The Burning Question: How do I Market My Work Article 1 aka Don't Put The Cart Before The Horse

Up today--More from my series "The Burning Question"

"The Cul De Chick"  36 x 36

I hope everyone had a great weekend! I had a little respite from my normal surroundings by taking my work on the road for 2 days as my ReMe business partners and I worked on our 2015-2016 program.   TONS of exciting things coming up...which you will be hearing about over the next few months.  

  That leads me today's topic, which is another installment of my series, "The Burning Question".

Many of the things Jean, Penny and I talked about over and above our planning had a lot to do with marketing, so I thought it fitting to share this burning question:   One of my newsletter readers, Ellen, asked recently,  "How do you Market your artwork?"

Marketing is such a robust topic, I think I'd like to address this over several installments so be sure to check back periodically for more updates.  For today, I am going to just start with a larger overview and a few steps or questions for you to think about as you formulate (or tweak) your own marketing plan.

In the beginning:

When I first decided that I wanted to sell my artwork,  I pretty much had no idea what I was doing honestly. Most of what I did (and still am doing) is going by my gut instinct on what avenues to pursue or not to pursue.    One thing I want to suggest though before you worry to much about marketing, is to first and foremost, make sure you have a body of work to even market.  

It's kinda like not putting the cart before the horse kind of thing.   I've seen people fret for months and months about the perfect business card, perfect branding elements, go overboard on signage and those much needed business marketing materials before they really even have an identity or body of work to worry about selling.  In the mean time, they have lost a lot of needed time to produce work and hone their skills while chasing the marketing materials. But the plus side of it is that they have a bad ass business card. (heehee).

SO....rather than worry about the branding portion of your business if you are in the beginning stages of your creative business...worry about making art non stop.  Do it as much as you can.  Develop a body of work, a collection, and develop your skills. 

DO buy business cards but keep them simple for now, maybe use images of your work (like moo cards) or other simple formats that simply state your name and your contact information.

ALSO: I'm a big proponent of using social media to market your work, to tell your story, and to start understanding who exactly is your core customer that is drawn to your work.   (Note--who is drawn to your work isn't necessarily who you might think your core customer is in the beginning, and it may not even be who 'converts' to a paying customer, but it does give you insight as to where your marketing efforts should possibly be focused.

What? You don't use social media for your art?? 

Okay my friends....that's one of the first steps I might suggest at least starting with if you are wondering how to market your work:

1.  Establish a blog (I use blogger but there are others you could consider, some are free and some are not).  Think long and hard about your name for your blog.  I chose Sweet Repeats long before I started my art business as I was originally interested in re-purposing yard sale and thrift store finds. Those that don't know my blog or haven't had it linked somewhere to them along the line may have a hard time finding it.  Because I have had it for so many years (I started blogging around 2006), and have had my name linked to it and my artwork linked to it, you could search for me and find it but if I were to do it all over again, I'd just use my name since most people search for my art by name.

If you already have a blog but it's been long neglected.  Dust it off and get back in the rodeo! I know this post is rather long for a post in general, but remember, not everything you blog about needs to be a chapter in length.  Think twice about posting something on Facebook if it requires a paragraph of explanation...instead start posting things like that on your blog.  (This topic also deserves more in depth discussion!).

2.  Establish a Facebook account for yourself personally and for your business.   I know...I know...not everyone wants to be on Facebook or share everything about their life.  It is time consuming. It's also a great way to 'somewhat freely' connect with your audience and build a following. You are leaving 1000's, in fact potentially millions of connections on the table if you choose not to pursue this avenue of marketing and sales.  The other point is, YOU choose what to share.  Your customer base does want to know about YOU the artist.  YOUR STORY. They want to see a bit behind the scenes.  They want to be INSPIRED by you.  Your followers  may not care to see what you are having for breakfast everyday (but hey, if its drool worthy or promoting a local restaurant that you love..what have you..share that love if you are inclined to do so).

REMEMBER---for any social media outlet you choose...the way you present yourself has a lasting effect and impact on your clients and customer base. If you are Wendy Whiner because no one has signed up for your class or bought a piece of art in a week and your mortgage is coming due...honestly, no one wants to hear that. Not that you can't share the ups and downs of your creative life, just watch for your 'tone' and how professional or unprofessional you may come across.

3.  Pinterest for me has been another great way to promote my art, and to really start showing people what it is that I like or am drawn to.   If you see a board called  "My Style"  in Pinterest you'll see that I really like cowboy boots, casual but bohemian style clothes, industrial  type of home decor.   If you check out my color collections, you'll see some of the colors that make my heart sing!   Sharing your artwork on a board you create is a must.  Every time I do  a blog post or list something on Etsy, I also share on Pinterest one or two things that coordinate with those posts.  

