Self Promotion For Artists - Become Your Own Publicist
If you want to make a living from your art or craft, you must learn to promote it. Fortunately, the Internet has leveled the playing field, so to speak. Years ago, you had to either hire a Publicist or get a degree in marketing. Now, for a small investment of money and time, you can start your own blog and launch your own PR campaign. You no longer have to rely on someone else to market your creations for you.
With a blog, you can create something in the morning and show it off in the afternoon. Free Twitter and Facebook accounts will let you tell the world when you've posted something new. Both will have a ripple effect. You tell all your friends, they tell all of their friends and so on down the line until you have complete strangers coming to your blog to see your latest creations. And this happens 24 hours a day, whether you are awake or asleep. Even if you are on vacation, your blog is still open for business.
WordPress has made it easy for anyone to publish a blog. You install the software, a theme, some plugins and you are ready to go. You can choose an E-commerce Theme that will enable you to sell directly from your blog, without struggling with shopping cart software. Or pick a specialized Portfolio Themes and build your own Art Gallery. The possibilities are only limited by your imagination.
You can create pages with your marketing materials - your artist's statement, your background and training, if applicable. Post a picture of your studio so people will feel connected to you. Give prospective buyers the history of your work and they'll love re-telling the story to their friends when they are complimented on their excellent taste in art. It is easier to buy something on the Internet when you know a little about the person you're dealing with, a personal touch in an increasingly impersonal world.
