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 worth over 40 billion). Richard Schmid has made it a habit of creating masterful paintings. Bill Clinton made it a habit of...well we all know about his habits …perhaps a bad example.

In any case, art, marketing and the Internet is my beat. And today I hope, dear reader, to offer you something useful in that arena.

Today I offer you a simple, seemingly obvious way to improve your marketing and increase the visibility of your art.

Here it is: Develop a HABIT of posting new art works on your web site religiously.

Think of it this way: A painting isn’t really finished until you post art images on your web site. This accomplishes several positive objectives.

1. It keeps your web site current – an absolute must if you want people to come back again
2. It immediately starts “marketing” your new art work
3. It keeps you from having a huge backlog of works that “need to go on the site.”
4. It makes you determine if the painting is REALLY ready to go “live.”

As an art collector, when I hit an art site (especially one that I have visited before), I almost always look for a “What’s New” (or something similar) link.

If you want to take this concept to the proverbial “next level”, then make it a habit to also send an email announcing the new artworks on your site every time you post them. But I’ll save that idea for another newsletter….

Sincerely,

Clint Watson
Software Craftsman and Art Fanatic