How To Harness The Power of Crowdsourcing to Grow Your Art Business

Crowdsourcing is a buzzword we hear a lot about these days. But, what is crowdsourcing and how can artists use it?

On his popular blog, Jeff Bullas explains, “Crowdsourcing is the name used to describe how companies access resources from large groups of people around the planet.” 

How To Harness The Power of Crowdsourcing to Grow Your Art Business

What if I told you that you can harness the power of hundreds, if not thousands of people through crowdsourcing who can help grow your art business at an affordable price?
You’d think I was crazy right?
Think again.
I’m going to walk you through step by step on how to do this with your art business. I’m talking about Amazon’s Mechanical Turk.
WHAT THE HECK IS MTurk?
Amazon’s Mechanical Turk, abbreviated as MTurk, is a place where artists, professionals and researchers can use a technique called crowdsourcing in order to complete tasks at a lower cost.
First, let’s introduce you to a few things you should know about MTurk.

• The idea behind this site is to allow businesses to post tasks or projects for others to complete for them.
• The people who create the tasks are called “requesters”.
• The people who log on to complete these tasks for a small compensation are called “workers”.

If you are an artist or photographer running a website or an online store, you may find that you have menial tasks that take up a lot of your time. Your business and art may be expanding to the point where you have more work than you can handle but the money hasn’t come in – yet. Therefore, it wouldn’t make sense for you to hire on another member to do all of these small tasks. The cost of their salary or hourly wages would set you and your projects back.

This is an excellent example of where the use of MTurk could be the perfect fit for an artist or photographer! All of those time consuming tasks that don’t necessarily require a specific skill set can be requested of MTurk workers who will be more than willing to do small tasks for a small fee!
WHO ARE THESE MTurk PEOPLE ANYWAY?
Anonymity is a key factor for ‘Turkers’. You won’t be allowed to ask personally identifying information, but you can ask certain statistical demographic information – such as, age, location, qualifications, and income.
Almost anyone can choose to become a Mechanical Turk worker. This offers you a diverse group of people from all walks of life whose only real requirement is that they know how to navigate the website and perform the task. You could be reaching new audiences by posting creative HITs on Mechanical Turk.
OK I’M SOLD. HOW THE HECK DO I START?
Using Amazon Mechanical Turk can seem a bit daunting at first, but once mastered it can serve as a vital tool for the budding or veteran artist.
First things first, let’s get the terminology down that you will be using.
When you post a task it is called a “HIT”, which is short for Human Intelligence Task. You will need to be aware of the types of qualifications you will need for your project. You will want to make sure that your HIT or project is as detailed as possible to avoid any confusion on the workers part.
Upon creation of the HIT you will provide a synopsis of what the worker will be doing, how much they will be paid, and the time limit in which they have to complete it. If the worker decides this is something interesting and worthwhile to them they will accept the HIT and start your project.
Some examples of HITs that you could create for your art business are:

• Tag photos,
• Name suggestions for your art,
• Write your bio,
• Blog posts,
• Research for articles and the list goes on.

Just think of all the small, time-consuming things that take up your day. It is entirely possible to eliminate all of these small tasks by asking workers (A.K.A. Turkers) on MTurk to do them for you, so you can spend your time creating new art!
Not sure about the quality of work you’ll receive? Never fear, MTurk’s qualifications allow you to further restrict who is allowed to access each of the HITs you create. Through tests and rankings you can ensure that you are getting MTurkers with actual skill sets or who are reliable workers that will actually take your HIT seriously and can provide solid results for you.
Once they complete the HITs you can either accept or reject their work. If they have done an exceptional job you can even give them a bonus of a few cents or dollars.
(Stay tuned for Part 2! Todd will share in-depth MTurk tips, and things you need to be aware of to help you get the most out of this program.)
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Guest artist/author: Todd McPhetridge is a Fine Art Nature Photographer signed by Winn Devon. He is a marketing ninja with a refined taste for all kinds of music. His omelets are noteworthy and his sense of humor is twisted. Point your GPS at North Georgia and you will find him hiking the mountains and spending time with his son.
*Thanks to Todd for another great guest post! Look me up on Twitter, and Google Plus, Pinterest, and join in the fun at Fine Art Tips Facebook Fan Page! Please checkout my art too LoriMcNee.com, or find me on Instagram lorimcneeartist. ~Lori