The Art Biz

Search has changed, and Google's AI summary now bypasses your website to answer most questions before anyone clicks. SEO expert Meg Casebolt returns to The Art Biz to update what she shared in episode 222. Artists can respond to the search evolution by considering these three levels on their site: their name and bio, their art, and individual images. Host Alyson Stanfield puts it to the test with...

Ceramic artist Heidi Fahrenbacher opened her mailbox in 2021 to an anonymous letter saying she'd price herself out of business. Well, she's still in business, and her income has grown about 10% every year since. In this episode of The Art Biz, Heidi talks with host Alyson Stanfield about noticing what isn't working, doing something about it, and the discomfort that comes with the territory. Heidi...

In this episode of The Art Biz , host Alyson Stanfield explains why she won't tell an artist how to fix slumping sales until she knows their goals and their numbers. She names the fears that keep artists from looking at their data, then lays out a simple monthly or quarterly check-in. It covers the high-level numbers worth tracking, from revenue and email to website traffic, and how to get curious...

In this episode of The Art Biz, host Alyson Stanfield makes the case that comfort is the most dangerous place to be in your art business. If you keep doing things the same way, you are bound to miss out on opportunities as things in how we show and sell art are changing so rapidly. She walks through three signals worth paying attention to: The results signal :: that something familiar has stopped...

When the redesign of the 2026 national parks pass became a flashpoint, watercolor artist and ecologist Jenny McCarty noticed the uproar in her community — and used her art to do something about it. What happened next landed her on Last Week Tonight, raised nearly $30,000 for parks conservation, and added thousands of names to her email list. On this episode of The Art Biz , host Alyson Stanfield t...

Artists are a sensitive lot, and that sensitivity is what makes the work possible. It also makes everything else land harder. It's easier to get tripped up by news headlines, family illness, and travel. In this solo episode of The Art Biz, host Alyson Stanfield argues that it's more important than ever to keep making art. She also talks about what to do when you must keep the business humming so t...

In this episode of The Art Biz , host Alyson Stanfield makes the case that a marketing plan doesn't have to be a spreadsheet full of self-imposed deadlines. She argues for routines over rigid plans, walks through three distinct ways she sees artists approach their marketing, and reframes marketing as something bigger than self-promotion. If you've ever built a plan and abandoned it by week two, th...

In this episode of  The Art Biz , host Alyson Stanfield names three paths a serious artist can take — and makes the case for the one no one talks about. After more than two decades of teaching online, she's changing how she works with artists, shifting from multi-month courses to coaching groups and private consulting. She also announces The Third Path, a new group for artists staying in the work...

Many artists know exactly what they need to do to move their careers forward. They just aren't doing it. In this episode of The Art Biz, host Alyson Stanfield talks with Georgie Coote, a National Board certified health and wellness coach who specializes in ADHD in adults, about what's often underneath that gap and why standard productivity advice tends to fail the people who need it most. Georgie...

In this episode of The Art Biz, host Alyson Stanfield makes the case that waiting isn't ambition — it's longing. She unpacks why so many artists organize their careers around a big break that rarely comes, names the three kinds of openings available to every artist, and offers a simple five-step cycle for building real momentum on your own terms. She covers: Why waiting has no relationship with am...

You worked hard to get your art on those walls. So when only a handful of people show up to the opening, it stings. In this episode, Alyson Stanfield looks at the most common reasons your supporters stayed home — and what you can do differently before your next show. In this episode: Why the 5-10 days before a show are too late to fix most attendance problems How a cold list can cost you the peopl...

Host Alyson Stanfield makes the case that your best salespeople are already in your life, just waiting to be asked to help. This episode isn't just for artists with collectors. If anyone has ever responded enthusiastically to your work, it applies to you. Alyson reveals: Who counts as a potential advocate Why these people genuinely want to help Why the relationship has to come first How to make it...

