Thinking of giving up on your artist blog? Already given up on your blog?
First, let’s assume that you’re okay with writing. You have no problem collecting words and sharing them with others. With that as a starting point, I hope you’ll revisit your blog because there are four major benefits to blogging.
1. You will uncover things about your art when you blog about it.
The more you write about your art, the more you will discover about its meaning and your purpose and the better you will be able to articulate your work to collectors, curators, and writers.
This is the #1 reason to blog.
Blogging encourages you to write consistently about your art. There’s a little pressure to “keep it up” once you’ve started a blog, which is good for maintaining momentum.
If you are a working artist seeking a larger audience, your blog should be about your art and your life as an artist.
Write “how-to” posts if you teach, but only if you want to attract students. If your audience isn’t students, leave the how-tos or problem solving posts to service-based businesses, like Art Biz Success.
2. More content attracts more eyeballs for your art.
It’s tempting to forego a blog for social media. Who needs a blog when I have Facebook and Instagram? It’s a question I’m asked frequently.
The danger in building up all of your content on social media is that you have zero control over these sites. They’ll do whatever earns their shareholders the most money.
But you can control a blog. Blogging allows you to build content on your own site, which attracts traffic. You’ll benefit from posting on a blog and then sharing to social media, rather than posting only on social media.
3. Blogging can help establish you as an expert in your field.
You’ll be seen as knowledgeable and generous when you share frequent nuggets of information, which is especially valuable if you teach or plan to write a book.
I don’t know about you, but I want to be sure my teachers know what they’re talking about before I lay out money for a class. Ditto for the author who wants to sell me advice.
It’s increasingly rare to sweep a publisher off his or her feet with a manuscript alone. These days, publishers want to make sure you have a platform. You can build that platform (a list of followers) through blogging.
4. Blogging will differentiate you.
Again, assuming that you’re okay with writing, blogging is a real opportunity for you when most other artists are giving up on the process.
You don’t need to blog every day or even multiple times a week. Weekly or bi-weekly is sufficient as long as you’re consistent.
Then again, maybe blogging isn’t all right for you. You shouldn’t be blogging if you have a bad attitude or think about it as “just one more thing I have to do,” it will be a waste of your time. (Ditto for any other marketing you have a bad ‘tude about.)
Nor should you be blogging if you aren’t aligned with the above four reasons to blog.
The commitment to blogging is key to your blog’s success. Without it, your blog might end up six feet under in the ever-expanding graveyard of artists’ blogs.
I’m curious. Are you blogging? How has it helped you? Please leave a comment below and link your name to your most recent blog post.
If you have given up on blogging, tell us why.
This post was first published in 2015 and updated in 2018 with original comments intact.
136 thoughts on “Why Artists Should (and Shouldn’t) Blog”
Thank you Alyson, I needed just this nudge today to write more content for my blog.
That’s great news, Tracy. Keep it up.
I not only wrote something substantial for my blog for a change, I gave my website a complete makeover. Thanks for the inspiration Alyson!
Thank you for this great post on blogging. When I finish this last post on William Bartram, I’ll be done with a huge commitment I made to both my audience and myself, to write and illustrate 52 Posts about following in the footsteps of a 18th Century Early Explorer of the Southeast.
I learned quite a bit in the process, but I definitely discovered that I love to write and blog, and it works really well with my Photography. I have also built a body of work that got me 2 exhibits at top locations around town, and I ‘m in the process of wrapping up the last blog post to be released in conjunction with my work going up on the walls.
I have plans for my next blog series, but I want to finish the photography for it first. I’m hoping it will be a hotter topic than a dusty library book from the18th Century, although I ‘ve been surprised at how hot a topic William Bartram still is in these parts.
Wow! Congratulations on this major feat, Beth.
Great idea. What an interesting/unique topic. I am impressed with your commitment to such an overwhelming subject. Congratulations!
Thank you Alyson. You are an example of clear, rich and well structured content. Blogging is helping me to be consistent. It’s a challenge. Writing about my art helps to better understanding myself, what I do and why, and stops me from being so shy. You read my mind when you said that art is more about communication than decoration. I also think it should bother just a little. This is only my opinion. Also I teach, so blogging forces to improve my communication skills. Thanks again and sorry about my English.
