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Hi Michele -
I've run a little ad since April in a local free magazine (free to readers, but the ads cost $) 'Bay State Parent' that's available in Metrowest Boston and surrounding areas. Have gotten a few calls but none that have panned out into actual commissions yet. My sense is that most of the callers are surprised at the price. I think at least one of these calls will result in 2 commissions but as yet don't have a signed contract so I'm not "counting chickens".
I started initially with a 1/4 page ad mixed in with the articles, but am now running a little 1 7/8 inches x 2 inch ad under 'portraiture' in the ad section at the back (thinking that it's easier to find and a whole lot cheaper).
One month when they gave me a color 1/4 page ad at the black & white price (they wanted to encourage more color ads)... but it printed with the skin tone downright orange! So now I stick to black and white and very simple since the ads are small...
What's been more successful for me has been giving my card to a couple of local frame shops (one is a combination art supply store/frame shop). Two different frame shops have resulted in a commission each (one a 35th anniversary portrait, and the other a pet portrait). I haven't offered any compensation to these shops for giving out my card since I assume the client takes the painting back there to have it framed. So the arrangement is mutually beneficial.
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