There are many ways for artists to make money, but more income sources don't always lead to more income. In this episode, host Alyson Stanfield looks at the difference between an income source and an income stream—and why that distinction matters when you're deciding what belongs in your art business. You'll also hear about: Why adding a new income source can mean building a separate business The...

In this episode of The Art Biz , host Alyson Stanfield makes the case that research is not an academic exercise. And it's not separate from your art practice, but part of it. She encourages you to think of it as leading with curiosity, which strengthens the work and builds confidence. Alyson draws on her background as an art historian and her own current investigation into timelines to show what t...

Every artist wants to know "how much time?" How much time on the business side, how much time making the work, and how long before any of it pays off. In this episode of The Art Biz host Alyson Stanfield gives straight answers to the two questions that matter — including a number you might not want to hear — and offer a better question to ask yourself instead. She covers: Why "how much time?" is t...

Making a living from your art takes more than passion and talent. In this solo episode, Alyson Stanfield walks through the real considerations — from committing to your studio practice to making friends with marketing — for artists who are serious about turning their practice into a livelihood. It starts with a question worth considering: is this really for you? In this episode, Alyson covers: Why...

Venues aren't looking for artists who need them, they're looking for artists who are ready. Host Alyson Stanfield introduces the attraction method: a way of building genuine relationships with venues long before you ever make an ask. For alternative venues, the timeline from first contact to a yes can be weeks instead of years. In this episode, Alyson covers: Why readiness is more than finished wo...

You don't need a gallery to put your work in front of people. You don't need to wait for the next juried show application just for the promise to compete with a hoard of other artists. In this episode of The Art Biz , host Alyson Stanfield makes the case that waiting for gallery representation — or cycling through the same juried shows — keeps artists from the kind of visibility they could be crea...

In this solo episode of The Art Biz , host Alyson Stanfield explores why collaboration is often the missing piece in an artist's growth. While working alone feels easier, it can quietly limit what's possible. This episode makes the case for thinking bigger by asking a simple but powerful question: Who else belongs in your work? Alyson shares: Two powerful examples of artist collaborations and how...

Artist Meredith Nemirov joins host Alyson Stanfield to walk through how she built a rare sold-out show — not by luck, but by design. Starting with a short proposal to a national nonprofit before she ever approached her gallery, Meredith assembled six collaborators, two opening nights, and a donation structure that gave everyone a reason to say yes. Meredith reveals: Why she approached a national n...

The daily work of running an art business always feels urgent. The strategic work doesn't. So it waits. But postponing that deeper evaluation isn't okay. In this solo episode, host Alyson Stanfield names five specific costs that accumulate when the strategic work keeps getting pushed to next month, next quarter, next year. In this episode: Why tactical delays and strategic delays are two different...

My Art Business Assessment — Used with Every Client 50% In this solo episode of The Art Biz , host Alyson Stanfield introduces the 3-zone framework she uses with every private client to assess where an art business actually stands. It's the same structure at the heart of the Art Business Reset workshop, and this episode is your chance to walk through it on your own. Alyson covers: The question she...

Most artists didn't design their art business — they drifted into it. In this solo episode, Art Biz host Alyson Stanfield invites you to slow down long enough to ask a question most artists never take time to ask: if you were starting fresh today, would you build it this way? In this episode, Alyson covers: Why most artists are running a business they drifted into rather than designed — and why th...

Being busy is boring. In episode 258 of The Art Biz, host Alyson Stanfield makes the case that most artists are so deep in execution mode that they never step back to evaluate, redirect, or ask whether any of it is actually working. This episode draws a clear line between working IN your art business and working ON it, and explains why both matter, but one gets almost all of the attention. IN THIS...

Selling products — giclées, pillows, aprons, notebooks — made sense when you started. But if you've been asking how to sell more original art and not getting traction, something may need to shift. Host Alyson Stanfield draws on her background as a museum curator and educator to explore what actually gets in the way and what to do about it. In this episode: Why the pivot to products is understandab...