1©Alyson B Stanfield, ART BIZ COACH

All artists need a boost from time to time.

Maybe sales are sluggish. Or you feel uninspired. Or you’re recovering from vacation/illness/family crisis.

Whatever it is for you, know that you are not alone.

Watch out for the 4 signs that your career is stalled and needs a boost.

THE 4 SIGNS YOUR ART CAREER IS STALLED

1. You aren’t making art. Yikes! Something is really wrong when you’re not making art. Perhaps you’re uninspired, but that shouldn’t stop you. When you’re a professional, you keep working because your livelihood depends on it. It’s amazing how a few sales or a little recognition will fix this.

2. You’re showing in the same venues - year after year.If you’re showing in the same venues, you’re playing it safe and your opportunities dry up. Challenge yourself when you want to grow.

3. Your income is static or, worse, is going down.It’s the law of the Universe that things expand. You’re out of whack when you aren’t expanding. (See #5 under Rule 2 below if you’re not tracking your progress.)

4. Your contact list isn’t growing.You can’t depend on the people who got you to this point to propel you even further. You must continue to meet more people. (See Rule 3 below.)

There’s no such thing as a magic pill for a career boost. You’ve got to roll up your sleeves and get to work.

You are the CEO of your art career. You are responsible for admitting that your career is stuck and for doing something about it. No one else can motivate you to take action.

Remember the 3 Golden Rules when you need a boost.

2©Alyson B Stanfield, ART BIZ COACH

Your art is the reason your career exists. Without the art, you are not an artist. It must be your priority - in both making it and marketing it. For an art-making boost, try the following;

• Maintain regular studio hours. Spend time with your art - even if you do nothing more than sit in the room and stare at the work.

• Seek inspiration time. Artists need space for ideas to percolate, which means exercising, walking, reading, and visiting galleries and museums.

• Write about your art - not just for your marketing, but to understand better what you do and why you do it.

For an art-focused marketing boost:

• Exhibit your art in the real world. Don’t be content with showing it only online. There is deep satisfaction in organizing a live exhibition and seeing people connect to your work.

• Show off your personality. Stop trying to be like everyone else. Aim to be the best version of you.

• Claim credit. Include credit lines wherever you show your art. Talk about an instant boost in name recognition! On wall labels in exhibitions, include your name, title of work, and medium. When you post your work online, include your copyright, name, title, medium, and dimensions. You can’t expect for others to give you credit until you give it to yourself.

Focus on your art.

3©Alyson B Stanfield, ART BIZ COACH

One of the reasons our businesses stall is because we’re overwhelmed and, in that state of overwhelm, we make poor decisions on how we use our time. This leaves us frustrated because we’re not accomplishing much of anything.

You don’t need more time. You need to learn how to use your time more wisely.

Here are 6 steps for increasing your productivity.

1. SET GOALS

You don’t have to call them goals, but you need a direction.

If you don’t know where you’re going, how will you get there? When you don’t have goals, you aren’t able to prioritize. You can’t identify the most important thing to do on any one day and you waste time trying to figure it out.

2. MAKE TIME TO PLAN

This is the #1 action you can take to boost your art career. If you think you’re too busy to stop and plan, think again. The reason you don’t have time to plan today is because you didn’t plan yesterday.

I suggest starting with what I call the brain dump. Read about it here: http://artbizblog.com/brain-dump

3. CREATE BOUNDARIES

Studies show that we’re actually more productive when we have constraints. Set firm boundaries around your work and personal time. Learn to say No!

4©Alyson B Stanfield, ART BIZ COACH

Increase your productivity.

The catch is that you have to tell people (friends and family) and stick to the boundaries you create. The minute you start to ignore your boundaries is the minute that others will see an opening to sidetrack you. If you need help saying No, this article might help: http://artbizblog.com/say-no-without-guilt

4. EXECUTE WITHOUT EXCUSES

I won’t tap dance around this one. Do. The. Work!

Successful people don’t spend too much time thinking about stuff they’d rather be doing than the tasks on their list. They get to work.

5. TRACK, EVALUATE, TWEAK

You don’t know what works until you track your results, and you will save precious time, energy, and resources when you know what is and isn’t effective.

I wrote a post on what you might track during a monthly business review. Get that here: http://www.artbizblog.com/tracking-numbers

Ask yourself: What worked? What didn’t work? How can I get better results?

6. TURN IT INTO A SYSTEM

I believe that we’re happier when we have fewer decisions to make, and that we’re better with the important decisions if we don’t spend time on the little ones.

That’s why I’m encouraging you to create routines, automate as much as you can, and turn repeated tasks into systems – so you don’t wear out your decision motor.

Systems will skyrocket your productivity, giving you more time to focus on making and marketing your art.

For ideas on what you could turn into a system, see this post: http://www.artbizblog.com/decision-fatigue

5©Alyson B Stanfield, ART BIZ COACH

Meet more people. It takes a village to build an art career. You need people to show your art, buy your art, and support your dreams.

You also need to meet more people because the more people who know about your art, the more people there are to buy your art.

When you make a point of meeting more people, you eliminate one of the four reasons why your art career is stalled.

While planning is the #1 action you can take to boost your art career, meeting people and building relationships is the most important thing you can do for a long and prosperous art career. This means you have to get out of the studio and socialize.

You must, gasp, be social in the real world as well as online.

This goes against the natural tendency of so many artists who would prefer to be alone with their art supplies. But it’s absolutely necessary when you want to attain a high level of success.

You can attain a modicum of success by sitting behind your computer and trying to hack the latest sales websites, but you will never reach the highest levels of the art world doing this alone. You need to be seen.

Every person counts. You never know where a relationship might lead, especially given the fact that everyone knows about 150 people. 

Maintaining friendships with the 150 people you know and frequently adding to that list can exponentially increase your sales prospects. You will be surprised at the support you receive and the opportunities you create just by being more social.

I know it won’t be easy for you, but you can do it. You can learn to be more social because it contributes to your long-term goals. And because nothing worth doing is ever easy.

6©Alyson B Stanfield, ART BIZ COACH

7©Alyson B Stanfield, ART BIZ COACH

Alyson B. Stanfield is an artist advocate, workshop leader, and art-marketing consultant.

Since 2002, she has helped thousands of artists boost their careers through her online classes, publications, membership programs, live events, and free weekly Art Biz Insider newsletter.

Alyson wrote I’d Rather Be in the Studio! The Artist’s No-Excuse Guide to Self-Promotion for the many talented artists who remain professionally unfulfilled because their work is not seen and not purchased.

Her mission is to empower artists by helping them gain skills and build sustainable systems for a successful art career.

Join Alyson: ArtBizCoach.com Find answers: ArtBizBlog.com Connect on Facebook: facebook.com/artbizcoach Follow on Twitter: twitter.com/abstanfield Peek on Instagram: instagram.com/abstanfield

About Alyson

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Now, with these 3 golden rules, you’re equipped to overcome your slump and give your art career the boost you need.