Marketing Material and Resources Archives

Your Artist Newsletter Delivers Trust

I sent my first email newsletter on March 25, 2002.

When I started, there was one other email newsletter that I was aware of that was published to help artists build their businesses.

If you had told me that I’d still be writing it in 2016, I would have questioned your sanity. And then I would have questioned my own for starting.

I’ve been delivering this content every week for 14 years. Every. Single. Week.
I’ve never missed an issue. (Knock on wood.)

I’ve come close. Some editions are down to the wire, as I feel pressure to publish high-quality content in an increasingly noisy environment.

What’s The Big Deal?

If I skipped a week here and there, you probably wouldn’t miss it, but you might wonder if I am serious about nurturing a relationship with you.

You might question whether or not I’m “the real thing” or just another fly-by-night person thinking she has the chops to coach artists about their careers and businesses.

Here’s the thing:

Your Artist Newsletter Delivers Trust Read

Ann Cunningham printed six postcards at once with the intent to distribute them within the next year. That’s dedication!

8 (Other) Occasions To Send Postcards That Promote Your Art

Today we take time out to honor the humble, under-utilized, centuries-old, low-tech postcard.

Why spend virtual ink on such an old-fashioned method of communication? Because postcards can do what email cannot do.

Postcards can’t be targeted as spam by an aggressive filter.

Postcards can’t be accidentally (or purposefully) deleted by recipients.

Postcards are likely to be tacked to a refrigerator or kept as a memento.

Postcards are tactile. We can hold them in our hands and ponder them. They have the potential to delight, which is something we rarely say about email these days.

You, like the private clients I advise, would benefit from sending three or four postcards a year.

Postcards are most often used to invite people to an upcoming exhibition or open studio.

Some artists design a single postcard with a schedule of all upcoming shows they’re participating in.

But if you don’t have an upcoming exhibition, you might wonder what you’d say on a postcard or why you’d send one in the first place.

Here are 8 other occasions for using postcards to promote your art and build relationships with your list.

8 (Other) Occasions To Send Postcards That Promote Your Art Read

Rx for Sloppy Newsletter Syndrome

There’s an epidemic going around.

Don’t panic. If it strikes, you won’t need to rush to the ER or be quarantined. But you will need to take immediate action.

Your physical health isn’t in peril, but the health of your art business is at stake.

The epidemic is SENS – Sloppy Email and Newsletter Syndrome. Let me explain the symptoms so you can self-diagnose.

Symptom 1: Missing Name

This is the most destructive of all the SENS symptoms.

Rx for Sloppy Newsletter Syndrome Read

5 Steps to a Magazine Feature of You and Your Art

The November 2014 / January 2015 edition of Professional Artist magazine features an article by me titled “Think Before You Leap: Beware of People Who Tell You to Follow Your Passion.” The editor suggested photos of artists at work to accompany the article and I knew exactly who to contact: ceramic artist Patricia Griffin. Patricia is

5 Steps to a Magazine Feature of You and Your Art Read

I Love Email (But I Love Real Mail More)

You know I love email, right? I don’t necessarily love all of the spam that hits my inbox or the countless hours I spend reading and replying to email, but I can’t imagine running my business without it. How would I ever be able to help as many people as I do for such a

I Love Email (But I Love Real Mail More) Read

Are You Announcing, Commanding or Inviting?

Are you announcing, commanding, or inviting in your marketing messages? There is a place for each of these in your art marketing, but I encourage you to be aware of which you’re using and when. An announcement is a presentation of the facts. “I’m having an exhibition. The opening is at this time and this place. Here’s how you see my art.” Tamara McElhannon’s lovely announcement is pictured here.

Are You Announcing, Commanding or Inviting? Read

Jill Rosoff does a good job sending solo emails for events such as this watercolor workshop

5 Cures for the Email Blahs

Email has become indispensable for marketing, but sometimes we can’t see what’s right under our noses. If you are in an email funk and not seeing results from what you’re sending, consider these five remedies. 1. Understand the difference between newsletters and solo emails. A newsletter is usually a regular update (weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly) that has consistent features.

5 Cures for the Email Blahs Read

31 Types of Photographs You Can Use to Promote Your Art

Don’t underestimate your audience’s desire to know more about you and more about your life as an artist. And never underestimate the story that a good photograph can tell. Share photos of Your Art, Your Office, Your Studio, and You. I’ll bet you already have a lot of these photos, but are you showing them? Could you share a quick link to them if you were asked?

31 Types of Photographs You Can Use to Promote Your Art Read

The Big Fat Artist Video Challenge

In Promote Your Art Through Video, R. Daniel Foster left us with a challenge. If you participated in this teleseminar (and you can still sign up here) and created a video as part of the challenge, we want to hear from you. Please leave your video link in a comment on this post and tell us what you most enjoyed about the seminar. We’ll give you free feedback.

The Big Fat Artist Video Challenge Read

The Secret To Powerful Videos That Showcase Your Art

Filmmaker R. Daniel Foster explains how video’s message and meaning must be in sync in order to be a powerful marketing tool.

The Secret To Powerful Videos That Showcase Your Art Read

Marketing Material and Resources

What’s The Big Deal?

Symptom 1: Missing Name

Your Artist Mailing List: Rethinking + Assessing