Is blogging dead for artists? Nowadays, so many artists are using sites like Facebook and Google Plus or even Twitter for their micro blogging, and art promotion. Lately, there is a lot buzz going around that blogging is dying.
I disagree. Why?
- With social sites, you do not control any of the content that has been shared on your accounts.
- You do not have control over the look and layout, plus you cannot manage the comments.
- Blogging on the other hand, combined with social media offers you the best content control, and a unique opportunity for self-promotion, expanded viewership, and contacts with prospective customers.
- Blog Posts Are Searchable. Your content is easily found via keywords or the search window that is in the top right hand corner of most blogs.
- Blog post are also easily shared. You can categorize your content to make it easier for your readers to find.
- Blogs make it simple for people to search, find and spread your ideas.
- Blogging will help you inspire and connect with other like-minded individuals.
You know I am a big proponent of social networking, but what if Facebook, Google Plus, or Twitter disappears, stops working or is purchased and you do not like the changes? These social sites control all of your contacts, content, and images. Relying solely on social networks that are owned and controlled by third parties to market your art is risky business.
Do you think blogging is dead? If so, why???
*****
PS. I hope we also meet on Twitter, and on 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
My blog is the hub for all my web activity. The social media extends from it and redirects back to each social media site. You can read more about me if you want and see a more thorough portfolio of my artwork on my blog. Also, I label all images with keywords, so I show up fairly high in Google images searches, driving traffic to my site.
Social media helps me network and build relationships. The blog helps to give a strong foundation and build credibility. I think it is essential!
I totally agree with you, obviously! Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Yes, keywords are important. I use Google Adwords to help me find the best ones per each post.
Happy blogging!
Lori
Well, I think the reason there might be a little anti-blogging sentiment going around lately, is that Blogging (with Social Media promotion of course) doesn’t really result in sales. I’ve taken every bit of advice I can and I have many marketing pros in my corner. But I’m still not financially self-supporting. I think I’m getting it now. The issue is not just good marketing. Actual sales is the real issue. Blogging is great, but what you offer from your heart and soul, what you make, has to be something people want. Even if you blog for the fun of it, your blog still won’t be read very much unless customers are really beating down your door for a little piece of the action. And if your blog isn’t read, or if you’re not making any sales, or both, then spending so much time online and blogging is a bit questionable to me. Unless you just like doing the online equivalent of hearing yourself think. I’d love to hear from anyone who is blogging and making direct, consistent, self-sustaining income from that…..if I do then I also want to know, “what’s your secret?”
Hello Leah,
Yes, that is a valid point to be made. However, I really believe that artist bloggers are available to other opportunities rather than just sales. I have gotten writing jobs with art magazines, interviews, new galleries, museum showings and book deals because of my blogging presence – and of course, some direct art sales too.
Thanks for stopping by,
Lori
I`m not in the same discipline of art as you (musician) but I can definately sympathise with this strange 21st century way of making a living creatively. It is hard. I mean, I have 2blogs, one for work – a studio, and one for my music , which I expose other music and documentaries as a way of getting people to know me and my music – not charging yet. I have a day job that allows me to have that stance. It isn`t the same everyone else.
You do get told, keep on blogging… it`s one who give up early don`t get results. All this wishy washy marketing talk is just talk. it is possible to have a good looking blog, have something good to give, and find you don`t get much back. People don`t ineteract on FB unless you`ve been in print or TV or you spend ALL your time `marketing` and not creating.
There`s a multitude of problems…. the internet is seen as something where things are free, because you`re having to grab the audience attention, I think people just put you in the “youre just trying to sell me something” box and shy away .. maybe because they`re so used to having a middleman and not have the person who made it, designed it and loves it presenting it to them.
Sometimes I feel good about the net and artists .. sometimes I`m not so sure… we weren`t built to hustle..least I`m not!!
