Cory Huff's Blog: The Abundant Artist Goodreads blog, page 3

How to Return to Selling Art After a Long Time Away

Every so often I get an email like this one. 

I have an extensive history of shows and sales, and was heavily involved in the art world 24/7 decades ago. For family caregiving reasons [or health, or other reasons], I did not focus on my sales for quite a while (20 years!) and do not know how to do things now.

I’ve been doing this long enough that I have a few suggestions for artists who have spent time away. 

Schedule a New Show

Schedule a day and location to have a new exhibit and/or studio visit. Give yourself 2-3 months of lead time so you can revive your contacts and let them know what’s happening. 

Reach out to the people on your lists (see below) and let them know you’re having a show for the first time in years, and that you’d like them to attend. It can be an exhibition at a favorite gallery or a private studio visit or even a living room show. Whatever works best for you and your personality. 

Reach out to old contacts

A lot of artists think they have to start from scratch, but the nice thing about being seasoned, as it were, is that you probably have an extensive list of contacts. 

One thing that hasn’t changed is that large sales happen through relationships. Make a list of people you’ve been connected with in the past, including: 

Previous collectorsPrevious galleries Places you’ve exhibited before or outdoor art fairs you’ve attended Journalists and other people who have written about you before Friends and family who don’t fit the above criteria

Reach out to new contacts 

Once you have your time and location in place and the support of your longest tenured friends and colleagues, it’s time to let the new ones know. 

Make a list of journalists, bloggers, and social media influencers who might be a good fit for your art. Reach out to them with a few short sentences about your art, why your new show is relevant to them, and one specific ask: write about the show or tell their followers about the show. 

Remember not to limit yourself to art world influencers. If you’re an artist who makes art about women’s rights, contact social impact journalists or local feminist influencers. If you’re someone who upcycles art, reach out to environmentally conscious groups and media. If your work is deeply spiritual, reach out to the religious groups likely to be connected to your work. Each of these groups have media and networks that you can lean on to get the word out about what you do. Consider writing a formal press release, or a cool informal press release, for the journalists and read our blog post on how to pitch journalists and influencers. Anita Nowinska did an amazing article for us on leveraging interior design influencers via Instagram. 

If you do everything we’ve listed here, you’ll fill up many hours and set yourself up for success. 

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Keeping the Love of Animals Alive Through Art with Will Eskridge | TAA Podcast Season 5, Episode 18

Welcome to season five, episode 18 of The Abundant Artist, the show that dispels the myth of “the starving artist” and shares how you can live an abundant life as an artist and make a living from your talent one interview at a time.

Joining the podcast today to share about his artistic journey is Will Eskridge, a self-proclaimed weirdo that celebrates the ugly, the forgotten, and the voiceless through his art.

“I just felt this affinity towards these strange, weirdo animals that were kind of kicked to the curb. That began my journey of…noticing a story (within these animals).” — Will Eskridge

Growing up with a veterinarian as a father and an artist as a mother carved Will’s path of keeping the love of animals alive through his art. Many of his art pieces feature the less-appreciated animals of the world paired alongside a human vice. He also occasionally explores other realms of art such as abstraction and landscapes. His art can be found on murals throughout the city of Athens, Georgia; social media; the occasional exhibit; and his website.

In this episode, Will shares his journey to becoming a fully-fledged artist, how he discovered what he loves to create, and how he navigates the business side of his art career.

In this episode:
[:30] Cory welcomes Will Eskridge to the podcast and they recount how they originally met.
[1:49] Where ‘home’ is for Will.
[2:30] Will describes his art and shares his journey to becoming a fully-fledged artist.
[6:15] Will’s art journey post-art school.
[12:44] In 2014, Will quit his job and began pursuing art full-time. How has his artistic style developed since then?
[22:38] Will elaborates on the variety of animal subjects he paints and where his ideas for his paintings generally come from.
[29:13] How Will became known for his collection of art that he dubs, ‘Weird animals with low-grade sins.’
[32:02] The importance of creating art you want to create rather than creating to sell.
[32:45] How/where Will sells his art.
[36:00] Will highlights what he does, in particular, that helps market his artwork.
[40:22] Why having more social media followers doesn’t always mean more sales.
[43:47] Will discusses his mental diagnoses and how they impact his life and art.
[47:11] Will shares how his mental diagnosis impacts his life, art, and business.
[50:12] About Will’s pets!
[52:05] What’s next for Will?
[53:44] Cory thanks Will for joining the podcast!

