THE INSPIRATION PLACE PODCAST
Miriam Schulman: Hey, today we’re going to talk about the real reason why your art isn’t selling and it’s not what you think. So for that, stay tuned.
Speaker 2: It’s The Inspiration Place podcast with artist Miriam Schulman. Welcome to The Inspiration Place podcast, an Art World Insider podcast for artists by an artist, where each week we go behind the scenes to uncover the perspiration and inspiration behind the art. And now your host, Miriam Schulman.
Miriam Schulman: Hey there, I’m Miriam Schulman. I am an artist for over 25 years. I’m the author of the book Artpreneur The Step by Step Guide to Making a Sustainable Living from Your Creativity. And I’m also founder of the Artist Incubator program where I coach artists over the six figure mark. So today we’re going to talk about the real reason why your art isn’t selling. I want you to take lots of notes. These are not necessarily marketing mistakes. It’s more about your identity and your nervous system patterns around selling and receiving money. Now, for some people, it’s a selling problem. For other people, it’s a receiving problem. I’ve identified five clean archetypes. There might be more than just these five, but if you pay attention, you’ll see where maybe you have fallen into the trap of some of these limiting beliefs. Now, before I get into that, I want to make sure that we stay connected so you don’t miss out on any future episodes. So what I want you to do is hit the subscribe button. Or if you’re watching it like on your TV, you hit my face, hit my face, and then that’s how you subscribe or just give the video a thumbs up. That’s going to let the algorithm know that you like this content and you want to see more of it. And if you’re subscribed, let me know below in the comments if you’re a new subscriber, because I want to welcome you.
Miriam Schulman: All right? Okay, so let’s get into the five archetypes. So remember this is less about tactics. It’s more about your psychological avoidance patterns. The first one I’m calling the exposure artist. So we sort of touched upon this in the episode of how to actually make charity donations work for you. So we’re going to make sure that we link to that episode. But this is something that other people encourage us to do. Oh, donate. It’s good exposure. Oh, put your art in my hair salon. It’s good exposure. Put your art in my yoga studio. It’s good exposure. All places where people are not pulling out their wallets to buy art. Now, first of all, I just want to say, if you are doing this, I want to congratulate you, at least for putting yourself out there, because I know a lot of artists are afraid of exposure, they’re afraid of visibility. They don’t want that. So you are doing that, but there’s no sales mechanism. And that’s why your art isn’t selling. So this is the barbershop artist, the cafe wall artist, even the Instagram daily poster, because in 2026, the average engagement rate for home decor is a measly 0.15%. That’s 1 or 2 people out of a thousand is going to like, comment or DM you. That’s it. That is so small. That is so small. That’s not even 1%.
Miriam Schulman: That’s 0.1%. So the days of selling on Instagram are over. And good for you also for posting. I mean, like you’re putting yourself out there, but doing more of that, not going to help you. Now, the reason you may be falling into this trap is you’re confusing visibility with conversion. Perhaps you believe exposure equals opportunity. No foot traffic equals collectors, not necessarily followers equals sales. Not anymore. And what you’re avoiding is pricing. Clearly making offers, capturing emails, and following up. That’s the hard work. Now, the story I love to tell my clients is that a plumber would never, ever fix a toilet for free in exchange for putting their website over the toilet. Like we would never say to our plumber, okay, don’t charge me for this because a lot of people use my toilet and you’ll get a lot of business if you put your website address on top of the toilet. And yet people are always asking artists to do that. Donate this piece. Let me use your art for the brochure instead of paying a licensing fee. Paint a mural for free. Do this for free. Do that for free. And you think, oh, well, if I have my URL there, it’s exposure. No. You know, once I did do this, you know, I’ve done most of these mistakes, to be honest. So somebody came to me, they wanted my paintings because I do a lot of musicians, paintings of Yo-Yo Ma, paintings of my daughter, and they wanted to use the artwork on their brochure for their Baroque festival.
Miriam Schulman: And I was like, okay, these are the ideal customers for me. I definitely want to do this. And they agreed to print like information about sales and my URL on the brochure. When I got a copy of the brochure they had used, like, I’m not exaggerating. Six point font to write my details on it. You can. You could not see it. And don’t forget, most of the people who go to Baroque festivals need reading glasses, and they’re not going to be able to read a 6.0. I mean, nobody’s going to be able to read it. They did that on purpose. I felt so used, so used. So I know that you think exposure is going to lead to sales. It doesn’t. So don’t do this anymore. Another reason some artists fall into this trap is you just don’t want to interrupt the vibe with Commerce. One of the artists who I work with, he said his art was in a restaurant and they let him put QR codes next to it, but nothing was selling. And when I questioned him further, I learned there was no prices next to the art. He said the owner didn’t want prices. I said to him, of course the owner doesn’t want prices because he doesn’t want people to know that the art on his walls is for sale.
