Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Skinny Artist - Market Yourself!



While I was studying at art school, something slowly dawned on me... Great artwork does NOT sell itself just because it’s great. However, great marketing DOES sell artwork... even if the artwork itself doesn’t seem as ‘great’ as some others!

I was a bit disturbed to think that I might be the most magnificent artist alive, but unless I know how to market myself, no one would even know that I exist.

How depressing... I didn’t study to be a marketer. I’m an artist.

It was in this sorry state of mind that I happened across Skinny Artist - a website dedicated to teaching artists practical marketing skills. How exciting!! I signed up for their free email course, “How the @#$&! do I Get More Traffic to my Website?!" and am LOVING it. Why? Let me count the ways...

-         Most importantly, it’s FREE!
-         It was developed by artists, specifically for artists.
-         Each week I am emailed an article with specific tasks to help improve my marketing skills, expand my knowledge base, and encourage me to think outside the box.
-         I don’t need any prior marketing skills.
-         It refers me to other fantastic websites and teaches me how to use all sorts of interesting web based tools and tricks.
-         It’s written in fun and easy-to-read language.
-        I'm not graded or marked... I get out of it what I put into it.

Thus far, I’ve learned about RSS, been introduced to StumbleUpon, received myriads of tips on how to lure people to my blog (if you’re reading this, they must be working to some extent), and have been enjoying every minute of it!

I highly recommend these guys. Whether you are a floundering artist (getting skinnier by the day) who would like some clear directions on how to sell your great artwork, or a well-established artist who would like to become more web-savvy, I would encourage you to check out Skinny Artist’s website. I’d be keen to hear what you think!

Do you know of any other sites that could help artists market themselves? Let me know in a comment below...