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I Have a Twitter Account. Now What?

February 19, 2012 By Leave a Comment

By Susan Morris

Paul Ames wrote in his article How Artisans Can Become Better Marketers through Social Media that artisans need to use social media tools such as Twitter and Facebook  to help them in their marketing efforts.  He emphasized the need to have good content on your website in order to get return visitors once you have reached them through the social media.

When using Twitter to attract followers and increase visitors to your website, keep in mind that there are several different kinds of tweets. I am going describe 10 of them.  You may choose to use a combination of 3 or 4 or use all 10. You should use some variety. The number one rule in social media is NOT to come out selling.  You need to create a rapport with your followers first. Then you will be rewarded with more followers who pay attention to what you have to say.

1. Where are you or what are you doing tweet.  – Be careful with this one, tack on a boring meter before you publish one of these.  Which would you rather read? Up too late last night, time for a nap. >>>>>>> Kept  watch on the wood kiln last night, time to nap while it cools  down.

2. Quotes – heard something inspirational? Share it.

3. Introduction – New supplier, new contributor, new style, new glaze…introduce it to your followers.

4. Marketing – Its okay to do a little marketing. Talk about some great new piece you have for sale, just don’t become a …

5. Spammer – Vary your tweets. Rule of thumb, sell your own products about 1/3 of the time and tweet about other things the remaining 2/3.

6. Give Aways – Know about a great insider deal? Share it. These will often become a

7. Retweet and are meant to go viral. Just look for the retweet tag on the tweet to pass good news and great content to your followers.

8.  Links – send out links to your own web site or to an interesting blog post.

9. Questions and Answer – These can be fun and are a good way to get some interaction going. They can also be quite controversial, so you might want to take stock of how you want your followers to view you before weighing in on a hot topic.

10. Customer Service – Unhappy customer.  Bad publicity travels many times faster than good. When something unforeseen happens, fix it  – then announce it to your followers. Let them know you stay on top of things.

 

Filed Under: The Business of Pottery Tagged With: ,

How Artisans Can Become Better Marketers through Social Media

January 10, 2012 By Leave a Comment

by Paul Ames

As an internet marketer, and as someone who is interested in artisanal goods (photography and handmade crafts), it amazes me that such skilled artisans cannot seem to get anything done with regard to increasing awareness or traffic to their blog or website. So many potters that I follow on twitter never post tweets! Recently I asked this question to a forum in LinkedIn: “I’ve been working hard on my blog, how can I expand the reach of my blog and increase my audience.” This seems to be a very pertinent question for Artisans, who seem to spend as little time as possible on marketing their business. Here are some relevant tips for you from Marketers, in no particular order, hope this is helpful. We assume that you have a blog or website of some kind already. If you don’t clearly that is the first step, the following becomes how to increase your awareness.

  • Social Media is key for blogs or marketers (yes, artisans are marketers too! if they are trying to sell something!). Make sure you have a Twitter Presence, Facebook and LinkedIn is an also good for the advanced professional. Make sure that you are promoting your blog via social media. Tweet your new blog posts as part of your social presence. This can be new blog posts or new items if you are posting items into your blog or site, using the hashtag (#) on twitter for specific categories. This will help you find new audience and new readers for your subject matter or for your craft. In addition this will help the SEO of your pages and of your site / blog. Make sure that you include a link back to your site in your blog posts so a reader can find their way back to your site. Same thing holds true for Facebook, add new posts to your wall or status updates. There is a whole section on Facebook for business which I will not get into here.
  • Make sure you are putting excellent content into your blog, good content and people will find you.
  • Make sure you update your social media frequently and tweet a few times day. People want to share good content, so make sure that you have the social media sharing butting built into your blog. Visitors will share what they like in Twitter and in Facebook.
  • Include a meaningful link to your blog / site in your email signature.
  • Offer to share posts with other bloggers craftsman in your space and vice versa to increase both your audiences.

There are of course many other ways to increase your audience through paid services such as Adwords, but these are some simple ways to get started, and these are free.

For more tips on internet marketing for small businesses (and Artisans) go to PaulAmes.com and download some of our FREE Ebooks, they are very helpful, and feel free to contact us.