When I look at the stats  for my blog and Etsy account,  tons of referrals and readers come from Pinterest.  Many of those referrals have converted into sales, in fact, some of my biggest sales over the last 12 months have come from Pinterest.  Just sayin.  

I have a lot of room improvement in all of these areas, but at the same time, I try not to get too wrapped up in how many followers I have even though I want to see those numbers go up. Rather, I hope I am reaching the RIGHT customers who are truly, truly, interested in what I'm creating, teaching, or writing about (or all the above).   That's my goal right now---to reach the right customers while increasing my reach across the board over time.

4. Other social media outlets to consider joining or using to start developing your brand identity and connecting with your 'peeps' :  Instagram (especially popular with a younger market but increasingly popular because of it's 'mobility' and ease of use),  Google Plus (I'm still figuring that out), and LinkedIn (not for me but you may find it useful), Twitter--I am liking that format more and more since you can now share pictures pretty easily.

5. What do you do first or do you have to do it all? You may not want to work with all of these platforms and frankly you may not  have the time to use all of these outlets, so choose a couple for now or look into a program that can share or schedule posts across multiple platforms.  The key to any of these outlets is to not just post and run. You must be engaging. You need to share content that is interesting to your readers or followers. Commenting and following others in the industry is important, too. Don't be 'one sided' in the 'conversation and sharing'. You also need to be regular with your postings because for you to be effective in this type of marketing,  it can't be a once a month update and expect your reach to be wide enough to see much difference in anything you are trying to accomplish.

6.  Newsletters: If you don't have a newsletter platform, I'd also suggest developing one.  I use Mailchimp for my service and it's totally free up to 2000 subscribers.  I'm not at that number yet so for me, doesn't cost anything to use the service other than the time it takes to create a newsletter. It's fairly user friendly to create a newsletter, too.  (This was another question that I intend to address more in depth down in this Burning Question series..stay tuned for that!)     One of the reasons I highly recommend having an email list (especially if you do shows or already have a blog established) is because those that those that sign  for your newsletter have REALLY established that they are one of your peeps and want to hear from you on a regular basis.  Think of yourself, if you sign up for an email newsletter somewhere, it's definitely a business you care about or enjoy shopping with (or if it's more of an educational publication, you are saying you want to hear what they say about topic xyz) on a regular basis.   This list of readers is also YOURS.  If Facebook or Twitter go away tomorrow....you still have your newsletter list to communicate to your core customer with. 

If you solely count on any one platform for your entire social marketing campaign..you are putting all your eggs in one basket and that's a little scary to think about....remember "My Space"??????

If you are wondering what to  focus on growing or are wondering what to do first...I say REALLY focus your energy on growing your newsletter as one of the top 2-3 areas of marketing. 

While we are on the topic...have you signed up for mine? :)

If not,  here's a quick link for you to do so:

Sign Up Here

See how easy was that?  

Making it easy for your customers or potential customers to find you and follow you is half the battle! :)

Let's circle back around for a moment----don't get so caught up into any marketing campaign or growing your followers in addition to establishing your brand before....before what:

You have a body of work  (or at least a few pieces and know that you are constantly creating so that more are on the way) to showcase.

You don't want to be a 'one hit wonder' do you???  People forget real quick if you are here to day but gone  tomorrow (or for that  matter, gone over the next year to 10 years) while you create your next creative endeavor (painting, jewelry collection, song,  poem, article,writing,  baby clothes,  or like in my last essay..the best chocolate chip cookie). Again, keep creating and keep communicating!

7.  The last thing I'm going to touch on for the web based marketing section of this list is You Tube.  If you have the gumption to start video taping even a part of your process, you would be surprised at how important You Tube can be to establishing your identity as an artist.   

Yes, it's not the easiest thing in the world to video tape yourself or your project.

It's not impossible either.

You could also do slide shows of your work.

Little clips promoting your work, your classes, your next show...whatever...can have a HUGE impact on your overall sales and marketing. They are also fun to do once you get the hang of it.


****NOTE--Having a website is VERY important but I'm not going to touch on that right now because it's an area that I haven't fully integrated into what I do...I have one, but it's just in the beginning stages of development and may change soon.  In other words, it's a work in progress and needs to be tidied up.  If you want to see what I have so far....take a look here.  It's dusty though :))

See what I mean...this is a robust topic, isn't it?

