Entries from March 2008 ↓

Our schedule for moving out of our home in Las Cruces, NM and into our motor home has moved up. We are now moving out by the end of May and then driving up to Minnesota to start our new mobile lifestyle. This means that I have A LOT to do in the next couple of months. To make things even crazier, most of April (from the 1st until the 25th) will be spent taking care of non-online commitments, including another trip to Minnesota. Uff da!

Let’s move ahead on making this a community blog. All you have to do is send an email to me with the first and last name you want used on the blog and I will set up an account for you and send your username and password. You are free to write about anything art related, including yourself and your own art. If nothing else, this is a great opportunity to self promote. I’ll be making a few changes to the site, mostly in that middle column.

Traffic and subscriptions have been increasing quite a bit these past two months, so this is an opportunity for you to really get your voice heard and art seen. Which reminds me, you do not have to be a visual artist to be part of this community. Performing art is welcomed and you are allowed to embed videos into your posts as well.

So sign up and let’s create a fantastic community arts blog.

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Chris O’Byrne
www.OnlineArtsMarketing.com
www.YourArtMarketing.com

I’m hitting the road! Sara and I are buying a 33-foot Southwind motor home and will be living on the road full-time. Granted, we’ll be spending a lot of time at different places, but we’ll be living a mobile lifestyle. I hope to have internet access most of the time, but I won’t be able to rely on that, especially when we are enroute from one place to the next.

What that means for this website is that I cannot count on my ability to post 2 to 3 times per week. I have also faced the fact that I am put a lot of time and energy into this site and receive very little monetary reward. I need to focus my talents and energy towards efforts that will help me pay the bills.

I am not abandoning you, however. I will continue to write articles and be active in the forum. And I have two ideas that I want to run past you.

One, I want to reorganize and redesign this website so it is easier to find and use past articles. There is a lot of good information in this blog, but it is not very easy to find. My thought is to create a library of articles that is organized and easy to use.

Two (and this is the big one), I want to turn this site into a community blog. This means that any of you can have an account on the site as an author and then write whatever or whenever you want. Of course, we’ll keep it within the realm of art marketing, but that is a pretty broad umbrella. For example, you could sign up and create your own post about you and your art, similar to what I’ve been doing with the Feature Friday. You could also write about anything to do with your own art marketing, online or off. There are several blogs that work this way, including ReveNews.com.

Please let me know what you think of all of this and especially if you think you would ever be interested in joining this site as a community blogger.

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Chris O’Byrne
www.OnlineArtsMarketing.com
www.YourArtMarketing.com

[Comments]

Barbara Simler, a.k.a. moonbindery on the forums and blogs, is a talented and artful bookbinder from Kamloops, BC. Her handmade books have just the right feel to them. They are works of art that are both stylish and inviting and long to be filled with your thoughts and visions.

You can keep up with Barbara’s life at her blog and you can usually find her work for sale in her Etsy store. For the next couple of weeks she is revamping her studio and her store and getting ready to present her work anew. Bookmark her store and subscribe to her blog because you don’t want to miss the grand reopening.

Here is my interview with Barbara:

OAM: What kind of art do you currently produce?

BS: I do the occasional OOAK artist’s book, but mostly I make handcrafted books–journals, sketchbooks, address books, and a few other things. I love William Morris’s idea that everyday objects can and should be beautiful, so my objective is to make books that are both beautiful and useful.

It’s been an interesting adventure–some people tell me that my journals (the ones with handmade paper cover designs) are too beautiful to write in. Funny, eh? It had never occured to me that something could be considered too beautiful. One woman told me that she never writes in her book. She just takes it out of a drawer now and then to look at it, which gives her pleasure. It’s a real compliment, but not at all what I was expecting!

So, it’s been very interesting to explore the balancing point where beauty and utility meet. In terms of designs, I tend to make what interests me, rather than following a particular fashion, but at the same time I want to be responsive to people’s needs, so I’m making more books that have a specific purpose, such as address books and sketch books, books that people will want to keep for a long time.

