MODERN ARTIST’S HANDBOOK

A n I n t r o d u c t i o n to t h e I n t e r n e t

or

Working as A Traditional Artist in the Modern World

Vol 1

2

© 2011 by Gail Daley Fine Art

DISCLAIMER: THE INFORMATION IN THIS BOOKLET IS FOR GENERAL INFOR-

MATION PURPOSES ONLY; IT IS NOT INTENDED TO BE TAX OR LEGAL ADVICE.

EACH SITUATION IS SPECIFIC; CONSULT YOUR CPA OR ATTORNEY TO DIS-

CUSS YOUR SPECIFIC LEGAL OR TAX REQUIREMENTS OR QUESTIONS.

3

How to Spot An Internet Scam 4

Electronic Invites To Your Event 5

Keeping Track of Your Art 6

Copyright Laws Affecting Artists 7

Juried Shows 9

Presentation is Everything! 10

What is Networking? 11

Choosing A Gallery 12

Selling & Marketing 13

Publicity In the Electronic Age 15

Get A Web Site! 17

Low Cost & Free Artist Websites 18

Sales Tax & Business Licenses 18

Increasing Your Google Rating 19

Inside the Modern Artist Handbook

I don’t claim to know everything about the above top-

ics, this is an essay on what I have learned about

them. I hope it is helpful. Gail Daley

4

The volume of email scams targeting artists has become an epidemic, possibly because scam-

mers assume that we are non-tech savvy. Before you get so excited that someone actually

wants to buy your stuff, take a good hard look at what they are asking. If you know the signs of

a scam, you will have some protection from their schemes. Here are a few indicators that the

inquiry is a scam:

The person contacting you may be using poor grammar, punctuation and sentence struc-

ture.

The person is “away” somewhere, in Haiti, the forest, out to sea, a sailor or an oceanog-

rapher—the latest one claims he is on an asteroid (?!?!)

The person insists on paying through PayPal but doesn’t seem to know how to click on the

“Buy Now” button. They ask for your PayPal e-mail, even when the Buy Now button is

available. Do NOT give them your PayPal address; if they use the Buy Now Button they

don’t need it! They also want you to ship the same day you get notified by Pay Pal that

you have money

They make a fraudulent payment for more than the amount (not possible if they are using

the Buy Now button; that is why they want your direct e-mail), and they may ask you to

send someone, presumably a fake shipping company the extra.

You are asked to wire a transfer of any extra to a fake shipping company (their “own” ship-

ping company) that will come for the pick-up of the item the same day the PayPal payment

is received. Usually it reads something like this “Will u be able to wire transfer the remain-

ing fund to the shipping company that will come for the pickup of the item the same day u

receive the payment from PayPal?”

You receive multiple e-mails saying the same thing or similar with the sender’s name

changed.

They ask for unnecessary information which may already be on the web site, or unneces-

sary for them to know:

Cell Phone or Home Numbers

E-mail addresses

Final asking price of the artwork

Name (this will be on the payment)

Mailing address (not a PO Box)

These e-mails are being directed to artists and they are hitting multiple sites, not just one Art

web sites members. Don’t give them any information, and don’t respond to the e-mail. Treat

How To Spot An Internet Scam

5

With all the new technology available to us now it is becoming very easy to invite family, friends and

customers to come and join you at an art show or exhibit without spending hours to do it. Facebook,

Twitter and here in Fresno, the Local Fresno Arts Network are all user friendly; just click on the

“create event” or event button and put in the information requested. You will need the date, time and

address of the event or exhibit.

INDLUDE A PHOTO: Most of these sites have a place where you can also download a photo of your

art that is being exhibited. The photo should be in jpeg format and no more than 600 pixels at the wid-

est point and about 72 dpi. (Am I talking a foreign language?) Okay, Actual size in inches in your

photo editing system should be around 3 x 5 and low-to-medium resolution (some of them even have

a “save for web” setting.)

Facebook and Twitter have a way to select anyone you have previously identified as a friend; just

click on their photo. Fresno Arts Net will do the same thing, but you can also paste in an e-mail list.

INCLUDE A PERSONAL MESSAGE. Usually there is a place for a personal message to announce

your event. If you are inviting your friends and family, keep it informal; a simple “come out and see my

art. I could use your support” should be sufficient. If you are sending this out to customers who have

bought from you before, you can say something like “I am presenting a new piece of art on (include

your date, time, place etc.). I am inviting you to come as my personal guest”. If it is a juried show and

you got an award, tell everyone and invite them to come and see it. If you are issuing a press release

or inviting potential customers, you will need to brag a little about yourself and your art so they have a

reason to come to the show.

Electronic Invites to Your Event

them like any other inheritance or Lotto winning spam and delete them. No matter how tempting the

offer, or how innocent the circumstances, don’t fall for the scheme; legitimate buyers will go through

proper channels. I was actually targeted by the guy who claimed he was on an asteroid! How stupid

did he think I was? This is the real world, not Star Trek.

