February 23rd, 2010
Despite what everyone is saying about the death of email because of social networking, email is still a critical component when it comes to marketing your work online. So are you putting your best foot forward in your emails? Or are you projecting yourself as unprofessional, amateurish, or even worse…rude in your email communications? Here are some tips to make your email communications as professional as possible.
1. Always email from your own domain- Be sure to get your own domain name, set up an email account, and send all of your emails from that domain. It looks a lot more professional than an Gmail or a Yahoo! account.
2. Be careful with humor and other hard to convey emotions in emails- Humor doesn’t translate well over email. People aren’t there to translate emotions from your face. So don’t attempt to be humorous or sarcastic in your business emails.
3. Get to the point- Businesses get a lot of email. Whoever you’re sending email to…make their job easier by getting right to the point. No long and rambling emails!
4. Ask before sending images- Sending a bunch of email slowing images of your work is one sure way to annoy whoever is receiving them. Before you send images of your work through email, ask if it’s okay and ask what format they should be in.
5. Optimize your images for email- Make sure the images you send through email are formatted (size, file size, file format) so they don’t clog up the recipient’s inbox. Here is a good article on how to properly format your images for your website and email.
6. Include a signature in your outgoing email- Make sure your signature has your name, company name, email, web address, and other important information and goes out with all of your outgoing email.
7. Spell check and grammar check…and leave the acronyms alone- Nothing screams unprofessional than an email filled with misspellings, grammar errors and acronyms like OMG and TTY.
8. Regularly check and answer your email- This should go without saying. Don’t give out an email address that you don’t check and answer on a regular basis.
9. Don’t email when a phone call or face to face contact would be better- You don’t have to conduct ALL of your business through email. If the situation is too complex for an email, pick up the phone…or if your contact is local, set up a meeting. Sometimes a phone call or a face-to-face meeting will do better than a long confusing email.
February 18th, 2010
Twitter, Facebook, and now Google Buzz…social networking has certainly been the buzz on the internet for the past few years. If you have an online presence for your art, then you’ve no doubt heard that you need to be on at least one of these networks. Or do you? Do you HAVE to jump on the social networking bandwagon in order to promote your artwork online? In this show, I’ll talk about 5 reasons you might want to avoid using social networking to promote your artwork
1. Your customers aren’t on social networks- While there are a lot of people online, not all of them are using Facebook or Twitter. As of August 2009, it’s estimated that 17% of the time spent online is on social network sites like Facebook or on blogs. If you have an audience that’s not social networking savvy or an audience that don’t spend a lot of time on the computer, then social networking might not be a priority for you.
Reality check- That 17% figure cited had actually increased by 6% from the previous year. Keep in mind that while your current customers aren’t there now…there’s nothing saying that they won’t be in the future…plus there’s a chance that you’re ignoring potential new customers.
2. You’re too busy creating art- While it’s important to market your art, you also have to make sure that you’re spending enough time in your studio so that you actually have something to market. Social networking can be an enormous time sink if you’re not careful.
3. You hate being on the computer- If you only use your computer to check email and avoid it like the plague the rest of the time, you’re not going to be really excited to spend even more time setting up a Facebook page or taking time to tweet about your latest work…and your lack of excitement will show.
4. You’ve tried it and not gotten any results- If you’ve already been on these social networks and don’t seem to get any results, then there’s nothing wrong with moving on to other techniques that will yield better results.
Reality check- a good honest effort is more than just a month or two of sporadically tweeting or logging onto your Facebook page. Just like any other method of marketing, social networking does take time.
5. You’re doing quite well without it- You’re selling out at shows, you’re getting plenty of sales on Etsy, and you’re always filling in orders with your gallery accounts…so whatever you’re doing now is working just fine.
February 16th, 2010
Is your art blog the best that it can possibly be? Whether you have a blog on Wordpress, Typepad, or Blogger, there are things that you can do that will attract more readers, encourage more comments, and most importantly, help you promote your artwork better! Here are 7 ways you can make your blog be all it can be.
1. Brand your blog- Make sure your blog has the clear stamp of your brand, this includes colors, fonts, logo, domain name, banner, etc. If you’re using a free theme from Blogger or Wordpress, brand the look by getting a custom banner or altering the colors and fonts. But the basic rules of web design still apply!
2. Clean up your sidebars- Use widgets and sidebar graphics sparingly. It’s nice to show that you’re affiliated with but you don’t have to show every affiliation you have. It makes your blog look messy and may slow the speed of your blog. Reserve your sidebar for important marketing features like your opt-in box, links to your website, links to other blog posts, etc.
3. Add an opt-in box- Make sure that everybody is able to sign up for your newsletter and mailing list. If you don’t have a mailing list, you can learn to set one up by getting a FREE copy of my article series “How to Plan and Start a Great Email Newsletter “.
4. Make your post titles SEO friendly- Avoid vague “mystery meat” titles that don’t mean anything to either search engines or your visitors. Make sure that your blog post titles state clearly what your blog post is about and contains major keywords for your topic.
5. Make your blog shareable- If you have great content, make it easy for your visitors to share by adding social networking buttons to your blog. You can also share your blog on Twitter and Facebook by using services like Twitterfeed and Networked Blogs.
6. Make your blog easy for people to read- Display your RSS button in an easy to find place for your RSS subscribers for folks that like to use RSS readers. You can also use a service like Feedblitz or Feedburner to allow people to subscribe to your blog via email.
