Art Print Issues by Barney Davey

Blog Rush - Generate Targeted Traffic to Your Blog

There are numerous tools one can use to drive blog traffic and find new readers. Obviously, some will work better than others. The folks at Blog Rush have developed a program that looks like a winner to me. If you have a blog, take a look at how Blog Rush can help you find new readers for it. If you have a favorite blog, let its publisher know about Blog Rush. I am certain they will thank you.

You will find the Blog Rush widget on the left side of my blog. Click on the link on the bottom to learn how you can use Blog Rush to help you grow your traffic and awareness. Or click on the image below.

Audio Added for Your Listening and Downloading Pleasure

I added a new widget to the Art Print Issues blog today. Odiogo allows blogger to "Voice Your Content" by digitizing the blog text and creating an audio file read in some bloke's pleasant computer voice. You can also choose to download it as an mp3 and listen to it on your iPod or other audio players. I think it is a cool service some will appreciate having. It will be interesting to get your feedback. Click the icon to start listening.

As with all new technologies, Odiogo comes with some features that are less than perfect. One is it sometimes rambles from one sentence to the next without a natural pause making casual listening difficult in those instances. Another is it doesn't read the list numbers as in my previous "Thirteen Sure-Fire Rules..." post. Lastly, its attempts to pronounce giclee are downright humorous. Given giclee is a French word, it's easy to see how this could happen. It sounds very much like the way many people I've heard try to say it when they first encounter the word. I've heard it as "jie klee" and as "gick lee" but all in all it's pretty impressive. I'm sure as the service gets older it will improve, the model is advertising free now, but it intends to monetize the free service by adding that as a feature sometime in the future.

Odiogo has a blog; its Deploying the Odiogo service on a blog: Why and How is a good read. The Daily Cup of Tech blog recently had a very good post about Odiogo, Now with Audio Goodness, offers some additional insight. If you are a techie type, check it out for its other posts as well. If you want to add it to your Blog or mainstream media Web site, simply go to www.odiogo.com and sign up for the free service.

New Beginnings - ArtExpo Bets on Las Vegas

I guest blog at Absolute Arts on a semi-frequent basis. The subject of my August 9 has the same title as this post. If you go there and my blog is not up, please try again later. It is sometimes mid-morning before they get the latest contribution posted. If you have been reading the posts here the past few months, you know I have expressed concern over changes at ArtExpo New York that do not bode well for the industry. I know changes are inevitable and today more than ever Will Rogers' astute admonishment rings true:

"Even if you are on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there."

Accepting change is one thing, being concerned the changes are causing harm to an industry is another. Right now, ArtExpo is planning its coming out party for Las Vegas. I am cautiously optimistic to know the show being held at the Mandalay Bay Casino and Resort on September 28 - 30, is sold out. That's a good thing. Now to bake that cake and eat it too, buyers have to be drawn to the show and they have to buy. If that happens, we will be witnessing one of the best things to happen to the industry in a long time.

By the way, if you haven't spent time on Absolute Arts, you should. It has lots to offer artists and there is much to learn from the site. It offers artists high traffic and some I've seen on artist's discussion boards have reported good sales results from it, while others have not had that result. That would tell me the sales came from those artists who have images with appeal that are priced appropriately.

THIS JUST IN: Dick Harrison reports he has put up another of his informative podcasts on his www.salestipsforartists.com Web site. This on the subject that vexes nearly every artist, especially emerging artists: How Should I Price My Artwork. As always, Dick in his incredible generosity offers this invaluable information at his best price: free. I've yet to listen to one of his podcasts and not come away better for it.

Dick Harrison's "Sales Tips for Artists" New Website

The inimitable erudite Dick Harrison, whom I have blogged about before, has put out a new Web site, Sales Tips for Artists. The site offers one place where artists, reps and others interested in art marketing and how to sell art can learn from Dick's 20 years of experience selling his own work and that of as many as 200 other artists. Dick is an eloquent speaker, which makes listening to his podcasts as enjoyable as they are informative. Here's his brief description of the site:

The sales tips you're about to listen to are based on what I learned as a successful artist's rep and producing artist. The "secrets" I'm about to share supported my family for more than twenty years and and I know they will help you as well.

Dick could easily charge for these valuable lessons and I believe most artists would be happy to pay to tap into his knowledge. I encourage all my readers to not only take the time to learn from Dick, but to repay his generosity by sharing the link to his site with as many people as possible.