Art Print Issues by Barney Davey

How to Write a Press Release for Artists

Writing effective press releases is a learned skill. For visual artists seeking to grow their art business and sharpen their art marketing, knowing how to write press releases also is a crucial skill. Artist Tara Reed has just published a new e-book titled, How to Be a Press Friendly Artist: Get Quoted. Get Press. Get Published.

Advice from an art marketing pro

As one who spent decades in the fine art trade magazine publishing business, I can testify this press release primer is a gem! It is just what you would expect from a highly successful multi-million dollar selling artist specializing the intensely competitive art licensing field.

The knowledge in this book applies to all artists

You do not have to be working in the licensing field to take full advantage of the sound advice this book offers. You only need to have the desire to capitalize on the single best resource available to you to help you promote your art career.

Tara's advice on why it is important to utilize press releases and how to work with the press is spot on. You will find it in perfect alignment with the advice in my book How to Profit from the Art Print Market and my numerous Art Print Issues blog posts on publicity for artists here.

Real world press release experience makes the difference

Artists will find Tara's insightful coaching and specific advice offers concise real world examples of how to write press releases for their art business. She explains why artists need to be friends with the press and how to make it easy for the press to love you, the artist.

Here is a sampling of press release tools & techniques you will learn:

• How to write a Press Release with great tips on distributing your Press Releases.
• Where to find online Press Release distribution sites.
• Hand Picking the right editors for you to send Press Releases to directly.
• Build a Media Contact List.
• Create a Press eMail Signature.
• Take Advantage of Editorial Calendars.
• Digital & Physical Press Kits – When to Use Them.
• What To Include in Any Press Kit – Digital or Physical.

The appendices offer great examples of actual published press releases with step-by-step instructions on how to setup and use the free services at PRLog.org to professionally put your own publicity on the wire. 

I am a true believer in the power of the press release

Whether you have read either the first or second edition of my How to Profit from the Art Print Market, or have been a regular reader of my Art Print Issues blog here, then you already know I place a premium on the importance of effectively using the power of press releases to advance your art career.

As Tara says, "There are many ways to get the word out of course. Maybe you have a website, use social media sites like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, exhibit in art shows, advertise, etc. The press can help you too – if they know about you and if you give them information that their readers are interested in."

The best publicity is both career boosting and free - artists learn to use it here

You cannot beat the implied third-party endorsement that comes with free publicity. The right publicity has been known to do wonders for the art careers of some visual artists. Since How to Be a Press Friendly Artist is about how to get free press not paid press, it makes the information most valuable and useful to any artist savvy enough to tap into its power.

Free press can come in the form of a quote and website mention in an article run in a newspaper, print magazine or online article. It can also be a feature story about you and what you do. Paid press is usually in the form of advertising. Order your copy today! You will be glad you did.

In addition to her successful art licensing career, Tara Reed also is an art licensing coach and a prolific writer on the subject of art licensing. Some of her other more popular titles include How to Get Started in Art Licensing and How to Find an Art Licensing Agent. Both are recommended reading for any artist seeking to break into the lucrative licensing field.

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Decorating Your Home With Canvas Art Prints

By Jimmy JS Parker

Canvas art prints are an impressive way of decorating a big room. It creates an amazing impression to the on-looker because it is such a focal point in the room and is extremely eye-catching. The largest room in the house, which is probably also the most used room, will be transformed if the following decorating ideas are used in the display of a large canvas art print.

Firstly, a large print needs to be hung extremely carefully. It requires very careful leveling so the use of a spirit level would be ideal. The eye hooks need to be approximately four to six inches below the top of the frame along the sides and the wire attached to each eye hook. The correct positioning of the eye hooks will ensure the top of frame will be positioned properly against the wall at the right distance from the ceiling. If the lower ends of the wire are positioned along the sides of the frame, the top of the painting will stand away from the wall, which will not look at all aesthetic. When it is mounted the wire allows for easy adjustment and leveling once it is in position.

A large print will look fantastic above a fireplace, directly above the mantel piece. The focal point of any room, but in particular, a large room is usually the fireplace so it will only be enhanced more if a canvas art is hung directly above it. It will be a real eye-catcher and make an amazing impression on anyone when they initially walk into the room. It needs to be hung twelve to sixteen inches above the fireplace and needs to be selected carefully in order to match the colour and style of the room. Enough space needs to be left between the print and the mantel piece to allow for personal ornaments such as candles, photographs, clocks etc. to be placed. Once a blazing fire has been lit in the hearth, the whole fireplace area will look so impressive, completed with a beautiful piece of artwork to complete the total look and feel.