Marta: Your English is beautiful. It’s awesome that you’ve challenged yourself in this way.
I have a blog about creativity where I blog three times a week, and one of those is to share my art or my life as a creative.
Good on you, Linda. I know how much work that is and appreciate it.
Wow, Linda, that’s fantastic! I’m impressed! Where can we find your blog?
Thanks for this post! The timing is perfect for me, as I’ve been struggling with how to start a blog off and on for quite a while and just this week have been telling myself the time is now. One of my biggest obstacles was really how to focus it, and you nailed it for me in this post.
I’m now giving myself a deadline to launch it by end of next week!
Woo hoo! No sense messing around, Alex.
GREAT post, and a great reminder to talk about our lives as artists. Thanks so much for the valuable post Alyson!
You do a great job with your blog, Kellie. You’re an example of following through with the commitment.
Thank you for this motivating post Alyson! All the latest social media platforms makes blogging feel like a dinosaur but I enjoy blogging. I only post once a month but I find it a fun place to experiment with articles and ideas.
Good job on being consistent, Sue.
I’m taking a break from being in the studio to have a cup of coffee and read your newsletter. I was happy to see this article about blogging. I have just started my own blog, and I’m having so much fun with it! (I’ll post my 3rd weekly post tomorrow.) I’m not sure where the line is between artist and person. I’d like to reveal in my next blog post some of my struggles and shortcomings as I try to balance motherhood and artist-hood, but I’m wondering if that’s too raw and personal? Should I be strictly writing about me-as-an-artist? I’d love to see an article addressing this issue. Thanks!
Open the vein! You don’t have to over-share to make it personal, Lauren.
I personally would have appreciated a blog platform when I was younger. It could have been helpful for me to share common issues of juggling a marriage, raising a family, being an artist, and working to help support all these things. I walked that tightrope long ago and survived. Now retired from the day job, my children are grown and I have grandchildren, I still struggle with family commitments and being an artist. I think you’ll find a huge audience with a blog about this ongoing dilemma. Go for it!
Thank you for the post Alyson. I appreciate it. I stopped blogging awhile ago because I kept hearing that “blogs are dead” and other such rumors. Also, I just don’t seem to have the time, between making work, the rest of my art business and my life. It seemed to be a bit of a chore for me as well. But, you make a very clear and compelling argument why to do it and how. Thank you!
I hope you bring your blog back, Philip.
I forgot to ask a question. I use Blogger. Is there a way to link it to my website, which is through FolioLink? Thank you!
I’m afraid I don’t know anything about FolioLink. On other platforms, you could just make it a menu link.
Right now I’m finding words to be superfluous…i post pix of work in progress on Tumblr from Instagram…thanks for your post tho…future thoughts to keep in mind!
Kathy Crabbe
http://KathyCrabbeArt.com
Kathy: You need words if you want to have intelligent dialogue with people about your art. Can’t tell a curator or gallerist that words are superfluous.
Kind of funny that this is the newsletter I opened today! I’m currently working on my first blog post in over a month. I usually try to keep it at least weekly, but summertime is a difficult time for me to blog. Vacation, outdoors, family, etc. always seem to keep me busy during the summer months. I’ve been blogging for over 10 years! Thank you for the reminder to keep up the consistent posts!
Welcome back to the blog race, Paula.
I couldn’t agree with you more. I’ve got a ginormous move of my studio which will take three months to do. I can’t blog twice a week but I can do once a week and document what is required to do this move. Videos are also a good thing to do. Thanks Alyzon for the good advice as usual.
That should make for some interesting posts, Teyjah.
Blogging, blogging, I go back and forth with it. I agree the how tos bring a lot of traffic, I have 2 blogs, one for my art, it is more like a creativity journal and the other one is in Spanish and it is about art marketing inspired of what you do for us but adapted to the Latin American culture. I wish I have enough time to update the second one but still get so much traffic from there to my website and social media that I’m happy I decided to build it years ago.
I think the first one is more important to keep up, Sikiu.