There is a new one out there: this guy claims he is with the FBI. Even has a approximation of the

FBI seal on his e-mail. They think they are so-o-o clever! If you get an official looking communica-

tion, always check it out!

6

Keeping Track of Your Art

Record 128

Painting Title Serene River

Size 36 x 40

Media Acrylic

Description Mendota Slew

bridge crossing over

river

Landscape

Frame Description

Frame Cost

Finish Date 4/1/2008

Copywrite date

Copywrite fee

Primary Color blue

Secondary Color green

Style/Genre representational

Wholesale price $225.00

Retail Price $325.00

Date Sold

Buyer

Address

Size No

Made

Cost

to

Make

Sell-

ing

Price

No

Sold

Gross

Profit

Net

Profit

LIMITED EDITIONS

Art is a business as well as a creative endeavor. Losing

your art can be a financial loss. So can not being aware of

losing money because you don’t keep track of costs. This is

a sample spread sheet that you can use to help you know

where your art is at all times, what shows and exhibits the

piece was entered into, and if you are making money on

individual pieces.

Date Shows Awards Exhibits Date

3/208 Reedley

Opera

House

Sunny-

side Lib

5/1/08

9/20/200

8

CAG fall

sympho-

ny show

Lemoore

City Hall

1/1/09

Sunny-

side Lib

5/4/11

Shows/Exhibits

7

Copyright Laws and How They Affect Art is ts

The visual arts category on the U.S. Government website, involves pictorial, graphic, or sculptural

works, including two- and three-dimensional works of fine, graphic, and applied art. Examples include

paintings, photographs; original prints; art reproductions; cartographic works (maps, globes, and relief

models); technical and mechanical drawings; and architectural drawings, plans, blueprints, or dia-

grams. Copyright protects an author’s specific expression in literary, artistic, or musical form. Copy-

right protection does not extend to any idea, system, method, device, name, or title.

Due to fast-breaking developments in the electronic storage and transmission of images, an artist is

expected to have a good understanding of copyright law and how it is interpreted in our rapidly

changing social and high-tech landscape. "The complex and challenging issues of copyright are now

part of the daily reality of all artists who work with images".

Two basic aspects of copyright as it applies to visual artists are: what rights the artist or designer has

to their own work, and what accountabilities they have when using the creative work of others. Unlike

pre-internet days, images are now being broadcast all over the world and it is difficult to hide copy-

right infringement. Using copyright protected images to create art cheapens your portfolio; it isn’t

good for your artistic integrity and you can be sued. Digital cameras now cost so little that everyone

can take their own reference photos. Artists can also search the internet for photos that allow re-use

(just check the “owner allows re-use” in your search filter).

With the creation of Flicker and Facebook among other sites, Visual artists can’t help living in an en-

vironment saturated with images. As Artists we are influenced, whether consciously or unconsciously,

by everything we see around us in books, magazines, TV, the internet, and in advertising. If you use

photos as reference images, you should use your own photos or public domain images. Look at the

photo for inspiration but add your own creativity and "artistic license" to make the final image your

own. Make sure that your image is not an exact copy of the photo.

To Review

These days, almost all things are copyrighted the moment they are written, and no copyright no-

tice is required.

Whether or not you charged money doesn’t make any difference to Copyright violations; only

damages you might have to pay out will be affected by how much money you made on your sale.

Postings to the net are not automatically in the public domain, and don't grant you any permis-

sion to do further copying except maybe the sort of copying that might have been expected in the

ordinary flow of the net and only a judge will make that decision.

Fair use is a complex doctrine meant to allow certain valuable social purposes. For more Infor-

mation go to www.copyright.gov. Ask yourself why you are re-doing what you are painting and

why you couldn't have just painted it in your own style.

8

Copyright is not lost because you don't defend it; that's a concept from trademark law. The own-

ership of names is also from trademark law, so don't say somebody has a name copyrighted.

For those writers among you Fan fiction and other work derived from copyrighted works is a cop-

yright violation.

Copyright law is mostly civil law where the special rights of criminal defendants you hear so much

about don't apply. Watch out, however, as new laws are moving copyright violation into the

criminal realm.

Don't rationalize that you are helping the copyright holder; often it's not that hard to ask permis-

sion.

Posting E-mail is technically a violation, but revealing facts from E-mail you got isn't, and for al-

most all typical E-mail, nobody could wring any damages from you for posting it. The law doesn't

do much to protect works with no commercial value.

Watermarking for Digital Images

Invisible Watermarks: Can be used for copyright protection and recognition of digital images.

Unfortunately an invisible watermark may slightly alter your image. Also the technique is so new that

there is not yet an “industry standard.” Please be aware also, that watermarking has not yet been

tested in the court. However, most commercial printers such as Kinkos and Copy Max’s Impress use

software that can detect watermarks and will refuse to make copies when they detect them. Ei-

konamark is one of the Software programs available for casting "invisible" watermarks on digital im-

ages and detecting these watermarks.