Email PaulAmes.com Phone: 1-215-493-3774 Fax:1-215-493-4496 Help us help you. Contact Us Here Have a blog you would like to exchange articles on, contact us.

PaulAmes.com is a proud member of Google Engage for Agencies Network Click Here for Google Adwords Management Service Google Adwords

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Artist Business Cards – 4 Tips For a Powerful Marketing Tool!

October 29, 2011 By Leave a Comment

 

Artist Business Cards – 4 Tips For a Powerful Marketing Tool!

By M Theresa Brown

Business cards for Artists. What would we do without them? In the vast world of business cards, businesses themselves do not carry cards. A salesman for a company would carry a card to represent his company. A Realtor would carry a card to represent her realty group. But you, as an artist, carry a business card to represent YOURSELF! But does your card actually do that?

Too many artists strive for individualism in their business card message. In doing so, they achieve the opposite of what they are trying to achieve. They unwittingly create anonymity! A signature scrawled across the front of the card with the word “artist” on it, tells your prospect nothing when it is re-discovered months later along with 7 other artist business cards that say the same thing! Even a domain name linked to your website will still not entice them to keep your card or look you up if the information is too vague. John Doe, artist, at John Doe.com tell them nothing.

As much as an artist may hate to acknowledge it, people forget who you are! In the excitement of an art festival, a gallery opening or any event where many prospects took your card, it is easy for them to later forget you and what you created by insufficient information on the card to jog their memories. No matter how excited they were when or if you talked with them personally, you were probably not the only artist whose business card they collected.

Examine your current card objectively. An artist should be utilizing both sides of the card. What information can be found on your card? How will your card identify you as the artist, and what you create, a few months or even a year later, to the prospect who has your card?

To create a business card whose message keeps on selling you and your artwork, your card needs to serve four major purposes.

  1. identify you
  2. include your contact information
  3. identify your art product or major field of work
  4. include a tag line

Remember that, as a general rule, the clients of your art product are not artists. So your card message must should be geared to the public. In doing so, the message can still be simple, concise and beautiful.

Here are the 4 elements needed to make your artist business card stand out, be memorable for your clients and prospects, and keep working for you, long after they have collected one!

Tip #1

An image of you. Take a tip from the realtor’s profession. A recognizable photo of you, the artist, should be on one side of the card. A photo not only identifies you to prospects but helps refresh their memories that you were the artist with whom they spoke. Clients forget your face! Don’t use an unrecognizable substitute image. Be creative with your photo image if you wish but make sure that it is a good, clear photo of you as you are usually seen. If you always wear a hat, a scarf, a particular color, then include that in the image. But the point is to help jog the prospect’s memory by identifying YOU, not a representation of you.

Tip #2

Contact information. As obvious as this seems, your contact information should be on your card. Your domain name, your name, your mailing address, email and a phone number where you can be easily reached.

All print needs to be in easy to read fonts. This contact information can be included on the same side of your card as your image. A post office box is recommended for a mailing address. There are still many clients who communicate via the US postal service. Use common sense. It is not always advisable to include your home address. If that is the location of your studio, simply leave out the street address and use your town and zip code. If the client communicates by phone, you can then give the address. Your domain name should link the clients directly to your website. But that will only happen after your card has enticed them to log onto their computers! Your phone number needs to be the one you are most likely to answer even on the road. If you do not use a web accessed cell phone, then use your cell phone number on the card. Prospects call you because they are seeking more information or want to order from you. Be available!

Tip #3

Your Art. Perhaps the most memorable feature on your card should be your identifiable art product. No matter what you create, this image has to be an example of what you create that can be considered your trademark style. If you participate in art festivals, it helps to have a particular item with you all the time that can be showcased in your booth as well as on your card. Clients may forget your face but they won’t forget as easily, the image of a beautiful painting, glassware, jewelry, woodwork or sculpture that first captured their attention. If you do not keep one piece of your work to display continually as a trademark, then the photo on your card needs to represent what you create the most. If you are a stained glass artist, that is what needs to be on your card. If you create pottery, a sample display of several wares photographed together, should be on your card. If you are a painter, an image of the artwork, in the style you create, needs to be on your card. All images must be of the highest quality and print caliber to best showcase your work!

