Art Blog - ArtId

I know dozens of artists who simply will not: have an online gallery, a blog, join any online groups, or use the Internet to their advantage in any way. Period. Statistics don't sway them, other Internet artists making sales while they aren't, doesn't prove anything to them. Well the facts are in, artists who use their website and social media to their advantage, sell. Period. The marketplace has changed and the way we do business has changed. "I don't have time, I don't like computers, it's too hard to learn, I don't have anything to blog about, it costs too much". If this sounds like you or someone you know, read on.… Continue reading… 17 comments

For ourselves as business persons we try to keep up with "what's going on" especially in the areas that are of interest to us, like art marketing. For you, as artists selling your work on the internet, we follow blogs that help us keep up with "what's going on" in Art Opportunities, Art Marketing and Social Media. There is so much information out there to digest and some of it not all that worthy. In addition to our own ArtId Blog We have compiled a list of six blogs that we have found, among the millions, to be great for artists in the business of selling art. … Continue reading… 0 comments

Email Signature as a Marketing Tool This is such a simple but powerful way to get the word out about your art. Put your ArtId gallery link at the end of all your emails. Every time you send an email will be an opportunity to remind people that you are an artist. You'll be amazed at how many people will check out your gallery. How Do I Add a Signature to my Email? Go to the "Settings" tab in your email server and type your ArtId www address into the "Signature" space under your name. Go! Go do it now! … Continue reading… 3 comments

It almost goes without saying that people love stories _ we root for the athlete with the story that affects us the most, we watch the same news report over and over because the story compels us, we even eat at a certain restaurant more often if we appreciate the chef's personal story. The same is true with art buyers. Imagine you are at an art fair and you are selling your landscapes. There are 5 other artists selling landscapes at the same fair. If a buyer is out there looking for a landscape painting, chances are that buyer will buy a painting from the artist whom he/she feels a sense of camaraderie with personally. How do you create camaraderie? Tell your buyers your story… Continue reading… 3 comments

Did you know that artists who write in their ArtId blogs enjoy more popularity on the site than those who don't? It's true. Every time you post a blog entry from your gallery, it not only appears in your ArtId pages and the Artists Blog homepage where visitors can read your blog and then click in to your gallery, but it also is indexed by the search engines, posted on the ArtId Facebook page (where we currently have over 400 fans) and shared with anyone on Digg, Stumbleupon and the many other content sharing networks available using the "Share" button. So it just makes sense to get yourself out there and blog to get more people to see your art. … Continue reading… 1 comment

Describing art for the internet requires artists to shift gears and think much differently about the word "description". Internet Speak In gallery speak, a "description" is "watercolor painting of my grandmothers garden where I loved to play as a child." In internet speak the same painting has to read "original watercolor painting, of garden in summer with purple and yellow flowers and a white chair." Then, you add "painting of my grandmothers garden where I loved to play as a child." … Continue reading… 0 comments

Very soon you will be seeing Free Memberships on artists web sites disappearing. Actually, all manner of web sites. In order for a site to generate revenue, they must do one of two things, host paid advertisements or charge a membership fee. Advertising support is shrinking for a number of reasons leaving all websites looking for alternate revenue streams. Before too long you will be paying a subscription for online news as the newspapers scale back their print runs. Magazines are dropping their printed material and going completely online. Even with all their heavy-duty advertising, the printed magazines and newspapers weren't free and their sites won't be either.… Continue reading… 2 comments

I know it's hard enough to find the time to make your art, let alone become a video producer, but the power of video is something you can't ignore. Buying art involves a very personal kind of decision-making process, one that includes an emotional response not only to the art but also to the artist. Because of the intimate nature of video, artists have the opportunity to present themselves and their art in a way that further inspires a positive emotional response in interested buyers. If that response is strong enough, likely a sale will be made. There is something different that happens when instead of reading about the artist, we hear the artist's voice, or see his/her studio as a painting is being made… Continue reading… 3 comments

Chances are if you've been on the Internet at all lately, you've heard of Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Twitter and probably a handful of other social media sites. You may be an active participant, a casual observer, or someone who is dead set against spending your time making "friends". Whatever category you fall into, it's important to understand that as an artist looking to market your art, using social media is a must. Luckily, using social media is actually fun and the variety of social media sites out there allows you to tailor your strategy to meet your specific needs and entertainment preferences. Below is some advice to help you as an ArtId member make the most out of social media. 1. Join three or more of your favorite social media sites… Continue reading… 0 comments

We've just enhanced the artists' blogs so you can add your Favorite Links to your blog pages. This is a great way to recommend websites to your readers and to exchange links with other people on the Internet. Look for "My Favorite Links" as a new feature listed inside your studio in the member menu under the category "Blog". Having links to your blog and ArtId gallery from other websites also helps raise the amount of hits to your ArtId, and exchanging links with other websites you admire helps you create a network of like-minded art partners. Login… Continue reading… 0 comments

Thanks for watching ArtId's first YouTube video! It may be goofy, but there is a method to our madness. ArtId now has a YouTube account… Continue reading… 2 comments

Writing a proper eBay title for artwork is an art in itself. Here are some tips to help artists write a proper eBay title for their art. 1) An eBay Title is really a description - Forget what the name of the piece is! An eBay title is more like a sentence you would use to specifically describe to someone what it is you are selling. 2) They won't buy it if they can't find it! - It's the laws of the Internet at play here. People search for things online using words. If your words don't match their words, they never find you. 2) Be the buyer! - What words would you use to find art like the one you are selling? 3) Be specific! - It may seem laborious, but the more specific you are in title the better… Continue reading… 0 comments

Dear Artists, The ArtId eBay Store has opened! Now Silver and Gold members are free to upload art from their ArtId's into the ArtId eBay Store and sell their art. We believe that the ArtId eBay Store presents a unique and powerful opportunity for our artist members. Members can quickly and easily upload art for sale on eBay for free while the staff at ArtId does all the marketing and management. The ArtId eBay Store also acts as a catalyst for more online traffic for participating artists. Each piece of artwork that is available for sale on eBay has a link back to the artist's ArtId. This value alone is worth the five minutes it takes to upload an artwork… Continue reading… 3 comments

As the Editor of ArtId, part of my job is to monitor what is happening on the site everyday. I check out all the new art that has been uploaded and read the new blog posts. What I am seeing is the members of ArtId becoming more than just names and images in a list of online art galleries. Instead, they are a vibrant community of individuals whose experiences, stories, and expertise are successfully engaging both visitors and other artists. This is what we at ArtId had hoped for when we built the new site. Being an artist is more than just producing art, and now, through the new site capabilities, we are able to hear the voices of artists as they speak about their inspirations, difficulties, experimentations, and philosophies, and view their new art in real time… Continue reading… 3 comments