Visible Watermarks: Putting a visible watermark on art that you post to your website identifies it

as yours and hopefully discourages pirates. If you have Photoshop or Photoshop Elements, look un-

der the “Security” section of the setup dialog. You can add a semi-transparent overlay to many imag-

es automatically when you use the Web Photo Gallery Creator feature. Watermark Factory is one of

the software programs to help you to protect images. You can add a visible watermark to your digital

images and photos. The watermark can be your copyright or the URL of your site or your logo.

Books on and about Copyright

The Permission Seeker's Guide Through the Legal Jungle by Joy R. Butler

All About Right for Visual Artists by Ralph E Lerner & Judith Bresler

The Professional Photographer's Legal Handbook by Nancy E Wolff

The Writer's Legal Guide: An Authors Guild Desk Reference by Tad Crawford & Kay

Murray

Digital Copyright By Jessica Litman

The United States Copyright Office was created to serve the copyright community of crea-

tors and users, as well as the general public. Here you will find all key publications, informational cir-

9

culars; application forms for copyright registration; links to the copyright law and to the homepages of

other copyright related organizations; news of what the Copyright Office is doing, Congressional tes-

timony and press releases; the latest regulations.

Copyright Basics - US Copyright Office U.S. Copyright Forms

Form VA - Copyright form Visual Arts Form VA with instructions

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998

Juried Shows & Exhibits

Juried art shows are an opportunity to learn more about your craft. In the art world, a “Juried Show”

means a show that has an actual judge who has been paid to choose the best art out of the entries.

Usually there will be a non-refundable entry fee per art piece, and cash and awards will be given to

the winners. This sometimes causes confusion because an Exhibition may also be “juried”. When an

exhibition is juried, it means that the exhibit organizer or a panel decides if the art is acceptable to be

shown in the exhibit. Exhibits also don’t give out awards, monetary or otherwise.

Entering a juried show means you are putting your art out there to be judged. You should always

enter what you consider to be your best work to date. Keep in mind though, that your art may not be

accepted into the show. Does this mean that you are a poor artist? Or that your art is “bad”? Not nec-

essarily. A juried art show is a subjective format and there are many reasons why your art might not

have been accepted. It may simply mean that the space to display art was limited. Perhaps the art

was good, but your presentation (framing/matting) detracted from your art and the judge preferred art

that was better presented. Or maybe this just wasn’t your best work.

If your art wasn’t accepted by the judge, you might consider having an artist whose opinion you re-

spect critique the work for you. Please be careful with this; the person who does the critiquing should

be a more experienced artist with some knowledge of technique and the principles of art. We love

them, but the opinions of our friends and family who don’t know any more than we do about art really

aren’t useful as critiques. In many local shows, the judge will offer critiques as they judge, and a

member of the art group putting on the show will have been assigned to follow and write down what

is said. If the judge offers a critique, pay attention.

Above all, don’t take this type of rejection personally. Nationally known artists get rejected from

shows also. Sometimes the judge just doesn’t like the subject matter or maybe he/she doesn’t care

for the colors, or the shape, etc. The point is: don’t ever expect to enter a show and win or even au-

tomatically be accepted. You are probably going to kiss a lot of frogs before you get the prize! For

some shows just getting accepted is major. Every juried art show should be viewed as an opportunity

to learn more about your craft.

We’ve been speaking of a real-time art show. However, there is another type of juried show, the on-

line show. In some ways this can be less intimidating for the beginning artist; In many on-line shows,

you never need to travel to the show. You enter a photo of your art directly into the contest through

10

the internet show site. Here also, presentation is very important. For the judges to get an accurate

idea of your art, the image you send must match the colors in the art and be sharp and clear. For

many of us, taking a good photograph of our art is hard. Before you send off the photo of your art you

should 1) make sure that the size of the photo agrees with the directions given by the prospectus, 2)

make sure the image is sharp, clear and not distorted, 3) check the colors in the photo against the

actual art to make sure they are correct.

While most on-line shows don’t require you to send them the actual art, you should make sure of this.

It would be terrible to be accepted into a prestigious show or even win an award and then find out the

round trip price to get the art to the show is more than you could afford.

Presentation is Everything! Framing and matting fine art can enhance the overall appeal of a piece of artwork. But if you don't do a good

job it can ultimately ruin the painting’s appeal .

It is a good idea to evaluate putting your art into a frame with as much consideration as you took with the

actual painting. After all, your painting and its frame are going to be spending a long time together, so it is

vital to make sure they are a good match. Think of this as not wearing white socks with black shoes.

I have assisted at a lot of art shows and I can’t remember how many times I overheard a judge say “The art

is good, but that frame just (ruins, overpowers, clashes, etc.) the art. Framing and matting should enhance

and compliment your art. Have you seen the effect of an ornate baroque frame on an abstract painting? Or

maybe a steel frame on a lovely still life or floral caught your eye? Not Pretty was it? Frames loosely fall into

three categories: traditional (often wood frames with some embellishment such as ornate carving, Oriental

accents, appliqué curlicues, with canvas or linen inserts), modern (metal or ultra-plain wood, perhaps only a

sliver of it showing as you face the picture) and transitional (minimal ornamentation with a moderate amount

of frame showing on its face).