Any room is suitable for a these kind of prints but it is true to say that a large wall just cries out for a large display of a well-chosen canvas art print. Large areas of wall can be spoilt completely if covered with a variety of shelves, cupboards or random pictures. These can make the wall and the room look cluttered and less aesthetic. The perfect choice for a large wall area would be just one, gorgeous large canvas art print. It will look wonderful against a plain painted wall and will stand alone as an amazing piece of art work and will draw the eye of the beholder towards it. It needs to be chosen to complement the colours in the room and the style of the room and be a personal choice of the owner. Many canvas art prints can be chosen with various themes such as settings, flowers, building, places and abstracts etc.

A canvas art print would look marvelous on an empty space above a sofa and will be enhanced if placed between soft wall lighters. Two candle or other light holders fixed either side of the print will cast a beautiful glow across the canvas print and highlight the colours and hues. The canvas art print will create a fantastic focal point and add beauty within the room and it will impress everyone who uses the room. The print needs again needs to be thoughtfully chosen to match the colour and style of the room.

To sum up, large sized rooms will accommodate a large sized canvas art print admirably. It is the perfect choice to ensure style and a smart look and feel to the room. Options for choosing canvas art prints are endless but need to be chosen well to fit in with personal preference and the colours and style of the home and room generally. You will need to look around your home and make sure you choose the right space for your specially chosen canvas art print.

I hope this article will help you when printing your canvas art and in choosing beautiful canvas prints.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jimmy_JS_Parker

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How to Use Article Marketing to Grow Your Business

Are you looking for a creative way to find new buyers for your work? If so, article marketing may be just the ticket for you. The article above is reprinted with permission from the Ezine Articles website. It is a great example for any artist who wants to use article marketing to create a new direct sales channel.

What the author has done is write an article with useful tips a homeowner could use to complement the decor in her home. While the article is informative, it is also leading the reader to click on the links at the bottom of the article that go to the retail store in the UK operated by the author.

If you are already selling direct to consumers, especially if you are providing finished art, there is no reason why you couldn't write a similar article. You could write about the benefits of using art from the same artist in a room or setting?

Ezine Articles is the leading provider of article marketing with something like 250 articles submitted daily. It has a WordPress plugin that allows the author to write a post and simultaneously submit it to Ezine Articles.

Perhaps you are not the best writer, or lack confidence in your ability. No problem. There are copywriting services that can quickly and professionally polish your prose into an article that will make you proud. One example is www.Gramlee.com. I have personal experience with its great service and recommend it without hesitation or any kind of remuneration for doing so.

Should you choose to follow this advice, please let me know. I will be happy to Tweet about it and mention it on Facebook.

 

Build an Art Market - Profit from Your Passion

I love to read stories about artists who succeed against improbable odds. The news in this post should bring hope, joy and encouragement to visual artists everywhere.

The past five years have been very difficult for artists and publishers in the art print market. The dwindling pages in trade magazines and disappearance of formerly important tradeshows serving the art print market punctuate the point.

Tough times do not mean there are no opportunities

Given current conditions, it is a wonder any artist or publisher is doing well. And, yet here is a story proving when you follow your passion and create something that touches people in a compelling way, you can grow a profitable art business in the most trying times. Such is the case of Ashley Goldberg and her partner Drew. She is an artist who draws whimsical images and turns them into prints sold on her Etsy shop.

Kudos for getting ink from Inc. Magazine!

The result of creating such work and making it available on Etsy is her site is one of the most "hearted" on all of Esty and she and her partner Drew end up as part of a cover story in Inc. magazine. The cover story title is How to Launch a Dream Career and Profit from Your Passion. The aricle within the feature about Ashley and Drew is titled Start-Ups 2010: Building a Market for Art. 

Take heart and take notice.

It's obvious not every artist reading this post is destined to be featured in a national business magazine. Nevertheless, there are unending promotional and publicity opportunities for visual artists willing to work at turning possibilities into realities. You can be one of them if you put your mind, your body and your will to it.

If you want to be noticed, do something worth noting.

I do not know if AshleyG and Drew courted the publicity directly, or if they just got "lucky." Truly, it does not matter. If it is the latter, as I suspect, I would argue their luck is the residue of the hard and dedicated work they have put into making their art print business happen.

I bet the best is yet to come and that we have not heard the last from AshleyG and Drew. What is exciting to me is I know there are many more artists out there who are breaking into the print market on their own terms and enjoying the success that comes with it. If you are one of them, I would love to hear from you.

The Art of Self-promotion for Visual Artists

For some visual artists, the idea of self-promotion is near anathema. They have a hard time believing good will come from it and look upon it as it is akin to being like the cheery cheesy fellow on the left of this copy.

The facts are without marketing and promotion what you have is a pleasant hobby

This is the last in a series of blog posts that the professional and exquisite artist Lori McNee and I have written on the topic of whether artists should work with galleries, self-represent or do both. Once we agreed in this day and age artists should do both, we got to work.

Most of the prior pieces were collaborations between Lori and me. This one is solo as was Lori’s insightful last piece: 3 Tips for Artists to Promote Themselves & Their Galleries.