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OAM: How many different ways do you currently sell your art and which 1 (or 2 or 3) have worked the best?

BS: I currently sell my work four different ways:

1. Higher-end arts and crafts shows

These have been the most successful venues for me so far. My books are very tactile–the covers of some of them have pieces of bark and leaves in them, and others have leather covers, so I think it’s helpful for buyers to be able to pick them up and really touch them. One thing that has improved my sales a lot is that I set up a separate small table next to my book table that has examples of all the kinds of books I make, along with cards that briefly explain the histories of the different bindings. Doing demos, telling your story, things like that can be very helpful.

2. Art Gallery Shop

I have some of my books on consignment in the gift shop at a local art gallery. Sales there have been steady for two kinds of small books of quotes that I sell for around $12 . I recently added some journal/sketchbooks, and sales of those have been increasing. Two things I’ve found to be useful in increasing sales at the shop are a) telling the story of my books (I created a display card and put the information in each of my books), and b) just being patient. When you do work that’s a little bit different from what people expect, it can take time for them to decide to make a purchase.

3. The third venue is online at my Etsy store at http://moonbindery.etsy.com.

I opened this store over a year ago, but only put books in it late in November, 2007, so I’ve only had an online presence for a little over three months. I’m still busy getting the hang of selling online, and like many artists, I suspect, I’m wondering how people will respond to the idea of buying based on seeing a picture of my work, as opposed to seeing it up close and personal.

One thing that’s been amazing about selling online is that I’ve discovered a whole world of artists in cyberspace, people who’s work I’d never have known about if I hadn’t joined Etsy and started blogging. I really have to restrain myself, or I’d wind up spending the whole day surfing blogs, instead of making books

4. Word of Mouth.

I sell a surprising number of books just from people telling other people about me. Which is really nice! I try to remember to always carry business cards, in case people ask.

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OAM: What additional avenue for selling your work would you like to pursue?

BS: I only have a certain amount of time and energy for marketing, so instead of adding more avenues, I’m focusing on refining the ones I’ve listed above. Doing fewer and larger art/craft shows, paying attention to what people are buying at the art gallery, so I can supply more of those kinds of things. Trying to make the pictures in my Etsy store look as good as possible (a never-ending challenge).

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OAM: Do you have any additional thoughts about selling your art online that you would like to share?

BS: I think I’ll probably have more thoughts after I’ve been online longer! One thing I am trying to do is to refine my book descriptions, to give buyers the sense of how nice the books look and feel–to supply the things they can’t necessarily get from looking at the pictures.

I think like most artists, I’d much rather spend all my time creating, rather than doing the marketing part. For me, the important thing is that the people who buy my books are people, not just “buyers”, and to relate to them on that level.

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Chris O’Byrne
www.OnlineArtsMarketing.com
www.YourArtMarketing.com

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I have really been putting a lot of thought into this whole idea of making a living as an artist and although I do intend to continue with “How to Sell My Art Online”, I wanted to take a step back and look at the big picture of making a living as an artist.

First, I came up with a very general list of tasks to complete:

1. Determine your USP and identity (similar to brand and image, but more real).
2. List all the possible products you could sell.
3. List all the possible services you could sell.
4. List all the possible ways you could sell your art.
5. Advertise (spread the word).
6. Network (build relationships).
7. Build your online presence.
8. Change your lifestyle (possibly).

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Now let’s take a closer look at each one.

1. Determine your USP and identity (similar to brand and image, but more real).

This one we have talked about in detail already (see last week’s post). Also, think about how you may be seen through the eyes of your customer and how you can help them cultivate the image you really want.

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2. List all the possible products you could sell.

