Why do you paint?

Why do you paint the things you paint, the way you paint them?

Why do you share your art with the world?

Why do you even exist?

Why should I support your art hobby?

Do you have a special mission to somehow make the world, my world, a better place? Or are you just in it for yourself?

Until you have a very solid, unselfish, truly wonderful reason behind your artwork and your art business, and your very existence, nobody will notice you. Before I care about you, you must demonstrate that you care about me.

Why do you blog?

Too many artists seem to completely miss the whole point of blogging.

Blogging is your chance to enrich my life, improve my day, and show me that you care about me. If you can do that, then you are a real artist, and the world will notice.

Use this opportunity to become a better, more engaging artist, and to make a REAL connection with your customers.

Dear Artist,

You have my undivided attention.

By some miracle, I have landed on your blog today.

Out of the many millions of blogs, and hundreds of millions of blog posts, I have chosen yours.

I have chosen to give you a few minutes of my precious attention.

Your pictures are nice. Most likely though, your paintings are just like millions of similar paintings online. Stop fooling yourself - you may be good, but so are many other artists. I won't remember you a few minutes from now. If you want my support, I want something more from you.

A blog is for communicating. So, why don't you say something? Something worth saying? Something I care to hear? Don't just post images with no story. And, don't just talk about yourself.

Are you here to add something to the world, to enrich my life in some way, or do you just want me to patronize your painting hobby because you somehow deserve it? Your very existence, and your reasonable painting skills, are enough reason for me to go out of my way to support you?

If you want me to care, and to remember you, say something I might want to hear - inspire me, teach me, inform me, make me laugh, make me cry. Make me remember you in some way. Make me want more. Make me think you care about me, and not just about you.

Or, just post your painting, just like so many other artists. I'll appreciate the painting, but I won't come back to see more. I won't tell anybody about you. I'll forget you and move on.

If you're going to blog, blog like you mean it. Say something worth saying. If you're not going to blog, stop faking it.

Sincerely,
Mr. & Mrs. Art Lover

Still here. still working. Lots of good stuff in the works :-)
 
Free Marketing Videos Coming
I've decided to make my entire marketing workshop available for free! I will be posting some free marketing videos very soon - just need to polish the first one up a bit (a lot) and then I'll post it here and on YouTube, with more (lots more) to follow in the coming weeks - eventually a complete A-Z 'online art marketing' course, with some unique twists.
I'll also have a DVD version available eventually for those who want all of the videos in one nice tidy package
 
Free Marketing Forum coming too . . .
I'll be putting together a better website to host all of the videos, as well as additional resources and homework assignments for the videos, and a forum to discuss all of the video topics. Free to all artists :-)
 
Consulting Available
I know that many of you have been waiting to be accepted into the Daily Painters Gallery (dailypainters.com), or waiting for my other websites to materialize, or waiting for my marketing DVD. I'm working as fast as I can, but usually not fast enough :-)  So, for those who need a bit of help NOW, I'm offering a couple of consulting options - either as one on one consultation in person or by phone, or as email consultation with weekly checkins. Contact me for details.
 

What does the public like? Why doesn't the public appreciate the arts? Why doesn't the public buy art? What sells (to the public)?

It seems like most art marketing conversations eventually include some comment on "what sells", "what doesn't sell", "what the public wants (or doesn't want)", etc.

Look around you! Where is this 'public' you speak of?

THERE IS NO PUBLIC!

Your potential market consists of hundreds of millions of Individuals and Small Groups, not a nameless 'public' mass. Each of these individual people and groups has their own needs and interests. Don't expect to appeal to them all, or even to most of them.

Instead, find those who you can truly relate to, and start a meaningful conversation about your vision!

thank you to everybody who attended Saturday's workshop, and for your participation and feedback. Overall, the workshop was a fun, productive event.
 
There is still quite a bit of work to be done in terms of content, presentation, concrete examples, and hands on work and next steps. The workshop was both too much and not enough in many ways - too much to fit into one day, not concise enough, but still not covering all of the ground we needed to cover. I have some definite plans for that and more details coming soon.
 
Ultimately my goal is to arrange this information into bite-size pieces, complete with some concrete examples, hands on activities, and follow up steps, to be a useful step-by-step marketing program for artists. We're not there yet, but we're getting closer . . .
 