Hello Punk Rock Kick,
Believe it or not, I share your same sentiments! Sometimes, I have days where I wish computers were never invented…seriously! I have a thriving art business, and blogging business now, and it gets tough to balance it all. I don’t like to ‘hustle’ my art either. In fact, I primarily leave that to my galleries. However, like I stated in the post, blogging helps on many other levels. So, to keep up with the 21st century, here I am blogging. I do enjoy it, I love to write and to connect with other creatives like yourself, but I really have to manage my time wisely. I better get into the studio now.
Thanks for the visit,
Lori
I hope not, especially since I have been spending the last three weeks learning about blogging from the Blog Triage course of Alyson Stanfield and Cynthia Morris http://artbizcoach.com/classes/blogtriage.html
There is definitely an art to great blogging and I do believe you have got it down Lori.
Hello Janet, thanks for the extra nice comment. It is always a pleasure seeing you here. Yes, blogging is its own artform. I love writing, and sharing my ideas and thoughts through words as well as art. Not all artists are comfortable with that. I am sure Alyson and Cynthia taught a lot of great tips. Thanks for sharing the link.
Cheers,
Lori 🙂
AmaziÕ¸g blog Sabine
Thank you for letting me know Sabine.
🙂
Blogging is alive and well for artists, it’s an easy to maintain alternative to the traditional website and is instrumental to use as a central hub. Relying on social media is the equivalent to relying on nothing more than word of mouth to promote yourself. Your individual work spotlighted on social media is NOT searchable especially with Facebook and Twitter, that have locked Google and I believe other search engines web crawlers out of their users individual posted content. It’s also essential to spend the $12-10 a year to register a custom domain with your blog host to give your blog a more professional dot com presence.
Glad you shared your thoughts and suggestions here, Timothy. Yes, I agree with you about owning your own domain. However, using one of the blogging services is better than not blogging at all!
Thanks for stopping by,
Lori
Social media can be fun, but blogging is a better canvas, so to speak. There’s no reason why you can’t do both as long as it doesn’t suck all your time away from your art. If I had to choose between the two, I’d take my blog, no doubt.
Between social media and blogging, NOT between social media/blogging and art. 🙂
Finding the right balance is so important for the artist. It is easy to get distracted and before you know it, the hours have flown by. I have to be careful of this myself. Thanks Laura.
Best,
Lor
Hi again, yes social media can really be a time suck! I love it, but we need to manage our time wisely. It eats away too many hours in my studio if I let it.
Hope to see you here again,
Lori
I think the blogging is advantageous for both blogger and reader. My blog allows me to show new work, discuss techniques, connect with other artists, highlight events… For my readers, they see the person behind the artwork. They can follow the developments in my work, discover the ideas behind the paintings and if they’ve bought my work they can see more easily how their piece fits in to my oeuvre. I see my blog as a more casual, chatty way to connect with my followers whereas my website is a more formal showcase for my work. Can’t say my blog is generating huge sales, but that’s not its sole purpose.
Artists need a web presence rather than just a website, and a blog is an important part of that presence. I think anything that helps viewers to connect more easily with an artist’s work has to be a good thing.
Hello Jackie, great to see you here again. I love blogging too and I use my website in the same way, to showcase my art. Yes, blogging works hand in hand with social media for sure.
Happy blogging to you!
Lori
Hi there Lori, I have come across from Dan Johnson’s summary and article after the enterprising artist survey. He linked to your site. My blogging is only recent and I am a fairly private person normally. The original plan was to drive traffic to my website and generate sales but honestly, I have really enjoyed the witty conversations with bloggers, the amazing art I see on their blogs and it is fun. I still hope it drives people to my website of course!
Hello Philip! Thanks for letting me know how you found me here. I do appreciate it. Yes, blogging introduces us to so many interesting people and conversations. As you know, being an artist is a solitary profession, so blogging is one way to stay connected and informed. Keep up your blogging efforts. Good things will come your way.
Cheers,
Lori
Hi Lori Blogging may not be dead…but it does seem to be a complete waste of my art hours out in the studio.
