Chris gave me this login so long ago and I haven’t got round to writing a blog post because I’ve been busy, so I’m going to put that right now.
Sometimes it seems that you just can’t find the time to do all the promotion that your artwork deserves. Sometimes you’re too busy working on the artwork itself, often it’s the demands of your day job, family or friends.
As part of my online activities I run my own blog about promoting artwork, a discussion forum about art, music & writing, and of course my own web galleries (and galleries for various friends on the same site).
Sometimes the promotion seems to use up all the time I need to actually make artwork!
So one of the best promotion tools I have—one which doesn’t take much time and doesn’t even feel like work— is adding meaningful and constructive comments to other art blogs (and non-art blogs too).
Not “Nice post. By the way, check out my art!!”, but a well-thought-out response to the blog post you’re commenting on. Don’t even think of it as promotion - it’s just social interaction.
Every blogger (myself included) will always check out the link of every person who comments intelligently on their blog posts. You don’t need to draw attention to it, or even mention that you’re an artist - just respond to blog posts that you find interesting.
Many blog readers will also check out the links of commenters on blogs if the comment is well written and relevant.
What you can’t do is speed-up the process: no pre-written comments that you can cut and paste into multiple blogs (that’s just spam), no hastily typed-out thoughtless comments in order to reach your self-allotted target of comments.
Social interaction—conversation—is the best form of marketing. And the less you think of it as marketing, the better.
Paul.
8 comments ↓
That is so very, very right on the mark! I comment all the time when I find a new blog or a really well written post. I have met some wonderful (some great) people this way and my life is richer for it, in every way. Yeah, social interaction ( a lost art for some) that’s the ticket!
I never gave much thought about the commenting aspect of blogs. I was to busy trying to blog myself. And to tell the truth I wasn’t doing much of a good job at it…LOL
Thanks for sharing that. I will certainly try my best to comment from now on on blog posts I find interesting.
3 months later and I’m just reading this post… I’m pathetic!
This is a great post, Paul, like all of your work. Thanks for writing here.
Painting is my passion, so I must admit I prefer to pick up the brushes to turning on the computer. However, there is a wonderful world of ideas and information that I would miss if I did not go on-line. My on blog gets neglected from time to time, but my curiousity keeps me looking. Finding postings like Chirs’s is my reward. Now back to that painting that is calling me…..
Thanks, Sandy!
(And I love your watercolors.)
I just went a goo-ga-lin’ and found your site.
All this computer lifestyle we all seem to have now, is never a substitute for face to face interaction. For some, that gets either forgotten or perhaps they never developed the social skills. That said, I know I have made many meaningful relationships with folks, artists and not, online. After reflection, online versus online life, I do believe because artists are more tactile like and more introspective, I think we take thoughtful communication seriously. Art is about communication and expression. Why should we have any less integrity about expressing ourselves online then offline. A computer doesn’t lend itself to taking such interest because it is rather impersonal and removed. That said artists have an opportunity online to change this and still network and market themselves without loosing their own integrity through shameless promotion doing whatever it takes to get themselves known. ie spam etc.
Well now…now I’ve found this thought provoking site/blog I will be back! - Catherine
Hello webmaster
I would like to share with you a link to your site
write me here
What you have detailed in your article is such a common-sense approach, but so often neglected. Engaging other people in conversation or giving praise comes naturally when in the “real world” but is all too often forgotten in cyberspace.
Leave a Comment