Alyson outlined some great info in a blog post from last fall so I thought I would share that with you. She covers setting up a Facebook business page if you are already on Facebook personally. Check out her blog post here.

Below is a step-by-step of how to get started if you’re not currently on Facebook. You do not need a personal account to set up a business page, however functionality is somewhat limited without having a personal profile, so you may want to set up both.

From the Facebook homepage you can get started with a personal profile by filling out the info on the homepage and clicking on Sign Up. If you start with a personal profile then check out Alyson’s blog post for how to set up a business page after that. The steps below outline starting with a business page first.

1. Go to the Facebook homepage and click on Create a Page

2. Select Artist, Band or Public Figure

3. Choose a category from the drop-down menu, such as ‘Artist’ then type in your name. If you also have a personal profile you may want to add a descriptive word to your Name for the Business page, such as:
- Art of …
- Joe Black artist
- Henry Smith sculptor

After you have set up your page you will want to check out Alyson’s post about 3 most critical items for your Facebook page.

With so many social networks and avenues available you may wonder what you should be utilizing. The short answer is to do as much as you can. It’s about making it easy for people to find you and what you have to offer. The good news is that with all of the ways to share information and reach people online it has allowed people to spread the word and market themselves for free without having to use the more costly traditional print advertising, direct mail, etc.

I feel that email marketing is very important and a key essential to marketing because it provides you with people’s contact information and you can send emails directly to them anytime. But as you know, millions of people use Facebook and Twitter and studies show that they are spending more time on those websites than looking at their email every day.

You may be wondering what the difference is between all of them and how you can use them to grow your collector base and sell artwork. Each have their advantages and disadvantages and will appeal to different people. As this topic is so expansive, I will outline the main differences here and get into more detail in future posts.

Facebook
Easily share information, images, videos and communicate with people (any length of message). A lot of people are on it for personal use to communicate with family and friends, but more and more use it for business to share what they are doing with others and communicate with their customers/collectors.

Twitter
With Twitter you can share short bits of information (140 characters or less for each tweet) to give others a quick update, to send a short notice about an event, or a notice to check out something that you posted on your website, blog, Facebook, etc.

Blog
Similar to Facebook in that you can share information, photos and videos with others and they can comment, forward or share it with others, etc. The main differences are that you have more control – you can have it on your own domain/website, you can control the look/feel and how the information is posted, and it creates more content and tags that are searchable through search engines, thus increasing the chance of people finding you.

Benefits of all platforms:

• If you offer interesting and useful information people can easily share it with others, which can spread the word quickly.
• People become engaged in what you are doing because they can comment or reply and it creates interaction.
• People don’t have to be logged in to get updates – they can use an RSS reader and get notification through email or on their phone immediately. It’s not like if you update your website and you wonder if and when people will look at it (if you use these methods you can tell them to check out anything new on your website).
• Anyone can look at and follow what you are doing (if you allow it) and the content is searchable which means you can attract people online who use those websites or who search for content related to what you are doing.

The ideal situation is to use as many platforms as you can and work them together so you have a network of different ways people can find you. You may feel overwhelmed at the time involved or how many different things there are to learn. The key is to get started. You may want to try one thing at a time so that when you feel comfortable with one you can move onto the next.

Here are a few links with more information:

• Blog post that talks more about the differences between Facebook and Twitter
• Facebook Business Basics (Getting Started and Beginning Steps)
• Great site for info about email marketing, SEO, blogging and social media

For an example of an artist on Facebook check out Jerry’s Facebook page. His Facebook page is quite new but it will give you a few ideas of what you can do with it.

Email marketing is a fantastic way to keep in contact with collectors and to grow a contact list of people interested in your work. Further to my previous post, here are 12 things to keep in mind with your e-mail marketing efforts.

