Content for arts sake
I’ll be focusing on my art from here on out, leaving this blog to rest for a bit.
Thank you to everyone who follows me here.
This is not a NY resolution thing. I don’t really abide by that. You should set goals to achieve them regardless of the time of year.
Online marketing is only one piece of the art marketing puzzle. You want to be spending more time on your art than working on your social media. Here are some ways to combine online and in-person marketing that will help you reach a larger and more targeted audience.
One option is to use your social media to promote in-person events on your website, through newsletters and on your channels. As I have mentioned before, letting people know when your next show is, or which festivals you’re participating in can be very beneficial to meeting your clients and potential buyers. You can make posts showcasing the art that will be available or videos of you getting ready for the show and preparing. Another way to make the event even more exclusive is to offer specific pieces for sale in advance that would be otherwise for sale at the festival. They would have choice pick before you took them to be sold.
Once the festival begins, you can document and share the experience of the event through your social media channels like Facebook, then review the event through your long-form content, highlighting the experiences afterwards. This will give the opportunity for those who couldn’t attend to experience it also (which extends the show, but more about that later). Share live updates through photos and video. You could showcase your booth or art that garnered a lot of attention. As a side tip, pay attention to the pieces that were popular, you’ll want to keep them in mind. Tag event organizers and thank them for the opportunity to attend the festival. This will help build relationships for the future.
You’ll definitely want to build your email list. Have an iPad ready to type their email into your database or on Notepad. It saves time later as you won’t have to re-type and possibly misspell their emails. Tip: get them to do it themselves. Once you get their emails, it will be useful for announcing future events and special, early access to exclusive pieces. For those who were interested and didn’t buy, have a way for them to follow up like through the email list. For those who couldn’t attend, offer limited-edition prints or smaller works that were exclusively available at the event and link them to your online store. This will extend the event to online sales as well.
Festivals are one of the best ways to connect, get customers engaged and see more of your art. Extending the event to your website and back online helps improve greater reach to everyone who is interested in your art.
I think one thing most artists forget or maybe don’t consider is building a strong brand presence.
I see this on ETSY a lot with crafters a lot. They underestimate not only the energy you need but mostly how long it takes to build trust and show expertise. People who have talent, a market and a great product, expect that because they have these qualities, people should jump for their product. It’s said that 20% of the outcome is from 80% of work input. Not only this, but a long-term presence that showcases authority over time, enables trust for the client. Which is really important here on the internetz. It takes time. Something most successful people either don’t mention or outright lie about to sell you that thing they are selling. For those who are in the know, know, it’s a marathon, not a race.
There are many quiet successes along the way.
Some tips for building a strong brand presence on Pinterest include the following:
I hope that helps.
Did you know that the most popular time to send an email for a marketing campaign is Tuesday at noon? Souce I don’t care either but I find the concept of email marketing campaigns tricky for a business because when you initially signed up to get my download, I just became long term spam potentially ☹️ But if you want or need my product, you need my pointers and information and I become your hero 🙂↔️
Between you and me, in the vast wasteland of email subscriptions, the sheer number of abandoned fake emails and unsubscribed newsletters that I have actively worked on getting rid of would make any mother proud. True story.
Artists have the worst click-through rate and highest bounce rate when it comes to email marketing. So I suggest not to do it annoyingly. You can however be not annoying and do simple things like update people on your next show, or if you’re having an open house or if you are selling courses and you have a promotion. Like once maybe twice a month. I promise you I will not unsubscribe if your information is pertinent, informative, something I’m interested in knowing more about and I like you. Not annoying.
We don’t need to reinvent the wheel when it comes to marketing, but the ironic part is, I’ve read a number of fairly strongly worded articles about copying your art friends with your social media strategy. Ironic because we are all so different. Us artists thrive and build our success on what makes us unique. Right?