Hi Alyson
I started a blog after reading your wonderful book. (and yes I would rather be in the studio!) Blogging is a fulfilling way to share things on the art front that just pop into your head. I soon realised I couldn’t do too many how to posts, they don’t float my boat, but I talk about how my painting’s going and sometimes do a little review of local art shows of people I often know and that is very rewarding for all concerned!
Glad you found out what works for you, Mary.
I.am taking the Art Biz Boot camp…and looking forward to learnibg more about better blogging.
I have posted consistently weekly for probably 5 years.
We don’t get really deep into blogging in Bootcamp, Debra. Did a lot of content creation in Creative Content Camp over the summer. But hopefully you’ll pick up some tips.
Wow… This must have been from a few years ago!
Pardon the typos!
I continue my blog, even when it is demanding. I agree with Alyson, and also what Seth Godin says about blogging consistently being good for the soul, SO I do it weekly. Often about classes I have taught, but now starting to write more about my own work, shows, etc. I don’t know who all sees and reads the posts, but they are there… e
It was, Debra. I forgot to say that it was an update and I kept the original comments. Sorry about that!
Good job keeping up your blog.
Great Article about Blogging! Good motivation.
From my experience, you never know what doors your blog posts might open. I have been blogging over a year and it was one of the key things that set me apart from the crowd which led me to be chosen for Professional Artist’s Artist Spotlight feature in the current Oct/November 2015 issue.
That’s a nice article, Jennifer. Congratulations!
Hi Alison, a great, interesting post. Yes. I blog. Been doing it for sometime and I really enjoy it. I’m interested in that point about people reading it NOT BECAUSE THEY WANT TO BUY. So how does the blog convert to sales? Or does it not? Or is it only for other artists to read or students who may come to a workshop. I do teach a bit. But it’s not my main focus. My blog is an area where I write about what I’m doing in the studio – an exploratory process. But I wonder if I should be doing it if it’s not for sales. Maybe I’ve misunderstood the purpose.
Lesley: Whenever we focus too much effort on sales, we lose site of our real purpose.
I believe your real purpose as an artist is to connect with other people. You do that through your art (your gift). It’s how you make meaning throughout your life.
If you focus on that – on nurturing relationships – the sales will come.
And Hugh’s point wasn’t mutually exclusive. They might buy, but they’re there to be inspired by what you do.
Alyson, This is so reassuring. Thanks.
I love blogging and am consistent with Friday posts. But a question: how do I attract new readers AND discern whether they are reading or deleting? Very few of my (predominately) non-artist readers leave comments.
Cindy:
1. Keep writing strong posts that people share and comment on.
2. Share through your social media channels.
3. Watch your blog analytics to see what they’re reading.
Hi Alyson,
I’ve been too busy to contribute to your discussions here for most of this year. About twenty five weeks were consumed in illustrating three children’s books about a baby dragon called Brian. There was an off shoot from this Athena The Terracotta Wise Owl…
She has her own website @ http://www.athena2015.com/#!/athena
And her own blog @http://terracotta2015.blogspot.co.uk
Along the way I think I’ve added one post to my blog on my website about this illustration project.
Then my wife & I had a five week adventure on a circular cruise from London to Montreal with a stop off practically every second day.
We missed the UK summer all is packed away. The studio is ’empty & clean’…yes I can see my way to making some art soon!
Congratulations on completing all of these projects, Phil.
Thanks Alyson, appreciated!
Thanks for your article. I especially liked the part about why people read a blog. Which I think is also true about a newsletter.
After writing a blog for three and a half years, I have decided to stop doing it. I had started posting weekly and by the end it was very hard to get myself to post every other week. I felt I was writing into a void, since I very seldom got comments.
I have a mailing list of over 700 people and I feel that that needs to be my priority. I have committed to doing a monthly newsletter and I feel that gets more response and gets people to my art fairs more effectively than my work on the blog. In the newsletter, I show new work and photos from my travels. (And, based on your suggestion, I plan to also write about my life as an artist.) So a newsletter feels like a better use of my time and I recognize I can’t do both.
Linda: Kudos for keeping up your newsletter. 700 people is a great sized list!
