I reply to the artists whose works I particularly enjoy and ask them if they have an email newsletter and let them know that I'd like to be on it. And even when I go to the trouble to beg these artists to add me to a newsletter list... they don't. I have yet to receive even one newsletter from any artist in this group. [4] Multiply that mistake dozens of times over and you're costing yourself, over your career's lifetime, thousands of dollars in sales (if not more). Make this mistake enough times and perhaps it will even cost you an art career at all. [...]

In my opinion, it is crucial to keep things relevant art marketing-wise. You are branding yourself with every detail... even if you don't realize it. [...]

What all of these different rendering engines mean is that the only way to be sure your email newsletter looks correct is to stick to a small, safe subset of HTML and then to rigorously test each design in every major email program...and different versions of those programs...and with images blocked...and with images enabled. One option for artists would be to pay a designer to design your email designs and test them in all of these email programs. Then you could use the same design over and over, being careful to only change your content and none of the HTML itself. Like I said before, it's a quagmire. [...]

Artists need to be tactful when meshing aspects of life storytelling with art marketing. Point-blank, sharing a little can sometimes be interpreted as sharing too much. [...]

So here's something that surprises me: I see some other artist website services recommending you use their software for your blogging solution, but, for their own company blogs, they use Wordpress or Blogger. That should tell you something. How do they find the pain points? How do they know what to fix? [1] Why don't they think their own software is good enough for their own use? [2] [...]

The question you need to answer is this: are you having fun playing with the 20% on Facebook, while ignoring the much larger network of people you can reach via the "dark social network?" [...]

A common objection I often hear from artists is that they don't have an email newsletter list so who, exactly, are they supposed to send the email newsletters to? Many artists are simply convinced they don't have anyone to send to. But I don't think that's true. [...]

Put on your thinking cap, I'm sure you can think of something more interesting than "check out my art". Your bottom line will thank you for it. [...]

If you send out a newsletter, it’s a given that you’ll want to embed links, and for this example, I am adding the link to a sample newsletter of ours. I counted 15 links in this issue: if I mention a specific work, I link to it; if I talk about a show, I link to the show site or more information about it on our site; at the bottom I append individual links to specific sections in our website; and of course, this being the newsletter, I offer two separate links for readers to pass on to their friends. Whereas in an article or a blog this number of links would be possible overload, in a newsletter it’s not unexpected. [...]

So, go for it! Remember that if you've never put out a newsletter before, the first time is always the learning curve, and the first product will take some time and frustration, but it'll get done, and doing it will get easier, and you will continuously edit and improve and innovate and experiment -- the same way you do with your art. [...]

Nobody will visit your website until they know it exists. So you have to tell people, repeatedly, about it. And email is the simplest, most effective way you can put yourself into one of the “big three” places that most people check every day. [...]

But, by offering something of value that is exclusive to your newsletter, you can convert anonymous blog followers into newsletter subscribers. [...]

We're not normally "I told you so" type of people, but we told you so. :-) We cannot stress enough the importance of sending a newsletter...it worked for Jacki and it can work for you, too. [...]

So if you are one of those crazy seven or eight, sitting in front of the machine, designing that newsletter, when everyone else is out on holiday, look at your calendar. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Schedule that article/newsletter to go when there's actually someone there to receive it. [...]

Of course TV and video don’t replace reading. But when it comes to marketing your artwork or yourself, there is a place for video. Most of us have huge volumes of email and don’t always have time to read a lengthy article. But I can watch/listen to a short clip. [...]

You can send your newsletter as often as you like...as long as you don't have more than 2 people unsubscribe for every 1,000 emails you send (.2%) [3]. If you lose more than 2 people out of every 1,000 emails, then you're either sending too often, or you've strayed too far off topic (such as discussing politics in a newsletter where people were expecting art). [...]

Today's Post is by Lori Woodward Simons, Regular contributing writer for FineArtViews. I don't consider myself to have an addictive personality. I've never used illegal drugs, or smoked a cigarette (probably got enough nicotine from second hand smoke). However, these days, I'm finding that I'm just as vulnerable as the next guy when it comes to being addicted to social media. A month ago, Clint Watson “tweeted” through Twitter that I was being sucked into the Twittersphere, but I denied it! Nope, not me... but Lately, I've been showing all the signs of addiction. Today I'm admitting it, [...]

How do you know when it's OK to send someone your email newsletter? MF wrote me today asking just that question: "Initially I added a lot of my friends and family as well as people I thought MIGHT be interested in my occasional announcements to the mailing list because I thought that was something that you had advocated.  In a later newsletter, however, you were pretty adamant about not putting people on who didn't actually SIGN UP for the newsletter. (So I took you off.)  Of course I know that if people really don''t want to get the newsletters I [...]

Engaged Prospects Thinking About Buying Art

To experience art marketing success, to sell more artwork, to become a microcelebrity.... what you truly need with your prospects is ENGAGEMENT. is Starack of Entrepreneuers Journey defines engagement this way: "Engagement means that [your fans] are not only entertained and informed, they come away truly benefiting from your output. Their life has been enhanced in some way and they want more. . .This is about more than just attention. This is prolonged focus leading to action. It’s not easy to cut through all the information on the web and grab attention and it’s even rarer for people [...]

A few weeks ago we introduced the concept of The Collector Courtship.  Remember, selling your art requires building a relationship with your potential collectors . . . and, we're sorry to tell you, building that relationship is like dating. Where the Art Collectors your first lesson:  If you're going to "date" collectors, you've got to go where the collectors are. My wife recently talked me into watching the 1960's "classic", "Where the Boys Are."  The movie told the story of four college girls on spring break.  They wanted to get away from the ice and snow and [...]

Short answer:  You should utilize both a blog and an email newsletter. Occasionally, however, an artist will ask us something like, "If I can have only a blog or an email newsletter, which one should I go with?" Our answer:  hands down - an email newsletter. Blogs are great for increasing traffic to your web site and for engaging in a more informal discussion with your fans.  However, if your goal is to sell your art, blogs don't always bring the right kind of traffic - buyers.  Blogs also require the reader to actively visit your blog [...]

is your mailing list. A mailing list that you have developed of people who know who you are....and who have given you permission to communicate with them. It can be an email list or a "snail" mail list....or both. Yes, your "in house" mailing list is your most important art marketing asset.....if you use it. [...]

I'm coming to believe that developing the right habits is the most important step for success in every area of life. Habits drive our actions and actions drive who we are and what we become. We want to encourage good habits and discourage bad habits. Many accomplished artists I know have described to me the process of practicing their technique until it becomes "subconscious." In other words, they practice until their technique becomes a "habit." These sorts of habits make experts. Michael Jordan developed a habit of “nothin' but net.” Warren Buffet developed a habit of picking undervalued investments (and is [...]