Resources mentioned:

Will Eskridge’s Art Website
1,000 True Fans Essay

About the guest:

Originally from Kings Mountain, North Carolina, Will Eskridge attended the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, School of Visual Arts/Savannah earning his BFA in Interdisciplinary Arts from San Francisco Art Institute. With a veterinarian father and an artist mother, Will’s affinity for animals and art began while in pre-school. Eskridge’s work is in both private and public collections in Athens, Atlanta, Raleigh, Nashville, New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, China, Germany, Italy, and Switzerland. Will roamed the southeast, settling on Athens, GA in 2006 with his wife, their son, and dogs and cats.

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Online vs. Offline Sales: Which Matters More?

How many sales come from a successful artist’s Instagram account vs. their galleries? What about their email list vs. the gallery’s collector base?

So far this year I’ve had multiple conversations with artists who sold more than $100,000 in sales in 2022, and the answer has shifted.

The  2022 Hiscox report  says that the biggest influence on buying decisions is the artist themselves – just behind the gallery. But that report is focused on buying art online.

caption for image

Breaking Down Online vs. Gallery sales

For the sake of privacy, I’ll share some examples with fake numbers. I’m going to blend all of this into a single fictional artist, but the numbers are a composite of different conversations.

This fictional artist has 10,000+ followers on Instagram, an email list of 1,000+ and is represented by six galleries in various US locations.

How do her sales break down?

Small paintings and prints directly from her website. It’s easy to trace a bump in sales to her Instagram activity and the emails she sends. $20,000.

Large original paintings that can only be purchased at her gallery. In 2022 she sold five pieces at $5K to $10K each. Three of the buyers had never bought at a gallery before but they followed the artist on Instagram and found out about the show through IG. She reminded them about the show the day before opening with an email. Two of the buyers had never heard of the artist before the gallery opening and didn’t have any interest in attending the opening to meet the artist. $50,000.

Small originals and prints sold at local pop up shows. Some of the buyers saw her post about it on Instagram. A few of them saw her work at a local gallery opening and followed her IG account then made some small purchases at the local outdoor shows. $10,000

Three large originals sold on her website. One was shown at a gallery eight months ago, but the buyer didn’t see it there. The other two were also shown at a gallery three months ago and indicated as much to the artist when they made the purchases on her website. She paid the gallery their commissions for those pieces, even though the show was over because she wants to maintain good relationships with those galleries. $20,000.

This is the reality of selling art in 2023. Online sales (social, email, website) can be significant revenue generators – and it’s pretty unclear who should get that credit and when a gallery should get their commission.

How to Blend Galleries and Online Sales

So how do you build to this level, and how do you manage relationships with galleries so that everyone feels like they’re getting a good deal in their business relationships?

If you’re not in a gallery yet, here’s two resources from our blog to consider when you start evaluating gallery relationships.

 How to Get Into An Art Gallery 

 Why Artists Should Avoid Gallery Representation 

If you’re already in a gallery or two, but want to supplement the gallery’s efforts with your own online efforts, check out our  How to Sell Your Art Online 101 course that starts March 6 .

If you’re not selling much at all yet, then you’ll definitely want to check out  How to Sell Your Art Online 101 .

In my next email (are you on our email list?) I’m going to write in more detail about how artists get started. If you don’t have a gallery yet and you’re just getting started selling your art, I’ll break down what an artist needs to have in place in order to be considered for good galleries.

Hint: it’s sales. The answer for how to get into a good gallery is sales. But it doesn’t have to be a lot. More to come soon.

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2023 is going to be a weird year

This is the time of year when everyone (including me) rolls out their new sales courses and promises that if you just use their simple, proven system that you’ll make a bunch of money.

But here’s the deal: 2023 is probably going to be a weird year.

Let me explain.

In December I wrote about how we’re all seeing the trailing effects of the air slowly being let out of the online art sales bubble generated by the pandemic. There was a massive surge into ecommerce in early 2020 and we’ve now returned to what is essentially a new normal. Slightly more ecommerce than 2019, but not as much as 2020.

We’ve been talking about a recession long enough now that we’re getting real Ross & Rachel vibes. Is this thing happening or not? Are we on a break? If you have no idea what I’m talking about, find an Elder Millenial in your life and ask them.

There’s so many people teaching artists how to sell art that it’s starting to feel a little bit like 99u’s Creative Industrial Bullshit Complex. TAA has been around since 2009 and we’ve helped launch the careers of a lot of artists, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be a little skeptical when we claim we can help artists sell art. After all, I’m not an artist – just a marketing guy.

