How to create a blog for your artwork

By: Micah R. Condon ( View Profile - Contact )

How to create a blog for your artwork

Why should I have a blog?

If you dont already have a website, a blog is a fast easy way to start building an online presence. Or, if you do have a website, a blog is a great way to post daily updates on your work, build a mailing list, and stay in touch with your collectors. And, a blog is a great way to really connect with your potential collectors. Unlike a portfolio website, a blog can be a very personal conversation between an artist and visitors, with the story behind your art, your process, your inspiration, your life, or whatever.

If you need more reasons to blog about your artwork, take a look around at some artists' blogs. Need more reasons to blog? Check out these pages:

Linda Blondheim: Is Blogging Good For Artists?

EmptyEasel.com: 9 Reasons Why Every Artist Should Have Their Own Art Blog

How do I get a blog?

Its easy to get started with your own blog. First, you'll need to decide on a blog hosting service - Blogger.com and TypePad.com are two of the most popular. Getting started is easy: you'll create an account, choose a title and url for your blog, and start uploading content. You can create a new blog post by just clicking a link and entering your text in a form - uploading photos is easy too.

Ok - I have a blog. Now what? How do I create a great blog with lots of visitors?

Quality content: To make the most out of your blog, there are two very important keys to keep in mind: 1) give your visitors what they want, and 2) give it to them on a regular basis. Content is king, when it comes to attracting and retaining visitors to your blog (or any other website). Content is also king when it comes to building a long-lasting relationship with your visitors . If your blog is updated daily with fresh content - new paintings, stories behind the paintings, information about your painting and creative process, upcoming shows, inspirational material, helpful tips, or whatever, your visitors will keep coming back for more. If you put up only a couple blog posts per month, don't expect to see much results.

Keep an eye on what other successful artists (and non-artist bloggers) are doing: all of them have engaging, unique content, updated frequently.

Longevity and consistency: just like many other creative or business activities,  blogging takes time - it's not an overnight process. But, if you work a little bit on your blog several times per week, soon you'll have an interesting blog full of paintings and other content, and you'll start to see the increased traffic and sales that come from a good blog.

Promotion: There are well over 100 million websites and blogs on the internet, and that number is growing by tens of thousands per day. So, it will take some hard work to get noticed in this vast ocean and attract some visitors to your blog. But, if you do this work right, it will pay off over and over with increased blog traffic and increased sales and other opportunities. Dedicate a little time every week to promote your blog, and over time you'll reap the rewards. 

The basic concepts of website or blog promotion are simple. The intricacies of online self promotion could fill volumes of books, but there are a few basic steps that everybody should do. There are no 'fast and easy' solutions (unless you have a lot of money to throw at the problem), but consistent attention to the basics is a proven strategy that anybody can manage. I've already created another lesson about how to promote your art blog, so for more information on how to get started promoting your website or blog, visit this page:

How to promote your art blog or website for better search engine rankings and traffic

	About The Artist
	Micah R. Condon ( View Profile - Contact ) ( 7 lessons, ) ArtExample.com Site Administrator