FAQ page examples for artists

**What does it cost?** [your honest starting figure], and I tell you what a piece is, what it costs and when it is available. What moves the number is [the two or three things that actually change the price] — so the quote comes after I have seen the piece, not before.

Always answer this. The visitor who leaves to find it does not come back.

**How soon can you start?** Usually within [timeframe]. If I am booked further out than that, I say so rather than holding your date loosely.

Use this where availability is the deciding factor.

**[the question they are too polite to ask]** The honest answer is that buying work they will not still like in five years, from someone who may not still be making it is a real risk in this trade. What I do about it: show where the work has been exhibited, and say what the work is made of and at what scale.

Use this for the worry people have but do not ask about.

**Are you an exhibiting artist?** Yes. Work held in private collections, shown in group and solo exhibitions, and made in a studio rather than a spare hour. Ask and I will send the documents before I start.

Use this wherever a credential is checked before anything else.

**What happens after I contact you?** I start with a note about the piece you are looking at, or a studio visit if you are nearby. I agree the scope and the price in writing before anything begins, and nothing starts until you say so.

Use this to take the friction out of the first contact.

**What if something goes wrong?** I put it right at my cost. [your guarantee, in one sentence]. I would rather fix it than argue about it, and that is easier to promise on a page than to do — so ask me for a reference from someone it happened to.

Use this where the risk is what stops people booking.

**Do you also do [the adjacent service people ask about]?** [Yes, and here is how] — or: no, I do not, and [who you would call instead] is who I would ring. Saying so up front saves us both a phone call.

Use this to catch the enquiries you want and deflect the ones you do not.

**Is there anything I should do beforehand?** [the one or two things that genuinely help]. Beyond that, nothing — I bring what I need.

Use this where a little preparation makes the job cheaper or faster.

**How and when do I pay?** [your terms: deposit, on completion, invoice]. I do not ask for payment for work I have not done.

Use this where payment terms are a real question and silence reads badly.

**Why are you more expensive than the cheapest quote?** Usually because the cheap quote leaves something out. I show where the work has been exhibited — that is in my price. Saying what the work is actually about without reaching for art-speak is the part you cannot see on a quote sheet and the part you notice a year later.

Use this only if you are, and only if you can answer it well.