Feeling Down about Sales? Read This!

Two recent posts on my private FB group from discouraged artists.One left the group saying he was giving up art altogether. His post - which contained talk of being 'deluded' and was filled with derogatory terms for his work - made me feel so sad for him.The second person asked for help after experiencing a sales slump. As I read both posts, I was struck by how many limiting beliefs were contained in each one. Here is a partial list pulled from multiple posts in the group and from the comments:

• I don't have any talent
• I am deluded
• No-one buys art on Facebook
• People don't want original art anymore because of digital technology
• The local art festival is not interested in local artists
• People don't have any money
• Teaching art is the only way to make a living at it
• The 'art market' keeps us down
• You need a patron these days to be successful
• I can't live off my work. I never have, and I never will (actual quote!)

There were more but I started to feel depressed reading them! That's not to put these artists down - I know and understand the frustration. But I also believe that our thoughts create our reality. If I believe that no-one has any money and that I can't sell unless the art market deems me 'an important artist,' then I will behave in a manner that reflects that belief. I will not sit down and develop a strategy to overcome my current lack of sales. Instead I will live within the reality that I have created - the one that says artists can't make any money - and guess what? I will prove myself right!But if I open up my thinking, then there is a possibility for change. Imagine if I dropped all the certainty about what cannot happen, and instead asked "what could I do to change this?"I might start looking at alternate ways to sell. I might check my website to see how effective it is (or create one if I don't have one!). I might take a social media course and learn how to sell effectively via Facebook or Instagram. I might approach some new galleries. I might start traveling to art fairs. I might even question whether my art needs to be stronger and more unique (and if it does, I might take classes to help with that). Any of these actions will move things in a positive direction for me.This is why negative thinking is so damaging. We have a negative thought, we accept it as true, and it then starts to dictate what we do. We call this a limiting belief.This was the subject of this week's Art Juice podcast with Alice Sheridan. We discussed the different types of limiting beliefs but we also shared how our lives were changed once we dropped the beliefs that were holding us back.Listen HERE.In my case, I have moved believing I could never be an artist (I couldn't even call myself an artist) to one who works full-time as an artist - and I have done it in 12 months. It's even hard for me to believe, but it's the truth.So if you catch yourself feeling down about selling your art, ask yourself what limiting beliefs are getting in the way and then use our tips to start replacing them with thoughts that are more helpful. You will be amazed at what can happen!(If you have not listened to a podcast before, it's the easiest thing in the world. A podcast is simply a radio show that is broadcast over the Internet. Either click here to listen right on my website, or go to iTunes, Spotify or any other podcast app and just type in Art Juice.)If you would like to stay in touch, do sign up for my weekly emails - every Sunday I send a short bulletin packed with inspiration and information that isn't published anywhere else. You can add yourself to the list here.