Some products that come to mind are original paintings (various sizes), prints, cards, tiles, coffee mugs… you know, anything you can get your image on. Maybe you could sell tattoo designs (be creative here). Some other products might include your own series of art instruction books, books of your art accompanied by stories, a story book accompanied by your art, and so on. How about digital products? You could sell CDs and DVDs of your art, ebooks, downloadable prints, online guides, and more. Just make a huge list of every possibility you can think of. Remember the rules of brainstorming, don’t filter anything at this stage or think of why you can’t do something, list all possibilities.

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3. List all the possible services you could sell.

Again, follow the rules of brainstorming. You can do commissions, give classes (online and offline), give workshops, lead tours, write books and guides…. and many other ideas I haven’t listed here. Please, add more ideas in the comments below.

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4. List all the possible ways you could sell your art.

What are the ways that you have used to sell your art? Galleries, shows, competitions, your website, online stores, art fairs and other similar venues, on the street, directly to people you know, opening up your studio one day a month, farmer’s markets, to businesses, through magazines… again, please add ideas to the comments!

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5. Advertise (spread the word).

There are many ways to advertise. Magazines, newspapers, other print media, billboards (gutsy, I know), word-of-mouth, signs up on bulletin boards, and many online methods such as forums, Craigslist, and even Adwords. Can you think of more?

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6. Network (build relationships).

As with any selling, your relationships are vital. These might be relationships with gallery owners, previous customers, potential customers, local businesses… your business relationships are vital and can help you in ways that don’t reveal themselves until much further down the road. Always be willing to go the extra mile to establish a relationship. Even if that relationship never helps you sell or make money, the karmic goodness you receive is always worth it.

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7. Build your online presence.

This is what this website and series is all about, helping you learn how to sell your art online. Plan this out before just diving in and trying everything. Do you want one main presence (your website) or do you want to spread your presence through several avenues (online stores, Facebook, forums, etc.). If you spread your presence, do you always send people back to your website or do you want to sell from each of these avenues.

What is the purpose of each piece of your online presence. Is it to communicate? Establish deeper relationships? Sell specific works? Learn and explore? Create possible joint ventures? Keep people coming back? How does each piece fit into the whole plan?

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8. Change your lifestyle (possibly).

This is one area where a lot of people do not want to compromise, but it could make a huge difference. This is especially important if you are considering a switch from a full-time job to a full-time artist. How cheaply can you live? Think of each chunk of your life. How small of a dwelling can you live in? Can you move to a small rental space somewhere and cut your housing bill in half? What extras can you live without? How about moving to another country where your dollar can go much further? There are many creative ways to cut back on your living expenses, some of which are less radical than others. Brainstorm!

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That is a very brief look at the big picture of making a living as an artist. Many of you have been through this process, maybe more than once. But it always helps to take a step back now and then and think about the big picture.

If you think this article was useful, I would be giddy with delight if you donated $1 to help support OnlineArtsMarketing.com..



. If you come here often, please consider an eensy weensy $3/month subscription. Think of it as buying a friend forever!

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Chris O’Byrne
www.OnlineArtsMarketing.com
www.YourArtMarketing.com

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Kerry Harried, a.k.a. Snitterdog, is a highly expressive, unique, and intelligent artist. Formerly from Madison, WI, she now lives in Savannah, GA (where the weather is almost exactly the same… well, except for the weather). Her quirky sense of humor comes through in her writing as well as some of her work (check out her Frampton Chicken Comes Alive).

Her work can be found at a number of places online and her blog is a good place to start. From there you can check out her 3 Etsy stores:

• Snitterdog.etsy.com
• thegreenefairy.etsy.com
• pookietown.etsy.com

and then go on to find all the rest.

Here is my interview with Kerry. Please visit her blog and her stores and buy everything she has in stock. Really. It would be so incredibly awesome of you and you would be her bff!

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OAM: What kind of art do you currently produce?

