As a long-time blogger (over 10 years, ha!) I can tell you that that while the technology and accessibility of blogs has come leaps and bounds; the foundations of sharing on a blog hasn’t changed.
People follow people, they don’t
follow blogs - they never have.
If you are an artist and you write an art blog to help boost your exposure for your shop, there are a few things almost all art bloggers do wrong…. they fail to talk to their audience in a language that they can understand about topics they care about. Furthermore, they often fail to do this regularly; making it difficult for people to anticipate when they will hear from you again.
Here are a few tips I’d like to share with the art bloggers out there that are struggling to gain an audience:
Write every post as if you are talking to a specific person or group of people. These are the people who care about what you have to say, what you make and how you create - forget the rest.Be consistent in your posting schedule and your topics. For example: if you write an article about modern art once a week - make sure you post an article about modern art once a week! And do it every week without fail. There is something to be said about the phrase, “Consistency is Key!”Ask your audience to care, share and respond. For example: Don’t just post a picture about the latest creation you made, and say “Look at this awesome thing I made!” Or “Check out what I just listed!” Instead, ask your audience to tell you what they think. If it isn’t complete, ask them to tell you what you should do next.The last bit of advice I’d like to pass along to you is this. Never give up on your blog. It is a wonderful and awesome tool which allows your customers to get to know you for who you are and what you do as a creative in a world of billions of people. You can make it anything you want, but remember, it is about sharing yourself with others. Let them come in and read about you, learn about you and talk with you. If you are afraid, I understand, and maybe you need to look into addressing that through some self-reflection, talking with a friend, a peer artist or even getting some professional coaching.
Face your blogging fears and share all that you can with your followers. They want to know who you are and in return, you should want to know them too!
Guest contributor Martiel Beatty is a graphic and fiber artist, expert blogger, art coach and GIMP Wizard. She is the founder of Sewmantra and Co-Founder and Coach of Dream Your Success. She holds degrees in Anthropology, French and Drafting and has been working in fiber arts since 1986 and graphics since 1998. She lives and works in her home studio outside Washington, D.C.
Tags: Blog, promote, Promotion, Success on Zibbet
