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.
by Rebecca Sciullo | Feb 19, 2020 | Artist Websites, Blogging, Events, Learning
I want to thank the Upper St. Clair League for the Arts for inviting me to present at their member meeting last night.
The topic was Building a Strategic Web Presence, where we talked about how visual artists can use blogging to strategically and systematically promote their work. This was the first talk where I was able to focus solely on the topic of blogging for an art business, which as you’ve probably figured out by now, is my passion.
They are a friendly, attentive group. If you are a visual artist in the South Hills of Pittsburgh, I encourage you to visit this art league.
If you’d like to schedule this presentation for your group, please contact me at becky@artisan-advantage.com.
by Rebecca Sciullo | Feb 3, 2020 | Artist Websites, Blogging, Learning
I had a consulting call recently with a client about building a blog for her creative business. While she was on board with the concept and how it could benefit her career, she said that she felt very overwhelmed. And I agreed.
It can be overwhelming to think about building your artist blog.
I did it from scratch, not knowing a thing about blogging. My client can do it. I know that you can do it too.
What popped into my head during that call was the adage, “How do you eat an elephant?”
You’ve heard the saying, and you know the answer – one bite at a time, of course.
The same is true for your artist blog.
There are tangible ways to control the overwhelm. I can teach you.
Over the coming weeks, I’m going to walk you step by step through some of the basics of this process. Let’s call it Artist Blogging 101.
So stay with me here, check back weekly, and I’ll guide you through the process.
by Rebecca Sciullo | Jan 8, 2020 | Blogging, Learning
Happy New Year
It’s a new year and a new decade! With all this newness, I’m excited to announce a new focus for Artisan Advantage. Effective immediately, my content will be devoted to teaching artists and creatives how to use blogging to build a visual art business.
Why the change?
As I posted about in My Latest Project, I recently revamped my father’s website and blog. Before starting that project, I felt I needed more focus in my business. I enjoyed sharing information on topics such as creating a vision, constructing an art business plan, planning, time management, pricing, and social media marketing. But the subject matter was too broad, and I was having trouble delivering consistent content. My mind was all over the place.
So with this in the back of my mind, I started the work on my father’s site. Through this work, I decided it was time to focus on building an art business through blogging. It’s an area where I would like to help artists for the following reasons.
1 – I love to blog.
I’ve had experience blogging in a couple of different industries, and I have always enjoyed that work. It was the primary marketing tool that launched my father’s art business in 2007. Blogging is my nerdy passion, and I want to share it.
2 – Most artists overlook the value of blogging in their business.
They either consider it a waste of time, or something they are not equipped or know enough about to do. I firmly believe that both of these things are false and want to help change minds about this.
3 – Blogging is something that every artist can use to further the, no matter the medium, project, or career stage.
4 – Focusing on blogging will help me to deliver more consistent content.
As mentioned earlier, the broad topics of “art marketing” and “visual art business”, I often struggled with what kind of information to provide in my blog posts. This focus will allow me to deliver you consistent, useful content.
So, effective immediately, you will be learning everything I can tell you about how to build a blog and use it for your art business.
What if you don’t want to blog for your art business?
Even if I can’t convince you to blog about your art, you should have a web presence for your art business. I assure you that much information provided will also be useful for any artist with a website.
But what about other art business topics?
You still need knowledge on essential art topics such as licensing work, working with galleries, or selling prints. I will refer you to experts and information that I have found in the course of my business. Look for me to share at least one new resource with you a week in an area outside of blogging. And, the Artisan Advantage Book Club will continue, so stay tuned for reading suggestions and a chance to win a book.
Follow and Share
I hope you will continue to follow my work and share this website with any artists that you think could benefit from my information.
Here’s to a great 2020! Let’s go get it.