 

For those who missed the details buried in my earlier posts:
 
the 'New Rules of Art Marketing' workshop will be April 24 in Boulder. I have created a Facebook event page with the address and times - if you plan on attending please confirm on the facebook page so I can plan better:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=106234106083806
 
The 'Art Business Catalyst' program also has a facebook page. I don't have many details yet besides the initial concept, but they will be coming soon:
 
http://www.facebook.com/notes/art-business-catalyst/artists-lets-make-something-magical/109983235702238
 

Are you tired of being a 'starving artist'?

I am looking for passionate artists who are ready to try a bold new experiment merging art and business.

Are you a painter, musician, writer, dancer, actor, film maker, photographer, sculptor, or other arts professional or student? Do you want to create some exciting, innovative artwork, and realistic, profitable business models to go with them? You know, actually make some money from your hard work?

I am pleased to announce my groundbreaking new 'art business incubation' program: the 'Art Business Catalyst'! This is a free program designed to bring together some amazing people, and work in a structured way to create unique artwork and business models.

There is no cost to participate! We'll work together to launch a collaborative project, and if it succeeds we'll all share in the rewards. We'll have some fun and create some amazing artwork. And, we'll all experience a practical exercise in artistic business development.

To learn more, please follow my Art Business Catalyst facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Art-Business-Catalyst/109915299042628?v=ap...

I have finally gotten around to creating an official facebook page for ArtIsBroken:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Art-Is-Broken/108212995880024

And, you can now find the upcoming workshop on our facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=106234106083806&ref=nf

Drum roll please . . .
 
I am pleased to announce my upcoming one day 'New Rules of Art Marketing' workshop! 
 
What is it?

The 'New Rules of Art Marketing' workshop will be an intensive full-day workshop to discuss some modern art marketing strategies in more depth.  We'll cover the theories of modern art marketing, as well as practical steps to apply these rules to your real world marketing problems.
 
My goal is to give you, as much as possible within this one day time frame, a roadmap to build your artistic ideas into a manageable, profitable, enjoyable business. Of course, I can't give you all of the answers, but I can present you with a clear strategy and practical steps to take advantage of all of the latest tools, trends, and ideas. I'm still working out the format, but ideally we'll have a balanced mix of presentation, hands on work, and Q & A sessions.
 
Here are a few of the issues we'll discuss:

• How the internet and other trends have changed the rules, and the opportunities, for artists (and how they will continue to change). We'll cover the positive changes as well as the new problems and challenges that have been created
• How we can learn from some of the best minds in modern business and apply their strategies to our art businesses (it turns out that the business of being an artist isn't that different from any other business)
• Creative vision and what it means for your art business
• Customer Development vs traditional marketing
• Product Development and Pricing
• A manageable, repeatable model for turning your artistic vision into actual sales
• How to use all of the top online tools (blogs, facebook, twitter, search engine optimization, etc) to support your 'customer development' marketing process
• And, how to do all of this while not getting too overwhelmed and leaving yourself some time to paint :-)

 
The session will be specifically oriented toward selling original artwork and related prints and other merchandise. But, most of the concepts will apply to your other businesses, so if you teach or offer other related services you should find new ways to advance those businesses too.
 
What is it not?

While I can present a process and some practical steps and questions to use as a starting point, I don't have the answers to all of your marketing dilemnas :-)  I can't tell you exactly what to paint, where to sell it, and for how much. But, I can help you develop a process to consistently find better answers to those questions so you can systematically advance your business instead of applying a hit-and-miss marketing strategy.
 
Where is it?

Boulder, CO. Near 47th and Walnut
 
When is it?

April 24, 2010 - 8:00 to 5:00
 
How much does it cost?

Good news! This workshop will be FREE! But, space is limited of course. I don't know exactly how many seats we'll have (probably less than 30), so contact me ASAP if you're interested.

I have found a couple possible venues that are much more reasonably priced than I expected, so this first workshop will be free :-) All I need is your smiling faces, your participation, and your feedback!

 
How can I learn more?
 
If you're interested in attending, or just have some questions or comments, send me an email via the contact form, or leave a comment below.