The Art of Self Promotion for Artists

Another Great Article from Barney Davey's blog. Here's an excerpt:

Here then are some things that all fall under the area of art marketing that you can begin to do to self-promote your art and your career:

Comment on designer's or galleries blogs, or other important folks who can influence your careeer. Making nice with other artists and commenting on their blog and Facebook is great for your ego, but it is not nearly as important as making nice with people who can buy your work or help your career. Find influential people and comment on their blogs or write them personal notes congratulating them or offering meaningful tips, insights or ideas. Lather, rinse and repeat.

Do something outrageous that you would never do. A great brainstorming technique is to take a large piece of paper and write as many ideas as you and your family and friends can think of to do. I guarantee you will come up with some good ideas to promote yourself.

Start an art event for charity. It does not have to be elaborate. It can be in your living room, or at a local coffee shop. All you need is an idea, a few fliers and a little gumption.
Print your art large on some unusual substrate such as metal or wood, clothing. Make it twice as large or twice as small as you have ever made. Then challenge yourself to find a way to promote what you have done.

Seek help in high places. I wrote a post titled Six Degrees of You. Think about someone who, if they took an interest, could seriously help your art career. A museum curator, a top interior designer, a magazine editor, the head of your state cultural organization. If you can’t think of someone like this, especially after getting clues offered, then question yourself about how much being successful really means to you.

Collaborate with another artist. Lori and I collaborated on this blog post series. Yes, we know many of the same folks, but there were many others who came to know more about us by doing the series. There is no reason you can’t do the same with other visual artists, or performing artists, poets or musicians. Learn to be inspired by someone and do likewise and look for ways to explore how to channel that inspiration to new work and new vistas for your art marketing efforts.



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