What Artists Should Know About Marketing Their Business

As an artist who blogs, it's been so much easier nowadays to market myself. Although I haven't been actively promoting my art lately, I've been able to get the word out about my other ventures such as my jewelry and greeting cards businesses. I say with the internet anything is possible.

If you're an artist and you haven't started blogging yet, you may be truly missing out on many opportunities. With so many people on MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter, it's practically a crime not to be out there networking with people and getting more exposure for your work.

However, that said, before you venture out into the world of social networking websites and blogging, I recommend reading these 27 Thoughts on Blogging For the Artist posted at Problogger. I also invite you to read this post on my personal blog: Marketing Your Art Business.

What about you? What are you doing to market your art business? How are you utilizing the power of social networking?

Business Success Tip: Create Value

Many of us start a business venture with the hope of making tons of money. However, did you think that your pushy sales skills and fast talk will get you far in business? Perhaps in the short-term you will do well, but in the long-term, the salespeople who create value are the ones who are going to prosper.

I believe artists are very good at providing value for their clients. Most artists have passion for their work and a majority of them would still do what they’re doing whether or not they get paid for it. These artists seek passion and meaning in their work without any concern about the money aspect of it.

People can tell when you’re passionate about the products you sell. Creating value is about sharing that passion with your clients and being a reliable resource for them. The attention to detail is another part of creating value. When you’re in the business of art and creating things, this attention to detail usually comes pretty easy.

Ram Charan’s book, What the Customer Wants You To Know: How Everybody Needs to Think Differently About Sales, contains a little nugget of valuable advice (via Business Know-How):

“No longer do you measure your own success first. Instead, you measure success by how well your customers are doing with your help. You're not focused on selling a specific product or service; you're focused on how your company can help the customer succeed in all the ways that are important to that customer. By tapping the many resources you have at your disposal to help customers meet their business goals and priorities, you are adding value. “

How are you creating value for your clients?

An Interview With a Successful Entrepreneur

Starting and building a successful business is a dream that many people envision for themselves. It's our philosophy here at Studio 747 that to have true freedom in life, you should be doing what you love and part of that is owning your own business. Whether they be a freelance artist, an internet entrepreneur, or have a brick-and-mortar shop, we support those who have the courage, strength, and tenacity to go out on their own.

Over at the Online Business Resources blog, we had the chance to interview Bo Bennett, a successful internet entrepreneur who started iGroops, a service that provides groups with their own membership websites. Bo gives us some insight as to what made him start iGroops and offers a little advice about building a successful online business.

Read the interview with Bo Bennett...