Miriam Schulman: It like creates this commerce vibe. Fine for the restaurant owner, Not fine for you, the artist. So here’s the reality. You want to be seen, but you need to be able to have a way for people to say yes or no to you. You might be watching this and realizing, oh, I’m the exposure artist. Your art is everywhere. Instagram, coffee shops, charity auctions, a local barber shop. But there’s still no clear path for someone to actually buy it. And that’s the key problem. Collectors don’t buy art because they saw it somewhere. They buy art when there is a clear invitation to buy. And that’s exactly what I teach inside my free masterclass. How to sell more art without being Insta famous inside. I’ll walk you through the exact system artists use to turn attention into actual collectors. Even if you have a small audience, and heck, even if you’re starting from scratch, you can register for free over at SchulmanArt.com/sellmoreart. All right, let’s go on to the next archetype. We’re going to do. The next category. This is the polite creative. And this is definitely a nervous system pattern that’s going to show up in people’s relationships. And the way you do one thing is the way you do everything. So how does this show up? And by the way, all these patterns, these are things that I’m observing through coaching lots of artists inside my inner circle, inside the Artist Incubator, it comes up at all levels.
Miriam Schulman: And like I’ve already admitted, I’ve done many of these things as well. So the polite, creative, you might be saying something to yourself like this. Oh, I don’t want to make things weird. In other words, I don’t want to make things weird by asking them if they actually want to buy it. So the person says they love your art and you just say thank you instead of would you like to take it home? Where are you imagining this? In your home or your office? How would you like to pay? Okay, so you don’t want to sell to friends? Because why? You’re worried. What if they feel obligated? What if they think I’m using them? What if it changes the energy? Or maybe you had an experience in the past where you hired a friend and things went weird or south, and now you’re projecting that story onto your customers because you had an experience where maybe you wanted to buy something and they weren’t upfront about the price, or they weren’t upfront about what it was. But you’re not that don’t project your negative experiences on to other people. So this archetype is going to avoid naming the price and conversations, they’ll probably downplay their success. Perhaps you’re giving your friends discounts automatically.
Miriam Schulman: Although I think with this archetype, you might maybe not even going there because you’re just like, you’re not even talking about, would you like to buy this? And it’s not even with just friends. So the polite, creative, this happens like in the art booth where somebody is a potential customer, they’re not even your friend and you’re afraid to say to them, would you like to buy it? And you really do need to ask them that question. Maybe not so directly, but you ask them questions until you get to that point. So like I said, where do you imagine this? Is this for you or a gift? And then you get to more leading questions like how would you like to pay? Do you want me to ship this to you or are you taking it home today? These are the asks. These are the direct asks that are going to lead to the sale. So if you’re avoiding it, you might believe that selling creates social debt. Perhaps you believe money is going to create tension in a relationship. That’s the story you’re telling yourself. But what you’re really avoiding is this discomfort. What if they don’t like my art enough to buy it? The third archetype. This is the scarcity survivor. If I receive money, it will be taken away. I will lose it. I will mishandle it. This is a trauma based archetype.
Miriam Schulman: This artist has a nervous system that does not trust stability. And you may think that you want success. Maybe like on a surface level you want that, but you are clutching on to the identity of somebody who struggles like it’s your wubby because that’s the identity you’re most familiar with and you’re most comfortable with. And it’s kind of like somebody who loses a lot of weight and then gains it back. Not not because of bad eating habits or they went off a GLP or something like that, but because they’re more comfortable with the identity of being someone who’s overweight. They’re more comfortable with the identity of being somebody who’s single. They’re more comfortable with the identity of making less money. So this is an artist who’s nervous system does not trust stability. So here are the patterns. Maybe you raise prices. Then you immediately discount. Maybe you make a big sale. Then you panic. Like you get a commission. And then instead of working on it in a week that it should normally take, you spend six weeks working on that commission. Because once you’re done with that commission, then all you have to ask for somebody else to buy art. So you purposely slow down your process. Another way that shows up, you hoard money emotionally or you sabotage a launch or sale right before they’re about to convert. Now, you might intellectually understand this, but subconsciously selling feels dangerous to you because in your story, money caused conflict.