While this post is about self-promotion for visual artists, nearly all of what is offered would work for any creative person seeking to market themselves. The suggestions here are offered to help artists improve the art of self-promotion. The suggestions are brief as many could be worked into a full-length post on their own. As a matter of fact, such is the case and will be linked as you read along.

Self-promotion is a learned skill for most artists

It seems to me most artists I know are either extroverted expressive personalities that demand attention or they are introverts who shy away from it. From the outside, one easily can be fooled into thinking extroverts have an advantage in this department. Further inspection proves this is not the case. Many shy people are highly successful in visible careers. The late King of Late Night, Johnny Carson, is a perfect example. He was a quiet private man who eschewed the limelight when not commandeering the desk on The Tonight Show. Meanwhile, his alter ego Art Fern persona was an always hilarious over-the-top send up of what a pitch man could be.

I do believe there are some folks who have a better knack for self-promotion than others, and they are not always the extroverts. This is is human nature. We are not all equally blessed in the same ways. However, in the art business having the knack for self-promotion is not the key to success in growing awareness for yourself and your art. It is determination and ambition that drive career success for artists. This includes learning to harness the power of self-promotion.

Self-promotion and self-belief are twin traits

You might want to read my blog post: The Power of Believing in Yourself. Self-belief is a powerful trait that can help propel your career and keep it moving when it appears to everyone but you that you are against all odds. If you possess self-belief, it will help you be authentic and sincere in your self-promotion, and that, sprinkled with talent, will take you far.

Self-promotion and success go hand-in-hand

Most of us don’t mind someone who promotes themselves when we can see it is coming from authentic self-belief as opposed to braggadocio. This is especially true if we can see they have the talent to back up their self-belief. In fact, we are likely to want to see them succeed. Do we think less of Lance Armstrong knowing he was proud to be the most successful professional bike racer of all time? Do we despise the Rolling Stones who cockily strutted their stuff as being the world’s greatest rock n’ roll band? Did we think Picasso was out of if with outrageous and ego centric behavior?  When Jack Nicholson won the Golden Globe for “As Good As It Gets,” he said it was a license for ten more years of bad behavior and we laughed with him.

Do I think anyone reading this is on the level of the above mentioned greats? Of course not, but that should not stop you from learning from them, from being able to grab that scintilla of purpose that can be applied to you in your job as a visual artist. That is what you do as an artist anyway. You assimilate and emulate styles and techniques until you have one of your own. You borrow from the masters who have paved the path in front of you and use what you learn to go your own way.

Here then are some things that all fall under the area of art marketing that you can begin to do to self-promote your art and your career:

• Comment on designer's or galleries blogs, or other important folks who can influence your careeer. Making nice with other artists and commenting on their blog and Facebook is great for your ego, but it is not nearly as important as making nice with people who can buy your work or help your career. Find influential people and comment on their blogs or write them personal notes congratulating them or offering meaningful tips, insights or ideas. Lather, rinse and repeat.
  
• Make friends with a local media person who covers culture, entertainment, or even politics. Don’t try to approach them for a story. Approach them to try and help them and to get to know them just to know them. If you do, the residual effect is bound to be positive and worthwhile for you.
• Do something outrageous that you would never do. A great brainstorming technique is to take a large piece of paper and write as many ideas as you and your family and friends can think of to do. I guarantee you will come up with some good ideas to promote yourself.
• Start an art event for charity. It does not have to be elaborate. It can be in your living room, or at a local coffee shop. All you need is an idea, a few fliers and a little gumption.
• Print your art large on some unusual substrate such as metal or wood, clothing. Make it twice as large or twice as small as you have ever made. Then challenge yourself to find a way to promote what you have done.
• Seek help in high places. I wrote a post titled Six Degrees of You. Think about someone who, if they took an interest, could seriously help your art career. A museum curator, a top interior designer, a magazine editor, the head of your state cultural organization. If you can’t think of someone like this, especially after getting clues offered, then question yourself about how much being successful really means to you.
• Collaborate with another artist. Lori and I collaborated on this blog post series. Yes, we know many of the same folks, but there were many others who came to know more about us by doing the series. There is no reason you can’t do the same with other visual artists, or performing artists, poets or musicians. Learn to be inspired by someone and do likewise and look for ways to explore how to channel that inspiration to new work and new vistas for your art marketing efforts.
• Get a .com domain with your name on it. Your name, if it is at all common, is probably taken. So, get one with mynamestuidio.com or mynameartist.com, or mynamefineartist.com. Then start using it. Your name is your brand. People will remember your name far more than some amorphous company name.
• Write articles, or have them ghost written for you on entertainment, design, travel, dining, wine collecting, playing poker, or anything that interests you. Or, write about an art experience that is profound to you. Make sure it is clear you are an artist with a website and/or a blog.
• Use social media. Do I really need to tell you to get a website and blog and Facebook fan page? If you haven’t do not fret, there is still space available on the Internet and Facebook for you.
• Pay it forward. Get involved in ways to promote other artists. The good karma that will come from it will easily be worth the effort.
• Market Locally - Grow Where You Are Planted. Use the Internet's power of local marketing. Network. Get involved in your area, become part of the local chamber. Many chambers have social memberships. Volunteer at a local charity. Visit every picture framer in 50-mile radius. Ask each one how you can help them or if they have ideas how you can promote yourself.
• Use handwritten and hand-drawn marketing pieces. I’ve seen a terrific marketing piece that was printed to look like an elaborate brainstorming session that led to a great idea. Use a series of sketches to illustrate an idea that leads to a suggestion to contact you or visit your website.
• Believe in yourself. If you lack self-belief how can you expect others to believe in you?
• Be driven, no can want success more than you. Do not rest until you have the success you want. You are the captain of your ship. It will go where you steer it. You your own true North Star to guide your careers. It won’t all be smooth sailing, but if you persist the end result will be like a day at the beach.

