Art Biz Blog

Ask The Ultimate Question of Yourself

There will always be more for me to do than I have time for. That's why it's important to continually ask the question: "What should I be doing right now that will get me closer to my ultimate goal?" Reading? Writing? Researching? Organizing? Talking?

That's one of the most important questions you can ask yourself as you build your business: "What should I be doing right now that will get me closer to my ultimate goal?" Time slips away and it is important to prioritize--lest you accomplish nothing at all.

As I write, I can't believe tomorrow welcomes the first day of October and that our Gain the Edge in Today's Art Market workshop is just four weeks away (and almost at capacity)! Where has the time gone?

In these instances I recommend Brian Tracy's book Eat That Frog! 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time.

The Power of Setting Deadlines

Setting deadlines (and meeting them) are critical to the success of the self-employed.

As I mentioned previously, I hired a coach to help me through my book proposal. She had me set deadlines for each section of my proposal (not the book, just the proposal):

9/14    Outline
9/28    Competition
10/5    About the Author
10/12  Concept Statement
10/19  About the Market
11/9    About the Book
11/23  Table of Contents, Chapter Summaries
11/30  Production Details
12/7    About Promotion
12/28  Sample Chapters
          Appendix

They had to be challenging and realistic, keeping in mind we have a big conference coming up in one month.

I'm happy to say that I've met the September deadlines, but I don't know if I would have done it without my coach--knowing I have to report back to her and that I've asked her to hold me accountable.

There will still be a lot of work to be done after the first of the year as I'm sure some of the later sections will alter what I had previously written. Still, I'll be able to see the light at the end of the tunnel and be more motivated than ever to get this book published.

8 Ways to Promote Your Art Web Site

You can’t just expect to build a site and suddenly have people flock to it. You have to promote it just as you do your artwork and everything else related to your business.

In today's Do This! newsletter, I give you 13 ways I promote my sites. Here are some ideas for you. This list is from the online class Setting Up Your Art Business, which starts today. It's never too late to join! $10 from all enrollments in this session will benefit artists in need through the Craft Emergency Relief Fund.

1. Send an announcement when your site is new or when you’ve updated it. You can do this with a postcard, but you’ll get more visits if you do it through email since it's easier for people to click through than to put the postcard by the computer and remember to find you next time they're online. Why not do both? Which leads me to . . .
2. Start collecting email addresses from friends, patrons, and other interested parties. Don't wait until you have a website! You’ll need them to stay in touch. Ideas and how-tos can be found in Cultivating Collectors.
   
3. Print your website on your business cards, letterhead, brochure, postcards, and any other marketing materials you distribute.
4. Have an online promotion. For instance, people can print a “10% Off” coupon or some such thing when they visit your site. Of course, it will have a printed invitation on it for your next exhibit, which they are encouraged to attend and use their coupon.
5. Post your newsletter online and link it to various artworks and intriguing stories.
6. Consider an online art project for kids that is related to your work. It will get the parents to visit! See Marilyn Scott Waters' The Toymaker site for inspiration.
7. Trade links with other artists or those in your niche market. Don't be one of those annoying neophytes who emails everyone they know and asks to trade links. Be discerning.
8. Respond to newsletters and blogs or post in online forums, always including a link to your site.

Image credit: Joseph Pendergast, Take Off. Oil, 145 x 104 cm, 2004.

Goals, Values, and Your Schedule

I won't say it was easy, but it has been an eye-opening experience to see how my core values fit with my work and my impending book. I always knew that my life and work were forever intertwined, but now I know why.

I have been working with writing coach Cynthia Morris of Original Impulse to help me get my book proposal together by year's end. At our first session, she eked my values out of me. My list looks something like this (not in any particular order): Excellence; Peace; Passion; Contributing/Giving; Respect; Adventure; Action; Knowledge; Creativity; Efficiency; Family; Spiritual.

Cynthia also had me write out a work schedule on my calendar. I have deadlines for each section of my book proposal through the end of the year as well as daily tasks and other priorities that just have to get done. I thought my weekly task list might be of interest to some of you who are trying to juggle a lot. And who isn't?!

• Monday: Promotions, send out press kits
• Tuesday-Thursday: Work on workshop presentations and devote these days to helping individual clients with their artist statements, marketing plans, and other projects.
• Wednesday: Toastmasters; Toastmasters business (I serve as Sec/Treas, which takes a little time, but not too much); writing
• Friday: Write newsletter; process financial transactions, send receipts, etc. (I used to do this on Mondays, but found it was a lousy way to start off the week!)

So, when do I write for my book? It's on the calendar for every day as is this blog. I fit them in when I can, knowing they are important to my business.