So here’s the deal: instead of relaunching How to Sell Your Art Online 101 (again), we’re scrapping the whole thing and starting over.

**Gulp**

What does that mean?

It means we’re not offering a perfectly built, pre-recorded video course.

Instead, I’m building a new group thing.

I’m not calling it a course, or coaching, or community.

It’s a new business thing without a name just yet.

But I imagine it’s going to go something like this:

You: hey, I need help selling my art.

Me: cool. How can I help?

You: …I kinda thought you’d be able to tell me because you have so much experience…

Me: Yeah. Ok. Tell me about your art business. How are you selling your art now? How many sales have you had in the last 6 months, and how much money have you made?

**there’s a few ways your response can go here, so I’m going to throw a few scenarios in here – and yes, they’re heavily abbreviated because it always takes a little back-and-forth to get to this level of clarity**

Artist 1: (counting on their hands) uh…let’s see, I’ve made 4 sales. I made $800 total. I probably shouldn’t sell original art for $200 but I feel bad charging my uncle more.

​

Artist 2: I had my first solo show and sold 3 original pieces, 2 commissions, and 3 prints. I made $30,000, but I haven’t had a sale in six weeks. I have no idea what to do now.
​

Artist 3: (with a spreadsheet in front of them) I sold 1200 prints and made $120,000 with a 40% profit margin. I need help figuring out how to sell more prints or sell them at a higher price point. I could also use some help delivering the prints in a way that doesn’t take up so much time.

Me: Thanks for sharing. Here’s what artists typically do in that situation, and here’s what usually happens. Here’s some suggestions on how to make it work for you and also some pitfalls to avoid. Go do these 3 things and let’s check back in two weeks to see what’s going on. Email me if any questions come up. If it’s ok with you, we’re going to put together a group call with a few other artists in situations similar to yours so we can talk about it, share learnings, and help each other out. Sound good?

Cool.

**big breath. pause**

At least, that’s the way it goes in my head.

The reality is that courses are limited in what they can teach you, and each of these situations could be considered a ‘beginner,’ but each of them have a different business problem to solve. So rather than trying to build a course that could encompass each of these scenarios, I’d like to build a small accountability group.

What will you get?

Here are some things that I can realistically help artists achieve:

Get your first art saleBuild a marketing engine that brings in attention and repeat salesLearn how to interpret your marketing data to make decisions in your businessCreate an email marketing program that delivers increased salesPick the right technology for your businessMake a plan for improving your website to generate salesMake a plan to improve your social media and generate salesHire people to increase sales and optimize your time (for artists who have revenue they can use to hire people)

Things that we won’t talk about or work on:

Making better artBuilding your website for youBuilding better back end operations and systems for shipping, packing, or financesSolving scaling problems outside of sales & marketing

What will it cost?

In the past we’ve charged $400 for a big group class and $2500 for six weeks of 1:1 coaching. This is going to be in that lower range for groups, depending on how many people sign up and what level of effort your business is going to take from me in order to get going.

How much time will this take?

We’ve had a lot of success with creating programs for artists that include one or two coaching sessions per week that last about an hour, along with access to a group chat. I’m open to doing something different, depending on the needs of the group.

If that’s interesting to you, let me know by replying to this email.

We’ll find a time to have a conversation similar to the one above. Before we have that call, I’ll ask you to fill out a questionnaire that will make that initial conversation easier and faster for both of us.

Disclaimers: I’m not promising I can solve all of your business problems. I’ve sold tens of millions of dollars of art and other products online in my career, so I feel confident in my skills. If I see your situation and think I can’t help you, I’ll tell you.

Fill out the form to apply here.

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The Key to Doing Art Full-Time with Catherine Rains | TAA Podcast Season 5, Episode 17

Welcome to season five, episode 17 of The Abundant Artist, the show that dispels the myth of “the starving artist” and shares how you can live an abundant life as an artist and make a living from your talent one interview at a time.

“Ever since I stopped trying to sell, I make art people actually want.” — Catherine Rains

Full-time artist, Catherine Rains, joins the podcast today to share her incredible journey to making a living from her work, her artistic insights and life philosophies, and the biggest lessons she has learned throughout her career. Self-described as an intuitive mixed media collage artist and spiritual seeker, Catherine creates abstract collages using her intuition and mixed media to inspire, heal, and awaken.

