ARTIST: Holly Bynoe, Imperial, digital collage |
THIS MONTH: How to deal with difficult clients; market research for artists; worst advice ever for small businesses and startups; marketing 101 for freelance writers; free tip sheets and templates for small businesses and non-profits; and, more....
#1. Artists and Digital: Why Social Media is the New Gallery
by Lauren Drell, Mashable
The starving artist is such a cliche, and fortunately, it might become a thing of the past. Using social media tools and platforms, visual artists have new ways to market their work and connect with buyers far and wide. And because these websites are free to use, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram are quickly becoming as important to an artist as the paintbrush and palette.
#2. Dealing with Difficult Clients
by Scott McDowell, 99%
Clients come in all stripes. But difficult clients come in archetypes: The Naysayer, The Answer Man, The Linebacker, The Xenophobe. If you can recognize them, you'll be better equipped to create a rewarding, lasting, and headache-free client relationship.
ARTIST: Holly Bynoe, The Forde's, digital collage |
#3. How to Craft Your Value Proposition
by Matthew Goldsbrough, Goldsbrough
A value proposition is a statement that summarises the customer segments you are targeting, and how you are differentiated from your competitors. It should answer the question: “Why should I choose to buy this product or service, and why now?” It’s a key element of developing a great marketing strategy. In this article, I’ll give you a template you can use in crafting your own value proposition.
#4. How to Create a Social Media Plan
by Susan Ward, About.com's Small Business: Canada
Don't panic. You don’t need to know how to use fourteen different social media to do this, or set aside several days. All you really need to do is make five decisions and then follow through on them. So think about and record your answers to the following.
#5. Marketing 101 for Freelance Writers #19: The Amazing Strategy No One is Using
by Carol Tice, Make a Living Writing
Writers are always asking me if I can tell them the one, best way to market their writing. More exactly, you’d like to know the one, easiest, low-cost, and most effective way to market your writing. Unfortunately, I can’t.... However…there is one strategy everyone can use, and it often works great. To use it, you’ll have to do a little research.
ARTIST: Holly Bynoe, the grands, digital collage |
#6. Marketing Mondays: Do It Yourself
by Joanne Mattera, Joanne Mattera Art Blog
Reading about Moriarty’s self-gifted residency brought to the fore — yet again — the idea that one of the great things about being an artist right now is that we are able to direct our careers ourselves, rather than waiting for the big break, the big grant or the unlikely miracle. There are many ways to take the DIY approach.
#7. Nine Ways Board Members Can Raise Money Without Fundraising
by Neil Edgington, Social Velocity
The good news is that there are lots of other things board members can do to bring money in the door. And remember, if you are financing not fundraising your organization, your definition of “bringing money in the door” should be very broad. Here are 9 things you could ask your fundraising-shy board members to do.
#8. Sell More Art — Market Research for Artists
by Alan Bamberger, Art Business
The more you know about how your art affects people and about what types of information they need in order to maximally understand, appreciate and enjoy it, the better able you are to keep those people in the game, to hold their attention, to keep them asking questions, to progressively deepen their experiences, and hopefully, to make sales or get shows or whatever else you're looking for. Remember-- we're focusing on typical everyday people who like art, not art people. You've already got art people covered. The most important people for you now are those you know the least about, those you've been ignoring for whatever reasons or those you've made assumptions about, but have never bothered to test whether those assumptions are the least a teensy bit accurate.
ARTIST: Holly Bynoe, brian, digital collage |
#9. Small Businesses and Startups: Worst. Advice. Ever.
by Mike, crowdSPRING
We have all been on the receiving end of this advice, so in this article I am going to share with you some of the worst business advice ever given. Here then, are 5 pieces of bad advice I have been given, and my reasons for rejecting each.
#10. Tip Sheets & Templates
by Cultural Careers Council Ontario
These [business] samples and templates are starting points for creating your own specific materials. The tip sheets are concise references on a variety of topics; many are excerpted from CCCO's HR Tools series.
ARTWORK by Holly Bynoe (St. Vincent and the Grenadines, WI)
Want more info on this artist?
Please visit her Web site: HollyBynoe.com