The most important rule is to make sure your frame doesn’t clash or overpower your art. Conversely, a too-

small frame around a large painting can also ruin the presentation. Proportion is the key. Ask yourself, what

is the first thing you notice about the painting? Is it the art or the frame? If it is the frame, then you should

consider selecting a different frame.

Frames designed for canvas usually have a linen mat and then a small wooden piece rounding off the inside

frame. A thick paper mat is used with art that is put under glass or plexi-glass. A simple rule for choosing a

mat is, do you like the look of it around your art? for matting in most cases you want to choose a lighter tone

or neutral color than the frame. You also can look for a paler version of a color that is within the painting it-

self. If the mat color is too dark, it will overshadow the image, making it appear lost. Check the proportions of

the mat to your art. If your framed art looks off, then your mat maybe either too big or too small. Black mats

can be powerful, but be careful. They are so dark that unless the painting has bright, dramatic colors also a

black mat will probably overpower most art.

Keep in mind also, framing art to go in the home as a decorator accent is not the same as art show presenta-

tion. In the decorator market, often, the decorator will pick the mat to go with or compliment the colors in the

room, not necessarily the painting. In show presentation, the ART is the most important thing; if the judge

notices the mat or frame before the art you may be in trouble.

11

There is a lot of talk these days out there about using social networks to market your art. You can cer-

tainly reach a lot of people with your message, but simply reaching them isn’t good enough; you need

to make them want to buy your stuff. One of the key ingredients in successful social media marketing

is creating "social authority". When you establish yourself as an "expert" in your given field or area

you become an authority (someone others listen to). You can establish yourself by writing on-line

about stuff you know about. It doesn’t necessarily have to be art because if you want to sell, you will

need to reach outside the sphere of artists you know to your target audience. It’s a funny thing, but

having social authority in one sphere will give you authority elsewhere; just witness all those celebri-

ties who endorse presidential candidates!

As a result of social media – and the direct/indirect effect of social media marketers, the buying public

is more likely to make decisions using what they read and see in social networks, but only if they hear

about it from someone they trust. This is the reason a focused, carefully designed social media strate-

gy needs to be a basic part of your marketing plan.

Social Networking sites are shaped to allow internet users to connect with each other. The primary

types of social networking sites service groups, i.e. former school classmates, a means to connect

with friends (like Facebook and Twitter), etc…; most of these sites also feature a recommendation

system linked to trust. Most social network sites are web based and provide means for users to con-

nect over the internet via e-mail or instant messaging. Because most of these networking services do

run on “friend recommendations” it can be difficult to create a network of buyers if you are not already

acquainted with them. If you want your message about your art to be picked up and sent “viral”, you

must create a message that is both interesting and attention grabbing.

Viral marketing, viral advertising, or marketing buzz refers to promotion practices that use pre-

existing social networks. The goal is to create viral messages that attract people with high social net-

working potential (SNP) so that these people will tell everyone about the message. It’s like a game of

gossip.

Three basic conditions must be met for your communication to go viral. 1) A “go-between” or

“dispatch rider” must pick up the message. There are three types of “dispatch riders” required to

change an ordinary message into a viral one: market devotees, social hubs, and salespeople. Market

devotees are among the first to get exposed to the message and transmit it to their immediate social

network. Social hubs are people with a large number of connections; they often know hundreds of

people and can serve as tie-ins between groups with different interests. Salespeople receive the mes-

sage from the market devotee, amplify it by making it more relevant and persuasive, and then send it

on. 2) The message must be memorable and interesting. Only messages that are both will be

passed on to others and spur viral marketing. Making your message more memorable and interesting

(or more infectious) can be a matter of minor adjustments. 3) the environment needs to be favora-

What is Networking?

12

ble: The timing and context of your promotion takeoff must be right too. If there is something much

more interesting going on like the Japanese earthquake in 2011, your chances of getting a compet-

ing message out are not very good.

Question: how do you find these people? Well, you have to put in your time developing on-line rela-

tionships. It will be necessary for you to express some type of interest in what they are doing so that

they will reciprocate. I am not advocating spending hours on the net; in fact, just the opposite. How-

ever, you will need to be able to make a connection with them on some level. Keep your communi-

cations short and only respond to stuff that actually interests you because a phony interest can be

easily spotted. You should also check out business networking sites like Linkedin.

Want to know how effective you are? Here are a few free social media monitoring and measure-

ment programs and tools:

How Sociable? A simple, free tool that measures the visibility of your brand across the web.

Addict-o-matic A nice search engine that aggregates rss feeds, allowing you to see where

your brand is lacking presence.

Socialmention: a social media search engine offering searches across blogs, and mi-

croblogs with a social rank score.

