In progress...
The new revamped Website, Workbook, Online Workshops, Forum, are still in the works. Thank you for your patience. Looking at a fall launch.
Artist As Brand® Workshops are coming to Santa Fe! Classes will be presented at the School of Lost Arts (website coming soon), and for high school students at Warehouse 21. You will absolutely love coming here to Santa Fe to take classes.
Lastly, a workshop is in the works to coincide with the San Diego Comic Convention in July. Stay tuned.
MARCH 9 & 16
Artist Marketing Intensive
Saturdays 10:00-3:00
Hosted along with professional photographer Jesse Friedman.
The importance of clarity and authenticity
High Tech marketing strategies and how to meet your people online
High Touch marketing strategies and how to meet your people in person
Know your audience
Individual marketing plan
One on one review of your plan and execution
1708 Lena St #202 (upstairs)
Santa Fe, NM 87505
Across the street from Iconik.
There will be a one hour lunch break each day.
Or you may pay with a check.
I designed launch parties for my, The Art of Greg Spalenka book which was published by Titan Books in London. One launch was at the San Diego Comic Con, another at a book store, and one at a library. All of them helped me promote myself and sell books. If you’re self-publishing or releasing a book through a small press, being pampered isn’t usually part of the equation; you’ll have to take the lead on planning your own launch party. Here is a great article from bookbaby that will help you organize an awesome event.
You’re not just selling a product. You’re selling a lifestyle.
Engaging your customer online by telling a visual story, and making them feel like they’re purchasing the lifestyle or experience associated with your brand is called a LookBook showcase. This format has been a centerpiece of fashion magazines, like Elle and Vogue for a long time. Unlike product and catalog pages, which typically display products in an unadorned, utilitarian state, lookbooks provide context, presenting them in a real-life, visually-appealing setting. They give customers an idea of how a product is used, what it goes well with, and how it might fit into their home or lifestyle.Here is a great story that will help you use this concept to great effect with your social media.
Creative website marketing comes in all shapes and sizes. Using a crossover collaboration with mutual sponsorship is something we are seeing more and more of these days. I encourage individual artists to do the same.John Malkovich is known and respected for his acting expertise, but what does he do when his intent is to redirect an audience's focus on his talent as a clothes designer? Using his name in this smart promotion gets people's attention, but ultimately he directs the story to another plot point, which propels us to his website.Using Squarespace as a sponsor and visa versa two companies now benefit from each other.Check it out HERE.
A one day Artist As Brand Workshop at BYU was a blast. Thank you to Bob Barret, Bethanne and the rest of the faculty in the visionary art department. Yes, they rock.
Creating video trailers for your book whether you are pitching the product directly to an audience or not is now an expected promotional tool. Take a look at this promo for James Lovelock's, The Earth and I, from Taschen. They had a nice budget to produce this video but with a little imagination you can do the same.In addition, the book's design and illustrations add an interactive touch adding to the experience of a scholarly subject that could otherwise be fairly dry.The Earth and Iis a book of world-class contributors include quantum physicist Lisa Randall, Astronomer Royal Martin Rees, Pulitzer Prize–winning biologist Edward O. Wilson, and Nobel Prize–winning neuroscientist Eric Kandel. With lively illustrations from British artist Jack Hudson, the result is an inspiration for curious minds young and old, and a trusted tool kit for an informed and enlightened future.
Moderated another Artist As Brand, Rise of the Artist Entrepreneur panel discussion at the San Diego Comic Con, with a stellar group of artists, and writers, (from l to r)- Todd Lockwood, Me, Vincenzo Ferriero, Aaron Horkey, Ray Chou, Jess Schnabel, Daniel Monster Davis. A big thank to everyone involved. Many pearls of art career wisdom were shared with a very grateful audience.
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Tara Gentile is a business coach offering training and support for idea-driven entrepreneurs. She presents a series of podcasts with Creative Live where they explore strategies that will help you profit from your passions. Sound familiar?Check out this session with Kathleen Shannon, co-founder of Braid Creative and co-host of the popular Being Boss Podcast. Kathleen transitioned her career from graphic design and art direction and an advertising agency to entrepreneurship and branding for creative entrepreneurs.You are your brand!
Website design and application are changing all the time. Take a look at these Shopify sites and see how you can approach your purpose and your brand with a new way of seeing. Check out the sites here.
Make work play. It is such a simple concept yet, difficult to comprehend in our competitively driven society. Yet this is how some businesses arrive at their success; through play.Two magician brothers Dan and Dave Buck started their online shop selling a small selection of advanced sleight-of-hand magic videotapes and then broke into designing luxury playing cards. They are a lifestyle brand and design firm, producing high quality products, apparel, and accessories for magicians, cardists, and anyone interested in our esoteric art form.Learn more about their stories here.
"You’re rushing out the door for another day at the office, and catch your reflection in the mirror. You look awesome obviously, but you’re not ready yet.
Don’t get me wrong. That yellow cardigan is on point, and your peter-pan collar is just too cute, but something is missing here.
A little bit of edge?
