I have been talking about the importance of your niche markets for a long time but I like the terminology of a micro audience even better. The idea that your fans, patrons and collectors are considered a market in the first place is not very intimate. Your supporters are more like a family than a market place so I will be changing my vocabulary around this issue.

An audience is much more snuggly than a market place don't you think?

Here is a great article about how micro audiences are changing the way the studios and tv stations create their shows. As a singular artist you are doing the exact same thing but on an even more intimate level. It is all about people, your people.

Go here.

Artist As Brand-Rise of the Artist Entrepreneur was the title of my San Diego Comic Con panel on art career sustainability with Donato Giancalo, Daniel Davis of SteamCrow, Drew and Maria Brophy, and Dawn Schiller.We had a nice crowd and a super conversation on the art of the start (begins in the heart), and outward toward what projects to make, how to connect with our fans, what social media is working or not, and ways to integrate your lifestyle into all of it.Donato spoke about listening to your inner path, Daniel talked about the power of experimentation in art and marketing, Drew reflected upon the importance of  fusing lifestyle and art, Maria touched upon licensing agreements, and Dawn about being respectful of your fans and fellow artists and many more topics.I thank my incredibly talented panel for sharing their expertise and love with the comic con audience which was filled with newbie art professionals.I was also signing my new book published by Titan Books in London. See more about my book and Comic Con here.

Love this woman!

 Looking for feedback on your website?Peekis a user tester platform that allows random internet users to give you feedback on your site. It is a great way to learn how your site is communicating from someone who comes across your site for the first time.Peek is in BETA format at the moment so it is free! I highly recommend that you take advantage of this offer.You can see the results of a critique of Roxana Illuminated Perfume,here. It is fascinating to watch and learn from.

In case you missed these pics on Facebook here is the amazing group that participated in the Denver Artist As Brand Workshop. Jon Schindehette, Tom Samo, Keith Goble, Cayce Goldberg, Crystal Sully, Tawny Fritz, Elliot Lang, Michelle Barnes, Kayla Edgar, Charlotte Ricker rocked their art empires at the Helikon Gallery.Cayce is the brainchild behind this amazing forward thinking gallery. Go and see Helikon now and see what the future of a gallery can be. Check out each of these professional artists and the amazing Jon Schindehette, who is also a mentor to artists everywhere.Lastly, I spoke at the Denver Comic Con about my career and moderated an art career sustainability panel with Jon Schindehette, Daniel Davis, Dave Rapoza, and Michael C. Hayes. I will be back in Denver next year!

 Join me at the Denver Comic Con, Friday, June 13th, 2014 - 5:15 PM - Room 203 for a panel discussion on art career sustainability.

Artist As Brand: Rise of the Artist Entrepreneur

Learn strategies on how to create an income from your talent on your own terms.On the panel will be Jon Schindehette (Award-winning Creative Director for Wizards of the Coast, Treehouse Brand Stores, Founder of The ArtOrder community, mentor), Daniel Davis (Artist/Designer of Steam Crow, publishers of monster books, serigraphs, and other art products), David Rapoza (Illustrator, creator of Skull and Shark! Bethesda, Hasbro, Blizzard, Universal, Lionsgate, MTV, Riot Games), Michael C. Hayes (Award winning oil painter and illustrator, Magic the Gathering, Blizzard Entertainment, LucasArts and numerous book covers).Don't miss it!

June 11-12 10:00 - 8:00 $195

Register now at Helikon Gallery

3675 Wynkoop St, Denver, CO 80216

720-502-5635

I was surrounded  by a powerhouse of talented Goddesses at the Kansas City Artist As Brand workshop. The workshop was sponsored  by the Kansas City Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Artist thanks to Vania Soto (behind to right) and president of the chapter, Carlos Gomez. This group of women (from left) Eva Maria Toker, Eugenia Ortiz, Vania and Pavina Tonsavanh are going to ROCK! I see amazing success in their futures.

To present a workshop, and man a booth at Spectrum Fantastic Art Live all in one week is a lot of work but also very fulfilling. You can see my booth set up here. I was projecting images on fabric at the back of the booth. A few highlights of interesting booth design are below. Click on the images to see larger.

Awesome gallery look with lights.

Black on Black works nicely here.

A tad messy but nice use of tiering the art upward to get more real estate out of the booth.

 David Frizell was in my AAB workshop two years ago and has embraced the convention circuit by building a system that goes up and comes down in a short period of time. He also has his family there as an amazing crew to help with the set up and break down. Go David!

If you come across cool booth designs please let me know and I will share them here on the blog.

In the past I recommended Facebook as being one of the fantastic four social media venues to use when it came to promoting your work. Your Website, Blog and Twitter are the other three. Of course that list keeps changing, but in general these four working together create a powerful synergy.I am beginning to rethink Facebook. Recently it appears there is a reduced return on investment for using this service. There are many articles out there on the decreasing reach Facebook posts actually have.HERE is a great piece on why this is happening, and why it may be a good time to start checking out other venues like Google+. 

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.

I am an advocate of DIY publishing. Save yourself the time of looking for another company to do it for you and self publish. Just get it done. It may sound like I am making light of this process which I am not– it will be hard work and take some cash to self publish even if the end result is an e-book. Bottom line is get the product made.

This post is about what to do after that product is living and breathing. Promotion comes next and one component of that is the book tour. The book tour usually consists of traveling from place to place to read and share your creation, but that is only part of it.

Here is a great post that offers some strategies.

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...