By Diana Nadim, Guest Blogger - A blog is a great way for all you creatives out there to show your talent to the world. You have an opportunity to show off your artwork, make your art available to a wider audience, share interesting information, and engage with your readers.
With these tips, you can approach the blogging process like a real pro. So, let’s get started!
Keep the topics relevant
The reader who comes across an art blog will expect exactly that – topics about art. Make the topics enjoyable by choosing different topics that revolve around the world of art. Giving readers different insights and keeping the topics relevant is what you should aim for.
Think about writing about your art, explaining your techniques, informing readers of important news in the world of art. Don’t forget to mention credible resources where you found all the info.
Use eye-catching titles
Blog titles are the ones that need to attract the readers and present your blog as worthy of their time. The best titles are relevant to the content and evoke curiosity. Just think about what you would click on if you were browsing for some interesting blog posts.
You can use headline generators by Sumo or Hubspot if you can't think of anything catchy. By providing you some choices, headline generators will help you get inspired.
Be consistent
Consistency is the key to success! That is applicable for any type of project and your art blog is no exception.
Publish your posts regularly. You don’t want your readers to forget about you after one post.
“Regular posts keep the flow of your blog. It shows passion, dedication, and true interest in what you are doing. It’s as simple as that,” says Marie Fincher, the head of the content department at Trust My Paper.
Add some depth
Plain and generic content won't be entertaining for the mass audience. You need to give life to your writing. The key is to provide some variety and be as authentic as you can be.
What you can do is to include some examples whenever they can help readers to understand what you are trying to explain. You can also engage in some storytelling and include fun and interesting personal stories in your journey as a writer. Let’s say that one of your pieces was inspired by your trip to Cuba; share that story with your readers!
Adding a personal story from time to time can add that special spark your content.
What to do when writing is not your strongest side?
Even though the focus of your blog and posts will be about the artwork, how you write about it is very important. The way you describe your art can either draw readers in or push them away.
When you focus on composing high-quality content, you will present yourself as a true expert.
It is understandable if writing may not be one of your talents. In that case, you can turn to these writing and editing tools to perfect your posts.
Promote your blog
What is the point of investing your time and effort into creating something beautiful if no one can find it? If you don’t actively promote your blog and invite readers to join your community. The easiest way is to use social media accounts. Share the word about your blog and let others share your blog.
Get to work!
Reading about useful tips for your art blog isn’t enough. You need to put these tips to work as soon as possible if you want to see results. Besides everything that we mentioned, keep in mind that a blog is your place to express yourself and build a relationship with your readers.
Diana Nadim is a writer and editor who has a Master’s degree in Marketing. She combines her passion for writing with her interest in research and creates thought-provoking content in various fields. In addition to running her own 3to5Marketing blog, Diana works as a contributor writer for IsAccurate and provides editing services for BestEssayEducation and WoWGrade. What inspires her the most in her writing is traveling and meeting new people. Follow her on Twitter.
Reprinted with Permission by Artsy.net - You may have heard stories about artwork shipping disasters—sculptures getting lost in the mail or precious packages being left in the rain.
When having an artwork shipped, you can avoid the most common mishaps by following our specialist recommendations below.
Disaster 1: Your artwork is delivered to the wrong address.
ARTSY TIP: GET THE TRACKING NUMBER
Just like any other shipment, you can use the tracking number to monitor your artwork in transit and estimate its arrival time. (If the gallery or auction house is coordinating shipping, you might want to ask them to share the tracking number with you in advance.) Though it happens rarely, you’ll be glad to have this information if your artwork shipment is delayed or headed to the wrong address.
Some art shippers are small operations—and do not provide tracking numbers. In these cases, you might want to ask for the shipper’s contact information, such as its company name, phone number, and e-mail address.
Disaster 2: Your artwork gets damaged in transit.
