The Art Biz ep. 21: Creating Opportunities for Your Art Career with Meg Black
Artist Meg Black doesn’t wait for things to happen, she makes them happen. She has recently installed a major commission in the new addition of the town hall in Topsfield, MA. In this episode of the podcast, Meg tells us about the process from vision to reality. She shares how she got involved in the project, the research that went into it, and the hurdles she had to overcome in able to get it done
Why Artists Should (and Shouldn’t) Blog
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
The Art Biz ep. 20: How to Choose the Right Artist Group for You
I’m sure you’ve been to group meetings where you thought to yourself, What in the world am I doing here? Those are groups you want to exit quickly. No sense hanging around.
Maybe it’s just not the right group for you. Or maybe it’s because it’s not well organized. I used this special podcast to talk— just me—about artist groups.
Being an artist is lonely and most artists need to spend time around others to thrive. There are 4 primary reasons to be part of an organized and well-run group.
- Inspiration and Motivation
- Opportunities and Connections
- Support
- Accountability
And there are 4 attributes to pay attention to in an artist group that should match your goals and ambition.
- Vision
- Members
- Structure
- Leadership
I also give you a few red flags to look out for.
Do listen to the full podcast (it’s shorter than most) and take notes. After nearly three decades witnessing hundreds of artist groups thrive and fail, I have a few thoughts that could save you time and frustration when you’re looking for your tribe.
Is Your Art Just Free Décor?
There are all kinds of places where you could show your work.
Coffee shops would love to have your art!
Salons would fawn over it!
Professional offices would think they’d died and gone to heaven!
This is great news for you, especially when you are just starting out. It’s a stamp of approval when public spaces want to show your work.
Almost every artist does the “free” circuit. It’s where you get your toes wet.
These seemingly low-risk venues offer a venue for you to learn how to:
- Properly prepare and price your art for installation
- Curate a body of work because not everything you have made is fabulous and looks great together (Sorry)
- Install your art correctly
- Promote your art in a brick-and-mortar space
In addition, live venues test your conversational and and negotiating skills. There’s rarely a formal agreement in these venues, but you’d be wise to add that to your list of learning opportunities.
Because these non-art venues are considered less serious than galleries, many artists put very little effort into the process. After all, you’re looking for (here comes the e-word) “exposure.”
You deliver the work, install it yourself, add labels, and then, when the time comes, deinstall it and take it home.
Or perhaps the date for deinstallation is left open.
Six months fly by and your work is still there. The owners and patrons have gotten used to it. They quite enjoy having the nice backdrop. The owners don’t want to see it go, so they aren’t responsive to your attempts to communicate with them.
Your art show has turned into free décor.
Let me be clear that
Why Your Website Isn’t Generating Sales
Your website is for generating sales and opportunities – even if you don’t sell directly from your site. You’re using your site as a digital portfolio to sell galleries and other venues on the idea of your art.
There are numerous factors as to why some art sells better online than others. Perhaps the work is more “popular” or more affordable. Or maybe the artists use their lists and social media more effectively.
Without taking those things into account, there are four errors you should correct immediately if you would like more sales and opportunities. Each is a step toward making it easier for people to buy.
1. You make people click multiple times to see the art.
If your website hasn’t been updated in years, you might have an old template that makes people click numerous links to see your art. It’s time for a major overhaul.
Can you imagine walking into a gallery and not knowing what they sell? If you’re sending people to your site to see, appreciate and, perhaps, purchase your art, you’d better show it to them on every page.
That’s right: every page. Your website has acres of virtual real estate that needs your art to make it attractive to visitors. Use it!
You never know where people will land on your site, so see that the art is the main feature.
2. You don’t make it clear what you’re selling.
Would you install your art in a space without a label next to it? No!
Would you want anyone else to install your art without acknowledging you as the maker? Absolutely not! You’d probably get miffed (and rightly so) if someone did.
And, yet, many artists are showing their art online without giving themselves proper credit. A credit line looks like this.
©Your Name, Title of Artwork. Medium (be specific), size (H x W x D inches/cm). Photo credit if necessary.
You can see the above format in use under the featured images on this post. Yours doesn’t have to follow this exact configuration. You can vary the sequence and punctuation as long as the credit line includes each of those elements and as long as you are consistent.
Potential buyers more easily imagine the art in their space and lives when they know specifics. You not only need to be clear about medium and size, but also about matting, framing, and anything else that would be included.
Take photos of the art in situ, or installed in an office or home environment to help people
Master Your Subject Lines in 49 Characters or Less
Email messages are the steam engine behind much of your marketing these days. They’re cheap, they’re fast, and . . . they’re completely ineffective unless recipients open them and act on the message.
Recipients are tempted to open messages, in large part, based on what they encounter in the subject line.
Your subject line is almost more important than the content of the email. If the message is never opened, you might as well have not sent it.
To the point: The purpose of your email subject line is to get the recipient to open the email. It’s not a space-filler and should never be an afterthought. You can’t take a subject line for granted. Follow these 7 tips for better subject lines.
1. Make it personal.
Think about your subscribers and readers. Which ones are your strongest prospects? Which are your loyal collectors?
Write directly to these people as you’re crafting your message and your subject line by opting for the words You and Your over Me, My and Mine as much as possible. Write to them in a conversational, authentic tone.
The words You and Your are powerful. Did you notice how many times I’ve used them in this article? I’m writing to you, not for or about me. Examples of You-centered subject lines include the following.
- It won’t be a party if you’re not there
- Can’t wait to show you the 3rd photo from the left
- Picture yourself sipping wine and looking at art
2. Be specific.
Don’t use the same subject line for every email to your list. If we see the subject line News from Diane Jenson’s Studio every month in our inboxes, we begin to think it’s the same message over and over again.
You want readers to know that there is unique content in each message. Using the same subject line for every email masks the value of the individual messages.
If you’re promoting a particular event in your email, use the location of the event in the subject line.
- Just 1 of 82 artists in Breckenridge next weekend
- Chocolate and art in New Orleans Nov 5
Or use the title of a specific work instead of simply acknowledging “new work” in general. These two examples use titles from real-life artwork.
- Cake on Cake—the fat-free version
- Dazed and Confused? There’s a painting for that
3. Use numerals instead of text.
The number 50 has more of a visual impact than the word fifty. Note, however,
