I got a few last-minute questions that we weren’t able to get into the call line-up but I thought would make helpful blog posts.  These two are related to agents and manufacturers….

Marilyn asked: What are the best ways to let agents or licensing companies know about my work – website, mailing, etc?

There are many things you can do to get the attention of agents or manufacturers – here are a few basics.

1. Have some sort of website they can go to to see your art.  It could be a blog with some images or a more traditional website.  These days most people expect you to have some space on the internet so they can quickly look and decide if they want to learn more.
2. Email or Direct Mail or dare I suggest you pick up the phone? 😉  Getting your name and art in front of the right individuals is important since they make the decisions.  Check manufacturer websites to see if they have submission guidelines or pick up the phone and ask who to contact.
3. Trade Shows.  There are a variety of trade shows for artists in licensing as well as industry shows where the manufacturers can be found. Here’s a blog post with links to the art licensing shows.

Be sure to look at the “agents” page of this blog for a growing list of art licensing agents and their contact information.  They have all asked to be there so they are open to new artist submissions.  I have also written an eBook – How to Find, Interact and Work with Manufacturers Who License Art if you prefer to market yourself.

and Karen wanted to know: Once you sign up with an agent and submit images, how much time can you expect to pass before you start seeing results?

Karen’s questions is a bit trickier and if we were on the live call I’d start with my famous “it depends”… There is simply no way to answer this because there are so many moving parts.

Things that could influence the timing could include:

1. The time of year you start working with an agent and how your art lines up with what manufacturers are looking for at that time.
2. How much art you have in your portfolio for them to license.  Licensing is like a dart game – the more art you have the more likely you are to hit the bulls eye.
3. The agent’s process – how long does it take them to get you into the line-up and out the door to be presented to manufacturers?  What type of marketing do they do for new artists, if any?

I think this is a great question to ask an agent that you are thinking about working with.  You want to go into an artist – agent relationship with some realistic expectations.  If you think you should see results within 3 months and they have found it takes a year to see if your art will be a fit for them and the market, that’s good information to have upfront.