ARTSY TIP: INVEST IN INSURANCE
It is standard practice to buy insurance when shipping artworks or any other high-value item—and the costs will vary depending on the artwork’s worth, weight, and size. The gallery or auction house will often include insurance while coordinating shipping, but it is always a good idea to double check that this step is completed.
Insurance is an added, but necessary expense—and ensures that you will be reimbursed if something were to happen while your artwork is in transit.
Disaster 3: Your artwork gets left in the rain.
ARTSY TIP: CHOOSE SIGNATURE-REQUIRED SHIPPING
You can also ask the gallery to choose a delivery option that is “signature-required” to make sure that the artwork arrives in safe hands. When a package is not designated as signature-required, it can be left on your doorstep when no one is around—and could end up getting damaged by rainy weather.
You can also ship the artwork directly to your office or a doorman building—whatever is most convenient for you.
Disaster 4: Shipping costs are more expensive than the artwork.
ARTSY TIP: HOLD OFF ON FRAMING
Framed artworks—especially those behind glass—will be more expensive to ship, as they often need to be placed in a heavy wooden crate to prevent damages.
For prints and other works on paper, you can consider this less expensive option. It’s often possible for the gallery to ship the artwork without the frame, but send it directly to a framer near you. This way, the gallery or auction house can skip the heavy crating and mail the artwork rolled in a tube—and you can pick up the piece fully framed.
To save costs, a gallery might also be able to include your work in a shipment for an upcoming art fair or exhibition in your area. When transporting art overseas, it can be worth waiting a little longer for your artwork to lower shipping fees.
When buying art, shipping is not the place to cut corners—it is worth investing in extra precautions to ensure that your artwork arrives in one piece. Galleries and auction houses are experts in shipping their artworks from point A to point B. So if you have any questions about shipping costs or logistics, you can always refer to the seller for guidance.
About Artsy.net - Artsy features the world’s leading galleries, museum collections, foundations, artist estates, art fairs, and benefit auctions, all in one place. Our growing database of 800,000 images of art, architecture, and design by 80,000 artists spans historical, modern, and contemporary works, and includes the largest online database of contemporary art. Artsy is used by art lovers, museum-goers, patrons, collectors, students, and educators to discover, learn about, and collect art. Their website is Artsy.net.
By Guest Blogger, Anders Cederholm – In recent years, crowdfunding has become possible, thanks to websites which allow different businesses to raise money. Artboost is the new digital and social media version of fundraising for artists and art collectors.
What is Crowdfunding?
Crowdfunding is a fundraising concept where a community helps projects and new ideas to come to life. Having a successful crowdfunding campaign provides businesses with needed cash, but it also creates a base of customers who feel that they have a stake in that business’s success. If it wasn’t for the community supporting that project, it probably would not succeed.
Art and Crowdfunding
Anders Cederholm, Co-Founder of Artboost explains, “One of the main problems for exposing great art is that the art world has been traditionally difficult to enter. In order to have success as an artist, an artist usually needs to have a name and in order to build that name, the artist needs to have exposure”
Anders continues his thoughts, “Nowadays artists have the ability to be crowdfunded online (In the past, this was a market that has previously been permeated by digital startups). This business model enables upcoming artists to get their feet in the art world with no curating principles, here all creative individuals are welcome”.
Artists Don’t Waste Time on Marketing
Cederholm explains, “Many artists do not know how to promote themselves and their art, and because of this they have difficulty getting the needed exposure”. With the help of platforms such as Artboost Crowdfunding artists now have the ability to focus on what they are best at, and that is creating their art.
Artists Can Earn More than the Original Art Piece
Art crowdfunding has helped international artists get more exposure, and it has enabled them to focus on what creates the most value for them. Having a crowdfunding campaign enables artists to earn a profit on an art piece even though the original art piece has already been sold.
By allowing the artists to create limited edition prints of their original art piece, they can earn up to 10 times more, and best of all - the artist doesn’t have to do anything!