Tip #4

Your tag line. A tag line is further identification of what you create. Simply stating on your card that you are an Artist does, not in any way, help to identify what you create! Help the client out by clarifying your tag line with descriptions of what you create as an artist. If you work with glass for instance, even “glass artist” does not narrow it down enough. Is it stained glass? Hand blown glass? Glass mosaics? Both the written word and the visual photo should reinforce each other. Two dimensional artists have a huge selection to narrow down. Are you a Portrait artist? Impressionist landscape artist? Abstract cityscapes? In large categories such as Realism or abstracts, further narrow down your niche for the benefit of better identifying yourself to your prospects. Don’t clutter your tag line space with vague generalities such as slogans of “Eternal Mysticism, Light filled journeys, painter of ethereal memories, etc.” Save those descriptive slogans for your website. Keep your tag line simple and one line only of what you create!

Perhaps the very best way to view your business card is to see it as an unpaid salesperson! You are essentially sending that salesperson out into the world and asking him to sell your art while you work in your studio! In order to do that effectively, you have to give that salesperson all the tools to effectively do so. Keep that image in your mind as you design your next business card utilizing all 4 tips for a powerful selling artist business card!

Artist entrepreneur, M Theresa Brown has been creating and selling her Art as her livelihood for over 20 years. Her work can be seen at http://www.OnRoadArtists.com She has also mentored and advised dozens of artists with her business, http://www.ArtCareerExperts.com and lives by the motto of artists helping artists to succeed! Visit her site for timely tips, newsletters and to see how working artists combine talents and careers for profitable businesses.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=M_Theresa_Brown
http://EzineArticles.com/?Artist-Business-Cards—4-Tips-For-a-Powerful-Marketing-Tool!&id=2365773

 

 

PrintingForLess.com

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Make Money By Selling Your Homemade Pottery

September 26, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Make Money By Selling Your Homemade Pottery
By Ibeleme Uchenna

Selling your homemade pottery is very easy these days. You have all the pottery products your garage space can take. You have given jugs and mugs to your friends and relations for the past five years. As a skilled potter, you obviously want to be able to make money from your handwork. Then why not sell your pottery products. Starting this business is actually very easy and straight forward.

Keep a record of your pottery products. The type of clay, methods used, process of glaze application etc. This makes it easier for you to be able to give your customers the exact product they are looking for.
We all like and are attracted to colorful objects. So make your pottery products bright. This can be done by decorating and glazing. By creating unusual colors and textures, you can offer on piece in different colors and glaze. Also adding handles to your pottery products increases its beauty and makes it eye-catching. Decorating the products with different flair makes it artistic and unique.
Attach price tags to each product. This gives your products a professional look and makes your customers see your business with a professional eye.
Look out for your competition in your locality. Study them and see how they run their business. Make note of their marketing strategy and improve on it. Also try to design your goods according to your customers taste. Give out questionnaires to find out what your customers feel about your products.

After your goods have been setup and your shop ready, you have to make people aware of you business. This can be done in the following ways

Inform everybody you meet about your business. Talk to people in your area. Speak to them telling them about your pottery shop. If possible, tell them of freebies you have in place. Tell them to come with their friends and receive a free gift. By doing this, you actually get good advertisement.
Have a demonstration. Throw a demonstration party in your locality. Invite everyone to come around and see your goods. This gives them a chance to see your works up close and personal. It also gives you the much-needed exposure.
With the internet reaching millions of people, nothing stops you from having your own website. Build a website and advertise your goods online. This gives you access to reach millions of potential customers.
Finally, you can join websites like Ebay and sell your pottery products there. This sites already have massive traffic. All you have to do is register and display your products.

Making money from your hobby is a very pleasant experience. Start your own business selling homemade pottery today. You wont regret it.

Uche just started writing articles online. Come visit his latest website over at http://www.potteryshop.org/ which helps people find the best pottery and pottery products and information they are looking for when buying pottery and pottery products.

Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Make-Money-By-Selling-Your-Homemade-Pottery&id=6144692] Make Money By Selling Your Homemade Pottery

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Successful Entrepreneurs Share Their Story – Building a Pottery Business

September 9, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Successful Entrepreneurs Share Their Story – Building a Pottery Business

By Chris Farrance

� Like many great ideas, Emma Bridgewater’s company came from a simple need for which no solution could be found. Emma’s mother was a collector of cup and saucer sets and Emma was having trouble finding something different. So Emma designed and made a set of her own.