Miriam Schulman: Success caused envy. Visibility caused loss. Having something meant it could be taken away. Or like I said, you’re so comfortable with the identity of being somebody who’s poor that staying small feels safer to you. And this is not a marketing problem. This is an identity problem. So this person needs to expand their identity to be the successful artist. I heard this told brilliantly by Denise Duffield Thomas. She said, look in the mirror every day and say, this is what a successful artist looks like. This is what a six figure artist looks like, All right. I said I wouldn’t give tactics and I’m getting tactics anyway, but we’re moving on. All right. So far we’ve talked about the exposure artist, the polite creative and the scarcity survivor, different personalities, but the same result. Art that isn’t selling and most artists assume the solution is posting more on social media, more posting more followers, more visibility. But the real issue is actually much more simpler. There isn’t a system that turns interest into collectors, and that’s exactly what I teach inside my free masterclass. How to sell more art without being Insta famous. You’ll learn the five foundations every artist needs to actually generate sales. Even if social media isn’t working anymore. You can sign up for free over at SchulmanArt.com/sellmoreart.
Miriam Schulman: Okay. And now let’s talk about the next archetype. Archetype number four is the anti sales idealist. And this archetype is birthed in art schools and nurtured in art schools and encouraged in real artist groups. Real art shouldn’t be sold like that. This one intellectualizes the avoidance. Maybe you’re saying to yourself, hmm, I don’t want to commodify my work. I’m not a salesperson. I just want the right collector. And they elevate purity over profit. But here’s the shadow. You want to be chosen, but you don’t want to choose the transaction. So you’re comfortable being admired for your work, but you’re not comfortable initiating the exchange. So remember how I said perhaps you’re not asking for the sale. So there’s different nervous system types that we’re talking about today that is causing you not to ask for the sale. This is one of those reasons. So perhaps you believe if it’s good enough it will sell itself. And nothing can be further from the truth. Nothing sells itself. It needs a sales mechanism. And this belief that you have is protecting you from risking, asking and then perhaps hearing. No, but you’re never going to get a yes if you don’t ask. If you don’t risk it to hear yes or no. The last archetype is perhaps one of my favorite and most common. My favorite. I mean, like some of you are going to see yourself in this one.
Miriam Schulman: This archetype is called the art hoarder. So the core belief that you might have if you’re an art hoarder is, I can’t sell this yet. It’s for something bigger. So here’s what it looks like. You put art into an art show, but then you put NFS not for sale on it, or you don’t put things on your website because you’re saving it for a launch, or you want to put something on a on the website, but it says that they can only buy it if they agree to the condition that you’re holding on to it. For a show that’s happening eight months from now and you’ve lost the plot, you’ve lost the plot. The plot is to sell the art. So it doesn’t matter if you sell it now or in that show eight months from now. If somebody wants it now, sell it now. Part of this comes from a scarcity mindset. That’s why I put the word art hoarder in the title. You’re hoarding onto these art pieces because you don’t believe you can create something as good as that again, but you can’t. Art hoarders also put very high prices on their art. This is the one type that sometimes will overprice their art. Now if you say to yourself, oh, I’m not an art hoarder because I don’t overprice my art, that’s not true. I’m thinking of someone very specific. Several artists actually, right now.
Miriam Schulman: Very specific. They don’t overprice their art. They’re still art hoarders. They’re like, they’re saving it to show the gallery. Oh, I need six pieces to show the gallery. Oh, I need 20 pieces for the show. I need X pieces for my launch. Oh, I submitted this art for a jury, so I can’t sell it until I know if I’ve been accepted or not. So with the jury, you don’t even know if you’re going to get in or not and sell the art. Now, if the jury comes to you and they say yes later, okay. Who cares? The point was to sell the artwork. The point was to sell the artwork and you’ll make another one. So don’t have that scarcity mindset that you don’t have another good painting in you. All right, let’s see how this looks like. It might look like NFS tags. It might look like you don’t put the work on the website because it’s for the next show. It looks like you won’t sell a piece because it might belong in a future collection. You keep the inventory in the studio like it’s your museum archive. You talk about a collection release that, oh gosh, is it actually ever going to happen? Like, you’re not going to the gallery because you keep selling. Why do you keep selling? Because your prices aren’t high enough. Raise your prices will sell slower.