Thank you for this post. I started a blog this past May. It’s mostly been works in progress photos and explanations, but there have been a few posts that are more personal. I try to post weekly but that hasn’t always happened. Neither my blog nor my website get very much attention. I have a whopping 5 followers to my blog so sometimes it doesn’t hardly seem worth it to invest the time in writing, but I’ve committed to myself that I will do it for at least a year, then re-evaluate. Plus, I just kind of like doing it.
Lisa: As long as you like doing it, keep it up. You’ll learn a lot from it.
Lisa,
Having three followers is an achievement…well done you.
I know my latest blog posted to a UK artists’ forum has about 70 views and about five comments in a week…it is duplicated on my website…The Challenge of The new.
But for me after blogging since 2008 about my art and me this is an achievement, believe me.
My only other “success” was here with Alyson which featured one of my paintings…’What is your Website’s Opening”?
You just have to keep plodding away…one day who knows?
PS how many art-blogs do you read & contribute to?
Very true Alyson re: “You need words if you want to have intelligent dialogue with people about your art. Can’t tell a curator or gallerist that words are superfluous” but…when I’m ready to share I will…I’ve always been a writer/journaler but have no need to share my private thoughts yet with the world …when I’m ready I will…no need to clog up the blogosphere with more extraneous and unnecessary verbiage.
I like “when I’m ready I will.” 🙂
I’ve been blogging once a week (twice for a couple of years) since 2007 except if I’m sick, seriously overloaded with work (it has to be overwhelming for me to skip a week) or when I’m traveling and even then I try to post at least once with some photos and location sketches. What I’ve found is that besides engaging people who are interested in my work and my life as an artist is that I’ve created an incredibly valuable archive of information not only about me and my art, but my area of interest, well, passion actually…Mongolia in all its aspects. As an artist I specialize in subjects from that country and am the only American artist doing so at the present time. At least a couple of times a month I have occasion to either refer back to a post myself or to give someone else the link to a post that will provide information they want. Write it once, use it as resource forever.
http://foxstudio.biz/blog/
Good work, Susan!
The trickiest part for me was figuring out the best time and frequency for my blog. I tried blogging several times a week and that made me crazy. Thankfully, I didn’t drop the ball but honed in on once a week and have gradually figured out how to method that is fun and not too challenging. And now I enjoy it! It is another creative process and it helps promote my work and business. Win win! Your tips and tricks have been helpful, Alyson!
You have a fantastic blog, Helen. I love that you’ve been able to keep it up and even grow its impact (on you and on others).
This is a great discussion, and I’m looking at several of the commenters’ blogs to get some inspiration. I’m just at the point of establishing & planning my website, and I agree that Helen’s blog is fascinating and well-done and is the kind of tone & content I envision for my own site, but with a fiber/textile arts viewpoint rather than a paper arts.
Right now I am blogging monthly concurrent with my newsletter. I am proud of the fact that I am publishing consistantly and on time. Much thanks to Alyson and her Creative Content Camp for helping me finally putting together a system that works for me.
🙂
thanks Alyson, for your answer; will do! Always helpful to get a specific nudge in the right direction.
Alyson, thanks so much for the informative blog you have! I have been struggling with my blog for months now, not really knowing how or where to start. Thanks to you I’m feeling a quite motivated!
Alyson,
I just finished reading that blog post by Hugh MacLeod before I found you blog! I think you both have great points about having an art blog. I’ve been tempted to create one in the past but as I am just about finishing my bachelor’s I won’t have time to spare on a blog for a little bit longer. Your post is quite motivating that I’m going to bookmark it later for future inspiration.
Thanks for stopping by, Sarah. Come back! And good luck with your degree.
Thanks for this. I help write content for the blog at the museum where I work, but have had a block for a blog of my own. Planning on writing some for myself and getting going!
So… How do you even start a blog?? I am revamping and rebranding my art in the new year and hope to have a website of my own.
I blog regularly over the years on my past websites I have been hit and miss with blogging. My first website I did a few blogs then never went back. Second website I did a bit more but still had alack luster commitment. With my current website I have been consistent. The main reason is for updates to my website and thats what im told by many source’s you need a blog. The benefits outside of website ranking and what not have been a lot. For instance I learn a lot about the craft , because I write about relevant things pertaining to what I do.