Writing it down, carving out time is making a commitment to your priorities. I also find it easier to say "no, thank you" and to work on those projects that are in line with my values and overall goals. We're doing some of this right now in Setting Up Your Art Business, an online class.

Learn the Art Biz and Lend a Helping Hand

Setting Up Your Art Business, a month-long e-class, begins Monday, September 26 and I've decided to donate $10 from every enrollment fee for this class to the Craft Emergency Relief Fund. This organization helps professional artists and craftspeople who find themselves in dire straits--like those displaced by the recent hurricane (hurricanes?).

I'd love to be able to give them at least $200 immediately!

Think about joining us in this class.

Take Back the Artworld

There is, to no one's amazement, a vast divide between what is shown in New York galleries and what is shown in the rest of the country.

Still, it's fun to read from a distance about what's going on in Gotham. Especially since it affects so very little what the rest of us are up to.

In his Village Voice column this week, Jerry Saltz covers the frustrations felt by artists, gallerists, and curators.

Among the points he makes:
"The ratio of one-woman shows in New York galleries between now and Christmas is a deplorable 17 percent." Do we really put up with this crap?! Guerrilla Girls, we need you now more than ever!

He also says:
"Artists should curate shows, write about them, and make their own publications. The agenda needs to be set by the artists, not the market."
See, here's someone in the thick of the NY jungle encouraging you to take charge of your careers. You can't rely on anyone else.

and:
"If these positions are hostile to one another, file; art isn't about getting along. Disagreement and criticism are ways of showing art respect."

Check it out.

What's your brand?

Thought much about your brand as an artist in business? Most artists haven't. I've been working on this topic for a while as part of my presentation at Gain the Edge in Today's Art Market (workshop, October 29-30--be there!). It's interesting to adapt it to artists' needs.

Branding, of course, is a commercial term. As such, it doesn't feel right for most artists. But whether you like to think about it or not, every famous artist has his or her own brand. It's a combination of style, personality, words, and more. If you want to become known, you must figure out where you fit in. You know Picasso's brand, Monet's brand, Warhol's brand, and many others.

Your "brand" separates you from your competition. It makes your work, your art business look like it came from you rather than someone else.

Tonight I listened in on a teleconference with Suzanne Falter-Barns of GetKnownNow.com and The Blog Squad. Falter-Barns is an expert on building platforms and brands and I picked up a few helpful hints.

Artists, however, have to be careful about building a brand. Being seen as too commercial in the artworld can be detrimental to your career. Logos, catch phrases, spiffy packaging don't fly in the elite artworld. They do, however, serve artists who are seeking wholesale markets or who might sell directly to the public. (See the downloadable audio class Selling to the Wholesale Market.)

Think about your brand this week. What makes you you? What makes your art YOUR art? What image do you want to project? In fact, use the word "image" in place of brand if you like. But find your place.

Finding the Art Blogs

I'll admit freely that I know just enough about this blogging stuff to be outrageously dangerous. Still, I feel like I'm responsible for dragging a lot of you artists into the 21st century. Using technology wisely is going to become more and more critical to the growth of your art career.

With that in mind, here are a couple of tools that can help you find blogs in your area of interest:

• Technorati
• Google's Blog Search

I think there's a lot to wade through on both platforms, but it's worth a try.

More and more, the latest news is being distributed in this format. Better get used to it.

Share Your Art Career Goals

In today's Do This! newsletter I give an example of the power of writing down your goals and sharing them with others. To the right is an honest-to-goodness photo of the goals that are posted on the wall in front of my desk (workshop, book, art marketing plan Web site). Of course, after you commit to these, it's up to you to figure out how to make them happen. AND, since my first goal is almost realized, I'll have to get a new one to take its place

Good things might happen to those who wait, but only to those who are actively pursuing the good things during the waiting period. You can't afford to sit back and wait to be discovered or wait for people to buy your art. You must be moving forward constantly.

What are your BHAGs (big, hairy, audacious goals)? What do you want to accomplish in the next year? Now's your chance to share them by using the comments link at the end of this posting.

Resources for Your Art Career Goals

What are your business goals for the year? Only by knowing what your ultimate goal is can you decide what is most important for you to do right now. Would you like to see your art in a certain public place or museum collection? Want to get rich from the sale of your work? Or would you just like to be able to support yourself? 

Setting goals is part of my online class Setting Up Your Art Business.

Check out the 43 Things blog--43 things you want to do with your life. You can post your goal and find others who share goals similar to yours. What a great way to create a virtual community!

Here are some additional resources for setting goals from Coach Philip Humbert:

• The Top 10 Steps to Set & Achieve Your Goals—Every Time!
• The Top 10 Secrets to Achieving Any Goal
• Should You Have Written Goals?