Self promotion basics

theresa — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 11:25:15 +0000

Self promotion is the backbone of marketing for not only artists, but any individual who wants to take their career to the next level. As a guest columnist for “1st Turning Point” where the predominant subscribers are both published and non published authors, I occasionally chose various articles to showcase the similarities and the challenges. One major reason is the “I’m a right brain creative person” excuse we hear most often from artists who complain about needing business but not willing to put the work into getting it. Everyone has an excuse for not accomplishing a task or reaching a goal and there are millions of books out there geared towards the procrastinator. There are also millions of gung ho quotes from famous people designed to get you motivated. But the very bottom line is that you have to WANT to reach that goal badly enough to step out of the so called “comfort zone” of routine and do what it takes to promote you and what you create.

The following article is actually is several parts and I admire this author for knowing , learning and accepting her strengths and weaknesses in learning to self market. She openly confesses to all and her steps to overcome them!

Enjoy her story!

Theresa

Websites and the Zen of selling

theresa — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 12:45:00 +0000

Websites as brochures rather than sales sites are the most common of artist websites. And the reason that many do not equate into sales.

Most artists have fallen victim to the 20th century adversion to “selling one’s art” . But the expansion of the Internet, ease of accessibility, moderate pricing and a new generation of users (who can use a computer from the cradle) has added a new dimension and opened endless possibilities to the 21st century artist!

So why is there still such a hesitancy among many artists in regards to the words “selling or marketing?” It takes as much effort to sell trash as it does treasure!

Below is an excerpt from another Board that I peruse and I loved it!

I read a brilliant quote / analogy to the artist vs salesman aspect of life.. And it is something that I see in websites every day..

The man was being interviewed by a woman newspaper reporter who wanted to be an author of books.. He suggested that she take a sales training class to learn how to sell her books to publishers.. She was ‘offended’ by the suggestion that she, a great writer, should stoop to mere ‘sales’.. He pulled out his book and showed her where it said on the cover -

“Best-Selling Author” not “Best-Writing Author”

That little bit brought a lot of life in to focus for me.. Many people say that Rachel Rae can’t cook, yet she can “sell” what she does.. Always strive to be the best you can be at what you do, for me it’s jewelry, but never forget that you still have to “sell” to be successful..

For some artists such as Thomas Kincaid, (an example of brilliant marketing to the masses), a professional marketer took the artist by the hand. For other artists, it may be the use of an Art Gallery. For others still, a concentrated effort on word of mouth.

Regardless of HOW you decide to sell your art product, your website needs to be more than a brochure. It needs to have art that can be purchased online in some format. Take the time to visit merchant accounts online and learn how to offer this to your clients. We like to use Paypal and the merchant store format that goes along with it!

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Self promotion basics

Websites and the Zen of selling