I attempt to blog every now and then because it is considered to be a vital part of marketing – but I dont want to write for bloggings sake and just be adding to the white noise – I just dont know what I would consistantly talk about
– but after reading this the other day was a bit inspired, so I gave it another go and wrote a blog called ‘art saves the world’.
http://www.mandyevansatuni.blogspot.com.au/
I laughed and laughed – and have got all sorts of ideas for the future now – so thanks for the inspiration
Good work, Mandy. Keep it up!
Thank you for this great post on blogging
Hi Alyson,
Blogging has given me so much. It let me meet you, it let me write a blog for you. The list is endless of how it’s helped me meet other artists, to share ideas, to express my feeling, excitement, fears about art. It got me some pretty great gigs, and wonderful media coverage. I like reading what people have to say, and FB and Instagram don’t allow for the same amount of content as a blog. So I do love that. Thank you for your wonderful blog, and all that you’ve taught me.
XOXOXOXOXO Barbara
Thank you for sharing this, Barbara. I’m so delighted we connected here.
Thanks for this timely subject. I have been a very inconsistent blogger and I actually enjoy writing! Got back from a show this week and started working on my next 6 month plan as I have big show coming up in April. ‘Get back to your Blog’ is underlined on my list! Thanks for the insight and new motivation.
NICE!
Alyson,
As always, your timing is impeccable. I would like to make blogging a bigger part of of my art business. I keep procrastinating the actual writing process but I actually like to write! This morning, I sat down to put some thought into why I was making it so difficult and whether or not to continue. Your email popped into my inbox and here I am.
I took your blogging class years ago and still have my binder with all of your notes. I’ll be dusting it off and re-focusing.
I struggle with feeling like I’m talking about myself all the time and I’m not sure I’m providing any value. It’s a little embarrassing for me to put myself out there, more so I’m words than in my art. Your perspective of writing about my life as an artist makes it seem less ego-centric and more sharing of information. I like to read about other artists, so why wouldn’t people want to read about my creative life? Thanks for the reminder and as always, solid advice.
Pam: That’s an oldie but a goodie, that blogging class.
What if you ONLY wrote for yourself without any expectations? Think of the relief and the joy!
This was re inspiring. I love to write but was discouraged by another consultant. But maybe I should try again. I really enjoyed it and it gave me structure and a by product was a focus developed as a result. I’ll revive this for the new year. Thx
Discouraged to write? ???? That’s terrible!
Alyson,
Well, to be honest about why I don’t blog anymore… I got lazy. That plus the fact that I moved across the US from Asheville, NC to Santa Fe, NM and felt I needed to establish myself in my new environs first. Then, with time moving on I just never got back into it, relying mostly on sales through my galleries and walk ins to my new studio. It’s not that I didn’t enjoy blogging, it just became another thing to do other than paint in the studio. Plus, very rarely did I get any feedback from the recipients of my blogs. The ones who needed to see what I was posting never did – new buyers, gallery owners, art critics. I felt like I was forcing my views and art experiences on people who really didn’t need to hear it over and over; more like overload. Will I ever blog again? I’m really not sure but if I knew it would stimulate new interest at both ends I just might.
Brad: Leverage the content! Write for yourself on the blog and then share it on social and in your emails.
I do find blogging a worthwhile way for me to explore and share my inner thoughts about my work. My challenge, though, is to plan content in advance, since I tend to get my inspiration “in the moment”. This means my posts are sporadic. Any suggestions for a soul like me? Thanks.
Yes, keep a list of ideas that you’re constantly working on. Then you have the words when it’s time.
As always, your timing is perfect. Between a busy event schedule and being paid to blog for another company, my blog was lost in the shuffle. I almost lost myself for a while. (I wrote about it in my blog this week!)
My last six weeks of 2018 will be about planning and preparing for 2019. Back to my business, my focus, not others. I started Creative Content Camp last summer and had to put it aside. Now back to class!
As always, Alyson, thank you for your common sense advice!
http://blog.neverboredcreations.com/
Lisa: You can do this!
