Tuesday, January 8, 2008

You Need a Blog, Artist's Statement, or Bio?


Many artists tell me that they do not know where to begin on marketing their art. Of course, any artist that has sold or shown their work can tell you, there is a lot more to it then they realized. Galleries and other show venues want art bios, artist's statements, price lists, inventory sheets, photos, slides, jpgs, and some even want an art resume. All this can seem very intimidating to a beginning artist and even to some experienced artists. Some artists do not like writing , they want others to write for them. I am happy to help.



Do you have a website? Does it have information about you; such as an art statement and an art bio? Has it been kept up to date? Besides showing art work, does it let the audience know a little bit about you and your art process? Having a website is like a phone number for artists, because galleries and buyers expect you to have one. But for some, that is an unknown territory and a difficult one to create if you are not fairly technically savvy.



A much easier and cost effective way to submit your art portfolio to the world and develop an international following is by creating and maintaining a blog. This can be your website if you do not have one. If you do have one, you can use this as a marketing tool to direct more traffic to your website. If you know nothing about creating blogs, it really doesn't take long to learn and I can set one up for you and teach you how to maintain it yourself. If you have digital images of your art, we can create slide shows for the world to see featuring your art.



If you have no interest in learning about it but can see it would be a good idea to have your art on the web and some info about where you are showing and what you are up to, I can set one up for you and maintain it too. We can put your artist's statement, your bio and your art resume with show history online at your blog. The blog is an easy way to go for you to get online. Email me with I need an artist's blog in the subject and I will take care of this for you.



Okay, you have a website and a blog, but keeping it updated is the problem you are having. You have just too many writing tasks and keeping up with the website, the blog, resume updates and inventory lists for shows is really important but there are so many hours in the day and perhaps you have a family or another life besides art. What to do? Email me and I can help with your art writing needs. Put I need a writer in the subject line.



Right now, I am available to assist with your art writing, art marketing and blog set up and maintenance. If you have a small business and just do not want the payroll commitment and have found that temp agencies do not provide professional writers, email Jean Bourque to create a web presence for you. Put "I need a web presence" in the subject. Now that I have put this on my blog, I will get booked up fairly quickly, so email me now. It doesn't take long to be booked 3 weeks or a month in advance. Reasonable rates.

Happy Blogging to you all,

Jean


1 comment:

Susan Lenz said...

Hi!
Excellent article. I wish there was a way in which we blogging artists could truly share with non-bloggers the ease and joy of establishing an Internet presence. With the click of a few buttons, a supportive, global community of like-minded artists are eager, available, and influential. It has made the world of difference to me and to my work.
Susan