Well, on the flip side, art is the ultimate way to connect and to speak to your tribe 🤷♀️ So what separates us from everyone else? Your unique voice. It’s because once upon a time you decided to niche down and also get a super good skill set. As Steve Martin once said (and Cal Newport reiterated) be so good they can’t ignore you. Then the world is your oyster. You are set apart🤘
So in conclusion, marketing isn’t about selling poorly thought out ideas. It’s about connecting. Find your unique voice first. Then, you begin asking where am I going to find my audience that will spend the money I am asking for? Which festivals? Will I have an open house? Am I starting out with just friends and family and awareness is most important? Money will come later? It’s a little bit different when it comes to art because our “product” isn’t a one and done type of thing. We’re selling a story and an investment here people. Something that the client can take with them and remember you (and the story) forever. Yeah, a bit overwhelming. Similar to like leaving a legacy. Like having a child. Jk. Sort of.
I wrote this for my Facebook page.
I’ve been learning a lot about AI and how to use it. And as a traditional artist (uses oil paints, charcoal, pencil, physical stuff, etc.) and who took way too many art history classes, it reminds me of learning about when the camera first came out (late 1800s or so). Everyone lost their minds over it saying it wasn’t “real art”. It’s just a replica. (Some people say the same about painted, photorealistic art saying it’s “just a copy and there’s no imagination or interpretation—the purpose of art they say) 🤷♀️ But that’s a topic for another day.
Then Photoshop and the like came out. Computer graphics improved and artists lost their minds again. “It’s a computer, it’s not real art, it’s fake, and will take away from artists and replace them”, etc etc). But we adapted and learned how to utilize it. Myself included.
And now we arrive at AI and everyone is losing their minds again. Writers and artists alike. So I believe AI will take a turn like that in the past. We’ll learn to adapt and understand how to use it 🤷♀️
So there’s a (very expensive) history lesson in art and its evolution. Roughly speaking.
The ones who need help with their social media and don’t know how it works.
For those who would like to learn more for themselves but mainly for their business.
For those who make art and want to start selling and get a website up and running.
For those who want someone to manage their social media for them.
It’s also for those who are interested to learn how social media works so they can keep up with friends and family.
How do I know what kind of digital marketer I should hire?
In a sea full of marketers, it’s always a difficult to know where to start. It’s certainly a process of elimination. What I’d suggest is thinking about your brand, where you want to be in a few years and how will you get there; along with that, there are many forms of content out there. You should have your ideal customer in mind and at least some idea of where you are coming up short. Do not leave that bit up to the new hire.
For example, perhaps you are a small business starting out. You’ll want to focus on brand awareness and building that value in the online community. Build loyalty, not likes. Think long-term and not short-term, inconsequential vanity metrics.
Find someone whose media style is close to the look you want and go for it. Listen to them and understand their limits and you have a good start.
“I don’t want to sellout”
“I don’t want to pester people”
“I don’t want to compromise my art”
We’ve all been there and identified with at least one, or maybe more of those comments, and now, the “not good enough” phase has passed and the first mountain has been climbed.
You want to make money selling your art without compromising your integrity.
The first scary first step. I am here to help you and guide you through your journey.
We’ll delve into who your buyer persona is, we’ll work together to create a strategy for posting, we’ll study the best platforms for you to be on and so much more…
Content creation in relation to marketing is like white to rice. You can’t have one without the other.
As a creative person, it’s the ultimate dream job. There are a bazillion combinations of content to get your message across. The hard part is getting your message across. Lemmie back up.
Just like with art, there are good ideas and there are bad ideas. Some are just better than others and they communicate perfectly and effectively. Like Nike. And just like a good teacher, you need to know when to take the drawing away from the child. You can overdo it.
It’s why it’s so important to have a positive, nurturing work environment.
So in conclusion, while there are many ways to get an idea across, just like a good roast, it takes time. You can’t have a marketing idea without content to support it. White without rice.
For excessively creative people like myself, writing and content creation comes a bit naturally. However, knowing where to go to find ideas and be able to put a unique twist on them to make them your own yet still be trendy and trending and relevant and relatable? Now that’s a bit tricky.
Don’t forget authenticity.
I figure the most essential part in content creation is finding your writing voice. From there you develop your style. I enjoy writing. Relating and connecting with people brings an immense amount of fulfillment so I figure this is what I’m meant to do. I don’t mean content creation specifically but connecting with people through art and creativity.
I’m biased (let’s just put that out there) but it’s very important to find someone who loves what they do. It’ll bring a freshness to their work and you will both be all the better for it. In saying that, not everyone who loves what they do will be your jam. Everyone has different values and goals. Sit down. Have a conversation and see how it goes from there.
