Brief Tips & Tricks in Art Licensing

Sometime ago a licensed artist wrote this up in answer to a question from a couple of newbies: how does one go about getting one's art sold or licensed as greeting cards? I am republishing her answer here, with her permission. 

As a note regarding my blog policy – you're welcome to comment on this posting if you wish to contribute to it; please keep in mind two important criteria: 1. constructive criticism and 2. respectful dialogue. Inclusion in my blog is not an endorsement of a particular point of view but only a recognition that we can learn from open conversation among a diversity of perspectives.

How to get your art published (licensed or sold) on cards: 

1. Choose a holiday (valentine's) or sending situation (birthday-feminine) to work on.

2. Design a dozen and include your best art skills, typography, color, sentiment, trends and just work on the cover - not the inside - for now.

3. Work to size (5 x 7 approx.), use your best paper, pens -whatever your medium is.

4. Print out each one separately, in color, and make sure your complete identification, contact info, logo, etc. is on each page.

5. Research your list of clients to send these examples of your skills to – i.e. humor or photo only card companies don't want to see your watercolor florals. General card companies do. Your research will guide you as to which companies your art will fit into, or even if they take submissions, and what their schedule is. Read the 2010 Artist's & Graphic Designer's Market, or other similar books, to get a list going of companies to send to.

Brief Tips & Tricks in Art Licensing

The quest for new clients outside trade shows has been an intriguing experience and more challenging than I expected when I first started. I have been reading Tara Reed's very handy and informative eBook "How to Find, Interact and Work with Manufacturers who License Art" as well as other books about selling and marketing my art.

I asked Maria Brophy what she thought of this question: What does marketing and sales have to do with art licensing? I thought what she said was spot on:

"When securing new licensees for your art, you are selling to them. You're selling your art, and you're also selling yourself. People like to do business with people they like. So, while I strongly advise artists to be professional and business minded, I also think it's important to be a pleasure to work with.

More importantly, Selling is never about what YOU want, it's always about what's best for your client. So when you have discussions with a potential client or buyer, spend 90% of your time finding out what's important to them, what problems they have, what needs they have. You do this by asking a lot of questions and by caring and listening really well. Then, strategize and find a way to solve their problems and give them what they need. There, it's all about them. If you can do that, then you can sell!"

Maria Brophy, CEO / Consultant

SON OF THE SEA, INC.
Representing the art of Drew Brophy

Brief Tips & Tricks in Art Licensing

Art submissions to manufacturers can take up a lot of time depending on how they are done and what the company's guidelines are, if any. After submitting, days or weeks go by and you may hear nothing back. What I do are follow-ups after a couple of weeks or even a month. I ask the contacts I submitted to about my art or I submit new work. Sometimes you get a nice "yes" back and sometimes a nice "no" back and that's all good info to have. Most companies are very nice about letting you know what they want. It's part of building the relationship to find out what is best for follow-up with that company and it's important to respect their perspective on this matter.

I also asked several professional artists and consultants about their follow-up routines with companies they submit art to for licensing. Their answers varied on the approach they take. Some said they don't do much follow up, some say they do it within 4-6 weeks from the first submission.

I am publishing a couple of tips from others in this field that I thought are very helpful. It's always best that each individual artist figures out a routine that suits them and their style of work as well as fits their client's preferences.

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Artist Sue Zipkin - www.suezipkin.com:

"There is a fine line between being aggressive (in a good way) and being a pesky kind of an artist. Manufacturers really respect an artist who is persistent but also mindful of not overstepping their boundaries."

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Consultant Maria Brophy - www.mariabrophy.com:

• 3-5 business days follow up after first submission;
• Definitely continue to follow up, never stop until you get the account;
• All of the above: do a 3 tiered follow up. First, send an email. A week later, make a phone call. A week later, send a postcard of your best work with a handwritten note. Then follow up again a couple weeks later if you don't hear back. If still nothing or if you get turned down, continue to follow up every 6-12 months until eternity or they sign on with you, whichever comes fist!

Often, we will be turned down for Drew Brophy art, but we never give up. There have been some licensing deals that took 6 years to get. We continue to keep in touch with a company so that when they are ready for what we offer, they will be reminded that we are still around and interested in working with them.

No never means no, it usually just means "no for now".

Brief Tips & Tricks in Art Licensing

What's a proper etiquette when approaching a manufacturer at a show? Well, I have done some research and found some good tips and tricks from art licensing professionals. It's also common sense in any business.

RIGHT WAY: Approach a manufacturer at a booth when not already engaged in a conversation; ask: "Can you give me the name and contact info of the person responsible for reviewing new art as I'd like to contact them after the show." (or something along that line)

WRONG WAY: Don't walk up to people in the booth if they are already busy in a conversation with other people and ask for info or to review your portfolio. Aside from being rude, it's also a sure way to create a bad impression with both manufacturer and guest being entertained ... you never know who that might be.