I need to get back into blogging, I forget about it. I currently have a podcast and will give updates about my art practice there. Currently, my blog just shows exhibition announcements and links to the press. I know that I’m not interested in teaching, but I have spoken to groups about my work and classes about my practice. I think some of my posts could be interesting to share the behind the scenes, like actual numbers on promotion sales I’ve done and what not but thinking about what Alyson said. I’m not interested in teaching, but I do want to be able to contribute to the arts community. So I’m stuck there. Anyway, I like the idea of maybe 1-2x a month blogging just because I have a podcast.
Great article though, and as always wonderful insight Alyson.
Stephanie: How are you distributing your podcasts on your site? Seems like they could be combined with a blog.
Hi Alyson, I have been writing my blog CelebratingColor.com – with a focus on color and the artistic process – fairly consistently for 8 years. This is, along with a free download, has gradually built my mailing list.
Now that my book “I Just Want to Paint: Mixing the Colors You Want!” is about to be published, I have a solid base of followers and I have pre-sold 70+ books the past couple of months!
It is sometimes a challenge to keep writing for a blog, but I believe it is worth it. It’s an opportunity to learn about my readers as well as myself.
You do such a great job, Carol. I’m excited for your book to come out.
I’ve kept a blog since 2007 but most of it has focused on giving folks strategies to find more joy as I share my art based joy as an example. I like the idea of writing in more detail of my life as an artist in and of itself rather than just being used as an example. I did art (or visual) journaling solidly for 6 years in addition to my watercolor paintings and showed example pages which drew a following. I’m more focused now on the commercial art market with hand lettering and illustration. I think it would be helpful to brainstorm ideas for an editorial calendar so I have more structure with frequency. Thanks for the great tips and content.
Yes! Editorial calendar for sure, Dawn.
Thank you for this Alyson. I’ve got a bit sidetracked with my blog recently and feel it is going in the wrong direction. You’ve reminded me why it’s good to blog, and I am so grateful for your continued encouragement and gentle pushes along the right path.
Yay! When can we expect that next post, Mary?
Thanks for the inspiration Alison. I started blogging a year ago and had a hard time keeping up with it along with my painting and art shows. I have a long list of contacts from people signing my guest book at art shows. They are interested in seeing my new work.
I have hired a marketer for three months to post all of my content on emails and Face Book and Instagram. She comes up with great ideas and I send her the basic idea of the painting. This has taken a huge load off my shoulders. The plan is to give it to another marketer to pick up where she left off and continue the pattern she started.
Thanks for featuring my painting of “From the Market”
Cool! Questions, Renae ..
(1) How did you find her.
(2) Why not keep using the same person? Is she unavailable?
Also my understanding is that Google likes it when you update your blog regularly! But that doesn’t mean I am good at it!!
I have to admit I’ve let my blogging lapse. Part of the reason is that people rarely interacted, and my audience never grew despite putting a link to each post on Facebook
Doesn’t mean they’re not reading. If it’s good, they’ll read. But, above all, blog for yourself.
Thank you. I came upon this on a Twitter feed and that it sounded interesting. I blog on a regular basis, but my focus has been my writing. I’m a poet and writer and I post on my blog: https://thepensmight.com, regularly, though sometimes less consistently than others. I’m a fine artist and digital artist and I include my art with every post. I’ll post only this URL here, because you and others can find links there to my other sites.
What you said seemed so simply, it never occurred to me to just write about a particular piece of art. I have my links go to Fine Art America, which I am not sure is the best place to be. I believe you have given me the nudge to recreate my art sites.
Phil: Glad you found us!
I do have a blog, for the very reasons you list. I started it because I wanted to be more articulate about my work. The very act of writing helps clarify so much for myself, and if other people gain insights, so much the better. Yes, it’s challenging to maintain a schedule–one or two times a month is what I can handle–but I do believe it’s worth it, especially when someone I know mentions something I’ve written. They seem to appreciate having some help understanding the work.
I recently spent several months going back over all my old posts – fixing broken links, removing old branding and, in some instances, editing the posts. I also updated my post spreadsheet so that I now have a list of every post along with topic, links and image so that I can re-share old content. It was a horrible slog but I’m so pleased I did it as I’m amazed at what a treasure trove of content I have there. I live to share my creative insights so stopping blogging for me is just not an option.