Limited Editions Have Sold Out in 36 Hours
Artist, Natmir Lura, says, “I have had great exposure on my artwork through Artboost Crowdfunding. In fact, one time, one of my prints was sold out in 36 hours.”
A crowdfunding campaign runs for approximately 20 days. The art piece is printed in 30 limited editions, only if the campaign succeeds. For the campaign to be successful, the artist needs 15 pre-orders, or in other words 15 individual fundraisers. At this point-in-time, Artboost will then produce, sell and ship the prints to the customers, on behalf of the artist.
About Artboost:
Artboost is an online platform for artists and art-buyers. With the Artboost Crowdfunding Space and the Artboost Marketplace buyers can discover upcoming artists and buy unique and limited art – based on the buyer’s budget.
Collectors can buy artworks directly from the artist through the marketplace or an artist can get the needed support for their first crowdfunded piece of art in the Artboost Crowdfunding Space.
Are you an artist yourself, and do you want to apply for an Artboost Crowdfunding campaign? Or do you want to know more about the concept? Read more here. artboost.com/crowdfunding.
By Nick Colakovic, firstsiteguide - In the digital era, it is very important for artists to establish a digital presence. There are many reliable methods to achieve this and have a regularly updated blog is one of them. But, since there are thousands of regularly updated blogs that offer valuable content to the audience, a young artist, or blogger, has to put more effort in order to get recognized.
This can be achieved by promoting the blog and here are some actionable tips that will help you do so.
Search Engine Optimization
Search engine optimization will set your blog promotion on healthy legs. This is the crucial step towards getting your blog known in the modern digital world. Taking care of SEO right from the start will make things a lot easier for you in the future. At the start, make sure to pay attention to SEO essentials and post on regular basis. The content has to have value for the readers, but for future reference, make sure to fully optimize your blog.
Join Some Social Network for Artists
Social Networks designed for artists are an excellent place to meet a lot of colleagues and to promote your art and your blog. For instance, DeviantArt is a social network for artists with more than 60 million unique visitors per month. Their primary goal is to provide exposure for artists and an environment where artists can express themselves and meet other artists. Engagement in the art community can result in many benefits, especially if you focus on promoting your blog.
Make the Content Sharable
Social media buttons on your blog are a must. This is important because people don’t have the time to copy the links and share them on their social media, especially if they are mobile. People like to have an instant option that will allow them to share blog posts. You can check the material design recommendations to make sure that social media buttons are designed by the latest trends. Also, make sure to place them where website users are expecting to see them.
Become Active on Facebook and Twitter
Becoming active on these social media platforms is more than just a promotion. Your goal should be to find and develop genuine relationships with people. These people will not only help you by encouraging you as an artist, but they will also provide valuable feedback on your blog posts which you can use to improve your content and make it attract more people.
In order to develop an active community on Facebook and Twitter, you will have to invest time into visiting their profiles, commenting on their posts, replying to their comments. If you use social media to actually engage with people, don’t worry, the promotion will follow as a side effect.
Connect with Influencers in the Field
Using influencers for promotion is one of the leading marketing trends in 2017. Using one for promoting your blog would be a smart decision. You should save this option as a wild card once you get your blog up and running with at least some traffic on it. In other words, make sure that your blog is ready for promotion. You don’t want to catch the attention of large audiences with a blog that has little to offer.
When you are picking an influencer to promote your blog, make sure to go with one that’s in your niche in order to get the best effect.
Consider a Website for Your Art
Why not promote your art while you are also promoting your blog? You can start by making a website with your art and just add a blog section on it. Don’t worry about blog exposure, since you can always promote the latest and the most read blog entries on the homepage of your website. This way, by promoting your blog, you will promote your art and vice versa.
If you decide to follow this road, make sure to optimize the images on your website.
Start Guest Posting
By devoting some time to guest posting, you will be able to promote yourself and your blog at the same time. Just make sure that the blog where are you posting attracts the same type of audience you are planning to attract to your blog website.