I read Blogs written by others, just like you…it’s informative
I contribute to Blogs, just like yours…it gets me involved
I run a blog on my website… no one ever contributes to it…so it must be total rubbish and a waste of my time also…
Hello Phil, well thank you for taking time to contribute to this blog. I do appreciate it, and I just posted a comment on your blog! Guest posting is another way of getting folks to your site. You are welcome to share with us here if you’d like > https://www.finearttips.com/contact-me/submit-your-guest-article/.
Yes, blogging is very time consuming. However, it has proven to be a great branding and marketing tool for me. Your blog is not rubbish and more people probably visit than you realize. Simplify your blogging…you write very thoughtful posts. They are labor intensive. I’d consider mixing it up with imagery and short posts that are easier to write and might cause some conversation. Rethink some of your titles too…
That’s my food for thought…
Happy painting and blogging,
Lori
Thank you for your visit, comment and your reply here…
Yep I only do the deep thoughtful its the downside of a lifetime of doing just that. My particular blog is a tad difficult to navigate, I’m only a simpleton computer-user. The titles? yes some are a problem.
I will always be the artist first and the struggling writer [today’s educational gurus would describe me as dyslexic at best]on art & life second.
Thank you for the reassurance that blogging is viable for artists. (I hadn’t heard otherwise, and would have refused to believe it if I had.)
My web designer set up a blog for me and taught me how to use it 4 years ago. The first post had me hooked – wow, what fun to show my art and then talk about it! The ideas began flowing and haven’t stopped since.
A blog provides fans and collectors with a peek into the head, heart and life of the artist. It connects the art buyer to the art maker.
It gives credibility to an artist if (s)he posts regularly, sounds believable, doesn’t rant, offers new ideas, and responds to comments. It also provides accountability – if an artist shows the beginning of a painting, the audience expects to see it finished.
And, with the commenting process, conversations take place between artist and collectors or potential collectors.
There are so many benefits that I could write an entire post about it, but this is your blog, not mine. 😎
Thank you for sharing your thoughts and enthusiasm for blogging, Jana. You are always welcome to submit a guest post if you are so inspired! Here is the link, if you are interested…https://www.finearttips.com/contact-me/submit-your-guest-article/
Happy blogging and creating!
Lori
I think blogging, especially for artists, is more important now than ever. I attended the 2011 BlogHer conference where some 4,600+ bloggers [mostly female] attended…no, blogging is alive, well and of great global influence. I, for one, would like to see the artist blog niche grow to be as large as the “mommy blogger” niche – may be a pipe dream but I happen to think that “art” is important in so many ways. Thanks for this post!
You are welcome Linda. I would have loved to attended that conference! Hopefully someday I will make it to one.
Happy blogging,
Lori
So far my experience with blogging is a lot like Phil’s. Granted, I just started in April, but I’ve had only 2 comments since starting. If I have google alerts set up properly, it doesn’t look like anyone is reading them either. I know I’ve got a lot to learn but this sure is a discouraging beginning.
And now you have a slow reply back from me! My apologies for the belated reply, I’ve been extra busy this summer. Yes, at first it seems fruitless to blog to no one…keep it up and they will come. Try promoting on social media!
Good luck,
Lori
I use a blogging platform called Tumblr and I really like it. Lately it seems thought that my work when I post it doesn’t get as many notes (likes or reblogs) I’ve heard that it is kind of going down. But Tumblr has an art department and has it’s own blog for it where you can submit your art and have it posted if the curator likes it. I’ve gotten on there about 4 times and have gained hundreds of followers and gotten a lot of attention. So that’s still good, just interested to what’s next. I use my Tumblr as my website too. Check out my work at http://dannermilliken.com/
Thanks,
Danner
Yes, Tumblr is popular with creative souls, but it has its limitations. That’s why I love WordPress…check out why and consider it for your future online growth https://www.finearttips.com/blog/how-to-start-an-art-blog-or-website-in-minutes/ Thanks for visiting!