7. Don’t make it all about you- Don’t make every blog post about your new sale on Etsy or a plea to buy your work. Write about real life events and how it inspires your work. Ask questions from your readers. Answer comments readers leave on your blog. Ask readers what they want…write blog posts based on reader and customer questions. Remember to interact.
If you’re thinking about starting a blog or if you already have a blog and you want to be more effective, sign up for my FREE e-course “50 Blogging Tips for Artists“. Get a free tip in your email every day that will help make your blogging life easier. Sign up now!
February 11th, 2010
Fires, floods, snowstorms, hurricanes…all of these things can be devastating to your art business. Whether the disaster or emergency is as widespread and catastrophic as a hurricane or flash flood, or whether is it’s as personally devastating as a major computer crash, illness, or house fire…any of these events can bring your art business to grinding halt if you’re not prepared for it. Here are some tips for disaster proofing your business, and some of the things you can do to prepare yourself and what you can do in the event of a disaster.
1. Types of disasters to plan for- there are a number of emergencies or disasters that you have to plan for in advance
- Natural disasters- tornados, flooding, wildfires, hurricanes, earthquakes, snowstorms
- Medical and life emergencies- sudden illness (yourself or a family member), accidents, epidemics, disability, death
- Other- computer failure, house/studio fires or flooding, theft
2. Know what your foreseeable risks are- Are you located in a flood zone? Is your studio or business located in a place that’s prone to earthquakes? Take stock of your own medical heath…does your art pose forseeable health risks? Are you prone to certain illnesses? Take concrete steps to help avoid what you can. Call your insurance agent to get proper coverage for your business.
3. Remember that a disaster doesn’t have to happen to you directly to effect you- If you have critical suppliers that get struck by a major disaster, that can be disaster for your business. Don’t be dependent on just one supplier for critical services and supplies.
4. Make a plan- once you’ve taken stock, write out a plan to follow in case of an emergency. List:
- Where you’ll conduct business if something happens to your main place of business
- How people can contact you in the event of an emergency
- Have alternative means of communication
- Who can take over for you if you become incapacitated
- Where all of your critical files and information is located (includes financial info, contact info to lawyers, insurance agent, accountants, galleries, etc)
- Access to online accounts like your website, online portfolio, email, blog
- A backup and security plan for your computers (how often you backup, where to retrieve your backups, and your security)
- A complete inventory of critical electronics and equipment along with serial numbers
- Information about your insurance policy, your policy number, and the name and contact information of your insurance agent
- A cash emergency fund
5. Have a “Pick Up and Go” box- This is a box of vital documents where if you had to evacuate in an emergency that you can simply grab and go on your way out the door.
6. Keep your plan and important documents in multiple places- Your plan is useless if you’re only copy burns up in a fire. Make multiple copies of your disaster plan and critical papers and keep them in multiple places away from your home or studio…such as a relative’s home or a safety deposit box.
For more information about disaster planning and to get a free sample disaster plan, visit: http://www.ready.gov
February 9th, 2010
If you’ve ever tried to purchase advertising in an art magazine or done co-operative advertising with other artists, you’ll know that print advertising can be rather expensive. One advantage of the Internet is that you can experiment with advertising for your art and not break the bank…if you know what you’re doing. Here are some of the basics of getting started with advertising your art online.
1. Know your advertising options- there are a number of options when it comes to advertising online. Here are a couple that are most common
- Text ads
- Banner ads
- Sponsorships (text or banner)
2. Know your pricing options- most online advertising is based on either impressions or clicks:
- Pay Per Click (PPC)…this means that you’re charged according to how many people actually click on your ad
- CPM (Cost Per Mille)- this is based on how many people will see your ad. “Per mille” means per thousand impressions, or loads of an advertisement (e.g. If a website gets about $5,000 impressions per month, they may charge $20 x 5 CPM or $100 per month
3. Figure out where to advertise- First figure out who your target market is then make a list of likely places to advertise
- Google Ads
- Facebook Ads
- Niche sites- these are specific websites and blogs where your target market is likely to see your ads
4. Research the ad requirements- every website and service has different requirements when it comes to the ad format and design. Familiarize yourself with requirements such as:
- Format- .jpg, .gif, .png, animated vs not animated
- Word count
- File size
- Image size
5. Figure out your budget- Don’t go into advertising without a budget in mind. A lot of business base their ad buys on 10% of their monthly or yearly income. So if you make $1,000 per month online, then figure about $100 per month
6. Know what are you advertising for- Have a specific goal for your advertising or various advertising campaigns. Are you trying to brand yourself?Promote a specific event? Get more traffic for your website?
7. Spend a good deal of time designing your ad- Art is a visual medium. Make sure that your ad is visually pleasing. Experiment with different sizes, animation, colors, photos, etc. If you’re doing a text ad, don’t neglect your copy! A couple of words can make the difference. Plus, remember to point your ad to a specific page on your website instead of dumping people on your homepage. This will make your ad more effective and easier to track.
8. Know that advertising as a long-term strategy- Advertising takes some time to be effective. Don’t run a couple of ads and decide to quit. Most people need to see your ad at least 7 times before they recognize you or decide to click. If you’re going to do advertising, commit yourself to a plan of at least 3 to 6 months and stick to it.
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