1. Send emails no more than once a week – more than that will be annoying and they won’t get read.
2. Use for important announcements – if you send an email every time you complete a new painting it will become monotonous. Sending a newsletter once a month saying “5 new paintings” and an invitation to an upcoming show will be much more exciting and effective.
3. Use compelling subject lines – it is harder & harder to get people to open emails so make the subject line interesting so they will be compelled to open it.
4. Include images – your work is the reason they are interested and signed up for your email list. Show your best.
5. Don’t give everything in the email – you want to provide a teaser then send them to your website for more information. For example, show one image of your new work then direct them to your website to see more.
6. The email address you send from should have your website domain in it – info@janedoe.com promotes your website address and is more professional than a generic address such as janedoe27@telus.net.
7. Don’t share your email list with others – with spam and strict privacy laws this is extremely important! Don’t send to multiple email addresses in the ‘to’ line where everyone can see who the email is going to. Put email addresses in the ‘bcc’ field (blind carbon copy) or use an email system that sends the emails for you. Also, don’t sell or share your list with anyone, and don’t send something to your contacts they didn’t ask for.
8. Follow privacy laws – legally you are required to provide a way for people to unsubscribe in every email you send out and if you collect personal information you should include a privacy policy on your website.
9. Track your email response – how many people open the emails, click through to the links you provide, and request info about your work? This shows the things people are interested in and if your newsletters are effective.
10. Use an email system – This will make things a lot easier for you. It maintains a database of your customers including subscriptions & unsubscribes, provides reports on how many people open emails and click through to your website, etc. You can even set up a template that matches your website so it’s all branded the same. MailChimp, GoDaddy’s Express Email Marketing and Constant Contact are a few popular services available (MailChimp is free up to 2000 emails).
11. Ask people for their email address – people who express interest in your work and who you meet at art fairs, exhibitions, galleries, etc. Also, give people the ability to sign up for your newsletter on your website, blog, Facebook page and any other pages you maintain online. It gives you the control rather than giving out your information and waiting for them to contact you.
12. Get everything working together – If you have a website, blog, Facebook page, Twitter account and any other areas where people can find you online, provide links to all of those items on everything – each website, your email newsletters, in your business email signature, etc. Make it easy for people to find out how they can connect with you and to join. Also, offer a link to forward or share with a friend to encourage people to spread the word.

It’s like handing out a business card without receiving contact information in return. You don’t know if that person will ever visit your website, or they may forget they have your card and remember to look you up six months down the road when they happen to find it again. Do you want to leave that all to chance or do you want to be able to email them right away and say how pleased you were to meet them and to be able to keep them up-to-date on what you’re doing on a regular basis? What do you think will be more effective in getting people engaged in what you’re doing and possibly getting a sale from it?

I encourage you to use an email marketing program if you are ready to start sending newsletters or if you aren’t currently using one for your newsletters. There are so many benefits to using an email system such as Constant Contact, MailChimp, GoDaddy’s Express Email Marketing, etc. I have used most of the popular systems available and my favorite is MailChimp. I will tell you why:

• It’s FREE! – If you don’t mind having the little MailChimp logo at the bottom of your newsletter then it is free until your list grows to include 1000 emails.
• It’s easy to use – It comes with a lot of templates already set up for you that include links to social media, forwarding to a friend, etc. All you have to do is choose one then change the pictures and colors.
• It is automated saving you time! – Once it is set up and you have the signup form on your website, people simply fill in the information and click submit. They are automatically added to your list in the system for the next time you send out a newsletter, and it gives people the option to unsubscribe (a legal requirement) or to update their own information.
• It has autoresponders – Rather than people having to wait for your next newsletter, you can set up an email to automatically be sent to people a day or two after they sign up for your list, such as a welcome email with some helpful or interesting information about you, info about a contest or giveaway, etc. It’s a nice way to welcome people without having to manually send something yourself.
• Everything can be tracked – This is one of the best parts. After you send an email you can check back a few days or a week later to see how many people opened the email, what links they clicked on, if they forwarded it to a friend, etc. You can try different things and track it to see what works and what doesn’t.
• Integrated with social media – In mailchimp you can link to your Facebook and Twitter accounts so that when you send an email you can choose to automatically have that same information posted to Facebook and Twitter. A great time-saver!

And last but not least, when you are logged into MailChimp there is a monkey at the top of the screen that displays different comments such as “I like your shirt today!” How could that not make you smile?

• What is art?
• Is there such a thing as bad art?

Those are very interesting questions and ones often asked.

It so happens that I have a copy of an article titled “There is no art for art’s sake: The blossoms are ghosts at the wedding” written by Tom Jay in 1986 that explores the question of “what is art?” quite in-depth. I don’t know where it was originally published as I received a copy of it from Bill Reese. As I was preparing to send the full article to Brushstroke Magazine I thought it would be good to share with you as well. I’m going to give you a few excerpts from the article with a link to the whole thing. I know it will spark some thought and I would love to receive your feedback.