There's so much more to cover than just what are your options (online) to start your marketing, and I recognize that it's not a one size fit all type of answer. I'm basically trying to address those that resonate with what I do because, chances are, some if not all of these points will be helpful to you.

Let's close today's Burning Question Answer with this recap:

1.  Before you start worrying about marketing in general...create your heart out so you have something to market with and a direction you want to go in.

2.  Do have communication tools ( such as basic business cards or moo cards)  available to hand out to those that want to know about your work or have your contact information for future reference.

3.  Research a variety of social media platforms and decide on a few that you are most comfortable with and start at the very least building your following by sharing what you are working on now (people love seeing the behind the scenes work), and what inspires you and your art.

Leave the very deep and dark personal stuff out of the mix along with the drama.  Don't start it and don't  partake in it.

4.  Figure our a way to start or grow your Newsletter list.  Those are your core customers and where you will find the  most success at converting  readers to sales, or reader to followers..all of which are important to you as an artist and a business. If Facebook closed tomorrow, you'd still have your newsletter list to reach out to and connect with.

5.  Take the time to find your own groove and what works for you, but be regular about your interactions no matter what you do.  Don't post and run, or post and disappear...or everything you are working on developing will fade away.  

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My last ask of you is to write your story: 

Why do you do what you do?

What's important to you? 

Who are you hoping to impact by your creativity and why?

What inspires you?

Who do you think is your ideal customer/student/reader?

Answering these questions may help you identify key points of your marketing plan and your reason most of all of why you are in this creative business in the first place.

Don't put the cart before the horse.

I'm not going to sit here and tell you that it's easy. It's not hard either...it just takes time to develop.

It took me 2 hours today to write this post today, another 6 hours before this post even happened to write my newsletter whereby I had a reader ask this question. I spent another  hour setting up a spread sheet to keep track of my readers questions, and several hours just thinking about my answer before I wrote this post today.

.  

It's marketing time that may go unseen from the surface but hopefully in addition to reaching those of you who are interested in starting your own art biz (or enhance what you already do), I hope to reach even more people that have yet to find me yet...so to me, it's time well spent. I love sharing ideas and helping others so it's a win win situation for us all :)

I hope you have gained some insight from today's burning question!   I have plenty more to share so be sure to follow my blog.  An easy way to follow if you aren't already is to join this service:

Bloglovin

Do you have a Burning Question you'd like to ask? I'm seeking questions of all sorts from YOU! (Art Biz,  Living the Creative Life,  Art technique questions, Inspiration, How To...just to name a few of the categories)

Leave a comment here or feel free to email me privately at:  jodiohl@hotmail.com

Until we meet again!

Jodi

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Don't forget,  just a few more days left to take advantage of my online class sale over at Creative Workshops!! (This includes my newest class, "Podtastic!"

Get your art on with me! :)

12 Tips on How to Be Published in Art Magazines

So you wanna be published in a magazine?

Every so often I get asked how to go about being published, so I thought I'd share a few tips I've found to be helpful along my way.

 It was almost 4 years ago this month that I sent my first entry into Cloth Paper Scissors, never thinking I even had a smidgeon of a chance of being accepted.  Low and behold, a couple weeks after I entered my submission, I was chosen for an article!  It was one of the most exciting days of my life and I'll never forget the thrill of opening that email and sheer fright...because....they wanted my work to be sent and I no longer had it.  

Lesson number one:

1.  If you choose to email the publisher with an article query, ensure you have the items you are sending in. Seems like a no 'brainer' but for me, I didn't think I'd get accepted and I just happened to sell those pieces I sent in. EEEEk.  Well things turned out okay because I was able to recreate those items (after discussing it with the then editor, Pokey Bolton), but it was a scary thought that I almost lost the biggest opportunity of my life because of my ignorance!

2.  Read the guidelines for each magazine you wish to submit to. Each one has specific regulations on what they are looking for.  Some want an email first with specific sized pictures, others want your actual artwork sent in. You can miss an opportunity by not following the rules!

3.  While we are on the topic of reading....read the publication!  If you have the next big 'Bird' art piece that is just out of this world,   make sure that wasn't a recent cover article or main article in the magazine.    They generally are looking for fresh ideas or new takes on established processes.  Put YOUR spin on a project.

4.  Take great pictures.  If you have a beautiful project but shoddy pictures, it probably isn't going to make the cut if you are emailing a query.  Pictures can make or break an online submission.

5. If you have an idea for an article, write a short outline in your query to let the editors know that if you are chosen to write about the process, you are ready to go with an article.

