To blog or not to blog? Blogging is still a thing and one worth looking into. Finances Online has published this report with some interesting statistics on the latest blog trends.
The good news for artists is that highly visual content is a key driver for audiences. If you create great art, it gives people a reason to come back to look at your blog and your website on a regular basis. It keeps you and your art in front of your audience.
Blogging presents the same issues as releasing a newsletter does for some artists. Challenges include:
- not knowing what to say or how to say it
- mind shutting down when business related terms like ROI and SEO surface in terms of blogging
- a busy schedule/too much else to do
- having a haphazard or already full social media strategy
Beyond the byte – How blogs are different from other social media
Because you’re not limited by the number of characters of a tweet or the space allotted to an Instagram post, the blog allows you to create a close community for people who are interested in you and your art in a way that your website alone and other social media does not. And because of the personal nature of blogging, it allows you to have a longer, more relaxed conversation with your audience – friends, family, patrons and collectors – about your artistic journey.
All Roads Lead to the Blog
Blogging is easily integrated with your other social media activities when you simplify. Establish parameters and make your blog a cornerstone upon which your newsletter and posts are built.
You can coordinate and automate the schedule for your blog , newsletter and social media posts so that they coincide and support one another. Link newsletter and socials to your blog to make your work accessible to as many people as you can. Make sure you mention your social media links in your posts and have working links to them on your website.
One way to think about it is a hierarchy:
- Social Media (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok) create the buzz
- Your newsletter makes the announcement
- Your blog is the event
Not everyone is going to follow you everywhere you are so don’t worry about repetitive posting. Following this strategy eliminates fuzziness around schedule and consistency across social media.
SEO, ROI…TMI?
Much of the information you’ll find if you research blogging pertains to professional bloggers who are concerned with SEO (Search Engine Optimization – using keywords to get the blog found in online searches) and ROI (Return on investment – in terms of blogging this means how much revenue the blog post yielded. This does not pertain to you.)
If your website is clearly written and designed you already have a good foundation for being found. Don’t let SEO be a stumbling block in getting started. If you are interested in more on SEO for artists, read Agora’s article.
What to write?
If you’re not inclined to write, if you find it very difficult, or have a condition such as dyslexia, you can still create a blog strategy that relies mostly on visuals. You’ll still need to include some written information to help your audience get to know you, but that’s doable.
If you don’t mind writing but are stuck for what to say (it can be intimidating for artists to put their artistic voice into the world) I recommend taking a look at Writing the Artist Statement – Revealing the True Spirit of Your Work by Ariana Goodwin.
Although it is geared toward writing your artist statement, the exercises within are designed to help you get to your creative essence. Have patience, set aside the time and do the exercises. You’ll probably wind up with not only a decent statement but material to get you thinking about how you can comfortably communicate about your work.
Look at other artist’s blogs to see what they write about. Observe their writing styles. Follow the ones you like and get to know them.Learn from them!
Join the conversation. You can start right here by posting your comments.
And if you are interested in finding out more about what I do, browse the blog, check out my services , or contact me.
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