OCCASIONAL WAY: You might be asked to go see someone else who is nearby when asking the contact. If that happens, kindly thank them and go introduce yourself. Ask for that person for their contact info, again stressing that it's for after the show. Sometimes they will look at your work then and there, but normally they will give you a card to use for contacting them at a later time.

ADDITIONAL WAY: Do your homework before walking the show. Find out about a company's products and customers ahead of time. You should know and understand what they do; you want to show them quickly that you get their products/materials and that you can show them rapidly how your art might fit in to their company's products or market demand.

Also, have a good sample visual/small package of your work along with your card, something that will catch their attention. It should be a good representation of your work and that should be something they can store away easily yet allows them to remember you at a glance as they go back to their office. Otherwise it could take up weeks to look you up again. 

At last, make sure you bring your portfolio nicely presented or in digital format (tablet) to the show in case you get "lucky" and get to present your art on the spot! 

As they say, "Chance favors the prepared mind."

Brief Tips & Tricks in Art Licensing

Sometime ago I read an interesting thread about "Everyday" art that I thought would be interesting to new licensing artists; so what's "Everyday" art? 

If you wish to share your views about this topic, please feel free to leave us a comment.

Jane McCoy Maday • Generally, "Everyday" refers to art that is not for a specific holiday (or sometimes season). For example, a birthday card would be an "Everyday" design, whereas a Mother's Day card would not. Some winter designs do not fall into the Everyday category, because there is a "Winter Holiday" category that covers the whole general season (more than just Christmas). So if a client asks you to submit only Everyday art, you would send art that could apply any day of the year, for products that could be used any day.

Suzanne Cruise • For card companies, and many product companies, the year is divided into 4 categories: spring, summer, fall and winter, then they categorize from there. 

Generally, cards fall into Everyday and Seasonal categories. Birth days, deaths, weddings, baby arrivals, etc. all happen 365 days a year so are all considered Everyday. The sentiment on an Everyday piece can also be thinking of you, missing you, glad you are my friend/sis/mom/dad, thank you for....., congrats, etc. Seasonal consists of Christmas, New Years, Thanksgiving, Fall/Harvest, Halloween, but some companies include 4th of July, St. Patrick's, Valentine, Easter, etc. as Seasonal. It is a good idea to divide your work within these categories. And I would put all snowmen together, Santas together, Halloween together, we even group our Florals by specific flowers.

Bob Giordano • Can the design sell "Everyday" 365 a year? That's the question to ask as you view your files. And as stated above an Everyday design can cross-over. Particularly Mother's Day, Father's Day, Val and to a lesser extent Easter/Spring. In today's digital world it's only a few clicks to take an Everyday to an Occasional if verse alone can't swing the theme. Add hearts, Easter eggs, you get the idea I'm sure. 

Brief Tips & Tricks in Art Licensing

There have been a series of articles and discussions in regards to the agent vs. no-agent artist relationship. I picked a couple of comments that I felt clearly stated a balanced opinion of the two worlds and I am republishing them below. 

Here is the link to an interesting Linkedin thread on this topic (you'll need to access the site before reading it); another good editorial to read is here: Do's and Don'ts of Art Licensing; you can also find additional views about why agents won't represent an artist here.

Your comments are always welcome.

As a note regarding my blog policy – you're welcome to comment on this posting if you wish to contribute to it; please keep in mind two important criteria: 1. constructive criticism and 2. respectful dialogue. Inclusion in my blog is not an endorsement of a particular point of view but only a recognition that we can learn from open conversation among a diversity of perspectives.

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Jackie Von Tobel - "I researched the industry for two years before making my debut at Surtex last year and it was obvious that for me having an agent was the way for me to go. What I have found having been represented by an agent for almost a year now is that working with an agent is very beneficial but it really doesn't change the amount of work and effort on your part as far as generating leads and finding appropriate manufactures for your work. Of course an agent will bring contacts, deals and opportunities your way but if you want to be successful you still need to do a lot of work yourself. Having an agent is not a ticket to success.

An agent does bring a wealth of knowledge regarding contracts and the nuts and bolts of the biz and their contacts but you still need to participate in your own success. I attend all of the shows that I can and work in tandem with my agent. I walk the shows, hand out promo packages and try to start a conversation with manufacturers that might like my work. I direct them to my agent's booth to see my portfolio. It is a huge cost savings not having a booth of your own but I am beginning to think that even that is something that I should consider doing again. Your agent is busy and is promoting all of the other artists on their roster as well as you. No one can promote your work with the same passion and enthusiasm as you can. 

The bottom line is that this is not an easy business and you need to have realistic expectations of what your agent can do for you and still be willing to put in the necessary work yourself as well as find time to generate new and fresh art."

