Joan Stewart is a master at online visibility and print and broadcast publicity.I interviewed her last year and she shared all sorts of great promotional tips HERE.She is offering a free download of “The Best of the Publicity Hound’s Tips of the Week of 2013.” This is a compilation of the best tips from her popular ezine of last year. To download go HERE.I also encourage you to sign up for her newsletter HERE.
What are the important shopping dates throughout the year and why should you care? Keeping these dates in mind will help you strategically plan out sales and marketing campaigns and make sure that you're able to optimize for seasonal traffic spikes and create content that is timely and effective.Great article and calendar HERE
Every decision you make - every decision -is not a decision about what to do.It's a decision about Who You Are.When you see this, when you understand it, everything changes.You begin to see life in a new way.All events, occurrences, and situations turn into opportunitiesto do what you came here to do.
- Neale Donald Walsch
The Artist As Brand Workshop is returning to Spectrum Fantastic Art Live in Kansas Cityfor a two day class, Wed. & Thurs. May 7 & 8.
All participants receive a free 3 day pass to Spectrum Fantastic Art Live (May 9-11).
This is a great opportunity for all artists to learn the Artist As Brand principles and then see how they can apply at an event like SFAL. The Artist As Brand workshop is the only course that aligns the purpose of your vision with entrepreneurial principles for long term prosperity. Get ready to pump up your professional art career in a brand new way. 10:00AM-8:00PM both days. Will be held at the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Building, 2001 Grand Blvd Ste 700, Kansas City (one half mile from the convention center).
Registration is $195 and ends April 27.
Learn more about Artist As Brand HERE.
"I needed help getting my own personal art and business off the ground and running. That is where the Artist As Brand Workshop came to my rescue. It allowed me to plan for my success while still having time to create! It even made me a better artist in general, because it gave me the confidence to KNOW that I can succeed with my art. Knowing I could succeed with my own art made me want to BECOME a better artist!"-Alex Ruiz“Setting out on a career in art is like walking a tightrope. For many the way will prove to be too narrow, the tensions will change, or the wire will take an unexpected turn. But what if you could turn the tightrope into a road? The Artist As Brand Workshop contains all the tools you need to build the road to success in art: tools, motivation, and personal insight. It is invaluable. I highly recommend it.”-Todd Lockwood
See what other art professors, professionals, and college students are saying HERE.
Please read the Artist As Brand policies HERE.
There are so many movies that reflect the art spirit– usually stories about individuals who believe in something so completely they have no choice but to follow that muse.In "The Worlds Fastest Indian" we see the story of New Zealander Burt Munro (Anthony Hopkins), who spent years re-vamping a 1920 Indian motorcycle -- with the goal of setting a land-speed record at Utah's Bonneville Salt Flats in 1967.I reference this film because the art of the start is really about diving in there, giving it a go, then not stopping. Like Munro in this sweet spirited film, you keep moving forward no matter what with increasingly greater speed and success.
Your Blog is part of your Social Media kit. If it is not by now, then get started. Facebook and Twitter and any of the other social media platforms are there to support your platform which includes your blog and website.If you are still feeling a little unsure about how to start your blog with a bang go HEREto learn more.
I plan to start showcasing more artists who really have their social media together. Your High Tech promotion is vital for a thriving art business. Social media platforms are always changing, hence everyone who relies on Facebook for instance may have a rude awakening when they have put all there energies into promoting themselves there and it goes belly up.
Prioritize your online presence with a website that authentically represents your vision.
Your website is your home. Entice people to stop in, and help them get so comfortable they do not want to leave.Mammoth & Companyhas designed their website intelligently. It looks stellar and has all the e-commerce and social media principles working together seamlessly. Check it out. They are using Shopify as the design platform.
Art by the amazing Anthony Russo
The new science of spending points to a surprising conclusion: How we use our money may matter as much or more than how much of it we've got. This article by Elizabeth Dunn and Michael Norton shows that the art of spending can be a sort of transcendence. More Here.
There’s something to notice about successful people: they act quickly, even if they may fail. [This piece is excerpted from Fail Fast, Fail Often: How Losing Can Help You Win by Ryan Babineaux, PhD., and John Krumboltz, PhD., with the permission of Tarcher/Penguin. Copyright 2013 Ryan Babineaux, PhD., and John Krumboltz, PhD]In the book, Art and Fear, the artists Ted Orland and David Waylon share a story about a ceramics teacher who tried an experiment with his class.The teacher divided the students into two groups. Those sitting on the left side of the studio were to be graded solely on the quantity of their work, while those on the right, solely on the quality. The instructor informed the students in the quantity group that a simple rule would be applied to evaluate their grades: those who produced fifty pounds of pots would get an A, those who produced forty pounds a B, and so on.For the quality group, the instructor told the students that he would assign a course grade based on the single best piece produced over the duration of the course. So if a student created a first-rate pot on day one of the course and did nothing else for the term, he would still get an A.When the end of the quarter arrived and it came to grading time, the instructor made an interesting discovery: the students who created the best work, as judged by technical and artistic sophistication, were the quantity group. While they were busy producing pot after pot, they were experimenting, becoming more adept at working with the clay, and learning from the mistakes on each progressive piece.In contrast, the students in the quality group carefully planned out each pot and tried to produce refined, flawless work, and so they only worked on a few pieces over the length of the course. Because of their limited practice, they showed little improvement.More...