Mid-Summer Repost Asking If You Are Pressworthy

I don't know how it got to be mid-summer already because I feel like the year just began a short time ago. Nevertheless, I find myself in the Phoenix summer heat to be unmotivated to crank out new posts.In other words, it's time for summer reposts.

I do intend to publish a final note to the series between fine artist Lori McNee and me discussing whether artists should work with a gallery, go it on their own, or do both. That post will offer tips on self-promotion. If you haven't seen the posts in the series so far, here they are:

Visual Artist’s Challenge: Should I Work with Galleries, Go Direct to Collectors or Both?

Visual Artist’s Challenge II – Balancing Self Promotion & Gallery Representation

More Thoughts on Artists and Galleries Working Together

3 Tips for Artists to Promote Themselves & Their Galleries

Are You Press Release Worthy?

The question posed above and in the title of the original post asks you to consider if you are working at things worthy of preparing and sending a press release. Since this content also is apropos to the idea of self-promotion for artists, I am running with it and its two companion pieces while I take a mid-summer break from writing new blog posts. Enjoy! And, take some time off yourself, if you can.

Stop now! Think back to what your immediate reaction to the question of whether you are press release worthy was. Examining your self-perception and reaction will be quite insightful for you. There is no wrong answer. There are just three basic ways to respond:

1. You immediately agreed you were press release worthy.
2. You stopped to assess if you were worthy.
3. You instinctively felt you were not doing anything to make you press release worthy.

How you perceive yourself is one aspect of this challenge. And, your concept of the value of a press release and what they do could easily color your decision. There is not much, if any training on how to use a press release, and not much exposure to them for many visual artists. The lack of exposure could easily cause the activity be filed away as intimidating, mysterious, or bothersome; all leading to inactivity and improper assessment in answering the question.

While you are a product of many things, your self-perception nevertheless is your choice.

If you believe you are press release worthy, good for you. It's a shows a bit of confidence and self-awareness that undoubtedly helps you in other aspects of your career. Having a healthy ego is a good thing for artists. It's much easier to convince others about the value of your work if your persona portrays confidence and self-esteem. We might root for the underdogs, but we buy the winners.

Learning from American Idol, who'da thunk it?

Last year in an admission to a guilty pleasure, I posted Art Marketing Lessons from American Idol. Visual artists should take note of the implied advice the show offers. This year, comparable examples for visual artists are obvious. British judge, Simon Cowell, continues to make the point to those who don't portray confidence that talent alone will not win the contest. Artists need to exude self-confidence. It doesn't have to be done in a swaggering braggadocio style. Confidence can be shown in many ways. Whether it is an outgoing or quiet style is irrelevant.

In social settings, we all have radar for how someone feels about themselves.The manner of how it is expressed doesn't matter. We read the person and evaluate them on the subtle clues we observe. This is why the kids with the good voices who come off as not quite believing themselves ultimately will be voted off American Idol.

There practically is no reason for any artist not be press release worthy. If you thought you weren't or were not sure, I hope to help you change that perception. It will come in learning more about how press releases work, what their real value is and how to get a good one written and submitted. Look for information on press releases in subsequent posts here soon. I believe it will be a confidence booster for you to come to realize you are press release worthy.

Related Posts:

How to Write a Press Release for Artists

Using SlideShare to Promote Your Fine Art

These days, actually any days in the art business, you need as much promotion and exposure as you can muster. Fortunately, you have many unique opportunities to promote your fine art to galleries and collectors.

In a recent post, I told you about printing your own four-color magazine from MagCloud. Long time readers may recall I posted about the power of SlideShare by linking to a most impressive presentation titled Shift Happens. Today, I want to reacquaint you with SlideShare by introducing you to a wonderful presentation of fantasy art by Rebeka Rodosek.She is a talented visual artist from Ljubljana, Slovenia.