KH: I currently paint, draw, make handmade paper, and various cards. I also have been know to make friendship bracelets on occasion…. I have a tendency to work in many media - I’m a very curious type, I guess I would have to say my main field of interest is probably painting and drawing. (That’s what I do the most I am really fond of watercolor, gouache, and pen and ink. My styles vary a lot - my Etsy shops reflect this.  At Snitterdog, you can find my weird, yet cute artwork - it’s kind of surreal, I guess.  At The Greene Fairy, you can find “naturey” work - leaves, sea shells, flowers - that kind of thing… I think I have an artistic multiple personality or something!

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OAM: How many different ways do you currently sell your art and which 1 (or 2 or 3) have worked the best?

KH: Right now I am mainly selling my work on Etsy. I have 3 (I know - yikes!! shops… The first one is Snitterdog, the second is The Greene Fairy, and the 3rd is Pookie Town.  Pookie Town is my newest venue - it will mainly have my bracelets, I think.  I also do independent contracting work in illustration for a newer greeting card company called Parkards. For them I often work in watercolor, but the media is generally up to my own discretion. In the past I have sold artwork to acquaintances of my mine who say something to the effect of “hey - can I buy that?” I always like it when this happens! (not much recently, but I haven’t been out in the world much with my art these days - I mean in person). I’ve been trying to get more internet exposure, which has been interesting because until last summer I was fairly computer illiterate. (In terms of Photoshop, getting images onto the web, etc… Still can’t believe I’m finally doing it! :). I haven’t decided what has worked best yet - I’m still kind of new to this (in terms of trying to sell my work). I will say though, that I’ve sold original, more expensive work, better in person, and usually to an acquaintance… I think often people like to see work in person, particularly if it is a large financial investment

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OAM: What additional avenue for selling your work would you like to pursue?

KH: I would love to show my work in galleries!  I have been in some art shows in the Madison, WI area (where I’m from), but haven’t as of yet been a regular exhibitor in a gallery. I would love to approach some local galleries here in Savannah, but haven’t mustered up the courage yet… I tend to be shy about such things…. I need to get over that. I also would like to participate in more art shows and maybe someday get my MFA.  I have a bachelor’s degree in art from UW Madison, but I’ve been out of school since 2001. (I’m a bit out of the loop now, I think:)

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OAM: Do you have any additional thoughts about selling your art online that you would like to share?

KH: I love selling my art online. I haven’t been in the game too long, but I find it thoroughly enjoyable and have met some wonderful people.  I have also learned so much valuable information on the forums and am grateful for all of this

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Chris O’Byrne
www.OnlineArtsMarketing.com
www.YourArtMarketing.com

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The internet has a wealth of information just waiting for you to dig in and start learning. There are a very few select websites that I keep in a special folder in Google Reader. I keep this folder at the top of the list (even above my Friends and Family folder) and whenever there is a new post, I read it immediately. DoshDosh is one of those websites. Maki, the author and god of this website, provides so much incredibly useful and relevant information that I can recommend it to anyone in any field. You probably know of other websites, perhaps specific to your own field, that are as useful as DoshDosh is to me. It is because of websites like this that I thought of the following.

These ultra-important websites should be looked at as more than just sources of information that you make sure you read. These websites should be looked at as the essential online learning institutions that they are. Think of them as part of your schooling. Set aside some time every day to go through the information and take notes. (Google Notebook is good for this.) Think of all the ways that you can use the information you are reading and create an action plan. Read and re-read the post to catch what you might have missed on the first or second pass. Create an outline or a mindmap. Absorb as much of the information as possible. You are not just reading great information, you are reading necessary and life-changing (or at least work-changing) information.

For example, here is a post from DoshDosh from a couple of weeks ago: How to Use the Web to Build A Powerful Reputation In Any Industry. I read this article within minutes of it being published. You can tell I usually read these right away because am often one of the first people to leave a comment. The first thing I do is skim through the article and get a good feel for what it is about. Then I go through a little more thoroughly, usually reading the whole article, but not to the point of deeper absorption. At this point, I leave a comment. I’m a fast reader and can absorb information quickly and on that second read I usually have a question in mind that I know will bother me unless I have it answered. Maki is always very good about commenting back and answering my questions and this deepens the learning process.