Choosing A Gallery

Surprisingly there are a number of alternatives for choosing where you will show your art. The words

“on-line art gallery” can mean different things, however; an online art gallery can be a website to dis-

play art. Usually, it will be run as a business to sell art. For example: 1) An art gallery displaying art

work from their current, future, or past exhibitions, to promote the exhibition rather than to sell the

work via the website. 2) An artist presenting his/her own gallery, either on his own website or other

websites, and 3) Multi-Artist Sites representing many artists working in different medias and genres.

On a multi-artist site the artist either pays a monthly fee or agrees to a commission paid when the

work is sold. These are usually non-exclusive and are a risk free opportunity for the artist to sell art

worldwide. Search for them using "original art" or "online art gallery". There is a list in the back of this

section. An advantage of Online Galleries is that while the art buying public is growing, many people

are still intimidated by walk-in commercial Art Galleries. If a potential buyer has access to a wide

range of art viewed in the comfort and safety of their own home, they may relax and make a pur-

chase. A lot of artists now have an online Gallery as well as a walk-in commercial Gallery which

means that an artist can present a lot more art to a lot more people.

Cooperative galleries (sometimes called artist-run initiatives), are galleries operated by groups of

artists who pool their resources to pay for gallery space, exhibits and publicity. Most cooperative gal-

leries carefully jury their members. Also, unless they have received a grant to operate it, galleries of

this type do require membership fees as members must share the overhead cost of operating the gal-

lery.

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Commercial art galleries derive their profit from sales of artwork, and thus take great care to select

art and artists that they believe will sell and enhance their gallery's reputation. They spend time and

money cultivating collectors. If the artwork sells, the gallery makes a profit and the artist is then paid.

It is not unusual for a commercial art gallery to charge a 50% commission on sales.

Beginning artists can be confused by Vanity Galleries; a vanity gallery is an art gallery that charges

artists fees to exhibit their work and makes most of its money from artists rather than from sales to the

public. Some vanity galleries charge a lump sum to arrange an exhibition, while others ask artists to

pay regular membership fees and then promise to organize an exhibition with a certain period. Occa-

sionally a vanity gallery will appear to have a selection process because the number of artists on the

membership roster cannot exceed the available time slots for shows. Vanity galleries have no incen-

tive to sell art, as they have already been paid by the artist. They are not selective because they don't

have to be. Most Professional critics and reviewers tend to avoid them.

Selling & Marketing

Most of the information in this booklet is designed to help artists sell art. Quite truthfully, if you aren’t

making sales, then you have a nice hobby. I have learned some hard lessons about marketing my art.

I am passing these on so that maybe someone else won’t re-make them.

To successfully sell your work, you must first be able to identify your target audience: What market

are you trying to reach? What price range is your target audience willing to spend on art? What is

your marketing plan? Get on the internet and do your research.

BOOTH EVENTS

A booth event is a sale with multiple vendors where-by an artist sets up a pop-up booth or table to sell

their art. Usually there is a fee which can run anywhere from $25 to $600 depending on the type of

event. Events come in two types, those designed exclusively to sell art, and those that sell a variety of

different items.

The very best types of events are those which sell only art. Some of the events where only art is sold

like the one in Laguna Nigel, CA are juried. They are expensive and hard to get into, but when you do

they attract art buyers or at least folks who came to look at art. A huge event like Big Hat Days in Clo-

vis, CA will also be expensive. Sure, Big Hat Days will attract 10,000 people, but most of them didn’t

come to look at art, and if they do buy art, chances are it will be from the cut-rate art broker in the next

aisle who is not selling his own work.

If your area is like California’s San Joaquin Valley, events which sell only art may be few and far be-

tween, but some venues or events that attract sales of multiple types of items can be complimentary

to art sales. If possible, you should attend the event and then you should try and match your art to the

target audience. Wine tasting events put on by the local wineries are usually inexpensive to join. Still

lifes using wine, grapes or vineyards, and people drinking wine usually sell well. If you are a pet artist,

find out when the local kennel club or SPCA is having an event and set up there. If you do a lot of

14

western art, check out the local rodeo.

I would recommend setting up to create a painting or offering to do quick sketches to attract people

to your booth. You should also have a number of small ticket items for sale at events like these:

cards, small prints, bookmarks, etc.

THIS IS THE AGE OF THE DEBIT CARD. The ability to take debit cards is a must if you hope to sell

any item over $20. People just don’t carry cash or checks around much anymore. Also, the debit card

has an advantage; you will know on the spot if the “check” is good. No one will walk off with an ex-

pensive painting and not pay for it.

USING A “PROFESSIONAL” TO MARKET YOUR ART

When I first started out I was thrilled when a company based in AK called me to ask if I wanted to be

a part of their web site. For $300, plus a commission on anything sold, they would allow me lifetime

privileges, 20 images which I could change (for a fee) periodically. Don’t get me wrong, it is a good

site with nice features, but it runs over 500 artists so it is easy to get lost on it. Lesson 1: For the

price I paid, I could have developed my personal website and had money left over. My Person-

al website might not get as much traffic, but it would have only my stuff so there was no pos-

sibility of me getting lost in the shuffle.

After about two years this same web site contacted me with another “deal” for $150 they were going

to run an ad in International Artist Magazine and did I want to be a part of it? Well, of course I did.