Fantasy Art By Rebeka Rodosek

I found Rebeka the same way I am sure many other have, which was by searching the Internet. An email from SlideShare about new features prompted me to revisit the site. I had not been there in quite a while, but my good intentions to do so needed a reminder.

When I searched the site for "art," I found Rebeka's palette and subject matter jumping out at me. She is in the print market, as a Google search shows her with work on Imagekind, among other online art sites. I am certain I would have also found her Facebook fan page sooner or later as well.

Email marketing works to promote art

By keeping in touch with me, SlideShare has managed to maintain my interest to the point that I am touting it to you once again. Repeated exposure has worked for it. If you are not using email marketing, you are letting an important and powerful tool go to waste. There will be more on email marketing in a future post. For now, let your imagination run wild and brainstorm on how many ways you can use SlideShare.

Blending marketing elements enhances how you sell art

If you sense there is a thread running through this post, you are right. We talked about how with MagCloud you can create your own four-color magazine. Then we moved onto SlideShare and also mentioned email marketing. Finally, we mentioned Imagekind, an online fine art print gallery site that will sell your art, print it and fulfill it for you.

Your art marketing plan should be to combine powerful elements, such as these, into a cohesive plan to reach and influence your best art collector prospects, dealers and customers. In doing so, you will leverage each component to lift the other and thereby greatly raise awareness for you and your art.

In my humble opinion, this is how to sell art using affordable tools that are readily available and easy to use. Weave them with your Website, blog and social media presence to generate buzz and increase your income.

Publish Your Own Fine Art Magazine with MagCloud

I am certain part of my fascination with the MagCloud self-publishing concept is due to having spent three decades in the magazine publishing business. However, I am more enamored because it offers visual artists a new unique and potentially powerful means to promote themselves and their art.

Supports your social media efforts

It is true we are all aflutter with the prospects social media presents us. However, it is still hard to beat the tangible aspects of having a printed publication with beautiful images in one's hands.

In these tough economic times, you can imagine many art publishers sought to cutback by eliminating costly catalogs. What they found was they lost business when they did. This realization should give you more reason and motivation to utilize MagCloud as a promotional vehicle. Properly executed, this tool offers a great way to augment social media and stand out from the crowds there.

MagCloud is a one-of-a-kind art marketing tool

Not surprisingly, I learned about MagCloud on the Internet, specifically from a Facebook ad. Being curious by nature, and because the magazine business has been so important to my career, I was immediately compelled to investigate MagCloud. I found it offers unique promotional opportunities as a marketing tool for artists, art associations and artist co-ops. The image above is the cover the the inaugural issue of Domestic Etch. It is produced by Elizabeth Goodspeed, a New York based graphic designer and artist. You can also find her on her Domestic Etch blog.

With so many things these days being fulfilled nearly instantly, I had to think through the comparatively lengthy process involved in producing a MagCloud publication. If you check it out, you will find the turnaround time between submission, proofing, and final order fulfillment can take four weeks or longer.

By traditional magazine publishing standards, MagCloud offers a relatively quick turnaround. Realistically, I think the planning,  writing and production stage could easily take four weeks or longer to prepare files to send to the printer. For me, after just spending a small amount of time on the site, I am convinced this self-publishing concept is worthy of the investment in time, regardless of how long, and effort for artists looking for new ways to promote their art. It is less costly than a traditional catalog, more impressive than a brochure, and unlike most other printed promo materials you find from visual artists.

Your fine art magazine will get the best results with a graphic designer

As with any creative endeavor, it takes talent and skill to produce something visually interesting and compelling. As such, I will strongly recommend to any artist who decides to pursue this opportunity that he or she enlist the aid of a competent graphic designer. Not only is a graphic designer likely to have more talent to create a better publication, he or she is likely will have better tools and knowledge to use them to get better quicker results.

As an account executive selling advertising space for Decor magazine for many years, I repeatedly saw visual artists make the same mistake. That is, they believed their training as an artist qualified them to create great graphic design. It is not the same training or skill set. Many times their self-designed ads lacked the pizazz and visual punch needed to get the best response. Besides, with you enterprising types, I see this as a wonderful opportunity for visual artists and graphic designers to collaborate so each gets promotional value from the effort.

Publishing your own art business publication is an affordable idea with great promotional prospects

Given MagCloud's print-on-demand component, which offers great flexibility, low prices, and both one off and bulk delivery, this product looks like a sure-fire winner in the right hands to me. That it is part of Hewlett-Packard makes the product more viable and compelling. I am eager to see how readers of this blog respond to this opportunity. If you do create a publication using MagCloud, please let me know so I can publicize it here for you.

