I must admit that a calendar alert popped up a few minutes ago reminding me to blog. Last week I had made that big declaration and subsequently sort-of, kind-of, forgot about it. Granted I did write up a bit of a plan for my various efforts and updated my calendar as well. That’s why the reminder popped up…
However, some freelance work came up and I didn’t have time to follow-thru said plan. I actually spent most of my non-working time, scrapbooking. I do feel a bit lame and you’ve probably never witnessed such immediate failure, after a semi-dramatic declaration… but instead of beating myself down, I took advice from karenika’s blog post about slipping. I am hereby admitting my failure and probably, lack of willpower, if anything else. It’s okay though, not the end of the world.
I can start heading down the right path now. I don’t need to wait until next week for a fresh start. We often do this with diets… “I’ll start on Monday. Seriously.” In fact, I actually did schedule my newsletter and it prompted someone to ask me about printable art. So I’ve got somewhere to start now, something to work on that people are actually interested in buying. One important creative business – or general business tip – is to work on those important items that actually lead to sales – closure – cash! I know it sounds all salesman-ish, but it’s simply true. If you have a hard time prioritizing, go with your survival instincts. That’s exactly why my freelance work takes precedent, because I get paid for those hours of work. Must eat. I really do like food.
So back to my issue of pricing for printable art. Previously, I had not considered offering my artwork as a downloadable PDF. Countless hours were spent researching about printers and paper – how to make beautiful art prints at home. Then more countless hours were spent researching companies and wondering if the commission was fair and if it would be profitable in the end. Most all my current customers are not from Italy, so offering downloads eliminates the cost of shipping as well. This option can prove to be a really smart path to take.
Of course, I still wonder if people would buy printable art. Would the value of it be dampened because it’s digital and printable and easily transferable? How much would people pay for such a thing and what kind of watermarks or signature would I include? Lots of questions in my mind. This is the problem I must tackle and to hold myself accountable, I need to figure this out by next week. I don’t want to add it to the list of things that never gets done. Why do I hesitate to give this option a try?
I worry that my art will be easily pirated? But do the people who buy my art… do that kind of thing? I might be worrying about things that I don’t need to worry about. What do you think about pricing for printable art and the whole deal? I know that the latest technology is actually in 3D printing… so perhaps it’s inevitable and actually cutting edge to offer digital products of this sort?
Please me out here. Please let me know what you think in the comments below – whatever your thoughts are, I would really love to hear them.