6.  Enter the calls for submissions. It's a great way to get your feet wet and become a recognized name within the magazine.

7.  Blog about your work.  Every so often there are editors scouting talent online through blogs, facebook, pinterest and other various social media outlets for new ideas and artists (or established artists with interesting projects) to feature in their magazine. I've received several opportunities that exact way!

8.  Do your best work.  Send in your best work.  But don't wait until it's so perfect that you never get started trying. Does that make sense?  There is always going to be something bigger and better out there but it's not going to be YOURS or YOU....so just take a chance and try.  

9.  Every no leads to a yes.  You may not get accepted the first time you send in a piece of art, or perhaps it may take you 3 or 4 tries.  Don't let it get you down to the point you stop trying. It's all a matter of timing, other submissions, magazine vision for a particular publication, and so on. You never know when all of that is going to shift so just DO IT:)

10. Be mindful that publications are created months and months out. That means a couple of things.  If you send something in November that is perfect for Christmas, you are wayyyyyy too late and probably way too early.   Christmas articles are starting to be born right about now, in late Spring  for the the Nov/Dec issues (if not earlier).   Not every magazine is holiday specific but several do have a slant on a particular season or holiday especially around the big ones during the course of the year.  Because the magazines work on projects so far in advance, it also means your work will be tied up for 6-12 months when sent in.  In most cases, if you are published, you will get your work back within 30-45 days of the publication hitting the stands.   If it is a paying job (not all are), that is about when you can expect payment as well.

11.  Clearly label with your contact information all of your pieces.   If a publication requires  return shipment payment from you, ensure you enclose that information if you want your work back.  

12.  Last but not least,  I just have to repeat myself in that if you want to be published, simply go ahead and take a chance. Give it a shot. You never will be published  if you don't at least try:)

What are you waiting for? Go make some art!

Jodi

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Just Do It! Free ART Friday :)

TGIF!  Or at least in some countries it's Friday!

I hope your week was magical and productive. I spent the week doing a lot of learning. We are never too old to learn, right? I've been taking a couple of creative business courses this month which I put a lot of effort into this week,  along with just simply sitting my butt down to figure out things I haven't done yet but have had on my 'to do list' for awhile.

For example, I sat down and created a skeleton of a website I hope to grow into something a lot more flourishing than it is right now. But it's there at least, right? It's farther along than it would be if I was just 'thinking about doing it it' . I actually did it.

Here it is if you want to see it. I mean I should hang my head by even posting it because it's not 'complete'  by any means, but by putting it out there, and I know you will be looking...it'll coax me into keep improving it.  :) I have to use reverse psychology on myself from time to time.

I also learned how to thread my sewing machine this week. HA! I know that's not a biggie but it's something I haven't done in almost a year so I totally forgot how to use it. I couldn't even remember how to sew  in reverse. How sad is that?

But look what I made...well it's not perfect but it's pretty cool. Again..it's a lot cooler in person than just an idea in my head that I never got out. It's here in the world because I forced myself to at least try.

I'm working on several projects for 21 Secrets which opens April 1st.  I have to say, it's been a little bit of a struggle for me because I've moved more away from journaling in a book to  just playing with printing with anything I can get my hands on, sketching in a note pad, doodling on something else, scratching out ideas on loose papers. Journal pages and painted papers are  EVERYWHERE!!  That's actually part of the theme for my class, "Diary of a Highly Effective But Inconsistent Journaler"  you may journal here and there, but it's not consistent, heck it may not even be in a book..but what can we do to make it more a part of our artistic routine?  What are some ideas to reel it all into  one or two places so we CAN use our journals for a reference for future art or just to play with ideas. And just WHAT do we journal on? Do we have to journal on the same type of paper all the time?  

All good questions...and I don't know all the answers but I will share with you several things I've learned along the way and assure you we are in this together and that we can make BEAUTIFUL journal pages..even if they are different from the rest  of the world.  That's the amazing part of journaling. It's totally owwwdilly all about YOU. 

 My other aha 'educational' activity was today when I created my  

Free  ART Lesson

 video for the week.  (haha...like the name?  I had fun playing with some of my facebook friends today trying to come up with a name for my tutorials that I'll be doing weekly) Kinda going off topic here but my idea was to work with some of my partner company's products (as well as other assorted projects)  and share tips or lessons with  my friends and followers on a weekly basis, Friday namely... and come up with a name for this project. 

