by Rebecca Sciullo | Mar 5, 2020 | Artist Blogging 101, Blogging, Learning
It’s time to expand on last week’s post The What and Why of Blogging for your art business. I often compare this system of using a blog in your art marketing efforts to a wheel.
Think of your art marketing system as a wheel.
Your blog is the hub of the wheel – the central location for your art marketing and promotion. It contains all of the content about your art business. Every message that you want to share about your work is documented and stored on your blog. This content can include everything from the story behind a piece of art, information about your process, or details for an upcoming event. There is no limit to what you can share on your blog. You control the message, and this is the best place to craft and present all of your content. This is your home base.
The outside of the wheel, or rim, is your audience. These are all of the people that you want to reach with your message about your art.
The spokes are all of the different channels you use to get your message to the world. These channels are not limited to but can include things like social media, press releases, and direct mail. You write your message first on your blog, and then send it out to your audience through the spokes or channels.
These channels, in turn, direct people back to the your blog.
This back and forth activity gets the wheel into motion and moves your business forward.
Why this strategy?
But why worry about a blog, why not just pick some channels and post your work? Here are three good reasons why.
First, every spoke has its limits. You can only post so much text on Facebook before people tune out. You can send a press release out to your media contacts, but there is no guarantee that they will print or share the entire message. In both of these instances, you can share a link to your blog. On Facebook, you control the link. For a press release, most outlets will share our When people are interested, they will follow the link. Then, you have your opportunity to share the whole story. Every channel has a limit. Your blog is limitless. You can put any message you want there.
Second, you will be more organized.
Do you ever feel scattered when it comes to marketing your work? Where should you post what? I know I did until I implemented this system. Use your blog as your home base for your messages. Then, you can then systematically share information with your audience through whichever channels you want. Implementing this system for your art marketing efforts should reduce that overwhelmed feeling.
Last, but not least – Search Engine Optimization
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a topic that warrants more discussion, but let’s start with the basics. SEO means that you optimize a website so that more people find it through organic or unpaid traffic when they use search engines such as Google. There are many things that you can do to optimize SEO. One thing that helps is to have a site with higher quality and frequently updated information. We will delve more into SEO later, but for now understand that If you are posting regularly on a blog, then you will naturally achieve this first benefit of providing high quality and fresh content
How do I get my wheel in motion?
Hopefully, you’re starting to see the importance of placing your blog based website at the center of your marketing efforts. Next up, we’ll cover some things to consider as you prepare to set up your blog.
Want to get into motion quickly? Consider my Artist Blogging Services.
by Rebecca Sciullo | Mar 2, 2020 | Blogging, Learning
Recently I started a series of blog posts about how Artisan Advantage got started. If you missed the first two posts, please start here.
Part Three: The Experiment
Next, we wrote a press release that announced his new series of bluegrass themed artwork. In the release we included links to both his website and blog. In the announcement, we explained that he was a bluegrass musician himself. It outlined how the work in the series was inspired by the time he spent picking with friends. We had no idea if anyone would be interested, but figured it was worth a shot.
I emailed the press release to the leading blogs in the bluegrass music industry – Cybergrass, The Bluegrass Blog and Mandolin Cafe. The publishers of each blog quickly posted the information. Within a day, we had over 1,000 hits to his website and blog. From that moment on, we started selling and shipping original art and prints to customers all over the world.
That was pretty exciting. Then, something even more exciting happened. I received a call from a representative of the International Bluegrass Music Association. They noticed his work thanks to the blog coverage and wanted to know if they could commission him to do artwork for the World of Bluegrass. We quickly worked out a deal for him to provide the art and plunged headfirst into marketing his work in this industry.
Nashville!
This relationship resulted in us attending and exhibiting at the World of Bluegrass trade show and awards event in Nashville for two consecutive years. Other commission work followed for both organizations in the industry, such as DelFest, Red White and Bluegrass festival and other private commissions.
The Wall Street Journal then wrote about our success using this strategy in an article about blogging.
Again, to reiterate, this was an experiment. I had no idea what would happen if anything. Thankfully, it did happen and it allowed me to see the power of using this tool to promote your work.
Since that time, we have used the blog a variety of ways to gain exposure for his work and grow his audience.
Next Up: Where we are now.
Snapshot from our trip to Nashville.
by Rebecca Sciullo | Feb 25, 2020 | Artist Blogging 101, Blogging, Learning
It’s time to talk about the what and why of blogging for a visual art business.
What is a blog?
The word blog is short for “web” and “log”. It is simply a website updated with new content regularly. Typically written in an informal or conversational style, a blog is an excellent way to share the story of your work. By doing this, you can build a relationship with an audience of fans and collectors.
Who should start a blog?
Every artist, no matter their medium or stage of career, can benefit from setting up a blog. It is by far one of the easiest ways to get exposure for your work and to build an audience for your work.
Here’s the good news.
You don’t have to be an expert or a professional writer to start a blog. As an artist, images of your work will be the focal point of your blog. You can then communicate with readers and write about your work in an authentic style and voice. In other words, you can be you. Your readers are looking to get to know about you, the artist, and the stories behind the work.
What if I already have a website?