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P.S. The SmARTist Telesummit starts today. It is not too late to register. It runs for seven days. No one expects you to be able to attend all the sessions. That is why you can request a set of boxed CDs to listen to afterwards. They will be shipped to you for FREE! I speak on a panel today and present my talk, Putting Art Prints in Perspective: How Can You Build a Second Income in the Art Print Market, on Monday, January 25. i will see you there!

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How to Get into Galleries and Sell More Art

There are many reasons to like what the Internet can do for you. One of my favorites is the ability it provides to discover interesting people both near and far.

A good example is a news item I came across about a local art gallery owner who has just published a business of art book with wonderful career advice for fine artists.

When I saw the item, it caught my attention and prompted me to call Jason Horejs, the author. Before I called, I posted a link to and brief description about the book on Twitter and Facebook. Both mentions generated an immediate and enthusiastic response.

During our initial call, we arranged a brief meeting at Jason's impressive Xanadu Gallery in Old Town Scottsdale. There are some people who you immediately like and trust. I found  Jason to be such a person.We exchanged copies of our books and made plans to catch lunch sometime soon.

Reaching out to those in your community can be invaluable

My call resulted in Jason inviting me to be a guest on his regular Art Marketing Tips webinar where I talked about the art print market. As a bonus, he offered my How to Profit from the Art Print Market book to listeners at a time-limited reduced price. In the meantime, we read each other's books. You will find, as did I, his book is chock full of great tips for visual artists. His unparalleled advice is the sort that could only come from a second-generation art entrepreneur whose gallery has generated millions in fine art sales.

"Starving" to Successful is a book that should be in every artist's library

I'm here to testify when you have read "Starving" to Successful: The Fine Artist's Guide to Getting into Galleries and Selling More Art, you will be glad you did.  You will find Jason offers straightforward no-nonsense practical art marketing advice for artists. I'm certain by reading it you will be impressed and motivated and also will find it immensely informative and helpful.

As a successful art gallery owner in Scottsdale, one of the most hotly contested markets in the country, he has been on the front lines of selling art for years. Jason cut his teeth watching his parents make a living from the creative output of his father, who has been a productive full-time visual artist for decades. When you raise a family as an artist, you learn all the tricks of the trade to keep bread on the table. Naturally, the offspring get a firsthand lessons on what works and what doesn't

The author's advice is clear cut and offers immediate benefits; the book's perspective is unique to the art business

In essence, Jason has distilled for the benefit of visual artists rock solid advice in an easy-to-read book that truly tells it like it is. Read this book and you are certain to come away with information, inspiration and motivation sure to make your fine art career better and more profitable. I heartily commend it to you.

After Jason generously offered to sell my book at his webinar, I wanted to return the favor by offering his book to my readers. He has graciously given you a great price! Get it and read it to start benefiting from his his sage advice now.

Click to get more information Or, you can order the book using PayPal below. You do not need a PayPal account to use it to pay with your credit card. This offer is made available to you on a special limited promotional price of $19.50 + s&h from my company, Bold Star Communications, courtesy of Red Dot Publishing. The regular price is $24.95 + s&h! Use the dropdown to select your shipping.

$19.50 + Shipping (Choose US | Canada | International)

US $23.75 Canada $29.90 International $32.95

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Both Jason and I will be speakers the 4th Annual SmARTist Telesummit. Click here to get on on the mailing and to learn about the topnotch panel of speakers who are ready to help you catapult your career this January.

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Publicity is a Big Deal for Visual Artists and All Small Businesses

A recent newsletter from the pen of the talented Melissa Cassera, the driving force behind Cassera Communications, caught my eye. She always has great ideas and suggestions for using and getting publicity.

Melissa helps her clients get covered by print, television and other media outlets. Some of her advice may seem daunting to a visual artist who has not had exposure via these channels. But, I assure you if you have an interesting angle, you are press worthy. I'm certain Melissa would agree.

She has unselfishly offered in her newsletter useful tips for DIY (Do-It-Yourself) publicity. I am a believer that if you can afford it, you should hire the best PR person you can find to promote your art business. That's because when it comes to art marketing and art promotion activities, publicity is dollar-for-dollar best investment an artist, or any small business, can make. If the reality is it's not in your budget now, then follow her sage advice to work on PR for yourself.

If you are a regular reader, you know I've blogged extensively about publicity and included a chapter on it in my book, How to Profit from the Art Print Market. (You may have noticed over there on the right.)

Here are links to some past posts on the subject:

• Creative Publicity Pays
• As a Visual Artist, Are You Press Release Worthy (Part One)
• What Topics Would Be Press Worthy for a Visual Artists? (Part Two)
• Using Press Releases to Gain Publicity for Visual Artists (Part Three)

Reprinted here with Melissa's permission are her DIY suggestions:

Summer continues to be a busy time here at Cassera Communications! We are actively pitching the Holiday Gift Guides for our product-based clients and booking plenty of TV appearances for our roster of 'experts.'