WOW! I’ve done something similar in the past, but we’re STILL cleaning up this blog. Still finding posts that need to be removed (yes, we remove posts that we feel aren’t up to snuff). And always fixing broken links–mostly the URLs of our commenters.
I am a semi regular blogger, I feel that I am a good writer, and photographer and so I enjoy putting together an informative blog. I say “semi regular” because in order to write a good post, I put a lot of time into it. This commitment of time is not regularly available. Or maybe sometimes I just don’t have great content for my blog and so I wait a bit. I blog to fill my workshops and to pique interest in my original work, also I feel that driving traffic to my website is always a good thing. With the algorithms of Facebook and Instagram being controlled by them and not us… I agree with Alyson that the blog is the only way to be assured that you content is making it to your followers. I am currently teaching a 5-day workshop in Mexico and here is my latest blog post about our adventures here in art and travel: http://www.paperpaintings.com/2018/11/14/travel-blog-the-colors-of-mexico/
Elizabeth: It’s so fun to read your posts — always. I feel like I’m with you on the journey.
I’ve been posting to my blog for over a decade and I love it. It allows people to get to know me and see what I’m photographing. It also provides a way for people to contact me if they find my images on Google Images and want to license them.
My latest post is about a recent visit to the Museum of Appalchia in Tennessee. I’m planning a workshop in the area in the spring of 2020 – so today’s post will be one I can refer people back to so they can see one of places we’ll be visiting during the workshop
https://www.beautifulflowerpictures.com/blog/a-visit-to-the-museum-of-appalachia-2/
You always do such a good job, Patty!
Interesting and compelling read, and reading others’ experiences. I struggle with keeping my blog going. Mostly because: I think nobody’s reading it (how to be found in the vast ocean of the internet, even with research into keywords?!) and I’m not sure I have interesting things to say that others can connect with. While I was on a residency it was required, so I did it, but now I’ve lost the confidence. One of my big questions is: do you have to be consistent in who you write for? Because, I end up writing to various audiences: potential buyers, academic niche, other artists, architects, general tips….
Thanks for your great writing, by the way!
Anna: Write for yourself! Write about your art.
Also, Anna, your blog could use some better styling of the fonts, text size, etc. It’s a little crammed and hard to read.
I’ve been blogging on and off for a year or two, but feel kind of lost doing it. Thank you very much for point #1 above. It gives me a good reason to blog, and a focal point for it. If you asked me why making art is so important to me, I’d have a hard time coming up with an answer.
Joe: Great! A quick look at your blog makes me see that you’ve kinda been using it as a social media platform for announcements. Instead, I’d write about the content of the available work and then use social media to say it’s available. You’ll get the hang of it.
I’ve been think I g about blogging but I have no idea where to start
Ivy: You probably need a website first. If you blog, I suggest using the WordPress platform.
Interesting post, Alyson. Thank you. I just started blogging this year and I was doing really well at being persistent at it (once a month) and then I fell off the deep end. I need to get back at it, but just haven’t had the time. I spend a lot of time preparing the images in PhotoShop and writing the blog because I want it to be quality content. This makes it harder, but I’d still rather have quality over quantity any day. Not sure how it’s help me – although the first post garnered a couple comments from my followers, so that engagement is good. I also then post a link on Facebook, but I probably haven’t been as consistent at that as I should be. The best thing is that I include it in my newsletter – a brief teaser and a link to the blog, to try to draw people to my website to read the blog and maybe start looking at my artwork. I still have to work on my rhythm. Here’s the link to my blog, with the most recent post at the top. https://www.spunkybohemian.com/blog
Shelley: You absolutely must be consistent to see results. And, as I said, the most important reason to blog is to better understand your work.
Alyson thank-you so much for reviewing the concept of blogging. It was just yesterday that I messaged you expressing my wavering feelings towards blogging because I was concerned that social media had rendered it obsolete.