I then set aside the article until later in the day when I can take the time to go through it much more thoroughly. This is when I do not let myself get distracted by the steady stream of Tweets, new posts, emails, earthquakes, etc. This is also when I am most likely to find the real gems.

Here is an excerpt from the post I referenced above:

For example, if I were in the art field, this is what I’ll build and why:

1. An Art forum/social network. In order to position myself as a leader in the specific field, I should create communities which will allow me to attract large amounts of interested industry participants. This pull-strategy allows you to not only keep on top of happenings in the specific field but befriend a large amount of people who will be likely to support your future initiatives. This is a social branding strategy.
2. Multiple Niche Art Sites. I’ll narrow down my art interests to build sites that focuses entirely on specific art forms (e.g. Renaissance art). My goal is to make each site a definitive resource. This will of course involve conscious targeting and ranking of multiple keywords which will spread my name throughoug a specific topic field in search engines. Search engines will provide you with organic traffic and is a means to pick up a lot of relevant contacts. This is a search-oriented strategy.
3. General Art News Blog. A news blog is a good way to develop visibility, especially if there are no real competitors in the niche. I would make it a multi-author blog and I’ll invite the friends I have (including the ones I’ve met online) to write for it. A news blog frames you in the mold of a journalist. As a member of media, you’ll usually get access to launches, exhibitions, events and networking parties. This is a network-development strategy that’ll allow you to build your contacts offline.

I’ve placed this as the last step because it allows you to leverage your established community trust and media relations to kickstart these ventures. You don’t have to struggle to get people involved if you are well-networked enough: people will naturally recommend and provide support for your initiatives, especially if they are beneficial for the end-user or industry as a whole.

You can believe my jaw dropped when I read this because it relates specifically to my industry. And just in this short excerpt from the much longer article I came up with these possible action steps:

• Create an art community. With Diane Clancy, I have created the art marketing forum at YourArtMarketing.com which already has 33 members and 340 posts. BUT… what additional work can I do here? I’ve talked about creating social networks, I can possibly pursue one of those.
• Create niche art sites. This site IS a niche site, it focuses on online marketing for artists. What additional niche sites can I create? I could create niche sites for music and writing and photography and any number of artistic or creative niches.
• Create an art news blog. This is one that I am REALLY thinking about creating, especially after reading today’s post on How to Build a Successful News Blog. I am now a staff blogger for ReveNews.com and thanks to DoshDosh, I now have a solid base of information to help me make this a reality.

Take the attitude of a student and pick the most valuable website to study. Go through it thoroughly and write down every possible action step you might take and keep a thorough list of notes that you can search through whenever you need them. Take advantage of the learning opportunities that are waiting for you.

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Chris O’Byrne
www.OnlineArtsMarketing.com
www.YourArtMarketing.com

The latest version of WordPress, version 2.5, was due out today. I have had a sneak peek at the admin pages of the new version and there are so many changes to the layout that I am going to hold off on doing more screencasts. As soon as the new version is out and I have it installed on my test blog, I will start doing the screencasts and will start from the beginning.

In the meantime, if there are any specific questions you need answered about customizing WordPress, please hop over to our forum at YourArtMarketing.com and post a new topic under Blogging: Setting Up Your Blog. I won’t mind doing a quick screencast if that will help you!

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Chris O’Byrne
www.OnlineArtsMarketing.com
www.YourArtMarketing.com

It is easy to think of selling online as totally different than selling offline (as in a store or gallery). The truth is, there are more similarities than differences. You can definitely do far more online than you can offline, but you have to begin with the offline mentality.