Free ART Friday or Farting on Friday came up as one of the top choices.  Okay so maybe that's not the best choice, but a funky playful name is trying to be born as we speak but I'm not there yet:)

 

 

 Any whoosers,  in doing this video, I just wanted to do a voice over narration. I had no idea how to do that. I mean, I've done MANY MANY videos before.  I've never narrated a video. No clue.  I literally spent 3 hours trying to figure out how to do it, where the button was, how to get there..then how to edit it once I figured out how to do it.

The videos is just over 3 minutes.  3 hours (not including actual creation time) to do this little ez peezy project. Maybe not the best use of my time...but there again....I LEARNED something and  in doing so...that something I surely can use down the road in other projects. Right? Hopefully! Yes, I know I can use that little nugget of info in future things;)

So are you getting the drift of my article today? You never stop learning.  Even when you haven't done something in eons, you can pick it back up and do something even bigger and better than before.  Doing SOMETHING is a heck of a lot better than doing nothing at all.  When you don't know how to do something..sit your butt down and figure it out...or go ask for help (after you've at least tried to make a go at it). 

Magic will happen, I can assure you.

And last but not least, don't let fear paralyze you from doing the unknown. It doesn't have to be perfect either the first go around.  It gets better and better the more you do it.

Okay so with that said, here's my perfectly IMPERFECT video on creating a 

Faux Stained Glass Journal Page using Twinkling H2O's, Pearl Pens on a gessoed substrate. What am I using for my substrate?  Umm....You'll have to join my class at 21 Secrets to find out the rest of the details.  C'mon, you know you wanna! :))

Enjoy your weekend,  make it fun..play art,  enjoy family and friends....and relax.  You deserve it!


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Strive

I don't have a whole lot of exciting news every day in my boring life but this is
 something very cool to report on today.....I have a new article in the upcoming issue of  Somerset Studios (Jan/Feb)!!  Whooooohoooo!  I was asked to write for their "With One Palette" department feature which was a huge honor!  The hardest part was picking out the color palette to use because I love to work with a limited palette and expand my wings while doing so.  There are so many awesome color combinations to work with, it's like picking out candy at a candy store..haha!
Anyway, this is was a great experience to be a part of and one that I feel like is a step in the right direction as I move into my art career more and more every day.  I wish I could wake up every day and got to work in my studio.  Honestly, there are so many things I want to do and do more of but time is the only thing holding me back.

  

If I had more time....I'd be putting my work in more galleries.  Stocking the galleries I have now more regularly,  doing more art shows, taking on more teaching opportunities, working my Etsy shop more diligently, sending my neswsletter out more regularly, writing more articles, start working on the book I want to do...yes there are many things I would do in addition to this list....if only.   But the positive thing is I am able to do a far amount of all of these things even working the full time job...and I do live a comfortable (not extravagant life but comfortable) life because of my job.   I am grateful for that. I just have an eye for the future..and I think it's about time I get a business plan in order so that I can really put down on paper what it is I want to accomplish and roadmap how it is I intend to get there.  It's all a part of my 2011 exit strategy. :)

(this piece above is one in my journal that was not included in the feature but one that I created with the xs paint from the pieces I worked on while creating the series for the article).

What are you going to strive for in 2011??  What are your News Years intentions (not necessarily resolutions...more like goals and achievements you want to work towards)?  

It's fun to think about all that you want to do if the world was at your fingertips.  Why just think about it though?  The world is at your fingertips...just reach out for it!

While doing so....Be True to yourself. This is our chance to get it right, to be all that we were meant to be, and to follow our hearts towards our dreams.  I can feel that this is going to be a year of change.  I might have to let some things go so I can move forward. I may have to work harder so that I can position myself in the way that I want to be so I can do what I am drawn to do.  The signs are coming at me, it's just knowing when to turn down the road I know I'm meant to be on!

Speaking of being 'drawn' into a path....looky here...I'm taking Suzi Blu's self guided workshop and I'm loving this lesson which is really why I wanted to take this class(it's actually 3 classes bundled into one)....I want to enhance my drawing skills which I feel will in turn enhance my painting skills.  We can always grow and develop..it just takes practice practice practice.  I hope I never stop learning!  Sometimes even if we know how to do something ( I know how to draw, and I know how to paint), it's great to see a new perspective on that which you already know.  You take what you learn and apply it in a way that works for you and enhances what you do.  So go now....learn something new, or dare to see a fresh perspective.  Plan your intentions for 2011.....hopefully your  list will include bringing more passion and enthusiasm into your world by working towards things that really, truly, ignite your heart. Whatever that may be, may 2011 be the year that you find your way.  Be True, Strive, and enjoy the journey you are drawn to :)