I admit that with the surge of instagram I had begun putting most of my attention there and had actually stopped blogging for over a year (only to revive it for one month in advance of my solo show)… horrible I know
But I do see the benefits. I use to provide links to recent blog posts in my newsletters and on facebook…and at the time readership was pretty good… but as noted above I kind of gave up and stuck to social media posts only…
I certainly agree that blogging creates a platform for artists to discuss their work. In all honesty I have found that writing about your art in advance of an upcoming presentation or function is helpful… there is less stumbling over the words. And I have to trust that there are people out there who would like to know more about me and the work (I think that understanding, is a bit of a personal battle too)… Sometimes you feel like no one is interested…
I’m going to give it a go again. I promised myself after we last talked that I would at the very least post monthly and invite a guest blogger here and there.
Thank-you for picking up this topic. I’m going to give the other responses a read as well 🙂
One other thought as well! Do you see any benefit to revisiting older posts and updating the content, or at least the quality of the post?
I started out as a blogger. I had abandoned it due to the lure of social media and frustration over the (blogging) industry changes, but I’m slowly making my way back, this time as an embroidery & watercolor artist. I believe blogging and newsletters are the only real way to stay in control of your marketing and not be at the mercy of algorithms. I’m making time for both of these pursuits by reducing my social media “marketing time”. In fact, my current blog post is about that very topic!
I have a blog that I used to write regularly but life stuff got in the way for awhile. I just posted my first blog in ages. I need to get back to it on a regular basis. It seems to engage people.
forgot the link…https://geridegruy.com/blog
Nice, Geri! I know you can keep it up.
I am an art blogger with some unusual perspective. In the past, I wrote several articles related to my paintings but I noticed that most of my readers/visitors love to those articles that are informative and accordingly they also want to get some knowledges related to art in several aspects. Therefore, I started writing on art and culture based on India and Asia and I got huge response with several thanks around the world; also I won a golden badge from a magazine of London. Although, I also write about my painting and advices for the art collectors, if I feel necessary. I also, published a book based on my blog articles about the cave paintings of Ajanta which is now available on Amazon and I noticed that readers around the world showing interest on this book by downloading in several times. Fortunately, I got a few royalties 🙂
That’s very cool! Congratulations, Amar.
Hello and thank you for this interesting and useful advice. I have been blogging for a couple of months after redesigning my website and must admit that it makes me nervous. I feel a little self conscious every time I write. Maybe it is a lack of confidence in my work? I don’t really know if I am doing it correctly or in a good way either. I also don’t know if I am posting too much, too little or if the content is interesting! Never had any feedback . . .
Michael: Way to just dive in! Isn’t it funny how you feel exposed with the words, but you’re okay sharing the art?? Or are you?
I used to blog once a week for many years until 2 years ago when I stopped using blogger and started using the blog on my new wix website. I slowly went from weekly to monthly and now maybe every other month.
You’ve reminded me why blogging regularly and consistently can be beneficial. I recall that I struggled with finding my voice, then writing, rewriting and editing my post took hours. Overtime I became a better writer, my confidence grew and I actually looked forward to drafting a post. I also found that the need to have content for each week, kept me thinking about art and ideas to post weekly. Thanks for the nudge Alison, I’m going to get back into it!
Laura: That’s so great to hear! Like anything worthwhile, you have to spend time on it if you want to improve.
Hey Alyson,
I finally got my art blog up and running. Like you said, I wrote for myself. It’s interesting that as an experienced writer, I can usually knock out blog posts on just about anything and anyone else’s art, but writing about *my* art felt incredibly intimate and required some breathwork. Thanks for this!
First post: https://belindayhughesart.wordpress.com/2018/01/13/colored-pencil-full-moon-with-fire-circle-and-dancing-trees/
Excellent work, Belinda!
I slowly went from weekly to monthly and now maybe every other month.
You’ve reminded me why blogging regularly and consistently can be beneficial. I recall that I struggled with finding my voice, then writing, rewriting and editing my post took hours
Loved your blog post about whether to blog or not. I have been blogging on WordPress and recently updated and redesigned my blog. I also added my e-commerce artisan jewelry store to my blog and having the store right on my blog is helping me become much more consistent about blogging. Adding some plugins to help with SEO really helps too. There’s a lot to remember to do before a post goes live. I really think artists’ should have their own blog because we have a lot of interesting art things to talk about! Thanks for the great info.