Blessings and prosperity to everyone this coming year.
Peace always.
This post is about the courage it takes to create a career your way. Artist and writer Debbie Millman presented a commencement speech on the virtues of following your path (also in her new book, Looking Both Ways). This is her art...
Continue to read more and also listen to Debbie HERE ...
Graphic Design Company as Artist As Brand Master
Known throughout the world as a type foundry, House Industries has made a considerable impact on the world of design. House Industries fonts scream from billboards, tens of thousands of greeting cards, consumer product logos and add elements of style to a wide range of mainstream media.They also create products from clocks to clothing.What ultimately shines in the House Industries oeuvre is what always conquers mediocrity: a genuine love for their subject matter. Go House!
"12 QUOTES"
To honour the entrepreneurial spirit in us all, Shopify put together a list of great quotes from a number of accomplished business owners that will make you want to stop thinking, stop talking, and start doing.
"Chase the vision, not the money, the money will end up following you."-Tony Hsieh, Zappos CEO
"If something is important enough, even if the odds are against you, you should still do it."-Elon Musk, Tesla Motors & SpaceX Founder
"I try not to make any decisions that I'm not excited about."-Jack Nickell, Threadless founder and CEO
"Embrace what you don't know, especially in the beginning, because what you don't know can become your greatest asset."-Sara Blakely, SPANX Founder
"Some 80% of your life is spent working. You want to have fun at home; why shouldn’t you have fun at work?"-Richard Branson, Virgin Group Founder
"Find your one thing and do that one thing better than anyone else."-Jason Goldberg, Fab Founder
Six more quotes at Shopify.
Connecting your vision to a cause that is larger than yourself can energize your fan base with people who are interested in the same.WhenWhale Tails Tortilla Chip company decided to use art for their environmentally conscious product and packaging they wanted to align with someone who was as passionate about the ocean as they were. Connecting the iconic marine artist,Wyland to their organic product was a match made in heaven.
Wyland ©
When your art is aligned with a strong purpose a vibration is set in motion that will connect with others who are in tune with it. I have seen this principle happen over and over again in my thirty year art career. It is a profound testament to the potential power of your vision.
Just presented another AAB Workshop for the third year in a row at Kendall College of Art and Design. This school has one of the strongest entrepreneurial art programs in the country. Jon McDonald, and Nancy Hart are preparing and empowering their students to make decisions about their art businesses before they graduate and it shows.Participants of past workshops have returned to share with the new students what they are doing with their entrepreneurial knowledge. It is a fascinating mix of art events, personal projects, and freelancing. Most of these students (some have graduated) are working toward their goals of artistic freedom and financial independence.Madyson Blair for instance has not even graduated but already is selling her self published book, The Weather Inside.It is encouraging for me to see after only three years what is possible when students are infused with the potential to create a living their way. I love it when they get it! Go Kendall!
Artists with a store front?Yes, artists can embrace the brick and mortar store as well as a digital shop. Check out Three Fish Studios who do it all in one space, with classes too. This is an option for a group of artists who want to make a splash in their local community as well as online.Annie Galvin and Eric Rewitzer, painters and printmakers, husband and wife, create original and affordable art in their home/studio/store near San Francisco. Go here to see how they do it.
This is a great post by Gregory Ciotti and Help Scout.Building an ecommerce site that customers love largely comes down to two things: sweating (and testing) the small stuff, and understanding human psychology.How do people view, browse, and use your site? While testing will be the final judgement for what works on your site, conversion studies can be a great place to begin when designing your site. Check out this awesome post on some of the fine points of making more sales from your site- here.
I feel that Sir Ken Robinson is a kindred spirit in the context of empowering human potential and creating new educational models. He is an internationally recognized leader in education, innovation, creativity and human resources. There are many informative and inspiring videos of his talks on education reform and the creative life. This is one of my favorites.His latest book is entitled The Element. As Robinson states: “The element is the point at which natural talent meets personal passion. When people arrive at the element, they feel most themselves and most inspired and achieve at their highest levels.”He could teach my Artist As Brand Workshops! If you have been a part of the educational system this is a must see.
The well known street artist, Bansky set up a booth in central park and sold pieces of art for $60.00 each. People did not know it was the famous artist's work, but some bought the art anyway, and now own art investments worth thousands of dollars. Ultimately this was great promotion for Bansky (which he a master of), and it made a fun comment on the art world, but more importantly he also made $420 in one day, with a stripped down booth and an elderly man who sat out front doing absolutely nothing.What I love most about this piece of theater is that it affirms what artists in SOHO, NYC have told me before– you can make a living selling your art on the street. The artists I spoke with made between $250-$500 a day with a booth on the street. That is pretty good money folks. Add it up. If you make an average $400 a day and sell five days a week that is $2000, or $8000 a month. Not bad.Thank you, Bansky for reminding all artists that street art can make for a very profitable business.Go here for more-Three older AAB posts about selling art on the street- Taking it to the streets. Artist As Brand Grassroots. Artist As Brand Grassroots Part 2.
Art by Edel Rodriguez
Knowing your rights as an artist is important to your survival. Tattoo artists are increasingly claiming that they own the copyright to the images they create. And when those images, attached to living people, appear on the silver screen — or a computer monitor — the artists want to get paid.This Los Angeles Times article gets into it here.Check out more Edel Rodriguez art here.