Hi there,
I recently attended a workshop entitled 'Email Is So Dead' on how, as artists, we should be promoting ourselves. This really applies to those of us interested in selling our work. It was rewarding and I have been busy taking the necessary action.
Essentially, it is all happening on the Internet. If you don't have an internet presence then you are truly missing out. Unfortunately, a website is no longer sufficient; you need a more dynamic presence. This includes posting videos relevant to your work on You Tube , developing an artist page on Facebook for people to join and keep up-to-date with your work, and most importantly a blog. You may have noticed how many artist and other websites have a dedicated blog. Any other sites that showcase your work are worthy too. For example, I post images on a site called terminus1525.ca which is a site dedicated to promoting the work of Canadian artists, everything from music, to painting, poetry, photography and more.
So, what is the purpose? If you are not interested in selling your work, or gaining entry into galleries, then a website of what you do is obviously fine. Or even no website at all. But, if you are interested in promoting your work so it is easier to sell or exhibit (get people to know who you are), then the purpose is partly to do with barbell economics.
Currently, the barbell is leaning heavily on one side. It is dominated by large corporations that sell crafts and the like, made in China, for cheap. There is no personal connection. You buy the product without ever knowing the creator. On the other end of the barbell are people like me; small artisans selling their work to the local population or, hopefully, beyond. Here, the buyer often meets the creator, the buyer has discussed with the artist what they want, they hear stories about how the craft was created. People love to hear stories; I have often sold a picture because I told the story of how that picture came to be. The inspiration. And they learn of the personal values of the artist: what is important to them, their values on quality, on getting the right product to the customer on time, or even their values on their business and the environment. It is the personal connection, that is totally missing from the large corporations.
Swings and roundabouts So it is predicted that the barbell will balance itself; that small artisans will increase in number as the general public crave for that personal touch.
Your story + Your values = Your Brand
How to get your values and stories across to your customer That is where the internet comes in. If you have a dynamic presence on the internet, through video, blogs, social networking, people will learn about you; they will hear your stories, understand your values on your work, see what an expert you are, and learn to know what to expect from you.
It all takes time So, in the past few weeks I have been building my internet presence. I now have my own blog as well as this one, I have a Facebook page, I showcase my work on Terminus 1525.ca, and I am slowly turning my website shop into an easier place to shop.
So, email is not dead but it is just a small part of the big world on the internet.
Get blogging...
Damian
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6 comments:
Very interesting and informative - thanks for posting. Can I ask - how much have you sold via your website to date, and what are you aiming for with these new initiatives?
Ivan
Good questions.
I have sold a handful of items from my website. I have spoken with other people that sell online and they say the same. So, it is partly due to my website not being set up as a shop and secondly due to people not shopping online for prints, for whatever reason.
The purpose of the initiatives that I outlined is to increase my presence on the web to 1. boost online sales and 2. for other artists and galleries to find me, and once they do to understand my work and how I approach my work.
There are stories of artists doing their work, blogging, building their presence on Flickr (for example) and then being found and boom. Or just generating a strong following online.
So, my online efforts are to make myself and my work known. If I don't get out of my little studio I will never meet anyone, and the meeting is all happening online.
Of course, I am also approaching local shops, galleries and businesses to display my work.
I enjoy what I do. And it would be wonderful if I can also make some money so I can keep on doing it. It would also be wonderful if people actually enjoyed seeing my work and having a piece of it in their home; there is a lot of satisfaction there because I am giving something. But to make this all happen, I have to be 'out there'; not just at the local market or in the odd gallery but on the web.
Damian
Damian-- this reminds me of something I've been meaning to suggest to you for ages. There exists a large niche market--- even locally--- for your Sable Island pony pictures: the horsey crowd. Believe me, this is a group of people who are just dying to spend all kinds of money on anything horse-related. I suggest putting up ads on the message boards at the barns around town, and at the tack stores. Some of the tack stores might even be willing to sell some on consignment.
