1. Start a file folder for blogging ideas. Whenever you come across good blog fodder, scribble it on a piece of paper and throw it in there. I get lots of ideas from subscribers who write to me. Because I don’t have time to answer personal questions, I ask if I can use their question and name on my blog and have even posted a policy for doing so.
With their approval, I then drag their email to my “Blog” email folder and it sits there until I’m inspired to write about it.
2. Visit other blogs. See what you like and what you don’t like. What you’re attracted to is probably what is attracting others. Can you write similar entries?
3. Look for balance among the following: content about you, your personal art journey, what your readers will come back for more of.
4. What makes your art unique to you? If you don’t know this, it’s hard to come up with a statement or marketing pitch of any kind. Why should I buy your work over someone else’s? Write in that area.
6 thoughts on “Tips for focusing your blog content”
I use ecto blogging software for my wordpress blog. I use it to prepare my posts with code the way I want it, store them and upload them. it is also great for saving ideas in, brainstorming and linking to interesting content I want to write about. (It also has iLife compatibility for mac users and amazon affiliate connectivity)
In January this year the group I belong to (Fine Line Artists) started a project which involves using our blogs to focus on an artist each month. January was John Singer Sargent and February was Van Gogh. Personally I found that having a theme created lots of extra content for the blog – and lots of extra visitors too – who all seemed to enjoy the posts. In general, I think people like themes and I’d certainly recommend running with a theme for at least some of the time. One of my blogging friends over at Laurelines had a different theme for each month of last year.
Hi Alyson, Just wanted to let you know this week’s posts on blogging have hit the mark with me. I do have a blog and have mentioned you and your blog in today’s post – thought you would want to know. Amanda
I started a blog this year and update it on a weekly basis with my newest artwork and a short paragraph explaining the inspiration behind the work. Although I know that my parents are probably the only people that check it on a weekly basis, it keeps me motivated to have something for “show and tell”. http://savagepainter.blogspot.com
i find i am most drawn to artist blogs that show their creative process over time–not just their working process but their thinking, emotional process as well. some post occasional recipes, travelogues, family stories as well as their sketches and finished pieces and these are all the things that make us into artists and writers so i find them most interesting. i’m not a big fan of artists who feel they need to bare their souls and tell all their sad tales, though…it feels a little too personal and not necessary. it makes me cringe sometimes and i don’t usually go back. i like seeing an artist’s work and reading how it came to be. i don’t need their entire psychological profile but some story is often a good thing. the wholesale confessions probably belong in their journal, not cyberspace. i like feeling i am sharing in someone’s process. i am not such a big fan of the blogs that go on and on about one particular topic. they often seem overbearing to me and too “teachy” and “preachy” although some artists really hit that mark well and offer good info, interesting questions and lots of good images as well as humor and insight to make you think about their topic. i’m not going to name any names–i think we all have our own favorites out there….and blogging is so personal–which is why so many artists and writers seem to love it, i think…there’s really something for everyone!
To Kirsten, I just want to let you know that your parents aren’t the only ones who enjoy your blog. Because of your comment here, I found your blog. (I love the way blogs make our world smaller!) I clicked your link and was delighted to see your artwork. Very nice! The “silly” paintings made me laugh out loud! Thanks for posting; I’d have never found you otherwise! (I especially liked the cheese shredder painting!) To Mary R- I agree that reading a blog that drags on and on can get very boring. Most folks are busy; they don’t have the time or the desire to read miles of words that describe every little thing that happens in one’s life! But I also agree that including a certain amount of life stories and experiences can certainly help a reader understand an artist’s art, to reach inside their heads a bit. I guess the challenge for us all is to find that happy medium between inclusive content and brevity… I try to make my blog a mixture of some photos of ongoing and completed artwork, some method explanation, and some interesting or funny things that happen in my life, since they help to make me the artist that I am. I often wonder whether I include too much?…