? 
Style? It may well be that it is really not feasible for an unknown
artist to expect sales of her
work.  If the research shows there is a market, what might she
realistically expect to earn from her site?  (What price are buyers
shown to pay for comparable work?)
Thank you.

---

Request for Question Clarification by ragingacademic-ga on 31 Aug 2003 12:11 PDT

jaydee59 -

Thanks for submitting your very interesting question to our forum.

I'd appreciate if you could elaborate in regards to your expectations
from an answer to your question - what would a 5-star reply include
and how long would it need be?

thanks,
ragingacademic

---

Clarification of Question by jaydee59-ga on 31 Aug 2003 14:17 PDT

Your question is appropriate enough.  Answering is tough. I realize
that for any business, a person needs to establish first whether there
is any market for the product or service and if there is, how many
other sellers does he have to share the market with?    That is the
question I have.  Are people buying artistic photos online today, and
if they are what kind, size, quality, etc. and what are they paying?
Are they bxw or color or both?

I guess the 5-star answer will also tell me how much money is being
spent by the potential buyers on photo art, how many buyers there are,
and how many people online are vying for their attention and money. If
total expenditure for artistic photos (excluding the porno stuff and
nudes and sexy stuff of course)online is 7 million per month and there
are 7 million people selling them (bxw or color), then I might hope to
join them and we will all make slightly less than a million then.  I
am sure a business student could word this better than I.  sorry if
this isnt getting across.
Next, once the above is answered, I need to know wht the customers
look like, so that I can appeal to them in my marketing strategy.  I
have a website to promote.  I can promote it to the right group of
people and make money or I can promote it to zillions of the wrong
kind and make nothing.  See?
Finally, I need some ideas for promotion.  There are a lot of
techniques.  I cant do them all alone.  I can pay a third party who
has a track record to do this for me.  The answer shld come from
researching what other sellers are doing who are selling their work
successfully.  I may be asking more than I paid for, but I trust that
anyone who undertakes this will provide as much as possible.  I will
simply have to formulate a new question based on what is missing at
that point.
dont hesitate to ask for further clarification.  Thank you very much.
J

<Collecting fine photography is a booming market. In 1996, Sotheby’s
sold 1200 photographs for approximately $4 million and in 2000 it sold
750 photographs for $11 million. An increase of over 450 percent in
the value of individual images.
http://www.heffel.com/News/news_1118200_Sun.asp

In 1969 there were only 4 galleries specialising in photography now
there are 450.
http://www.halstedgallery.com/main/collect.htm

The buyers.
Generations xers in their late twenties to early forties are prolific
buyers. Buyers tend to be college educated and earning high incomes.
Women are more likely to buy than men due to their involvement in
furnishing the home. Corporations are also buyers.

The New York Photography Fair which reported strong sales was targeted
at an audience aged between 25 and 30, college educated and earning
salaries from $40,000 - $85,000.

Art photography sells from about $500 upwards.

The greatest demand is for vintage and nostalgic works. 
http://www.artworldnews.com/june99/photo.html

There are hundreds of thousands of collectors.
http://www.eliberty.com/usatoday.html

Collecting fine photography.
http://www.butterfields.com/areas/photography.html


Black & White Magazine is aimed at collectors.
http://www.bandwmag.com/
Circulation 24,000 
http://www.bandwmag.com/current/

A variety of art related mailing lists are available for purchase at
this site.  They have a list of 160 corporations collecting
photography is available for $60.
http://www.artmarketing.com/ML/lists.html


Getting a greater presence on the internet.

Some of the art websites offer free portfolios to artists. Worldwide
Art Resources Corporation allows you to upload 4 images and an artists
statement for free.  They also offer packages that allow more images
from $36 per year.
http://wwar.com/
http://wwar.com/portfolio.html

The Digital Artist – free exhibits.
They also offer mini portfolios for $4.95 per month.
http://www.thedigitalartist.com/signup.shtml>


<Additional links:>

<A collection of articles on selling art.>
<http://www.artbusiness.com/artists.html>

<An art website that makes money>
<http://www.artbusiness.com/moneysite.html>



<Discussion forum>
<http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=0021HK>

<Marketing to Generation X>
<http://mpus.com/tmp/tmp1-40.html>

<The Journal of Contemporary Photography>
<http://www.photoarts.com/21stphotography/>

<Search strategy:>

<"buyers of photography" demographics>
<://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=%22buyers+of+photography%22+demographics>

<"collecting photography">
<://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=%22collecting+photography%22>

<"collecting photography" " buyers">
<://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=%22collecting+photography%22+%22+buyers%22>

<"collecting photography" magazine>
<://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=%22collecting+photography%22+magazine>


