How Do You Overcome Fear?
Fear, in the human development movement, has been dubbed as an acronym:

False
Evidence
Appearing
Real

There’s truth in that clever little statement. And though there are things in life that it’s reasonable to be wary of (pick-pockets, pyramid schemes, and IPOs) sharing your work online is not one of them.

Now your brain might be saying: “Yes, I understand, but tell that to my nerves.”

We all have our reasons for keeping our light under a bushel. The key may making a closer analysis of some common fears:

Fear One: How Do I Promote My Work Without Looking Foolish/Boastful?

Back in 2005, when I put my first poems online, my hands shook every time I visited my blog. I expected to see a series of “get off the internet” jeers…or worse: a 20-line critique explaining why I was a hack poet.

But it never came. And a couple months later I started running a small press, which meant I had to learn to promote online so we could sell our book. The urgency to make sales coupled with a healthy emotional distance from the item sold allowed me to really break through that fear of actually having an audience. Then, I was able to turn that back around to the promotion of my own work.

So, the key may be to think of selling your art as a job. This is a small business: not you, not your soul being held up naked to the cold world. You are a merchant among merchants and you want to offer your wares to those who may be interested. Then, when you are in the studio, go back to being an artist.

Fear Two: What if I’m Terrible with the Online Business Stuff?

Uploading photos, tagging, linking to URLs, making tables, writing good online descriptions, answering emails, sending out newsletters, starting a blog, setting up a shopping cart, confirming a sale, even figuring out the appropriate shipping costs: it can be daunting.

Many artists don’t get into the business end of their art because they’ve been brought up to think that is someone else’s job. But what’s happening is these artists are accumulated interesting art in their basements and it’s not seeing the light of day. Not everyone can make a spreadsheet, massage a sale out of an email conversation, or spout off the diferences between browsers, beta, and Bebo.

But every artist CAN get help. They can get an easy-to-use template website, they can read blogs like this one, they can ask friends to help them take great photos of their art. If you are motivated enough to sell your work online, and if you are willing to set up a couple of things, like an email account and a website, then you are well on your way. The rest will come with time. And once you begin to make sales, I think you’ll find that the fear of ‘being bad at business’ will fade quickly.

Fear Three: What if I Put a Lot Into This and No One Buys My Work?

First thing: You will put a lot into this. You will put thought and time and effort to create your online presence and then maintaining and growing it. You may find that the 10 free hours you had over the weekend for your art are now cut down to 5 for art, 5 for art marketing. The successful art sellers say they spend half their time doing the business stuff and I believe them.

But the beauty is that every little drop of effort you make ripples out. The blog that you write today may not have more than 20 readers this week, but in 3 months it could have 100. Every ounce of effort is an investment and investments require patience. But the good news is that unlike economic investments that can tank, you will only gain from what you put in. You will learn skills that last for the rest of your art career. And you’ll learn the by DOING: the best way to learn.

If no one buys your work, talk to them. Find out what is holding them back. If you’ve put a lot into this, that means you are prepared to listen, to change, and to grow. Most likely, through understanding your potential buyer, your sales will pick up.

And all this leads to next week’s question: “When Do You Know When You Shouldn’t Give 100%?”

Talk to you then!

-Nina

It’s the Last Day of 2008: Do You Know Where Your Year Went?
Journals, notes, pictures, and lists help us remember what we have really done, not just what we remember (or often don’t).
5 Reasons Why 2008 Was a Good Year for Artists
Why, despite (and because of) the economic crisis, I believe 2008 was a good year for artists.
Understanding Your Potential Buyer
Know what your buyers are looking for!
5 Simple Steps for New Bloggers
A good blog is free advertising. It drives traffic to your website and cultivates your brand identity.
Finding Your Niche Online
So, your website is ready to go and you’re just itching for buyers, but where are they?

I used to think blogging was pouring your heart out three times a week. But I think, inspired by Jeanette Winterson’s month column, I’ll save it for just once a month. So here is my January ‘09 column.

A strange change for the spontaneous person I thought I wanted to be… I wake up and post something new every day at the Artspan Blog. I write in a different way, I research in a different way, I edit in a different way. With method, economy, and little self-indulgence. And though the style is one that is more like article writing and less like blogging, I like it. I think the lessons here are deeper than just the latest step on my evolution as a writer.

But Philthy Art is still an odd bird. A sort of dumping ground for the ideas that don’t fit at Artspan Blog or my other blogs. There is some great power PA could have if I could just figure it out. Maybe it is too unfocused, maybe it’ll just never be the same since I left Philly. Most like it’s just not clear in it’s mission and there not sticky enough.

But I am finally learning patience. Letting blogs, ideas, plans, relationships, develop organically. I have become both sultry and arid lately, juiced on my own ventures for ‘09 and standing back, observing as it all unfolds.

2008 I started the year having abandoned Philly for reasons that were right, although highly subjective. I found myself in Florida, jobless, wandering the beach and listening to audiobooks on Heidegger.