“I realize that although I know when a piece is ‘art’ I can’t always explain my perception. Perhaps it is because art has become an all inclusive and hence blurry term. It no longer deepens our experience or vitalizes our understanding. We only vaguely know what we mean when we say art. No one dares ask ‘What is art?’” …

“Terms are boundary-like: they offer containment and perspective in the landscape of thought. The term art has been spread so thin, its edges moved so far out that it can no longer bear meaning. Anything can be art, the icicle stuck in the lawn, the moustache on the billboard beauty: if anything is art nothing is art.” …

“If art is entirely relativised it will be meaningless and hence a term of derision. But we use the term art because it can still provide the boundaries to frame an essential human experience. Part of this essay’s work is to firm and affirm the word art, praise the animal in its place, recall its thing, re-survey the term, recaulk the craft so it may ferry soul.”

I hope those clips have peaked your interest. As you can see, he has a way with words while being poignant about what he is saying. Here is the complete 3-page article so you can read it in its entirety. Please share your thoughts by clicking on the “Comments” link below.

I am neither an accountant or tax expert, so if you are looking into this I recommend speaking with an accountant that has experience working with artists. However, I can impart a bit of knowledge learned from running my own business.

If you want your art to be your focus or your goal is to make a profit from your art, you should consider setting it up as a business. To do that, you need to register a business name and start keeping records of sales and expenses. If that sounds overwhelming, it isn’t difficult – it just takes a bit of organization. An accountant can tell you what records you need to keep. Because there is a lot of information available about that on the Internet, I’m not going to get into detail, but rather discuss some of the benefits to you.

Being organized and keeping track of your expenses helps you have a better idea of how your business is doing. Plus, you can claim all expenses related to your income earnings, which will likely lower your taxes.

That also relates to GST/HST. If you have a business, you are not required to register for a GST/HST number until your annual earnings reach $30,000, although there are benefits to registering before you reach that point. For example, say you pay $500 per year in GST/HST on expenses you incurred towards your business, and you collect $300 that same year in taxes on sales. Rather than paying the government for the taxes you collected, you would receive a $300 refund. If the amount of tax you collect exceeds the amount you pay on expenses, you pay the difference to the government rather than remitting the full amount. That means extra money in your pocket in addition to your sales. It’s a fabulous added bonus to save and earn some extra money, at any stage of your career.

How do collecting taxes work with galleries?
It all depends on the arrangement you make with your galleries. When they make a sale, they will collect any applicable taxes with that sale. If you are registered to collect GST/HST, you can either choose to have the gallery remit all the taxes on your behalf, or you can ask them to pay you the tax amount collected on your portion of the sale (if your portion is 60% they pay you 60% of the taxes collected). I recommend the latter because, like the example above, you may not have to remit the full amount of taxes collected which means you’ll be able to keep it for yourself rather than it staying in the gallery’s pocket.

To find out what taxes you will need to collect on sales, please see Revenue Canada’s website or speak to an accountant for more information.

A blog (short for weblog) is a personal online journal that is frequently updated and intended for general public consumption. Basically, it’s sharing with the public what you have been working on, how you feel about it, and anything else you would like to share.

Benefits of blogging:

• Creates a personal connection with people who are interested in your work. They learn more about who you are and your creative process. This could potentially create more sales, as people enjoy knowing more about an artist and understanding the creative process behind a piece of art.
• Gives you favour in search engines because it creates additional content and keywords that search engines can pick up on.
• It can help you become more open about speaking about yourself and your art.
• It can be a record of your career for you and others to look back on.

Downside of blogging:

• The biggest thing is that it can take a lot of time. You should be posting to a blog a minimum of once a week. If it takes away from valuable studio time it may not be worth it.
• Sometimes an artist’s process is personal and shouldn’t be shared until you are happy with the work. If you post everything you do, you could be showing people a sub-standard quality of work. It doesn’t mean you can’t tell people that some paintings don’t work out, but if an image can be copied off the Internet it should represent the quality level of your work.

Some people are all about utilizing blogs and social media, such as Twitter and Facebook. They provide an additional marketing component if you have the time to use them. There are many successful artists who don’t utilize those tools. You have to decide where your time is best spent. If you don’t have time for everything I would rather see your time be spent in the studio and in keeping your website up-to-date and maintaining an e-mail marketing list.

I believe an organized environment creates an atmosphere of productivity. As summertime is often slow-paced and more relaxed, it is a good time to organize and review your goals to get on track for the fall.

Here are some ideas to get you started:

• Go through your emails and clear out anything you don’t need
• Follow-up with people you have meant to contact
• Organize files in your computer and back-up everything
• Combine all of your Post-It notes and lists into one organized list (I have to do this often because my desk gets littered with Post-It notes!)
• Clean out your studio – Get rid of old paint and brushes you no longer use, organize your canvases, clean out your desk and/or drawing table, do a general clean (vacuum, dusting), etc.
• Order new supplies you will need
• Is your space getting too cluttered? Move out things you don’t need or don’t often use.
• Photograph, inventory and organize your work
• Tackle anything that is holding you back. I find that if something is nagging at me, I need to get it done before I can fully be productive and clear my focus for what I want to do.
• Review and re-commit to your goals
• Set your priorities – Everyone seems to need more time (including me!). You can’t do it all. Make a list of your priorities and let go of commitments that aren’t serving you and your goals.