In this episode, Catherine highlights important lessons on failure, perseverance, consistency, and the importance of showing up. She lends her insights on what you can do to better understand yourself as an artist, lean into your strengths, and how not to let your brain hold you back from creating the art you are meant to create in this world. Catherine also touches on how she became more connected to her purpose through The Abundant Artist, how she re-transitioned into becoming a full-time artist (after stepping away for nearly a decade), her general artistic process when it comes to creating new pieces, and how she markets her art online.

This is a not-to-miss episode full of wisdom and valuable insights from Catherine Rains! Be sure to tune in.

Catherine is offering COLLAGE JOY, a mixed media master course, starting January 23. You can learn more about this comprehensive 7-week course for mastering mixed media collage and purchase access in this link*. Anyone who uses this link, will receive the early bird price $247 for COLLAGE JOY, which is good through Friday (January 13). Then the price will go up to $277, which is still cheaper than full retail of $349. Plus as soon as you sign up, you’ll have instant access to the first half of Week 1 lessons so you can fully prepare before the official start date. The doors for COLLAGE JOY close on January 22 until 2024.

In this episode:
[:30] Cory welcomes Catherine Rains to the podcast!
[1:47] Reminiscing on the start of The Abundant Artist podcast in 2015
[2:42] Catherine brings listeners back to 2015 and shares her story of transitioning from her day job to pursuing her artistic passions.
[8:44] How failure bred success for Catherine’s business.
[10:00] How Catherine’s following has grown since staying consistent and crafting a free course.
[12:16] About Catherine’s career with the Myers-Brigg company.
[13:27] The value in knowing your personality type (and taking a personality quiz such as the Myers-Brigg Type Indicator).
[14:55] Catherine discusses Cory’s personality type and strengths.
[17:29] Where Catherine’s passion lies and her ultimate goal with her art.
[19:00] What Catherine did before her full-time job with Myers-Brigg.
[20:55] Catherine shares her experience traveling around the world with two fifty-pound suitcases in the name of art.
[23:33] How Catherine’s time doing art and traveling has continued to benefit her in her art career.
[25:10] Going back to 2020, Catherine shares her experience of releasing her best collection that didn’t sell, and the biggest lessons that she learned.
[31:22] How to not let your brain work against you when you’re creating art.
[36:58] Catherine’s 10-minute rule.
[37:36] Why Catherine wasn’t “showing up” until her friend prompted her.
[38:38] The magic in creating art you actually want to create rather than creating to sell.
[41:41] How ‘showing up’ and being consistent helped Catherine sell more pieces.
[44:11] What Catherine means when she says, “When someone buys my art, they’re not just buying my art.”
[45:35] Why you don’t need a huge audience to make a living; the concept behind 1000 true fans.
[50:11] Catherine’s advice to young artists looking to go full-time.

Resources mentioned:

Catherine Rains’ Website
Catherine Rains’ Instagram
Kelly Rae Roberts’ interview on The Abundant Artist
Myers-Brigg
60 Songs That Explain the 90s Podcast
The Art of Effortless Living (Taoist Documentary)
1000 True Fans: Use Kevin Kelly’s Simple Idea to Earn A Living Doing What You Love, by Kevin Kelly
Betty Franks Art
Ira Glass Quote

About the guest:

For the past 25 years, Catherine has created sacred art for the purpose of inspiring herself and others to awaken to who we were meant to be. An interesting truth about this dream: it was an accident. Until age 33, Catherine had never thought of herself as an artist. Her artistic calling started as she gently followed what made her feel most alive and connected. Beginning as a hobby, collage evolved into Catherine’s greatest joy, and eventually her life’s calling. After spending most of her adult life as a corporate trainer, Catherine realized her dream of creating art full time in 2018, which recently evolved into teaching collage online in 2022.

(*Affiliate link)

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The Artpreneur; How to Make a Sustainable Living From Your Creativity with Miriam Schulman | TAA Podcast Season 5, Episode 16

Welcome to season five, episode 16 of The Abundant Artist, the show that dispels the myth of “the starving artist” and shares how you can live an abundant life as an artist and make a living from your talent one interview at a time.

In this episode, a longtime friend of Cory Huff joins the podcast – Miriam Schulman! Miriam is a full-time artist, art teacher, and art business coach that helps artists (from amateur to professional) develop their skills, tap into their creativity and grow thriving art businesses.

