Tag Archives: blogging

Ready to turn your passion for art into a profitable online empire?

It’s time to master social media marketing for artists like a pro

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.

How to Transform Your Art Audience into Loyal Fans: A Step-by-Step Guide

Best platforms for promoting your art

So as a disclaimer, my overall goals are for mature audiences. Whether it be for my own art or for social media purposes. And while I’m big on Pinterest for artists, it’s important to keep a few other platforms on rotation in order to reach optimal number of eyeballs. The platforms that have the best audience for artists for their type of content is Facebook, LinkedIn and Pinterest. Plus a website. With a blog or some type of long-form content.

It’s one of the strategies recommended by many to be as successful as possible. One reason is because platforms change all the time. They upgrade, become obsolete, demographic changes, the list goes on. As a caveat, this is if your target market is older. I see many artists on TikTok, but as per my last post, I suggest avoiding it if your goals are for a mature audience.

Something else that artists should consider when beginning their social media journey and will help turn your audience into dedicated fans is sharing your authentic artist journey. This can include genuine stories about your path, maybe your struggles and your growing pains. Maybe you paint abstract art and so you could talk about bringing emotion to life through your painting or by discussing the expressiveness inspired by life experiences–it focuses more on the emotional impact of your work. This can be a powerful hook for connecting with your audience.

Next, one needs to consider building trust and doing it through consistency to show integrity and create authority on the web. Building trust takes time and dedication, which is where a lot of artists struggle. Balancing consistency with their art and at the same time, being consistent on the web…something’s gotta give. Never mind responding to comments, reviewing analytics to compare last quarter, posting content or putting out fires. Erhmeghrd. You build trust and show expertise through long-form content. So this could be blog posts and articles, YouTube/video series or vlogging, or podcasts or whatever. Do it for a long time. Like at least a year at the bare minimum.

So in conclusion, first, put on your thinking hat and choose your platforms. Whatever you settle on. Next, decide on your long form content. Then, create posts starting off with the suggestions above like, talking about your journey as an artist. Then do it for a long time. Consistently.

Hang in there.

Tired of struggling to sell your art without compromising your vision? Discover the secret to maintaining artistic integrity while skyrocketing your journey

No more missing the social media mark with your audience

For you, as a Gen X artist who wants to speak to the right demographics, you’ll want to be on Facebook, Pinterest and LinkedIn.

According to my research, Facebook demographics come in with Gen X (ages 35-54) and Millennials (ages 25-34) taking the most space. About 23.5% of users are between 25-34 years old, and 18.2% are 35-44. It is slightly male dominated coming in at 55% male and 44% female. *

Pinterest is heavily female-dominated, with women making up about 77% of users. It is however skewed to Gen Z and millennials (25-34). ** However, I found that between 2015-2024, a significant amount of interior design aesthetic “updates” went towards interior design aspects like furniture, decor, paint etc. and prioritized a modern look. They also included eco-friendly ways to update their homes. (So, no buying cheap art from Home Sense or Winners or wherever you go to get cheap, fast and disposable art. #winning)

And LinkedIn comes in with the highest paid crowd on any of the platforms I mentioned and they’re also the highest educated. They come in with the most earning power of 75K or more in general (US). LinkedIn’s user base primarily consists of Millennials and Gen X, with 47% of users being Millennials (ages 25-34) and 38% being aged 35-54 respectively **

Why are these numbers important? They are your target market, or should be. Unless you’re an outlier. But it’s still very useful to know so you make informed choices.

With this information, you won’t be marketing to the wrong demographic, dancing for the wrong audience (literally), and losing your integrity and stressing. You’ll be on the mark by talking to people your own age and it will be marketing that both you and your audience can understand and appreciate.

And something I’ll say again is that social media for artists isn’t 100% about selling. It’s about nurturing your audience and letting them know you’re alive, making art and are there for them. Commenting, sharing and liking goes a long, long way in this there land of the internet.