Most web building platforms offer a blogging feature, and it should not be too difficult to activate it. If your website is very outdated or, for some reason, does not offer this feature, I’ll be sharing ways that you can get one up and running over the coming weeks.
How long will it take to build a successful blog?
I’m not going to lie to you, but blogging takes time and can be frustrating. It isn’t enough to set up a blog, write a couple of posts, and think your business will change overnight. And in the beginning, you might be doubtful because you don’t get much traffic. You will probably get a little frustrated at how much time it can take to do a simple task. You may get overwhelmed or lose your motivation. I think many artists quit blogging because they don’t stick with it long enough. If you want to start a blog that drives sales for your art business, you need to work at it consistently for at least 12-18 months.
So, how do you decide what to write about on your blog?
Start with the art. If you have quality images of your artwork, then you already have plenty of content that you can use. Eventually, I will recommend you put together a content strategy. For now, take ten to fifteen minutes a day to get in the habit of writing. Write about the stories behind your work, or show them what you are doing in the studio. Write about whatever it is that you think your readers might want to know. The important thing is to get into motion. You don’t have to spend a ton of time at it, but if you make it a consistent daily practice, it will become effortless.
You can access a list of starter blog posts ideas for artists here on my Resources page.
Assignment:
Take one image of your work every day for the next five days and write something about it. Please write it down in whatever format you prefer. I want you to get into the practice of writing about your work. If you want to share it with me, send it to becky@artisan-advantage.com.
If you want to be sure to receive all of the Artist Blogging 101 posts, please sign up for my email newsletter, and you’ll be sure not to miss a post.
Next Up
I’ll explain how blogging can drive all of your marketing efforts.
by Rebecca Sciullo | Feb 21, 2020 | Artist Blogging 101
As promised, I’m excited to announce the launch of Artist Blogging 101. In this series posts focused on blogging for an art business, I will offer a step-by-step guide to help you set up the perfect blog for your visual art business. You can expect at least one Artist Blogging 101 post a week.
By following along with this series of posts, you can build a blog for your visual art business the right way to be able to grow your business and sell work.
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One last thing before we dive in: this is not your typical “how to start a blog” advice. There are many guides and tools out there to help you with building a business online, but this information is written specifically with you, the visual artist, in mind.
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Who am I to tell you how to start a blog?
I have been blogging for an art business for over ten years. Making many mistakes and learning some things the hard way, I am at a point now where I can share a comprehensive guide to set up your blog efficiently.
Read How Artisan Advantage Got Started for more of my background.
Static outdated artist websites abound on the internet. Even worse, I discover many abandoned sites because the artist did not find success with them.
My mission is to help as many artists and creatives as possible to be successful with their business. And that’s why I’m offering all of this information for free.
But, here’s the deal.
If you want to start a blog that builds your art business, you need to put in a lot of hard work.
Starting a blog might take you less than an hour to set up. But building a successful blog that will grow your business will take more time.
But it is possible to grow your art business making money, and I will show you how.
Let’s Get Started
Application 1:
Get ready to blog! In preparation for Lesson 1, if you haven’t already done so, I’d like you to take the time to ask yourself the following questions about your art and your art business?
Who is my ideal target audience?
What message do I want to share about my work?
What goals do I have for my visual art business?
You will need to have these answers in mind once you start adding content to your blog. Please start thinking about them now.
Next up:
Basics: What’s a blog? and other terminology you need to know.
by Becky Sciullo | Feb 20, 2020 | Artist Websites, Blogging, Learning
If you have a website or blog for your visual art business, the great news is that anyone in the world can find your work and contact you to purchase it. The bad news is that you open yourself up to online scammers, who like to target artists. Back in February 2018, I posted on how to avoid getting scammed when selling artwork online. Since that time, we continue to receive these types of emails.
The reality of placing your artwork for sale online is that you will attract these characters. You need to know how to identify them to avoid getting scammed.
Even though I can always spot a fake, I typically respond to them. I like to see the response that I receive.
I’ve noticed that the people sending these emails are getting a little smarter, attempting to sound a bit more credible and are more persistent. So, I thought it was time for a friendly reminder to vet email requests to purchase your art carefully. Please read Can You Spot a Fake Buyer? if you haven’t already done so.
Below is the latest one that we received. Notice these “guys” are always looking for an anniversary gift. Also, they often don’t have a specific piece in mind, which is highly unusual compared to the legitimate requests that we receive.
In this case, I politely responded with a link to the full gallery and asked which specific piece would interest him. Below is his response.
It’s funny how his budget has increased suddenly to $3,000.
These “guys” are always moving and ask us to work with a “personal shipping agent”. They also never seem to have their own credit cards.
These scams may take other iterations, but this is the basic pattern that we see.
The good news is, yes, we do get legitimate requests to purchase artwork via email. You will too if you are diligent about building your web presence! You just need to make sure you are carefully vetting your buyers.
Here are our rules for transacting in cases where we do not have a prior relationship with the buyer.
- Insist on only accepting credit card payment via Paypal or Square.
- Insist that we ship the piece via one of our preferred methods.
I kindly explained this to Daniel in my response to him, so I have a feeling that will be the last I hear of him. He will move on to his next target, and I don’t want it to be you!
For more tips related to blogging for your visual art business and selling art online, please subscribe to my newsletter here.