A little bit more of your self…
You need just a little bit of Wonderland in your life!
Not too much Wonderland, now. You’re off to work, not the Mad Hatter’s unbirthday party. That will have to wait for the weekend.
Until then, you reach into your closet and pull out your jewelry box to find just the right dash of madness, just the right pinch of individuality – just the right amount of Wonderland – and you know your outfit is complete... read more here.
This is the story Richelle owner of Red Scorpio Handmade begins to tell about her Wonderland collection of jewelry, connecting it directly to her niche audience. Weaving a tale that relates to real life conditions with a fantasy twist is smart advertising copy. Bravo!
Give this copywriting technique a try with your next promotional pitch. Check out Red Scorpio Handmade's blog too. Much there to learn from.
When you have finally built that line of products up to a point where you are ready to license them to other stores then ARTSETTERS can help you simplify the process. ARTSETTERS brings the entire wholesale process online. Their solution allows you to be discovered on a global scale, without needing to attend trade shows. Create shareable showroom collections, connect with industry leaders and manage orders seamlessly.They suggest that costly trade shows dominate the industry and make it increasingly difficult for independent artists and designers to compete and gain exposure on an international level.Overall I like their approach, however there is something to be said about meeting people face to face at shows whether they are expensive or not. I know artists would prefer to simply make their art and let other people sell it, but there is power in people meeting the artist.I was just at the L.A. International Textile show where they have reps presenting different companies from around the world. A rep can have a professional approach and attitude, but when it comes down to individual artists, fans want to meet that person.All in all though ARTSETTERS has a pretty cool model which is worth checking out.
“Influence” by Robert Cialdini, published in 1984 has some great pointers on marketing strategy that artists can use too. Anyone who sells things for a living, online or offline, should know, love, and live these principles:
Reciprocity
Commitment & Consistency
Liking
Authority
Social Proof
Scarcity
Read more about the principles HERE.
Click on the image to enlarge.
I have moderated the Artist As Brand panel at the San Diego Comic Con for five years now. This time the table was graced with the talented Daniel M. Davis and Dawna Davis of Steamcrow, Shiflett Brothers, Jeff Soto, Melissa Pagluica and Diana Levin.We had a large crowd and reviewed the art of the start, social media, conventions and facing our fears. Much inspiration was to be had by all. A big thank you to my amazing guests and the attendees.
A beautiful booth setup is an integral part of your brand and high touch marketing strategy. The National Stationery Show in New York City each year is a sure bet to offer new ideas for booth design and products. Check out this post by Poppytalk that showcases some highlights from the event.
MadeWorn is a clothing and lifestyle company created by Blaine Halvorson. They produce everything from hand-engraved rolex watches to t-shirts and shoes. One of the things I talk to my students about is living your brand. That means you reflect yourself authentically all the time, especially with how you dress. It is obvious that Halvorson embodies this trait and revels in it.Check out his style and how it relates to his selective clientele which is showcased beautifully in his website.
The Artist As Brand two day workshop at Krab Jab Studio was a large group of twenty students, beginners and professionals. Having taught this class to over five hundred students it is fascinating how the chemistry changes from venue to venue. Some of the students in this bunch were mainly interested in hard core marketing tactics, others embraced the holistic side to the course, others struggled with old paradigms of the artist not appearing to be a business.All entrepreneurial teachers and coaches will tell you that your business must have a solid foundation of purpose in place before you do anything. Your purpose is your brand. Some of the artists in this group were taking an old school fine art approach to showcasing and selling their art and the Artist As Brand model was a challenge for them. I come across this mindset all the time. The elitism of the fine art world is still alive and well (especially in academic circles) and so it takes some courage to jump into the future of art commerce.Thank you to Tara Larsen Chang with TLC Workshops for facilitating the class and Julie Baroh at Krab Jab Studio for opening her gallery to us. It was incredibly inspiring with all the amazing art around us! Part of this AAB group is inspired to create a product and a show next year with Krab Jab in alignment with Mythic Worlds and also with Nantes a city in France. It is going to be amazing!
The Agoura Hills, CA workshop in Mitchell's Bookshop was a delight! The group was small but mighty! We had some of the most amazing talent in this room.Aerin Holt the founder and artist director of California Contemporary Ballet Company and Dance Studio, composer and pianist Elliot Anders, painter and traveler Nubia Gala-Selbert, artist, graphic designer and creative wild woman Linda Lalande, singer-song writer Alexandra Harris and the multi-faceted artist lawyer-to-be Michelle Mitchell.Wonderful synergy within this very focused and high powered class.Below are two quick videos that Linda and Nubia took voicing their heart virtues. Love it.IMG_6657IMG_6658
The Young Adult category of books has done very well with a lot of help from Harry Potter novels in the nineties. If you are a writer, or an illustrator writing your own books this crowd may be yours. It encompasses a broad audience from 12 year olds through adult with a wide range of subjects.The annual event known as YALLFest: The Charleston Young Adult Book Festival, has become the largest YA book festival in the South, attracting a mostly teen and middle-school audience of 8,000. Now it is coming to Los Angeles. Read more...