Break the mold: understand how to leverage social media as an artist

Creating a strong brand presence

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:

  1. Create visual storytelling on Pinterest. Pinterest is a visual search engine as opposed to regular social media. On Pinterest, you aren’t seeing what your friends and family are up to, or sharing and updating your life with your friends. It’s a place where people can go to find ideas, search for images, plan crafts or meals etc. By creating boards such as “Abstract” or “Watercolour Painting” it becomes like a homing pigeon for potential buyers and gets the right traffic to your work. I actually use it as a portfolio aside from my main website (true story). Include behind the scenes pins and WIP pins too.
  2. Optimize your pins for searchability. You would think that your image alone would just pop up in the correct person’s feed. Yes and no. You show up in a person’s feed with keyword-rich words. By using keyword-rich descriptions and titles for your pins, artists like yourself can improve your content’s discoverability on Pinterest. You should also include keywords related to your art style, techniques, materials, etc. which ensure the pins show up in search results. Go to trends.pinterest.com to find the best keywords for your art.
  3. With Pinterest, you can also link your website or online store to your pins and drive traffic that way. Pinterest underwent several changes to how to create the right pin for your purpose; but settled most recently on Simple Pins. And it is just that–a simple pin where you can link your site to your pin. Couple this with optimization, it will help a buyer not only visit your site but will help people see your pin in their feed to begin with. Make sure your pins are quality photos and high resolution!

I hope that helps.

Social media success without the sleaze: Learn how to market your art the right way

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.

Why AI Will Never Replace the Unique Creativity of Artists

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.

Attention artists: Stop chasing likes and follows and start attracting paying customers.

One of the biggest misconceptions about social media is the importance placed on vanity metrics. You know, the likes and follows—things that are meaningless really. Unless they are paying, loyal, repeat customers.

It’s incredibly hard to change this mindset as an artist because I am one! I thrive on likes, follows, comments and emojis🫶☕️🤷‍♀️💫

😬

The only things that matter are saves and shares. Mostly. Oh, and reach. The number of new people that see your work.

The word on the street is that the algorithm has changed again for Instagram—Notorious for being impossible to gain any kind of traction on. But now Instagram is said to be favouring smaller, tiny accounts. So like, 50-200 followers. So rejoice! If you are just starting out, the universe is in your favour!

Get out your phones and start clicking away at the art you’ve done and post like your life depends on it. 🫡 God speed.

Artists, rejoice: Conquer social media marketing without compromising your artistic vision.

A few marketing tips…

1. Don’t just say that you are having a sale, explain what you are going to do for the client. What problems are you solving? Explain the benefits of having your art in their house.

2. Instagram is for nurturing relationships. They’re likely your crowd. Most of Gen X is on that platform and they’re the ones that you specifically want to reach.

3. Likes and follows don’t matter that much. Conversions, saves and shares matter more. Your content needs to speak to your audience, it isn’t for you.

4. Have a clear idea of who your ideal buyer is and cater to that niche. How old are they? How much do they make? What are their interests? Think about that (a lot) before you press “publish”.

Find me on Instagram, WordPress & Pinterest for more tips and tricks about social media management for artists.
2021

How to unleash your creativity: Navigate social media marketing for artists with soul and substance.

When you remember it, it’s a gift (your abilities).

I think the biggest stumbling block for me when putting my art out into the wild was naming it. Omg I hated naming my paintings. I really overthought it. I ended up naming them randomly but like, then what?

Sometimes it’s things like that which inhibits us from sending out our creations into the world. Sometimes it feels wrong and imposter syndrome creeps in.

All this means is something isn’t aligning in your head with your skill set.

But sometimes we have too many voices competing in our head and taking the leap proves too difficult. If this is the case, wait. Sit down and think about it—what would really make me feel proud to send my stuff out there? What skill? What goal? What? Then focus on working that out in your head and do what you need to get it sorted. A lot of the time, it’s composition. Legit. This means you may have to start over again. Huge deterrent. Problem solved. You’re welcome. Just kidding.

Sure.

How to revolutionize your art career: Discover the art of social media marketing without sacrificing authenticity.

But actually.

There’s this disdain towards going digital. And I get it. I was skeptical at first myself but then I realized that I needed it for tempering colours in my paintings and it was as bad as I thought.

“But it feels inauthentic.”

You need to realize that you have a gift, and the only way to give back to the world is to share it with the world. People need to see your art. You were blessed with a talent not everyone has.

“I don’t understand it. I don’t have the tools anyway.”

Fast forward to today, I understand it’s an essential part of my art. Photographing my art (even under real sunlight) requires a bit of tinkering with the colours. I now have the knowledge and tools and can help you achieve results and overcome the hurdles. I have over 10 years experience working with programs like Adobe. I went to school for 7 years for this stuff.

We can go through some tactics to start you off so you’re not so overwhelmed. I have a free sheet you can have when we meet so you can read and understand the basics without sacrificing your artistic integrity.

Email me if you are still skeptical or want to know more. I am here for you.