� This simple act has resulted in a company of 25 years old today with a turnover comfortably in excess of �10 million, producing 1.2 million pieces of pottery a year and employing 150 people.

� The product range has been extended to include glass, picnic ware, textiles and stationery. Distribution channels include third party retailers, their own small range of retail shops, a factory outlet and a strong on line presence.

� Initially Emma relied on family and friends to support her business and was able over time to build up a strong base of stockists. As the business grew, Emma freely admits that there were many times when she felt like giving up but refused to yield and kept – as she said – ‘banging away’..

� Originally the pottery was made for her using her designs, but the factory went out of business. Emma was able to acquire the premises of the company in Stoke on Trent which for centuries has been the pottery making center of England with huge reservoirs of expertise and craftsmanship. For this reason, the company has refused to consider moving production overseas although it would certainly lower production costs.

� So she then found herself running a design, wholesale, retail and manufacturing business. Emma and her husband are designers by inclination and training and recognized the need to accommodate the disciplines necessary to run the business.

� These included finance, production planning, and smart procurement. The clay they use, for example, is mixed to their own recipe and delivered twice a week. New designs are produced initially in short runs and tested in their own shops and at the factory outlet to gauge customer reactions.

� In 1996, having out grown the original site, production was moved to its present location in an enormous Victorian pottery factory in Hanley. They have now outgrown these premises and are looking to expand but the factory is leased to them by the local council and the lease expires next year.

The 10 Learning Points from the Story (from the author)

1. Beg and borrow from friends to get your business off the ground

2. Showcase your products with potential sellers and buyers – let them touch them and feel them

3. If there is history and heritage in what you’re making then use it

4. Be tactically astute and take advantage of what comes along

5. Manufacture products in short runs to test demand

6. Recognize when you need to raise the professional management skills in your business – so you can do what you like doing best

7. It’s ok to get fed up – just for a moment though!

8. Fan the pride and passion in your workforce

9. Make your brand work harder for you with a complementary product range

10. Don’t stand still

To find out more about Chris Farrance go to http://www.chrisfarrance.co.uk

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Chris_Farrance
http://EzineArticles.com/?Successful-Entrepreneurs-Share-Their-Story—Building-a-Pottery-Business&id=5197058

 

 

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12 Tips for Designing an Artist Website That Showcases Your Art

July 24, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Author: Beautiful Artist Websites

Raku Coiled Pot by Diane De Baun of DeBaun Fine Ceramics (click picture to connect to artists shop)

 

 

Summary
Here’s the scoop on what you must know when designing a website to showcase your art, impress galleries, and win over collectors. Learn how to avoid the mistakes most emerging artists make when creating their online portfolio.

1.You need an artists website

Any artist who can classify themselves as either “emerging” or “mid-career” will definitely benefit from having their own website to promote their work. At this stage of your career it is important to be able to have a place where anyone in the world can easily access and view your work.

2.Know who you are trying to impress

Are you trying to engage a Soho gallery to sell your $20,000 paintings or sell $5 prints to children in Korea? That Soho gallery might not be impressed when they see your online-store selling prints and art cards – but on the other hand, you could make a very handsome living if you really knew how to market those art cards.

3.Make your website fit with your overall art marketing strategy

A website is most effective when it is part of a larger overall marketing strategy for your art. This includes mailings, lots of in-person gallery visits and presentations, regular (physical) showings of your work, and developing relationships with the art world. An effectively planned website can greatly compliment and simplify your other marketing efforts.

4.There is a real market for art on the internet

The internet is quickly becoming an accepted place to showcase your art to collectors and arts professionals. They might still want to see your work in person before they buy, but the fact remains: they saw it first on your website! Having an online art presence is very important at this time.

5.Have your own website and a website portfolio service

A website portfolio service (e.g. www.absolutearts.com or www.art-exchange.com is like an online slide registry. For a fee you can upload images of your work together with a bio, artist statement, and resume. They have many visitors and are a convenient way to make your work accessible to potential clients. The down side is that they don’t display your work well, and there is little flexibility in how the art is showcased.