If you're still following the DIY publicity path, I've compiled some tips to help gain better ROI from your efforts.

• Make a list of 25 outlets you want to be featured in/on. Make a list in Excel and have separate columns for outlet name, contact name, phone, email, address and pitching profile - this is to keep better track of your efforts!
• Take time to read the publication or watch the TV show you are pitching. If you're pitching Redbook, you may be able to pitch multiple sections as an expert or for a product feature. If you're pitching TV, such as Good Morning America, what hour are you pitching? Did you know the first is dedicated to hard news, the second hour a 'mix' of hard news and lifestyle, and their recently added third hour is open to lifestyle segments? Also - if you don't watch the show or read the publication, how do you know they haven't covered your topic before?
• Do not send the same pitch to a print outlet and TV show. Television pitches should be written as segments. If you don't know how to do that, watch any segment and get a a feel for how they are written. There is always a lead-in, often with a research statistic. There are typically at least five take-aways for the viewer. There are also visuals for each talking point - either product demonstrations or video footage called b-roll.
• Don't get discouraged if you send a pitch and hear nothing back. It just means you have to work harder and smarter to come up with something different. Start 'thinking in pitches.' Immerse yourself in the media and understand their format. In publicity, you get out what you put in. The greater the effort, the greater the reward.  

A quick congratulations to the following Cassera Communications clients:

• Angela Jia Kim for landing TV appearances on Better Philly, WFMZ, and Fox Connecticut as well as featured in the Wall Street Journal book releasing in December, More Magazine and AM New York Newspaper.
• Deborah Bailey featured on More Magazine.com, Bankrate.com and the Chicago Tribune blog network.
• Lilliana Vazquez of The Cheap Chica's Guide to Styleis featured in a 2-page spread in Travel Girl Magazine, The Style Network online, Better TV and will appear on Fox 45 Baltimore and in Philadelphia Style magazine next month!
• Karol Ward featured on WFMZ, NBC10 Show and ABC6.
• Patricia Green of Ginger Kids is gearing up to launch the Passport to the World Club on 9/9/09. The launch will feature 9-days of giveaways with popular mom blogs. She has also already gained the interest of Parents Magazine!
• Tanea Smith of She's Got Papers recently launched The Learner's Permit - a great back to school item with a huge buzz!

Related Posts:

How to Write a Press Release for Artists

Last Summer Repost - 52 Blog Topics for Artists - Get Started Now!

For the final summer repost, here is an oldie, but goodie, that stands the test of time. If you are ever at a wonder as to what to write about in your next blog post, the following repost will be helpful:

A Year of Blog Topics for Artists - No Reason to Hold Back Now

Perhaps you have read Why Every Artist Needs a Blog on Art Print Issues, and you are now ready to take the plunge into the blogoshpere. But, you are concerned you won't know what to write. If you think people don't want to know what you had for lunch, you're correct and win a gold star. Here then are 52 suggested blog topics designed to get you through your first year without ever mentioning peanut butter and jelly. Several topics could easily be multi-part posts:

52 blog topics for artists - Courtesy of Art Print Issues

1. Why I support xyz charity
2. The most inspiring art teacher I have known
3. How I came to know being a professional artist was my career path
4. Why I love working with xyz medium
5. What you can learn from the traveling exhibit at the abc museum
6. Four galleries I would love to carry my work and why
7. Five contemporary artists whose works inspire and inform me
8. Clues to the subtle messages in my art
9. My color palette is (nature/technology/environment) driven and why
10. Ten things they don't teach you in art school
11. How being in the business of art affects my art
12. When I paint, I like to listen to Guns n' Roses/London Philharmonic/Enya/Toby Keith
13. How the other arts influence my work, e.g., how I attempt to interpret the fluidity of a ballerina in my brush stokes
14. Here are blogs by other artists whose work I like, or whose blogs I like
15. Art retreats; although you may not get rich and famous, you can still travel and stay at wonderful places. Here are my favorites or fantasies
16. How other jobs I've had have added perspective to my art
17. Spirituality is personal, but growth in it has made me a better artist
18. Nine things I want to paint before I stop
19. Why painting en plen air is exhilarating
20. Art by other artists I bought in unusual places
21. Visually inspiring day trips around where I live
22. Museums I've visited in other cities and around home
23. Art books on my bookshelf
24. If I could only recommend one book, art or otherwise, for someone, it would be...
25. How living the creative life has uplifted my spirits and made me a better person
26. Advice for young artists
27. Why I love my local galleries and/or the local art scene
28. How blogging has stretched me as an artist
29. You can find my art online at these sites, here's why I chose to use them
30. Art magazines I like to read
31. The greatest influence on my life was...
32. Why and how parents should encourage artistic development in their children
33. Some funny experiences either colleagues or I've had at art shows
34. I still can't believe people have asked me these things
35. The five best quotes on art I've ever read
36. How the courage and creativity of some disabled artists have inspired me
37. Here are blogs I enjoy that are not about art
38. Seven ways technology has changed how I make and sell art (Some examples are: Photoshop/digital camera/digital painting/digital printing/Painter/online art sites)
39. I'm grateful because this person came in my life, or because this happened to me
40. Eight reasons I get out of bed to paint everyday are (Suggestions: Let's be honest, I need the money. I'm OCD and can't help it. It's the best job a person could have. A day without painting is like a day without sunshine. I can't stand the thought of going back to the 7-11)
41. And you heard writer's block was difficult
42. How overcoming creative obstacles has made me a better artist
43. So I went to a tradeshow/convention/workshop and the best/funniest/saddest thing happened
44. It's really hard to part with my originals; here's why
45. Five reasons you will like the giclee prints I offer
46. Flowers in my garden make me smile and make me paint
47. If I wasn't an artist, I'd be a...
48. Why faces are so difficult to paint, and hands are tough too
49. The most inspiring movie I've ever seen is...
50. How the arts organizations in my area are helping children/charities/??
51. Why you should always use a docent when you go to a museum. Here are some special things I learned at...
52. How reading the Art Print Issues blog has made me smarter, better looking, more creative and much richer