Disappointingly, the ad did not contain a single photo of any artist’s work or artist’s name, only the

name of the web site. Lesson 2: if you are going to pay for an ad, make sure it advertises your

art or website!

Just like clockwork, two years later, and this same website called me with another “deal”. They were

going to be a part of a decorator convention in Chicago. Their booth was going to feature a large pro-

jection screen to showcase some of their artists work, afterwards the participating artists would get a

copy of the DVD that they could then copy and market to their local decorator market. The cost this

time was about $245. Well, of course I couldn’t travel to Chicago, so I never saw the actual booth;

the DVD was pretty similar to the ad they had suckered me for two years ago. It had a lot of stuff

about the website, but none of my paintings were on it. Lesson 3: For the same price I could have

paid someone to make a power-point presentation with my stuff which I could have mailed to

every Home and Business Decorator in Fresno County!

AGENTS & D IRECTED MAIL CAMPAIGNS

The 4th time the web site called with a “deal” I told the snake oil salesman “thanks, but no thanks”.

However, I was still looking for a “professional” to help me market my art. In the back of Artists Maga-

zine was an ad for art representatives. This one was really costly; for $3,000 they made me 1,500

colored brochures on cardstock which were sent out to contacts at department stores, catalog com-

panies, and book sellers (of course they didn’t share their contact names, so I couldn’t do follow-

ups…). It wasn’t a bad looking brochure (I got about 50 of them for personal use). However, I did

15

some research later and found out that a 1% return from a directed mail campaign is considered ex-

cellent. 1%? In case you didn’t major in math that is 15 responses out of 1,500. Ouch! Lesson: 4 I

could have made my own brochure and marketed it locally for a lot less money and I would have had

the names of the people it was sent to.

This doesn’t mean that these types of marketing should always be avoided. However, you

must be able to use them to your advantage. Promoting yourself as an artist is hard work. Don’t ex-

pect someone else to look out for your interests. Does this take time away from creating your art?

Yes, it does. However, if you don’t spend at least some time per week marketing yourself and your

art, you will make very few sales unless you are very, very lucky. To maximize the time spent on the

internet promoting your work, make a list of what you expect to accomplish to promote your art that day. I

strictly limit the time I spend on the internet and I compartmentalize what I do there. I schedule 2 hours per

week for business. At the end of the two hours I am done, whether or not I actually accomplished everything

on my list. The 2nd thing is not to do purely social things while promoting your business. Schedule a different

time to catch up with friends & family on your social networking site.

Publicity in the Electronic Age

The unknown artist who is suddenly “discovered” while painting in his or her Garret is a

Myth. If you want to succeed as an artist you will need to spend time promoting yourself. At least 1

hour a week should be spent in marketing your art and yourself as an artist. Publicizing through the

internet is not difficult. Here are some ways Artists can use publicity via the internet:

PRESS RELEASE ESSENTIALS : USE MEDIA PORTALS . W HAT IS A MEDIA PORTAL?

A Media portal is a tool you can use to submit your articles online. It is a centralized website special-

izing in receiving expert articles and distributing them around the Internet. This can be done several

ways: People either go to the portal and just read online, or editors come, collect articles, take them

away to post them to their site and/or distribute them in their weekly or monthly magazines.

Question: How do you locate one of these portals? Not as easy as you might think. There are a lot

of places out there who call themselves PR sites. Some of them will allow you to download a press

release for free, but be careful; I once signed up for a “free” account and found out to my chagrin

that although it might be free to sign up, they wanted $80 to send out my press release. I suggest

you start by checking out your local media outlets and developing your own list. Follow their re-

quired format exactly. Either way, you are going to have to spend some time doing research.

Don’t Follow Up On-Line Releases! While you should always follow up with the print media after

submitting an article, online portals are usually automatic and don’t require it: Generally the moment

you deposit your article and submit it, it uploads and you can go back and actually see your article

displayed.

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What NOT to Submit: Media Outlets aren’t usually interested in after-the-fact news. Announcing

you have won an award or sending in a list of winners from an art show usually won’t get published.

Make sure you’re not burning or yelling at your reader when you are writing online articles. There is

nothing wrong if you want to capitalize but if you’re writing in capitals online it means that you’re

screaming. Don’t put press releases in PDF format. Don’t Send Attachments! Media people hate

getting attachments and probably won’t open them. Do not send attached files until you have per-

mission to do so. You want to send an ordinary, plain old email. No fancy HTML stuff in it.

If you post to your website or Facebook page, don’t bury your press releases. Make sure that there’s

some way to find them from your home page. A menu item titled “Press Releases” works very well.

Post your press releases in plain old HTML for easy cut and pasting. The easier you make it to find

and use the more likely it will be picked up.

Get Creative! If you’re really clever, you can use letters to the editor in trade magazines or the local

newspaper to promote your Art--FREE. One way to do this is to combine information about your art

or event into a letter with a strong opinion on a related issue or a recent article. You will need to do

this without making the letter sound like an obvious attempt at a free ad. Remember also that space

is at a premium in print media. Make sure your letter meets the requirements for printing. Our local

newspaper for instance won’t print anything over 200 words.