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Jonathan Klase - "I'm coming at this question from the manufacturer's side of the table as a marketing director. The biggest challenge I see in representing yourself is that the more time you invest in making contacts, the less time you have to create new work. I look at portfolios all the time that are stale because the artist hasn't spent enough time on their craft and researching the market to see what's going to sell. With the right agent, you can do what you're good at and they can hopefully do what they're good at. A good agent should know where your art fits and help you to avoid the rejections as well as guide you in how to prepare you for making the right fit. This of course is contingent on having the right agent for you, and it does take time. But the right agent can make all the difference. If you're going at it on your own, there's no harm in asking questions. I try to be as honest as possible with people but no one likes rejection and I certainly try to be as tactful as possible. I'm sure others handle it differently and may be more blunt. 

To sum it up...unless I'm working with a seasoned, licensed artist, I prefer working with an agent as I don't have time to train someone in the licensing business that come in with talent but no experience."

Brief Tips & Tricks in Art Licensing

I found out a few more interesting tips & tricks and want to broadly share as they might be useful to some artists new to licensing - note that these are not my own opinions or beliefs. If you have a different view or opinion of this topic please feel free to comment on this post. I welcome multiple views.

Please also note that the last two paragraphs are a brief summary of an email comment by a licensed artist who gave me permission to share it but asked for no attribution.

• Artists just starting in licensing often are told to shop at retailers for ideal products and then research the manufacturers online. If the manufacturer's name isn't readily available on the product, as is common practice with many private label programs, they should look for an RN# (five-digit number) on the products. Artists should enter the RN# at the Federal Trade Commission's website, to disclose the manufacturer's information.

• They might also be interested in visiting trade shows in their targeted categories, such as the National Stationery Show or the International Home & Housewares Show, to find companies, view their collections, and see how their work can fit with the manufacturer's products. Same goes for Internet searches, to locate companies and review product lines that might be a fit. 

• Another possible way to get started is to go to a small company of your liking to offer your design service for a product, for free, if they'll give you liberal samples. If they are interested, they might make a deal with you and you can learn from them; they may even pay you at some point. You could even end up working together with the company eventually!  *** See comments below for additional information and other views about this topic.

• An alternative method of entering the world of art licensing is to get a mentor, someone who has been in the business awhile and can give the newbie "an arm around the shoulder and info when you need it." Apparently most artists are very generous this way. Starting slow may be a little frustrating but especially in this tight economy it can be smart. Working your marketing plan to get some deals before you pay the big bucks for a show might be a solution for some of you who are not sure or don't want to invest so much money up front. In a long run, this strategy might be a successful one.

In short, you don't need to go to a show and exhibit to get started!

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Again, if you have any additional or contrary tips on this topic that you'd like to share, please leave a comment here for everyone to read. Thanks!

Brief Tips & Tricks in Art Licensing

Here are more key tips & tricks I get from networking and in reading up about licensing from blogs or books. I'm sharing them as I go - again, these are not laws set in stone, just comments I thought could be helpful in some situations.

• The twice a year (January and July) Atlanta Gift Show at the Atlanta Gift Mart is apparently a great way to meet art licensing directors. They are willing to look at art if they have time. This is a friendly trade show where artists are welcomed. 

• In art licensing one important thing to understand is which market your art is suited for - CHA's buyers are all about craft & scrap-booking with some exceptions. Atlanta is for the gift industry, garden, pets, Christmas decorations, ceramic, home decor, rugs, and hardly any paper/stationery buyers. Paper and stationary are at Surtex, along with puzzles, fabric, gift bags, characters, etc. 

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If you have any additional or contrary tips that you'd like to share, please leave a comment! I'll share more tips and tricks that I uncover in the weeks to come. By the way, have you started on your portfolio or collections yet?

 

Brief Tips & Tricks in Art Licensing

I have started noting down some key tips & tricks I get from networking and in reading up about licensing from blogs or books. I'll start sharing them as I go. These are not laws set in stone, just comments I thought could be helpful in some situations.

• At a licensing group meeting a licensed artist/agent recommended to start building up your collections with three basic themes: Halloween, Christmas and birthdays, since these drive a large percentage of licensing deals.

• For those interested in finding an agent, there is a large spectrum of opinions. I've heard it suggested that you have a complete portfolio with some 200-300 pieces of artwork, or 8 collections of 4-24 pieces each, or 3 basic collections with 50-75 illustrations total, depending on the agent, your technical and design skills plus your understanding of the market. There are some exceptions to the above in that some artists get an agent even before they develop full collections, but these are apparently rare instances - their art is very fresh, unique or some sought-after style.

• The ability to develop innovative concepts that can be used for multiple product applications, which can also be applied across multiple categories, is much more important than having a large stack of illustrations.

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If you have any additional or contrary tips that you'd like to share, please leave a comment! I'll share more tips and tricks that I uncover in the weeks to come. By the way, Surtex 2012 is only about 260 days away!