3 Ways to Increase Your Artist Income if you have a Gallery Pricing Contract

3 Ways to Increase Your Artist Income if you have a Gallery Pricing Contract

Today, we're going to discuss three ways to increase your income if you have a gallery pricing contract or agreement. What that normally looks like is that you're actually doing pretty well!

You're at a place where a lot of people wish that they could get. You're selling your work. You're in the black. Your work is selling, but you don't have time to make more work in order to increase your income because you have a pricing agreement.

In this article, we'll go over a three ways to get you moving toward more money in the door. Some of these may apply to you, some of them not, but you should get at least one good way that you can move forward to make more money in the next quarter.

Option 1: Propose a new rate and expect a negotiation

Number one, the most obvious, but also the one that you probably are a little iffy about doing, is proposing a new agreement.

You're going to want to expect an negotiation because if you're in this situation, your gallery is likely not at a place where they're trying to get you to increase your prices. They probably are wanting to stay within a certain range. Otherwise, this problem doesn't exist.

Expect that negotiation. If you are wanting to increase your prices by, let's say 25%, you're probably going to want to start by proposing 50%.

If they're hesitant to do it, they're probably going to want to bring you down a little bit. So by starting higher, just like buying a house, you're going to get to where you want to go in the long run.

And maybe after all of that, you had it all backwards and really, more money for you equals more money for them. They might be more amicable to it then you are expecting, and you might get an even higher percentage increase than you were going into it hoping to get.

Option 2: Limit friends and family rates

Way number two to increase your prices: if you feel like you are stuck at that income ceiling or you can't go any higher, but you know you need and want to.

While I have no problem with friends and family rates (I think that they're great) they could be eating away at your increased income potential.

So what you're going to want to do is if a friend or family member asks for a discount, or you just want to give them the discount in the first place, you can say, "I have one commission slot every month set aside for a discounted rate for friends and family members. I'm booked up October, November, but I have one in December. So if you want the discounted rate, it's 20% off. I can book you in for that December slot."

That will just allow you to have a little bit more time to do your own thing in between all of these discounted rates.

You can also give them the other option. "I offer 25% off to friends and family because I love you and (all the reasons why). But I also understand that sometimes you want it a little quicker. So there's really two options: 1) You can get it for my normal rate and I'll book you in to my regular commission slot right now. Or 2) you can get it for the discounted rate and I will happily make it for you in December."

Same thing applies if you are not doing commissions, but you're selling originals. You can say, "I can't offer a friends and family rate for everything that I put out, but every month I can sell one at the friend and family member rate."

Option 3: Make your current average size your new smallest size

Way number three to increase your income if you've got that gallery pricing/contract agreements/threshold problem -- that beautiful problem that is still a problem.

Work with three sizes moving forward.

Figure out what your average price is at the moment. Let's say your average sale is a 20x20" for around $500. Moving forward, make that $500 average price your minimum.

Next, create a new average. Perhaps that's a 20x30" for $750.

Also have a "reach for the stars" price. Perhaps that's a 48x48" for $3000. 

The more you push yourself to see how much you can sell for, the more you're going to create that belief in yourself that, "Oh, wait. People will buy something for $3,000" and eventually that becomes your average or minimum price. 

Those are my three tips for you to be able to make more money in the next quarter. Even if you're feeling stuck in this very moment. I hope this was helpful.

Let me know in the comments which one you are going to try out, or if you have some other idea that you can share with the other artists who are reading this, go ahead and pop it below.