Fur In The Paint

Here’s my tiger so far. (10 1/2” x 13” on handmade paper) As usual she is looking a little harsh and the colors are off, but it will give you an idea. At this point I nearly have her done (will finish her today) so will post the completed painting tomorrow.

Organizing your list.
This post will deal with the actual list itself. The information you should collect and how to organize it for easy reference. Since you need to tailor your mailing list to fit your needs, it is impossible for me to know what those needs are. So the best way I can think of explaining it all, is to describe how I use mine.

Currently my mailing list is in a program that my husband wrote. It is very utilitarian, but I can search and cross reference to my hearts content. For me the key to using my mailing list effectively is to be able to search for the right folks to contact.

I have organized my mailing list searches in the following ways:

• By area This is mostly for artshows. If I am returning to Omaha I can search for all my Omaha address’s (and surrounding communities) and then mail them out a postcard as to when I’ll be there and what booth they can find me at.
• By interest Like horses, exotics, birds (sub-categories might include things like breed (friesians) or type (draft horses) I use these when I finish a painting and then send out a mailing to offer first chance to buy or promote a new print release.
• Lastly by Name I rarely search by name, but occasionally do when I know of someone who has a specific interest (like for my Rhino.)

So lets take my Rhino for example. I could go to my mailing list and search for rhino. If that only pulls up one name or two. I might extend my search to include exotics (one of my key search terms.) All those people with an interest in my exotics would be pulled up and shown. I could then go ahead an email a jpeg or send them a note by mail.

There are all sorts of software packages you can buy (and possibly a few shareware versions.) If investing in software isn’t a need or in the budget just yet, you can always do it the old fashioned way, by using a tablet or some index cards. No need for anything fancy, just something that gets the job done. I started off with a tablet for my mailing list. Eventually it got to be too cumbersome, but it served me well for many years.

Information to collect.
In Omaha this past weekend I gathered only two names to add to my mailing list. One was a woman who had both my flamingo images in print and really wants another. And the other was a woman who purchased 6 of my horse prints.

So the information I wrote down (at the event so I didn’t have to remember later) was:

• Where we met. At the event (or online, etc.) and the date
• The area of interest (flamingos, horses)
• Name and address (of course,) email (if I had it.)
• The amount of purchase and what they bought.
• Make note of any personal information (like they are a dressage judge or have been to Africa.)

Updating the list
I try to go through my mailing list once a year. At this point this is a huge undertaking so it doesn’t always happen that frequently. Because I spend so much time on the computer, (and don’t want to spend even more regularly working on my mailing list) I also print out a hardcopy for me to make notes on.

Ways that I update my list:

• Change of address or name
• Whenever someone adds new art of mine to their collection
• When I send out notes (like Christmas cards, Thank You’s, invitations.) and what, if any response I receive back.
• When someone hasn’t responded in years (they get removed)

Upcoming posts
I will post my completed tiger painting along with her story and later will finish out my mailing list posts by wrapping up with a brief discussion on communicating and engaging patrons via the list.

Tags: business, tigers, WIP

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