Donna Backues Art Professional, LLC

Marketing Plan for Illustration Work

MISSION STATEMENT
Finding meaning in service to community, meeting needs and building relationships are important to
me as an artist. I want to create quality hand-drawn illustrations that are meaningful and at the same
time, tell a story.
MARKET RESEARCH
Philadelphia is full of talented artists, illustrators and teaching artists. I have a
great deal of competition in that regard.
There are plenty of illustrators who use pen & ink but most tend to combine
this with digital enhancement. I have noticed that there is a sort of slick,
computerized, stylized look to much of the contemporary illustrations that I see
on websites and much of it looks the same. Perhaps this is due to the fact that
many illustrations now create art specifically for the computer and for
computer gaming.
TARGET MARKET
My target market consists of the following:
History Museums / Historical Societies / Historical Sites / Historical Parks /
Historical Books / Historical Media such as posters, brochures, guidebooks,
signs, etc. / Banks located in historical areas / Restaurants with an historical
theme or cultural theme / Libraries / Schools / Murals about history / Childrens
illustrated books, history books or novels.
My target customer wants an illustration that tells a story about them or about
what they care about. They want the artist to care about accuracy with regard
to the story or the history. They tend to more conservative in style of
presentation because they are wanting to communicate to a wide, diverse
audience.
PRODUCT/SERVICE
Hand-drawn pen and ink illustrations of any size that can also be hand-colored
with watercolors, gouache, colored ink or color pencil or colorized in
Photoshop.

Donna Backues Art Professional, LLC Marketing Plan

I will charge $35 per hour not including materials or printing services
I do most of my illustration by hand in a more traditional style. In this way they
have an older style and they dont look like they have been manipulated much
digitally.
My style lends itself well to historical drawings specifically for museums or
other educational settings. I enjoy the process of working with historians and
doing research for projects such as these.
They can be large-format printed for wall paper, canvas murals, vinyl or metal
scrims, and anything else that can be printed. Being able to draw quickly, I can
draw accurately which is important when depicting historical characters. My
background in the fine arts as well as in graphic design is an asset as I often
have to combine many images into one scene.
COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE
Competitor A Eddie Flotte Fine Art
Competitors strengths

Has local Philadelphia and Pennsylvania following. Philadelphia

trained

Experienced over many years

Very strong work both in line drawing and watercolor

Great story to tell (has lived on Maui for 26 years)

Photos of himself are good (helps that hes good looking)

Website is full of great artwork

Competitors weaknesses

His work is probably very expensive leaving out many clients

Website has too much information for busy clients

His work is great but its not unique

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Donna Backues Art Professional, LLC Marketing Plan

He doesnt live in Philadelphia anymore so cannot meet face to face

with client

Competitor B Ira Shander

Competitors strengths

Lives in Pennsylvania not far from Philadelphia

Experienced in pen and ink

Scenes of specific locations very accurate and well done

Website very accessible

Competitors weaknesses

Website is not very good

Ink drawings are accurate but lifeless

Photography on the website is not good

Not much to see on website

Doesnt seem professional enough

Seems out of date

COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES
Currently I get most of my illustration jobs by word of mouth and I can refer to
murals (illustrations) that were installed on East Passyunk Avenue. Presently I
am working on 4 large murals for the Camden Historical Society Museum.
Being a local artist helps because I can meet clients face to face which really
helps when I ask for references later. Clients from historical institutions really
seem to like to get to know the artist.

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Donna Backues Art Professional, LLC Marketing Plan

Online Marketing
Personal website / Email / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Online galleries for
Illustrators / Etsy
Third-Party Marketing
Look into possibly working with a custom wallpaper company, interior designer,
interior painter/contractor or custom printer
Offline Marketing
Get some promotional materials printed send to specific potential customers
and then make a follow up call.
BUDGET

Postcards 100 for $40

Business Cards 500 for $35

Professional Photos $200

TOTAL: $275

TO DO LIST
1. Create new website specifically for Illustration work
2. Create new logo
3. Get better photos of drawings and murals already finished
4. Get photos of my process of creating mural
5. Create a tag line (about telling stories/place/uniqueness)
6. Create a blog linked to website and other sites
7. Work on a thorough, interesting About the Artist page for website
8. Ask for testimonials from former customers
9. Create address list of potential customers from
institutions/restaurants/etc.
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Donna Backues Art Professional, LLC Marketing Plan

10.
Build an email list of potential customers and current customers or
partners
11.

Print a promotional postcard

12.

Print new business cards for illustration work only

13.

Establish twitter account/Facebook Page/Instagram

14.

Research online galleries used by illustrators only

TIMELINE

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Donna Backues Art Professional, LLC Marketing Plan

MONITERING & EVALUATION

Ask for feedback from former customers

Add a button on website asking for viewers thoughts about the site

Monitor Google Analytics for website

Follow up with potential customers who received printed promotional

postcards

REFERENCES
Ahn, R. (2013). The Productive Artist's Business Plan: How To Create the Business & Life
You Want as a Creative Entrepreneur. Amazon Digital Services LLC.

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