We all know that web sites and blogs live and die because of traffic. This puts Google, as the Internet's de facto start page, front and center in most artists minds as a traffic-driving strategy. However, Google should not be the only.....nor even the main focus of your online marketing efforts. We've written about this subject before in our articles "What if Google Went Away?" and "Google Alone is Not Marketing."  This series is exploring specific ideas to drive traffic to your web site....some will work synergistically with search engines like Google....while others will not be dependent upon search engines at [...]

We were perusing through some art magazines over the weekend and noticed several gallery ads touting the fact that they feature "Museum Quality" paintings. It got us to thinking......we thought about all the strange things we see in museums....white canvases with geometric shapes, big orange blocks climbing up a wall, scribbles and dribbles that "even a caveman could do it."....  Of course the crucifixes in urine are a staple for those of us who enjoy poking fun at "modern" art.  But seriously, if we were an artist, we might feel slightly insulted if someone called our art, "museum quality." We would at [...]

If you can't decide what to write in your blog, there's no excuse now: A Year of Blog Topics for Artists by Barney Davey [...]

Carol Zirkle wrote a great piece on the inner demons that most of us creative types struggle with.....perfectionism and the associated focus on what's wrong with a given piece, rather than focusing on what's right.  Read it here: Perfectionism vs Pursuit of Excellence by Carol Zirkle [...]

Michael Masterson explores the idea that branding, at least in the traditional sense, is a wasteful activity for most businesses....this would include artists.  Take a look at his article: The Myth of Branding. Mr. Masterson quotes (and agrees with) copywriter Brian Ochsner who says, "As a direct-response copywriter, I'm skeptical about the number of marketing people who are enamored with the need for 'branding' or to 'build their brand' to effectively market their business." We tend to agree with this analysis and, in fact, covered a similar theme in this blog not long ago in the following posts: Advertising that Works:  Branding vs. Measurable Response How [...]

FineArtStudioOnline - New Members Since 9/14/2007 [...]

We all know that web sites and blogs live and die because of traffic. This puts Google, as the Internet's de facto start page, front and center in most artists minds as a traffic-driving strategy. However, Google should not be the only.....nor even the main focus of your online marketing efforts. We've written about this subject before in our articles "What if Google Went Away?" and "Google Alone is Not Marketing."  This series is exploring specific ideas to drive traffic to your web site....some will work synergistically with search engines like Google....while others will not be dependent upon search engines at [...]

We all know that web sites and blogs live and die because of traffic. This puts Google, as the Internet's de facto start page, front and center in most artists minds as a traffic-driving strategy. However, Google should not be the only.....nor even the main focus of your online marketing efforts. We've written about this subject before in our articles "What if Google Went Away?" and "Google Alone is Not Marketing."  This series will explore specific ideas to drive traffic to your web site....some will work synergistically with search engines like Google....while others will not be depended upon search engines at [...]

We all know that your web site will live or die by the amount of traffic it receives.  So it's natural to want to focus on search engine marketing.  Artists are constantly asking us about "keywords", "search engine optimization", "improving rankings" and what art sites get the most "traffic." We understand the temptation to focus on these things; however, sometimes we think people get focused on search engines to avoid the hard work of real marketing....the hard work of "getting down in the trenches" and getting to know your customers personally.  It would be nice to think that now we live in [...]

Of course for those you you who want quit your day job and have a successful fine art career, we highly recommend the following blogs. 1.  ArtBizBlog by Alyson Stanfield 2.  Empty Easel by Dan 3.  Art Business by Alan Bamberger 4.  The Painter's Keys by Robert Genn 5.  Paul Dorrell's Blog by Paul Dorrell 6.  Art Print Issues by Barney Davey 7.  Making a Mark by Katherine Tyrrell Sincerely, Clint Watson Software Craftsman and Art Fanatic PS:  Shameless Self-Promotion - we would, of course, add: 8.  FineArtViews by Clint Watson [...]

FineArtStudioOnline - New Members Since 9/7/2007 [...]

We've been discussing strategies for increasing web traffic to a web site or a blog.  Most of the strategies that we've discussed involve a fair amount of writing.  There's a good reason for this.  On the Internet, content is king and the most valuable content is written text.   But what if you're not comfortable writing?  After all, you're a visual artist! Fortunately there are a few ways to tackle the writing hurdle, even if you're not a writer. 1.  Hire a writer This may be the most obvious solution, but it is always an option.  Simply hire a writer to do the work for [...]

We all know that web sites and blogs live and die because of traffic. This puts Google, as the Internet's de facto start page, front and center in most artists minds as a traffic-driving strategy. However, Google should not be the only.....nor even the main focus of your online marketing efforts. We've written about this subject before in our articles "What if Google Went Away?" and "Google Alone is Not Marketing."  This series will explore specific ideas to drive traffic to your web site....some will work synergistically with search engines like Google....while others will not be depended upon search engines at [...]

We all know that web sites and blogs live and die because of traffic. This puts Google, as the Internet's de facto start page, front and center in most artists minds as a traffic-driving strategy. However, Google should not be the only.....nor even the main focus of your online marketing efforts. This series will explore ideas to drive traffic to your web site....some will work synergistically with search engines like Google....while others will not be depended upon search engines at all. All of these strategies will work with or without search engines. Today's strategy is Review [...]

FineArtStudioOnline - New Members Since 8/31/2007 [...]

Yesterday's article, So You Want to Be An Artist?, by Michael Masterson sure generated some heated responses!  BP wrote, "I thought the "So You Want To Be An Artist?" article was wrapped in such genuinely offensive arrogance and self-importance that I had to read it several times to see if I'd missed some key (and mitigating) comment by Michael Masterson . . . I hope you will vet your contributors in the future with an eye toward the respect they accord your growing website community! A realistic point of view can still be presented in an affirming and supportive way." And another reader, EP concurs, "Yes indeed, Michael, you [...]

I got a nice letter from LB, a 78-year-old man from Pacific Palisades, CA who spent most of his career working in film and video production, with many excellent credits. In more recent years, he took up digital still photography and has gotten positive comments about his work from "many high-level critics." LB’s goal is to "get in front of the public" and sell some of his prints - and he is looking for advice on how to market them. He says that one of his "chief selling points" is that he’s willing to restrict the number of prints to no more than 50 of each. He says he will sign [...]