Your own website, on the other hand will require more work to promote, but you’ll be able to present the work in the most beautiful way. Remember the times you’ve been taken into the dimmer room in a commercial gallery? How that art which looked fairly good on the main gallery wall suddenly became something you had to take home? That’s how a good artist’s website should showcase your work.

We recommend both options – they are a perfect compliment.

6. Have a website that collectors and art professionals will enjoy

Here are some common elements which most dealers and galleries would agree on for your website design:

- Keep the site simple and elegant with the focus on the art itself and don’t overpower the art with a site that looks too busy
- Avoid advertising such as banner adds or sidebar adds. If you must have them, put them in a separate “resource” section
- Avoid complex effects like flash movies. In the time it takes to play your exotic entry page, your visitor may have moved on. Include your bio, artist statement, resume, contact information, gallery(s) of your work, contact information, and a pricelist.

Showcase your work beautifully

You need to have visual design skills to create a beautiful artist website. Here are some points to get you started:

- Most Important: Use high-quality, professionally-photographed images. Excellence in, excellence out!
- Keep the website simple and elegant with the focus on the art.
- Create multiple galleries to compliment the work – just as a good physical gallery would do.
- Choose colors that compliment (not overpower) the work. Think of the colors you would use in a physical gallery to showcase your work – neutral colors like crème, white, gray, and good safe choices.
- Think “minimalist” not “busy” for the layout.
- Keep your copy (text) brief. Let the art speak for itself!

7.Bring collectors and galleries to your website

Its no use having that stunning website sitting in hyperspace. Make it work for you! Here are the ways to bring quality visitors:

Search Engines: If your website has been well optimized for search engines, a search on your name or your style of art should bring up your website in the first few pages of results.

Letters of Introduction: A letter of introduction sent to a gallery or dealer is a very effective way to bring a qualified visitor to your website. Better still is to include a brochure or postcard of your work with the letter.

Advertising online or in magazines: For example, if your art is minimalist and modern in style, a banner add on an interior design website focused on the same minimalist ethic could draw a lot of traffic to your site.

You need to be able to sell your work on the internet.

But there are many ways to do it. More important than anything is that you have clear and up-to-date contact information on your website. If a buyer likes your work enough to bring out their checkbook, they will normally be happy to call you to close the sale.

It’s also handy to be able to sell directly from your website, especially if you sell lower-cost reproductions. There are simple and cost-effective ways to do this.


8. Think again before designing your own website.

- Have you really added up the total cost? Here are some questions to consider before you start designing:
- Do you have visual design skills/training?
- Can you wait several months for the site to be ready?
- Can you afford to give up a month or more of your valuable artist time?
- Do you have all the computer software and the relatively-new computer needed to build a high-quality website?
- Are you fully trained in your design software?

Can you answer “Yes” to all of the above? If so, you might think about doing it yourself. Otherwise, hire a designer!

9. Choose your website-designer thoughtfully

The most important thing here is to remember what you are trying to create – a beautiful online gallery space to elegantly show your beautiful work – this is very different from building a high-volume website selling printer ink cartridges and paper rolls!

Look for the ability to design a space to present your work. One way to do this is to find artist websites that you like and then contact the artist to get the name of their designer.

10. Know what you should pay

Artist’s website development prices range from a few hundred to tens of thousands of dollars. Typically, bigger design firms have larger overheads and will be significantly more expensive. On the other hand, Joe down the street can probably build you a website for $200 – but you probably don’t want that website!

At Beautiful Artist Websites we have packages ranging from $700 to $2000 for simple elegant artists websites with different levels of functionality. We can also develop fully customized sites to your specifications with prices based on requirements.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/art-articles/12-tips-for-designing-an-artist-website-that-showcases-your-art-749268.html

About the Author

Beautiful Artist Websites is a design studio based in Santa Monica, California and Minneapolis, Minnesota. We specialize in the development of beautifully designed artist websites that showcase artists’ work to arts professionals and collectors. Our mission is to help you sell your art. That’s it. There are thousands of good designers to choose from – but only a few understand the special needs of showcasing art. We do.We love art. And we are passionate about design.; We aim for premium quality clean and elegant solutions for all your design needs. Whether it’s a website, an artist brochure or artist DVD we can create an integrated look and feel that will capture the essence of your vision as an artist.

Filed Under: The Business of Pottery