Start by planning a brand new gallery that you are going to open, the Gallery of You. This will be a gallery that you open on your favorite street in your favorite town, only it will hold only your art and it will be designed by your own specifications. (This planning/dreaming is actually a lot of fun, in addition to being practical.) What would you do to get customers to your gallery? How would you treat them once they came? Here are some ideas that come to mind:

• Create your USP. Here are some previous articles to help get you going:
  • What is a USP
  • How to Determine Your USP - Lesson 1: What is Is and Why You Need It
  • How to Determine Your USP - Lesson 2: Write Your USP
  • How to Determine Your USP - Lesson 3: Ten Ideas for Generating Your USP
  • How to Determine Your USP - Lesson 4: Ten More Ideas for Generating Your USP
• Advertise locally - get your name/brand/image out there in front of people.
• Make it easy to buy from you.
• Collect the names and addresses of EVERYONE that comes into your gallery.
• Communicate often and personally with every one.
• Network like crazy.

This is just a short list to get you started, the real benefit of this exercise comes when YOU do it. This is YOUR gallery, the Gallery of You. You can run it anyway you want! What will you do to create your own true fans?

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Chris O’Byrne
www.OnlineArtsMarketing.com
www.YourArtMarketing.com

I am so happy to have been invited and accepted as a staff blogger at ReveNews.com. My first article is about a topic I plan to write more about on this blog, but for a teaser I invite you to read the post at ReveNews.com and feel free to leave a comment there if so moved.

Peace,
Chris

Michelle Basic Hendry is an artist from Muskoka, ON, Canada; a couple of hours north of Toronto. Formerly a graphic designer, she turned to painting full time and now focuses on the incredible beauty of the Canadian landscape.

Having spent most of my life in Minnesota, including the far northeastern part of the state near Ontario, I look at her work with a mixture of happiness and longing. I grew up in the woods and farm country and Michelle’s landscapes brings that all back with an onslaught of emotion. I felt myself immersed in her paintings relished their beauty.

To experience Michelle’s work for yourself, visit her website. For a more personal glimpse into her work and her thoughts, visit her blog. And please enjoy this interview where we learn even more.

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OAM: What kind of art do you currently produce?

MBH: I am currently painting. My primary medium is acrylic. I have designed, created and exhibited stained glass, mixed media sculpture as well as paintings in oil, acrylic and watercolour in the last 4 years.

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OAM: How many different ways do you currently sell your art and which 1 (or 2 or 3) have worked the best?

MBH: I have sold primarily through exhibitions, both private and public, as well as through galleries. My most successful sales have been through the exhibition stream. I am currently with a new gallery and we have been off to a great start. I have my first solo show there this summer.

I have only really been showing art to sell for 4 years. Previous to this I ran a graphic design business and art was only a sideline. It was in 2004 that I decided to change that and began to create more seriously with the intent to sell. I set up a website first as a support to the exhibitions and the gallery and a few months ago I started a blog to reach further afield. I don’t use either to sell yet, but I think I should look at it. It is on my list of ‘to do’s’ by the end of the year.

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OAM: What additional avenue for selling your work would you like to pursue?

MBH: I have been considering the internet as an option. Up until now it has been a place to show my work, but I think it could be a valuable tool for selling smaller works and I am hoping that it might allow me to be a little more experimental - to try things that may not fit in with the work I do for traditional outlets. I have seen other artists that have had a good deal of success on-line and I am looking forward to giving it a try.

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OAM: Do you have any additional thoughts about selling your art online that you would like to share?

MBH: I think that selling original work on-line is a wonderful way to get original work out to people who might not otherwise have seen it as a part of their world. Art in galleries can been seen as exclusive and that the acquiring of it requires a degree and a mountain of cash. The internet can help to level the playing field for certain kinds of art and provide a forum for work that is driven by different motives. It is a ‘business’ like any other, therefore, I think that it needs to offer a different kind of connection between artist and art buyer. There is a great potential in this medium. The success of selling on-line will be in how well the medium provides and presents something that is unique and can, thereby, create a whole new market for it.

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Chris O’Byrne
www.OnlineArtsMarketing.com
www.YourArtMarketing.com