<Hope this helps.>

---

Request for Answer Clarification by jaydee59-ga on 10 Sep 2003 11:10 PDT

Ok, well that is without a doubt a good deal of information.  I
guestimate that it will take me a week to follow up each link and
determine what if anything is being offered there. The idea was that
you wld do that for me as I lack the time or expertise.   I guess it
wld help me if you wld summarize a little re. why u have included the
info that you have. Some of it appears to pertain to the demand for
art but not for the demand as it is manifest in sales via the
internet.  This is what is most significant to me. I still do not know
how much money is being spent for fine art photog. on the internet nor
how many people spent that money.
The piece abt. the buyers, for example, is not the result of a
distilling of data but rather a comment from one source.  See? If that
represents the consensus, then u shld say so and indicate how many
sources you contacted to draw such a conclusion.
Maybe a few succint sentences from you re. your findings and
addressing my questions more directly by way of summarization. 
Appreciate this is a great groundwork, altho you might let me know how
u arrived at it so as to give me a little greater faith in the
sources, etc.  Let me know if you have questions. Thank you very much.

---

Clarification of Answer by belindalevez-ga on 11 Sep 2003 01:02 PDT

<According to New Spring Media, the generation xers make up 20 percent
of U.S. population. Their spending power is $190 billion.
http://www.fattyboombatty.com/psychographics.htm

In selling art photography online, you are competing in the online art
and collectibles market. There are a number of conflicting estimates
as to what the online art market is worth. The figures can only be
estimated as a huge number of transactions are private deals.

The online art market is estimated to be worth between $4billion and
$25 billion.
http://news.com.com/2100-1017_3-240228.html

Expensive art (over $50,000) does not sell well on the internet as
buyers prefer to examine the works in person. Photographs, prints,
modern and contemporary design, and collectibles have been the clear
best sellers. Jupiter Communications estimates the online market place
was worth $300 million in 2000 and will be worth $1.8 billion by 2005.
http://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/article.asp?idart=4219

According to Scott Burkett, the editor of Wet Canvas, the global art
and collectibles market is worth $100 billion. There are an estimated
50,000 decorating households. The sellers comprise 60,000 galleries
and 3,000+ publishers, selling the works of around 2 million artists.
http://www.wetcanvas.com/Articles/Scott_Burkett/OnlineGalleries/


According to Unity Marketing, an estimated 4 percent of art
transactions took place online, representing about $4 billion.
http://www.wetcanvas.com/Articles/Scott_Burkett/OnlineGalleries/page2.html

To summarise the market in which you are competing is worth between
$1.8 billion and $25 billion. Your main customer segment (the
generation xers) number over 40 million.

<Additional links:
<Protecting your images online>
<http://www.pixiport.com/gallery-w14.htm>


<Hope this helps.>

---

Request for Answer Clarification by jaydee59-ga on 11 Sep 2003 08:12 PDT

Not sure how to clarify any better what is needed here.  I appreciate
the effort you have made, but frankly the results are not worth $45 to
me.  I would not have posted the question if I had to do over, but in
so far as I did and you have given me more potentially useful info, I
will pay $25 for it unless there is more.

The question here was very specific, with total relevance to the
website www.judithrush.com.   Much of the info you supplied here does
not have relevance to this site or the work offered for sale.  Many so
called collectors would not even be remotely interested in an
unknown's work.  Typically, they would not buy work as low priced as
mine is either.

I would still like to know how you organized this question in your own
mind and what parts u think have been answered. Where do we go from
here?

---

Clarification of Answer by belindalevez-ga on 13 Sep 2003 03:18 PDT

<I understood that you wanted to know the size and nature of the
market for your work.

I am able to offer you advice that comes from over 20 years in the
international art business. There is certainly a market for your art
even though you are unknown. This market is as I have indicated in my
answer. The fact that you are an unknown artist will not affect the
majority of buyers who will simply buy works that they like. Your
works are extremely good value and do not present a risk for buyers.

Collectors are always looking for bargains and will certainly buy
works as low priced as yours. I personally know artists who have
under-priced their works and have had collectors come to their homes
and bought their entire stock. I would personally raise your prices.

The only problem with selling the works yourself over the internet is
the amount of time that you have to devote to updating your site and
marketing. All time that could be spent making art. It is far easier
to take the traditional route in art and sell your work via a dealer. 
This article looks at the problems associated with selling online.
http://www.wetcanvas.com/Articles/Scott_Burkett/OnlineGalleries/index.html

Your site
I found a broken link on your site
From this page
http://www.judithrush.com./imageindex2judith.html
the link to
The artist
http://www.judithrush.com./theartist1wphoto_.html does not work
The correct link should be
http://www.judithrush.com./theartist1wphoto.html

Images sizes
It is not indicated whether the size of the photographs is in inches
or centimetres. In Europe centimetres are used and anyone viewing from
Europe would likely make the assumption that you are selling very
small photos.
In addition the columns of prices on this page are not correctly lined
up.
http://www.judithrush.com./Ordering.html

Navigation
On my first visit to the site I did not find the colour images. This
is because there is no separate link from the home page. I realise
that you can access this page from the black and white page of images.
But I saw the link ‘images’ and assumed that this just took me to
where I had already been. This may result in you losing sales on
colour photographs.