These are just a few things to get you started. You don’t have to tackle it all at once. You will feel better about being more on-track when you do.

Related Posts:
- Making Time For Your Art
- Creating A Plan Of Action

• Write a list of what you would like in a gallery relationship – A few things may be that they show your artwork regularly, pay quickly, are an established gallery with a large mailing list, take good care of your work, have a good reputation, have a good location, etc.
• Have 20-25 pieces of your best work ready to show – They will want to see a selection of your work and if they choose to keep some work to show in their gallery they generally like to have about 10 pieces (a few to show and others on hand in case people ask to see more). That leaves you with some extra in your inventory to give to your other galleries if needed or to enter into shows.
• Have a professional portfolio ready with 20-30 images, a bio, resume & artist’s statement
• Start with the local market – Starting in your local marketing makes it easier to visit galleries in person and provide paintings without shipping. Then branch out to other areas. Make a list of galleries to research.
• Research using the Internet to narrow down the list – Get a feel for the galleries by browsing through their website. Look at things such as:
  • Do they have a website and is it updated regularly?
  • Does their website show their artist’s work, upcoming shows, new artwork in the gallery?
  • How many artists do they carry and what style of work? Will your work be lost there or stand out?
• Visit each gallery in person – Consider the following:
  • Location
  • How is the artwork presented and does it shows well?
  • Is the staff friendly, approachable & knowledgeable?
  • How do they take care of the artwork?
  • Does your work fit with what is presented? (Is the quality compatible; does your medium, style, subject & price range fit in; will your work stand out or be lost, etc)

Once you narrow down your list you will be confident in the galleries you approach. This will save you time in the long-term because it takes a while to establish yourself in a gallery/area and you want to choose the right one for you.

If you are interested in approaching a gallery for representation they will want to see a sample of your work. There are many different types of portfolios, such as a hard copy in a binder or duo tang, a CD, slides, or website. Galleries may have different preferences and some list submission guidelines on their website so it would be worth asking how they prefer to receive submissions before you do the work.

Having a website is often sufficient, assuming you have your best and most recent work on the site, and an updated bio. There may be issues with looking at images on a website, such as inconsistent screen color on different computers, the quality and size of the images, etc, so I am going to focus on preparing a hard copy printed portfolio.

I have spoken to a few gallery owners who mentioned they prefer to receive printed portfolios, presented in person, because they meet you in person and look through the portfolio immediately. Aside from being busy, they receive so many submissions through email and the mail that they may find it hard to keep up, so submissions often pile up in the inbox or on the desk without being looked at. If they request an email submission, follow-up to make sure they receive and reviewed it. It has been mentioned that CD or slide portfolios are not ideal because it causes more work for them instead of simply opening a binder and being able to see the images immediately.

If you are ready to show your work and have researched galleries to know which ones would be a good fit for your work, here are some suggestions for preparing your portfolio:

• Use a small binder or duo tang where you can have a cover sheet with a large image (one of your best pieces and most representative of your work) and your name
• The first 25 to 30 pages inside should be images of your most recent and best work – one per page, fairly large so it’s easy to see, good quality (cropped, color corrected, quality printing), and with information about the painting underneath including the title, size, and medium.
• At the end of the portfolio include your bio, artist’s statement, resume/CV (including a list of shows, awards, publications, associations, prominent private collections, galleries, etc), and copies of publications.

Keep the portfolio clean, simple and easy to read with the artwork being the focus. Don’t use script fonts or bright colors that will detract from viewing the work. The reason your bio and information about you go at the end of the portfolio is because galleries are most interested in your work. They are looking for a consistent quality and painting style throughout, the subject matter you prefer, etc. If they like your work they will read more about you. You don’t need to include pricing. If they like what they see in your portfolio they may ask you questions, such as what your prices are, if you have other gallery representation, how many paintings you have sold so far and where, if you have a website, etc. They may also ask to see a number of original pieces in person, in which case you may be prepared by having brought some in your vehicle or make an appointment to show them.

If approaching a gallery in person, be upfront about why you are there and only approach them if they are not busy with customers in the gallery. Otherwise, you may introduce yourself and leave your portfolio then follow-up.