Have a Mini Expo!

So, times are tough are they? Galleries don't want to display your work? Don't know how to get your work seen by more people?

Why not contact your local doctor, dentist, hairdresser or small/medium business with lots of passing traffic or regular flow of customers and see if they will do a mini expo of your work for a week or two. If you regularly spending money with them, then they may feel obliged, or simply be happy to say yes. It may be the perfect opportunity for them to have a social gathering for their clients and your art is the backdrop.

You will need to make it very easy for them because they are busy running their own business and you must not take away from that. Do your homework first, case the joint and determine where you could display your work without disrupting their normal workflow. When you present the idea to the boss you need to have all the answers. Be sure to make an appointment to present your proposal.

Think about the display from their perspective - what are the advantages to them of having a display of your work in their space, what are the challenges it might cause them and what can you do about it to ease the pain and get them to say yes? Prepare your proposal well and chances of success are high.

Don't overstay your welcome or you won't be asked back. Keep the show short, probably a week is enough, maybe two if they are OK with that.

Remember that this is your idea so you need to do all the work - setting up the display , pulling it down, returning their workspace back to the way it was. You probably need to drop in every other day to see if everything is ok and nothing has been damaged.

Photograph the display when it first goes up for several reasons - promotion on your website, blog and Facebook but also as a security measure to prove what work was on display in the event something goes missing.

You need to prepare an email and brochure that they can send to their clients - present it as from the business, not you. This will allow the business to notify their clients, without giving you their list BUT, anyone that contacts you as a a result becomes a new name in your database!

Be sure to have a price list with a description of each piece of art so every staff member can answer questions easily and know what to charge.

Offer them a commission on sales as an incentive to talk about you and your art. Offer a percentage to the owner (20%)and an extra small percentage(5-10%) to the staff member who makes the sale. You'll pay more than that in a gallery so be generous to those who have given you the opportunity. Have a short training session with the staff to explain ways for them to sell the work and what's in it for them. Get them excited about your art by making sure they understand it and what's in it for them.

You could display both originals and reproductions - originals for those more affluent clients and the reproductions for those who "just love the colours in that one" but don't have a lot of money!

Have fun with it!