Looking at other artist’s websites can help to get ideas for
presentation. This site gives information about how the photos are
presented. The prices here are $300-$400.
http://www.remer.com/page11.html

Automation of the buying process will make buying easier.
This site has a shopping cart making it easy to order.
http://www.jameskay.com/store/pages/67_UT_SRD_1.html

Getting a higher profile on the web will make it easier for people to
find your work. Signing up for the portfolios that I suggested will
put your work in front of a lot more people.

On the home front getting more exhibitions and publicity will help.
Networking with other artists, visiting gallery openings and art fairs
are all excellent ways to make contacts. Always have with you a
printed card with contact details and your website address that you
can hand out to people you meet. Getting to know art critics
personally is a great way to get free publicity.

<Additional link:>

<Art licensing>
<http://www.artmarketing.com/licensingart101/>

---

Request for Answer Clarification by jaydee59-ga on 13 Sep 2003 13:05 PDT

Ok, that was better, much better. Belinda.  I still do not know
how much money is being spent for fine art photog. on the internet and
how many people spent that money. What kind, size, quality, etc.are
they buying and what are they paying?
Are they bxw or color or both?

The piece abt. the buyers, for example, is not the result of a
distilling of data but rather a comment from one source.  See? If that
represents the consensus, then u shld say so and indicate how many
sources you contacted to draw such a conclusion.

Also, do u have some information about other popular medium priced
agents who can promote a website?  I have looked into one locally, but
it was not affordable, over 500 a month.  Google has ads that one can
buy and use a ppclick, but I cldnt communicate with their support
staff.  They were nasty and assumed we know everything.  It was a
hassle.

I so appreciate your comments re. the site's flaws.  I am so unadept
at using the software that I seldom make changes without help. And
that is not always available.  Is it possible for someone to make
these changes for us from somewhere else on the internet?  How does
that work? I have many pages to upload and images to add.

I need some ideas for promotion.  There are a lot of
techniques.  I cant do them all alone.  I can pay a third party who
has a track record to do this for me.  The answer shld come from
researching what other sellers are doing who are selling their work
successfully I would think.
jrd
 
Please offer ideas for this purpose?  Thank you very much.

---

Clarification of Answer by belindalevez-ga on 17 Sep 2003 02:02 PDT

<Based on the fact that fine art photography accounts for 4% of art
sales and online art sales are estimated to worth between $4billion
and $25 billion. Estimated online sales of fine art photography are
between $10 million and $60 million.

There are at least 1.6 million photographers online. Even if there
were only one million photographers online, then on average sales are
just $10 to $60 per photographer.

That the buyers tend to be generation xers came from two sources. 
http://www.artworldnews.com/june99/photo.html
http://www.eliberty.com/usatoday.html



References.
According to Art Market Trends, photography accounts for 4% of art
sales. http://press.artprice.com/pdf/Trends2002.pdf

Online art sales are estimated to be worth between $4billion and $25
billion.
http://news.com.com/2100-1017_3-240228.html

The international Federation of Photographic Art has almost 1 million
members worldwide.
http://www.fiap.net/presentation.php?lang=en

The photosite.com features the work of 1.6 million photographers.
http://www.thephotosite.com/

Photo.net
http://www.photo.net/gallery/photocritique/filter	


Colour or black and white?
I have looked through a number of sites where photographs are rated.
Colour photographs appear to have a slight edge.

Prices 
There is a wide variation in the prices charged by individual artists.
Examples of prices are:

$90
http://www.bruenart.com/

$85 - $165
http://www.photomd.net/gallery.html

$105 - $205
http://www.antahr.com/price.htm

$75 - $250
http://sukumarfineartphoto.com/land/landprice.html

$145 - $390
http://www.wildlandart.com/process-and-price.html

$225 - $375
http://www.geocities.com/mcoltonpelzer/mcp_pricelist.htm

$35 - $440
http://www.kurtross.com/tn/prints.html

$275 - $625
http://www.samshortphotography.com/pricelist.htm

$450 - $700
http://www.garyauerbach.com/main.html

$400 - $1200
http://www.billatkinson.com/PriceList.pl

$150 - $1500
http://www.abate-curry.com/order.htm

$250 - $1600
http://www.artspan.com/genres.php?id=Photography

$19 - $5105
http://louiscantillo.com/lc_catalog/pricelistfc33.html?Format=102


Marketing ideas.