Headline writing for publicity is an art. Generally you will have one short sentence to grab

your target audience’s attention. Think about what you do when you search on-line. TIPS: keep

it short. Make sure you use your target audience’s name in the headline. Remember, there’s a lot of

article competition out there. Spend some time really thinking about it, maybe even running your final

headline by a few people, to get their impression. For example, if your target is art buyers, try to use

the term “art buyers” or “home decorators,” or “artists,” or something like that. Put it right out there.

You want a reader to be reading and saying, “Hey, this article’s about me, because they just said my

name.” Tell your readers in the headline what they’re going to learn. Don’t make them guess. Don’t

use puns. Don’t hide what your article is about. Don’t try to be cute. If your headline explains, in a

quick shot what a reader’s going to get from it, then you are going to get clicked on more than your

competitor.

TV & RADIO

Sometimes you can promote an event for free: A lot of TV and radio stations offer Community Affairs

sites where you can unload information concerning your event, reception, sale, etc… It helps if you

are promoting some kind of Charity as well (10% of your sales will go to something like Valley Chil-

dren’s Hospital, or the SPCA, etc.).

TRADITIONAL PRESS RELEASES

Does this mean you should ignore traditional (paper) methods of advertising? No, not at all. Howev-

er, most of these methods will require hard cash up front and bear in mind that they aren’t really in-

terested in an event that has already taken place. Some of them also have time frame deadlines

that need to be met in order to get an article printed.

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Get A Web Site!

In this day and age, the internet is an essential tool for Artists. Art buyers will often first check out an artist’s

website for information before picking up the phone to call directly. A website is also useful because it should

show how to contact you. Because the general public spends an average of 2 hours online daily, why shouldn’t

they spend it with your art? If you can’t afford a complete site, check out the dozens of Art sites that offer a

free page to promote your art. Most of these are user friendly and don’t require a lot of internet knowledge to

upload your art or start a blog.

THINGS TO ADD TO YOUR SITE

Make sure your website is set up in such a way that search engines can get into the inner pages of your site.

MEDIA KIT OR PRESS CENTER. Just as you create a paper media kit, create an electronic media kit right at

your web site under a button called “Media Room” or “Press Center.” This is the place reporters stop if they

need background or story ideas without having to navigate the entire site. This is a lot less expensive than

producing and mailing hundreds of media kits. Printed kits can become outdated very quickly and updating

them can be very time-consuming and expensive; it’s easier to update electronically. Reporters don’t want to

have to store big, bulky media kits in their newsrooms. They can simply bookmark your site and return to it

WHEN NEEDED.

META TAGS. Meta tags help internet browsers to find your website. For example, the keywords Meta tags for

Meta an art event could be: artist, gallery, art reception, art sale, buying art, or anything that has to do with art.

Such keywords lead people to websites they may or may not have been looking for and are an effective pro-

motional tool. If you don’t know what tags to use, do some research on catch phrases used by your target

audience that mesh with your art. Google has a free site for this:

https://adwords.google.com/o/Targeting/Explorer?

__c=1000000000&__u=1000000000&ideaRequestType=KEYWORD_IDEAS

Have other artists or organizations link to your website. This won’t work for competitors of course, but

networking comes in handy in this case. If you belong to an art Association, find out if they will exchange links

with you. Check out art sites for this also. If you have more than one free web page on multiple sites, link them.

PROMOTE YOUR WEBSITE. The internet is a great promotional tool. The artist or event's URL should be found

on all artist or event literature. PR directors who are interviewing or writing press releases should mention the

URL or use it as a reference point within a press release. Remember there are now a lot of artist web sites out

there. The mere presence of a web site won’t drive traffic to it. You need to work constantly to attract potential

customers to your site.

QUICK RESPONSE OR QR C ODES

There is a new type of application for smart phones. A QR or Quick Response code is a two-dimensional bar-

code. These are often used for adding web links to a printed page. When you scan such a QR bar code using

a web cam or mobile phone camera, the QR reader application takes you to a Web site, a YouTube video or

some other web content. QR codes are an easy way of sending people to a site without having to type a URL.

Next to being used for mobile tagging, QR codes can contain other types of information, such as text, phone

numbers or an e-mail address. A QR code on a business card can for instance provide an electronic version of

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the contact information. WASP technologies has a free site to generate your own codes:

http://www.waspbarcode.com/barcode_maker/QRCodeMaker.aspx

Free Artist Websites

The more places your art appears on the internet, the more exposure you will get. There are a num-

ber of art oriented web-sites featuring multiple artists out there. Some of them will allow you a free

page some of them charge a monthly fee and some sites offer both types of memberships. You

should do your own research on the sites listed.