This is very interesting. I worry a bit about grandiose, sweeping statements, though. Email, for all its faults, has been with us for thirty years, and http for twenty. (the first website I ever set up was over 12 years ago. These are technologies which are proven and effective.
The problem with social networking is that it's not very mature. There's a big element of "me too" - gmail has chat? Livejournal gets chat. Facebook gets chat. What's the betting that flickr will get chat too. Until these things settle down a bit, I'm reluctant to invest a great deal of effort into the medium.
I'm a geek. I'm quite house-trained; I'm quite sociable; I recognise (usually) when I'm talking too much about technology - but I'm a geek. I love the novelty of blogging and having a real relationship with people who live across oceans. And for a while, finding out when they've just been to the shops/put out the rubbish/blown a lightbulb.
"The internet is to human interaction as Pringles are to potatoes. Companionship and closeness are processed into an unrecognizable slurry, then reconstituted as an unnatural recreation of their original incarnation. We start as social creatures, isolate ourselves into small rooms writhing with power strips, then make friends with similarly sequestered people, trying to re-create the very communities we're avoiding."
http://www.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/commentary/alttext/2008/04/alttext_0423
I think this is spot on, actually. I think if we really want photos to ... well, however we want to measure success: sell/be featured in galleries/be admired/bring us joy ... we need to spend less time messing around online and more time taking photos. This blog is great not least because we're refreshingly, harshly frank about each other's images - you don't have that usual flickr OH WOW OMG THAT'S AMAZING effect - and we can learn. I really think that Ivan's success in the recent camera club competition owed a lot to the feedback we all gave his beach walkers image - collectively, we helped him to turn a really good image into an outstanding image.
But this is rare. I've just finished reading Taking Your Photography to the Next Level: From the Inspiration to Image
(http://www.amazon.co.uk/Take-Your-Photography-Next-Level/dp/1933952210)
which is (ironically) a collection of essays first published on Luminous Landscape. It's a very interesting read - not particularly because I like the guy's photographs. But because his understanding of the process of what drives you to greatness is spot on. As he says of one photographer who'd really, really improved over a twelve month period: it's unlikely that he did that by experimenting with different types of developer or trying different RAW processing software. He did it by taking photographs and critically analysing them.
I think I had a point, about fifteen minutes ago... :)
Gareth and All - great blog comments in response to a very interesting post.
For my part, I agree that communal critique really did transform my image from good to great, and I did learn a lot on the way. That's exactly what this blog gives us - honest, frank feedback to help us learn and develop our photography.
Let's all keep posting and commenting, and learning.
Ivan
Your comments Gareth are very good. A few responses. First, "Email Is So Dead" is figurative (obviously). Email is not dead, although Sue my partner says that students prefer Chat because email is too slow (!). And a website on its own is hugely powerful and will remain so. But there is an evolution that needs to be recognised and exploited. Social networking is very young and is popular amongst the young. To tell you the truth I don't really know how to use Facebook like I do email. I use it to keep my friends and others that are interested informed of my work, without being annoying through sending lots of emails.
"...We start as social creatures, isolate ourselves into small rooms writhing with power strips, then make friends with similarly sequestered people, trying to re-create the very communities we're avoiding."
For me, to walk into a gallery and sell myself and my work requires a huge kick up the arse, and I don't mean being lazy. I need to be pushed into the gallery and stand up for my work and belief in my work; it takes huge effort on my part because I lack confidence. The internet, provides a gateway for selling your self without the face-face experience, but that is not good. Its the easy way out. The way out for the meager.
There is a balance. Email, website, social networking, blogging are all tools to help our work to grow through inspiration, praise, criticism, failure. But they are tools. We still have to physically build the house. We still have to get out there and interact with people, visit galleries, sell ourselves and our work and get on the street and shoot images.
Every Saturday at the local market where I sell my stuff, I interact with people, I let people see me in person and I have my camera and am always looking. I am off to a Museum this week to photograph eggs for a new project. This week I am going to walk around Halifax at night and shoot.
So, its the balance and its recognising the tools that we have on hand to improve our work. And this blog is one of those most tools. And bloody useful at that.
Damian
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