These are some blog promotion tips that can get you started at this very moment. Once you have done all of them, you can continue to look online for new methods that will help you promote your blog.
Nick Colakovic works for firstsiteguide.com. He’s passionate about helping other bloggers take their craft to the next level and likes to help newbies understand the joy of being online.
By Jacob Smith, Guest Blogger - Interior design teaches us that every room is more than just individual furniture, colors, and light. As a whole, rooms are an expression. Components — chairs, tables, drapes — work together, in concert. For interior designers, that combination, not any one piece, makes a room engaging and beautiful.
By focusing exclusively on their artwork, many artists forget that each piece lives in context. Whether a gallery, studio or ever-expanding page of Pinterest boxes, the context has a huge influence on how customers perceive your artwork.
Wonder why this matters? Admittedly, fine arts differ quite a bit from interior design. Perhaps the interior design’s approach is too broad. Indeed an artwork’s individuality, in many cases, creates value. Yet thinking like an interior designer endows you with the power to price your art, create sales, and build your reputation.
Below, we will discuss art imagery, the basics of presenting your artwork well, and the influence that the presentation has on your customers. To finish, we’ll look at real-world examples.
The term ‘in situ’ describes furniture or artwork photographed in a natural environment, like a living room or gallery. You will see ‘in situ’ compared with ‘cropped’ or white background, which are other ways of presenting artwork. (Cropped is just the artwork itself and white background is the artwork image overlaid on a pure white background.)
If you sell through an online art aggregator — a company that sells many pieces from many artists — then you know about cropping and pasting onto a white background. Online aggregators present as much content as possible in order to maximize views, browsing time, and sales. Customers flip through hundreds (if not thousands) of these sterile, formatted images at a time. For artists, your art is reduced to a small square plastered on a white background.
Put another way, the cropped style is the most economical and universal way to present artwork. As a result, cropped images or white backgrounds serve as a standard, from personal artist websites to large art aggregators.
Consider the alternative, photographing artwork in a vibrant, stylish interior requires a professional camera, styling, and in many cases transportation. For most working artists, these barriers make any attempt at interesting imagery cost prohibitive.
Unfortunately, this reality relegates most artwork photography to a mundane existence. In addition to being boring, sterile presentation makes customers less likely to buy. Consider this review published by Etsy www.etsy.com/seller-handbook/article/top-10-marketing-tips-from-full-time/22797743196. This article, like many others published, credits product photography as the #1 way to increase sales.
Alternatively, presenting your artwork ’in situ’ provides customers with a feeling of how your art could be a part of their lives. Below are simple (and inexpensive) rules to move your portfolio from bleak to beautiful.
Composition
Choosing a Setting
Consider where you ultimately want your artwork to live. Signal the ‘feel’ of your ideal environment by adding furniture and accouterments. Put another way, let your audience imagine how your artwork would look into their world by showing them how it looks at something very close to their world. Giving your artwork this accompaniment breathes life into each piece. Customers no longer see a plain flat image, but a world surrounding the artwork.
Practical advice
The best investment you can make if you plan to shot your own photos is to invest in a DSLR camera and tripod. Quality of camera has a large impact on the quality of finished photos and a tripod will make each image similar in frame and proportion.
Conclusion
Your job as an artist is to communicate your vision. Remember, all who view your work are impacted by their surroundings, mood, and whatever else is present in that moment. Curating how your audience experiences your artwork through its presentation makes each piece more personal and real. As artists, we often see our work as the center of the universe, just remember that our audience lives in a bigger world
About Jacob Smith
Jacob Smith is a designer and retoucher living in Chicago, Illinois. ProductViz is Jacob’s illustration studio, focusing on digital imagery and branding. Jacob has developed the Visual Intelligence method of presenting art. Visual Intelligence is the name coined to describe this process: turning a jpg (or other image file or your art) into a professional photograph in the context of a beautiful interior, gallery, or setting. www.productviz.com
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