Perhaps you have read Why Every Artist Needs a Blog on Art Print Issues, and you are now ready to take the plunge into the blogoshpere. But, you are concerned you won't know what to write. If you think people don't want to know what you had for lunch, you're correct and win a gold star. Here then are 52 suggested blog topics designed to get you through your first year without ever mentioning peanut butter and jelly. Several topics could easily be multi-part posts:

52 blog topics for artists - Courtesy of Art Print Issues

1. Why I support xyz charity
2. The most inspiring art teacher I have known
3. How I came to know being a professional artist was my career path
4. Why I love working with xyz medium
5. What you can learn from the traveling exhibit at the abc museum
6. Four galleries I would love to carry my work and why
7. Five contemporary artists whose works inspire and inform me
8. Clues to the subtle messages in my art
9. My color palette is (nature/technology/environment) driven and why
10. Ten things they don't teach you in art school
11. How being in the business of art affects my art
12. When I paint, I like to listen to Guns n' Roses/London Philharmonic/Enya/Toby Keith
13. How the other arts influence my work, e.g., how I attempt to interpret the fluidity of a ballerina in my brush stokes
14. Here are blogs by other artists whose work I like, or whose blogs I like
15. Art retreats; although you may not get rich and famous, you can still travel and stay at wonderful places. Here are my favorites or fantasies
16. How other jobs I've had have added perspective to my art
17. Spirituality is personal, but growth in it has made me a better artist
18. Nine things I want to paint before I stop
19. Why painting en plen air is exhilarating
20. Art by other artists I bought in unusual places
21. Visually inspiring day trips around where I live
22. Museums I've visited in other cities and around home
23. Art books on my bookshelf
24. If I could only recommend one book, art or otherwise, for someone, it would be...
25. How living the creative life has uplifted my spirits and made me a better person
26. Advice for young artists
27. Why I love my local galleries and/or the local art scene
28. How blogging has stretched me as an artist
29. You can find my art online at these sites, here's why I chose to use them
30. Art magazines I like to read
31. The greatest influence on my life was...
32. Why and how parents should encourage artistic development in their children
33. Some funny experiences either colleagues or I've had at art shows
34. I still can't believe people have asked me these things
35. The five best quotes on art I've ever read
36. How the courage and creativity of some disabled artists have inspired me
37. Here are blogs I enjoy that are not about art
38. Seven ways technology has changed how I make and sell art (Some examples are: Photoshop/digital camera/digital painting/digital printing/Painter/online art sites)
39. I'm grateful because this person came in my life, or because this happened to me
40. Eight reasons I get out of bed to paint everyday are (Suggestions: Let's be honest, I need the money. I'm OCD and can't help it. It's the best job a person could have. A day without painting is like a day without sunshine. I can't stand the thought of going back to the 7-11)
41. And you heard writer's block was difficult
42. How overcoming creative obstacles has made me a better artist
43. So I went to a tradeshow/convention/workshop and the best/funniest/saddest thing happened
44. It's really hard to part with my originals; here's why
45. Five reasons you will like the giclee prints I offer
46. Flowers in my garden make me smile and make me paint
47. If I wasn't an artist, I'd be a...
48. Why faces are so difficult to paint, and hands are tough too
49. The most inspiring movie I've ever seen is...
50. How the arts organizations in my area are helping children/charities/??
51. Why you should always use a docent when you go to a museum. Here are some special things I learned at...
52. How reading the Art Print Issues blog has made me smarter, better looking, more creative and much richer