Using Ebay.
Ebay is the internet’s market place.  
http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=001twX

Over 5000 photographic images are for sale.
http://listings.ebay.com/aw/plistings/list/category2211/index.html?from=R4

Photo.net has a discussion forum. Here a number of photographers are
discussing how to make money selling their prints. One has tried Ebay
and sold works but found that the prices were too low.
Another contributor suggests using Ebay to sell low-priced works to
draw buyers to your site where you can sell higher priced limited
editions.
http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=001twX

Uploading work to sites for free. 
In addition to art sites where you can get free promotion, there are
also photography sites where you can upload images. An example of such
a site is Usefilm.com where users can upload images for free.
http://www.usefilm.com/index.php

Exchanging links with other photographers.
Exchanging links with other sites will help to attract more visitors
to your site. If you find a site that you would like to swap links
with, you simply place a link on your site to the prospective site and
email the owner of the site requesting that he or she links to your
site.



Offline promotion.
Advertise your website address in as many places as possible including
advertising media, business cards, business correspondence, at your
place of business, on your vehicle etc.
Give a launch party for your website and combine it with an exhibition
of your works.
Send a press release to the local media.

The diy guide to marketing your website.
http://www.newmediastudies.com/diy-mark.htm

You can pay for traffic to your site using pay per click search
engines.
This site reviews the various pay per click services and gives details
of what they offer.
http://www.ppc-searchengines.info/PPC_Articles.html

Marketing tips.
http://www.ppc-searchengines.info/Marketing_Tips.html

Strategies
http://www.ppc-searchengines.info/Marketing_Strategies.html


There are lots of sites on the internet offering low cost website
promotion. These sites can be found by performing a search for:
"low cost website promotion"
http://www-sj.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=%22low+cost+website+promotion%22>

<Additional links:>
Online photography
<http://www.onlinephotography.com/>

Editors pick for best photography site of the month.
http://www.corporatefineart.com/-/corporatefineart/

<Hope this helps.>

---

Request for Answer Clarification by jaydee59-ga on 17 Sep 2003 13:44 PDT

Thanks so much for that last clarification.  It was chock full of
ideas.  I appreciate that.  I still need an answer to the following
question:

Also, do u have some information about other popular medium priced
agents who can promote (do links et al and insure a decent standing in
one of the bigger search engines)a website?  I have looked into one
locally, but
it was not affordable, over 500 a month...
Also, Is it possible for someone to make changes to a site such as
upload pages for me from somewhere else?  I wld guess they wld have to
have the password to do this?  But is it possible?
How does that work? I have many pages to upload and images to add.
Obviously, it isnt my cup of tea.

I looked into ebay and found as you said that it doesnt pay enough to
advertise there unless for very cheap pieces.  I did sell one image
for under $30.
 
There are lots of ways of promoting and There are a lot of 
techniques.  I cant do them, because it makes me a compulsive nut
case, to be honest.  I can pay a third party who
has a track record to do this for me.  Find any companies that are
doing this job on a monthly basis or quarterly basis, would you,
rather than asking me to sign a contract and paying a couple thousand
for the year in advance.
That is my last need for clarification.  thank you.

---

Clarification of Answer by belindalevez-ga on 19 Sep 2003 04:37 PDT

<Visionsite provide free maintenance to your website if you host your
sit with them. They also offer promotion services. The price is
decided on a case by case basis. You will need to send them details of
your requirements to get a quote.  
http://www.visionsitesolutions.com/pro/hosting/?f=maintenance
Contact details.
http://www.visionsitesolutions.com/pro/index.asp?f=getstarted

Iwantmyfreedomain.com offers website maintenance from $10 per month.
They also offer promotion services like keyword optimisation, link
popularity, directory submission and pay per click.
http://www.iwantmyfreedomain.com/maintenance.htm
http://www.iwantmyfreedomain.com/serachengine.htm

Silkwebs offer a site maintenance plan for £30 (approx $49) per month
and web promotion for £20 (approx $33) per month.
http://www.silkwebs.co.uk/acatalog/web_maintenance.htm


Jpeg Design offers website maintenance from $75.00 per month.
http://www.jpegdesign.com/new/solutions/website_maintenance.asp>

<Search strategy:>

<"website maintenance services" "per month">
<http://www-sj.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=%22website+maintenance+services%22+%22per+month%22>

<Hope this helps.>

---

Request for Answer Clarification by jaydee59-ga on 19 Sep 2003 13:30 PDT

...and the question about uploading pages,etc. from elsewhere?

---

Clarification of Answer by belindalevez-ga on 21 Sep 2003 07:58 PDT

<The companies that offer site maintenance will be able to upload
pages for you. They will need to have access to your site so that they
can make changes.>

Researcher supplied abundant information which somewhat compensated
for not always keeping focused on the question(s) asked.  Answers left
me with a ton of work yet to do in order to reach conclusions.