Send Email invitations and Queries
Galleries are quickly becoming much more comfortable with operating on the internet. Most have their own websites so it makes sense that they are willing to work with you online.
A very useful approach to a gallery is to email them to request their submission guidelines for new work. The guidelines will tell you if they will accept an invitation to visit your website, or if they instead prefer a more traditional approach such as a slide portfolio.
The big advantage of email is that it allows you to approach a far greater number of galleries than you would be able to by regular snail mail. It is also much less expensive and time consuming. The down side is that your email will probably get less attention than a nicely crafted and presented letter.
Maintain (and use) an Email list
We all like to think that our query letters will arrive like silver bullets in the perfect gallery and bring us instant fame and success. The reality though is that repetition rules! There’s a basic principle of marketing which says that a customer has to hear your pitch between 9 and 27 times before they will take action. The same applies to galleries and other arts professionals: They may not be ready for new work when you first present yourself, but at some point they will be looking. Make sure they remember you!
That doesn’t mean that you should be a painful boor and call the gallery director every week. It simply means sending updates about new achievements and events as they happen in your career. Some arts professionals will watch an artist for a number of years before taking action to include them in their stable of artists.
A great way to do this is to us an automated email list management system. This allows you to send regular updates to your email list without the hassle of having to send individual emails. It also allows interested parties to sign up for your list on your website. Make use of all the 21st century tools you can to make your life easier!
Check back soon for Part 3!
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