Miriam Schulman: Then you’ll have enough work to bring to the gallery. They avoid commissions because it interrupts their body of work. Is that you? You don’t want to take a commission because you’re working on a body of work right now. What about not showing current work because it’s not ready or not cohesive yet, or you’re not even posting on Instagram yet because you want to have a collection release all at once? Okay, so I remember I did say Instagram is about just getting you comfortable visibility at this point. But we don’t have to worry about the mad rush for someone to buy the thing you’re posting on Instagram. And if it happens, good, good. We’re glad. Don’t lose the plot. So here is the story you’re telling yourself. So remember, I’ve talked about this in the past that your brain has evolved for survival, not goal achievement. So what happens is anytime your nervous system feels uncomfortable, okay? And you don’t even have to diagnose it, but your nervous system feels some sense of discomfort, it will come up with all kinds of reasons, all kinds of reasons why this is a terrible idea and you shouldn’t do it, or an intellectual reason. This is what you should be doing. So these are the stories you might be telling yourself. I’m building a collection. I’m waiting until I have enough work. I need a proper release. I’m saving it for the right opportunity.
Miriam Schulman: But here’s the shadow of that. Here’s the real reason this is selling. Avoidance in a tuxedo underneath it usually is one of these. You’re afraid of running out the scarcity mindset. If I sell this, I won’t have anything left. Aw. Perfectionism and control. If it sells now, I lose control of the narrative or fear of mispricing. What if I sell it and I realize later it was worth more? Or a fear of being seen? If it sells, it means I’m doing this. Which is kind of. That’s why there’s a lot of overlaps with these archetypes, because if it’s like you may be acting in this hoarding way because really you are attached to your starving artist identity. Okay, afraid of demand. If I post it on Instagram, everyone’s going to want it. If people buy, I’ll have to keep producing consistently for fear of disappointing somebody, fear of disappointing collectors. Fear of disappointing a gallery. What if the next pieces aren’t as good or you have receiving discomfort? If I get paid, I have to hold that reality. So here’s the hidden cost. You think you’re protecting the work, but really, you’re starving the business of cashflow. You’re training your audience to stop asking. You’re building an email list that never gets to see what you’re making. And you turn momentum into waiting. Hoarding your art kills feedback loops. No sales means no data.
Miriam Schulman: No data means more hesitation. More hesitation means more hoarding. All right. So here is a clear reframe. A collection release is fine if it has an actual mechanism, which means you have a date. You means you have an email list. It means you have a price structure. It means you have a buying path. It means you have follow up. Otherwise, it’s not a strategy. It’s just a new way of hiding. So here is what I want you to hear. You’re not saving it for a collection. You’re saving yourself from the discomfort of asking and perhaps receiving. Here’s a quick diagnostic question for you. If someone offered to buy your favorite piece today at full price, would your first feeling be excitement or panic? Let me know below if it’s panic. Welcome to the art hoarder archetype. So let’s recap. If your art isn’t selling, it’s probably not the algorithm. It’s not the economy. It’s not the collectors have disappeared. It’s that somewhere, consciously or unconsciously, you’re avoiding the sale. So let me run down the five archetypes again. One. The exposure artist. You hang your art everywhere except inside a sales system. You’re visible, but there’s no sales mechanism to buy it. Archetype number two the polite creative. You don’t want to make it weird. You don’t want to sell to friends. You soften the sales process by not asking. You protect the relationship. Instead of honoring your art as something that should be sold, should be valued.
Miriam Schulman: Number three the scarcity survivor. You want the sale, but you don’t feel safe getting it. When money comes in, your nervous system tightens. Success feels unstable. So unconsciously you’re keeping yourself small. Number four, the anti sales idealist. You tell yourself real artists shouldn’t have to sell. You want to be chosen. You don’t want to initiate the exchange. So you hide behind purity instead of pricing. And finally, number five, the art hoarder. You’re saving everything for the collection, for the show. For the right moment. For the jury, for later. But later never has a checkout page. And underneath all five of these, it’s not a marketing problem. So here’s the question. Are you actually willing to ask for the sale? And are you actually available to receive the. Yes. Because selling is visible. Receiving is vulnerable. Asking is vulnerable. Most artists would rather stay in motion than risk that moment of truth. So which one are you? Are you the exposure artist? The polite creative, the scarcity. Survivor. The anti sales idealist or the art porter. And be honest, if someone said yes today at full price, would you feel calm or exposed? Tell me which archetype you recognize in yourself. That’s where the real work begins. All right, my friend, thank you so much for being with me here today. I’ll see you the same time, same place next week. Until then, stay inspired. Bye for now.
Speaker 2: Thank you for listening to the Inspiration Place podcast. Connect with us on Facebook at facebook.com/SchulmanArt on Instagram at @SchulmanArt and of course on SchulmanArt.com.
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