But by February I’d landed work that seemed tailor-made for me. It would not be a smooth road all the time, but it allowed me to make money doing what I would be doing anyway: blogging about art, encouraging people to express themselves online, and learning guerrilla marketing tactics. I wake up when I want. I stop working when I want to go for a walk. I live where I want. I don’t commute, I don’t have to deal with BS or politics or the millions of time-wasters in the modern office.

I work, I bill the hours I work, and I discuss what I am doing with my boss a couple times a week through email or skype. I am convinced that more jobs should be more like this.

Over the summer my world really changed when I traveled through Europe for my first time. It was a long trial, but after staying with friends, I found the perfect apartment in Paris and lived there for one perfect month. I knew I belonged to Paris in some fundamental way. Leaving American is good for the soul. But the question of leaving permanently is harder to answer.

And getting back to Paris hasn’t been easy. In the autumn of 2008 I returned to Florida to stay with my parents while I figured out how to move to Paris more permanently (with a visa). During this time I deepened my love for my job, wrote the first draft of a novel, and got really close to my family. I am completely out of debt (besides grad school loans) and bought my first stocks. But there was lot of loneliness and some despair. I knew I didn’t belong here and didn’t belong in Philly or New York either. But how to get back to where I once belonged?

My goal for 2009 is to get on the road to Europe again while keeping my good standing with my job. I keep imagining it and have a plan I’m already putting into action. My work for Artspan keeps me busy and satisfied, and my sis says the novel is worth finishing. I am also writing an eBook for artists who need encouragement marketing their art online, so finishing these things is on the docket for ‘09.

I am going to continue to create my own systems, belong to myself, and try to lighten up a little. And to reverse this personal exile, this half-chosen hermitage of a life I keep encasing around me.

I’m glad you’re out there reading Philthy Art. It’s weird, keeping a blog going that was dedicated to a city where I no longer live. But there is a purpose behind Philthy Art that transcends place. Here’s to PA finding it’s voice in ‘09. And here’s to all your creative ventures and spiritual journeys along the wonderful road ahead.

Much love,

Nina

Originally published at the Artspan Blog.

At the risk of getting philosophical two days in a row, I’m going to claim that the New Year demands a little philosophy and quote from Dostoyevsky:

“The second half of a man’s life is made up of nothing but the habits he has acquired during the first half.”

What is the difference between two artists of equal potential who have very unequal levels of success?

Simply put: their daily habits. Their habits make up their days, and their days make up their lives.

We want to think bigger at the New Year, to wow ourselves with grand visions, and I am all for the energy that grand visions excite.

But most New Year’s resolutions die out by the end of the month, swept up in the overwhelming force of our long-ingrained habits.

So, if you are having trouble incorporating your art career dreams into your routine, why not start simple? Think of one small thing you can do every day just for a couple minutes to start moving your art career forward. Make it something that you enjoy, that won’t take long, that you can do EVERY DAY, and will become a habit.

Here are some ideas:

• Post online: a new photo, a new art description, a short blog post, a shared link at Facebook, a shared video on youtube.
• Find a new place to share a link to your website: explore your niche online and leave a comment at an art blog, art websites, art directories, your email signature, social networking sites, social bookmarking sites, or a link swap with a colleague.
• Buy an art marketing book and read a couple pages. Keep it by your nightstand. I recommend Art Marketing 101, Selling Art Without Galleries, and Internet for Artists 101 (they mention Artspan, which of course we like.)
• Clean up a little. Clear out one unnecessary, unused, unloved thing from your studio or workspace every day. Start to organize your work environment and keep it free of clutter. This can be almost alchemic for your state of mind and confidence.
• Talk to someone about your art: a friend, acquaintance, the barista at your favorite cafe, your boyfriend, your wife, your art instructor, your students, your dog.
• Read the Artspan Blog: A shameless plug? Ah, but self-promotion is exactly the sort of thing you should do more of this year. Plus, we write a new post every day of the work week. And just to spread the love, here are some other great sites that bring you new content on a regular basis: Art News Blog
  Art Biz Blog
  Art ID Marketing Blog

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You focus on work, on family, on friends, on your goals, on your art, and are left with little time to keep track of everything you accomplish. After all, life is about living it, not documenting it, right?

The beauty of documentation is that it can actually make our lives better. Journals, notes, pictures, and lists help us remember what we have really done, not just what we remember (or often don’t remember) doing. Good documentation will offer you:

• a solid view of what you’ve accomplished
• a way to assess what’s working and what isn’t
• interesting content for newsletters/blog posts

Read the rest of this article at the Artspan Blog.

And HAPPY NEW YEAR from PHILTHY ART!!!

I spent 2008 reading art blogs, Web 2.0 marketing blogs, and thinking up guerrilla marketing tactics for artists. I saw social networking, social media, and the democratization of the art marketplace put more selling power into the hands of artists.

1. One-minute poem: A Robe of White Roses
2. I Heart the Plastic Club
3. Photo of the Day: Industrial Beauty
4. Readings, Photography, and Music in Phil
5. Philadelphia Cartoonist Society 10-year
6. Inspired: Rachel J. Cox
7. Anders Hansen
8. Bob Jackson