Artandesignonline ArtBuzblog Art-Exchange.com

ArtFinders.net Artid.com ArtistsLikeOurselves

Autocracy Artscuttlebutt.com Artspan.com

FanArtReview Maythebestartwin MosiacGlobe

MyArtInfo.com Rtist.com Sell-Arts.com

WetCanvas.com Yessy.com DailyPainter.com

Sales Tax & Business Licenses

WHAT IS A RE-SALE NUMBER AND DO YOU NEED ONE? In California A re-sale number is a sales permit issued

by the State enabling you to engage in business in this State. There are two types: temporary and perma-

nent. As an artist you ordinarily would be considered a retailer since you sell your art directly to the public.

Yes Virginia, you are required to collect sales tax on your art, even on commissioned art. Practically speak-

ing, you probably don’t need a permanent sales permit unless you are making a lot of sales. If you only do

one or two booth events a year a temporary sales permit will probably serve your purpose. If you are selling

off your website then you may or may not need one, depending on where the buyer lives. To obtain the re-

sale number simply go to the State Board of Equalization’s website and download the form and instructions.

WHAT IS AN EIN NUMBER? EIN stands for employment identification number. Businesses obtain this number

from the IRS. An EIN is usually only necessary if you have employees or do businesses with other business-

es, who will ask for your EIN in order to file a form 1099 reporting what they paid you to the IRS .If you intend

to open a business account your bank will probably require you to have an EIN. However, as an artist you

are considered an independent contractor and self-employed. In order to deduct your business expenses you

will need to file a Schedule C and Schedule SE (self-employment tax) along with your form 1040. While there

is a place for an EIN on the schedules, you can simply use your social security number.

IS MY SELLER'S PERMIT THE SAME AS A BUSINESS LICENSE? No. You should contact your city and/or county

business license department to obtain a separate business license. To locate the department, check the local

government pages of your telephone directory (for example, look for the terms license or business license

under City Government Offices and County Government Offices).

Disclaimer: The information in this booklet is for general information purposes only; it is not intended

to be tax or legal advice. Each situation is specific; consult your CPA or attorney to discuss your spe-

cific legal or tax requirements or questions.

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Increasing Your “Google” Rating

Here are some basic instructions on how to improve your website for Google and the other search engines.

Information on Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is often offered as though it is a great mystery better left to

(highly paid) experts. There is no big mystery. And if you want to get more deeply into the subject, it’s not

hard. There is a lot of information on the Internet. There are also a lot of blogs discussing the latest tweak in

the Google algorithm. What’s an algorithm? Don’t know, and don’t care since I am not a programmer.

Let’s dispel one myth – you do NOT need to submit your site to Google. Search engines find your website on

their own as they automatically crawl through the web from one link to another. Your site will be categorized

and ranked according to the features that make up the algorithms of Google and the other search engines. A

numerical weight is assigned to each component and these change often. The major elements will not change

a great deal, tho’, and it is these that we need to pay attention to.

It’s important to keep your site fresh by adding new images and text on a regular basis. This is vital not just for

your visitors who will return if you provide something new to look at, but also for search engines like Google; if

a website has not been touched in a while, it will lower its value in search rankings. Most searchers don’t look

beyond page 3 of a search.

What Words to Use to Optimize Your Site. This is the most important thing you have to do. Do your re-

search. I can’t say this often enough. Tips: think of a key word or phrase that someone looking for your kind of

work might use in searching. Ask around to find out what your friends use in looking for your type of art. For

example, you may be an impressionistic landscape painter in Sonoma County, California. Two key phrases

then might be California impressionist painting or, Sonoma County impressionist painting. Be as specific and

detailed as you can (but they still need to be phrases that a lot of people might use). Don’t try to search for a

very broadly used word such as Impressionism. You might also find it worthwhile to buy some of the popular

decorator magazines and check out what catch phrases they use in describing the style of decorating that

might use your art.

Link your site to as many others as you can. This will give you a higher ranking in the search engines. My

space is ideal for this because you can link every photo of your art that you post to your web site. The goal is

to find your site on the 1st 3 pages of any search. People rarely go beyond page 3 when searching. You need

to up-date your information on a regular basis or you will slip down on the search engine indexes.

Use multiple domain names. Submit your pages to Yahoo at http://www.yahoo.com/docs/info/include.html.

This is actually a directory, not a search engine. Make sure your listing doesn't exceed the number of charac-

ters allowed, or it will be edited.

Blogging: create a blog that presents a wide variety of information of interest to your customers, both about

your Art, the art world, your local art community and more. Create a newsletter and write articles on a variety

of issues relating to art collectors, buyers and the local art community and distribute it through your blog. Re-

port on the latest happenings in the art world. This is a great way to generate daily visitors to your site. Plus,

frankly, it’s a great way to be able to feature your solutions to the issues through links into appropriate pages

on your site as part of a report.

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Phone:559-960-2428

e-mail: art-tique@gaildaleyfineart.com

www.gaildaleyfineart.com go to Art-Tique page

A CD with samples of contracts, sample forms, etc. can

be obtained for an additional $5.00 charge. All three vol-

umes of the Modern Artist Handbook are available on

the website for $10

$10.00