With 20 years of art industry experience, Miriam shares her wisdom on what it takes to be an ‘artpreneur,’ how to make art that sells, and the most important aspects to focus on in your art business. Miriam also gives a preview of her upcoming book, Artpreneur, The Step-by-Step Guide to Making a Sustainable Living From Your Creativity, and some of its key takeaways on mindset, abundance, pricing to sell, and perfectionism.

“I’ve always had these creative whispers to write a book. …I decided in 2020 that I would write a book. I didn’t want to take a book idea to the grave so I was going to go for it.” — Miriam Schulman

In this episode:
[:30] Odd jobs that Cory and Miriam have had over the years.
[3:36] About Miriam’s book that is coming on January 31st, 2023, Artpreneur.
[4:41] Why Miriam decided to write Artpreneur and the creative process behind it.
[9:45] The technical side: The process of writing her book from setting deadlines to editing and finetuning.
[11:29] How Miriam created a work-life balance when she was writing her book.
[13:34] How Miriam almost ‘sabotaged’ herself with her book editing.
[14:23] Errors happen! Don’t let perfectionism block you from finishing a product.
[16:22] Why Miriam dedicated an entire chapter to mindset and abundance.
[18:25] Lower cost =/= Selling more product. Why ‘money mindset’ is a crucial piece to being a successful artpreneur.
[23:20] Prestige vs. charm pricing.
[26:14] The most important aspect behind why art truly sells.
[29:29] What makes Artpreneur unique and separates it from other books on the topic of selling your art?
[30:27] Miriam’s insights and advice regarding posting your art on social media.
[34:48] Why you need to focus on your email list.
[36:22] What’s next for Miriam Schulman?
[37:04] Where to learn more about Miriam online.
[38:45] Cory thanks Miriam for joining the podcast!

Resources mentioned:

Miriam Schulman’s Website
Artpreneur, The Step-by-Step Guide to Making a Sustainable Living From Your Creativity, by Miriam Schulman – Pre-order today!
Adam Hall on The Abundant Artist
The Inspiration Place Podcast with Miriam Schulman

About the guest:

Miriam Schulman is an artist and founder of The Inspiration Place. Through her online classes, business coaching programs, and popular podcast, she’s helped thousands of artists around the world develop their skill sets and create more time and freedom to do what they love by teaching them how to go from “so-so” sales to sold-out collections.

Schulman initially pursued finance, working at a lucrative hedge fund. After witnessing 9/11, she decided to become a full-time working artist. Since then, Miriam and her art have been featured in major publications including Forbes, The New York Times, Art of Man, Professional Artist magazine, and Art Journaling magazine. Her artwork has also been featured on NBC’s “Parenthood” and the Amazon series “Hunters” with Al Pacino. Her forthcoming book with HarperCollins Leadership, Artpreneur is scheduled to be released January 2023. When not working in her studio, you can find her in a museum or spending time with her husband, adult kids, and a tuxedo cat named Ebony.

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The State of Online Art Sales Heading in to 2023

The state of online art sales, heading into 2023

The Abundant Artist founder Cory Huff recently shared the trends he’s seeing in online commerce over the course of the last three years of the pandemic.

In March 2020, when businesses across the U.S. put everything on hold, a lot of artists braced themselves for a dramatic decline in sales. 

For most, the opposite happened. 

A lot of businesses, especially businesses that were only online, saw a 20-30% boost in web traffic beginning in April 2020.Shopify, one of the largest online website hosting platforms, said their overall network went to Black Friday levels for six months in 2020. However, at the end of 2021 and beginning of 2022, that trend reversed itself and online sales declined by about 15% as people began returning to brick and mortar stores and travel. In second half of 2021, the company started to see a drop in sales and, in 2022, laid of 10% of its workers.

If you’re an artist selling art direct to collectors online, how do you account for this fluctuation and plan for 2023?

If you started your business before 2020, you may want to look back to your numbers in 2019 as your baseline.If your business began in 2020 or 2021, know that your baselines (2020 or 2021) may be skewed. What did well in those years may not hold in 2023. Continue with the workbook and also consider ways in which you can focus on your customer/partner relationships as you plan for 2023, not your year over year business trends. We are seeing that it’s easier for artists to develop a sustainable business with strong relationships with a smaller group of collectors, rather than the large scale/high volume print sales or free prints plus shipping and handling business model.

2023 will be a difficult year to forecast. 

Global web traffic is on a downward trend due to post-pandemic readjustments, privacy regulations, and corresponding changes in tracking.Web browsers are now more likely to block tracking tools—you may (or may not) have more visitors than Google Analytics shows. Big social media platforms are either fading in utilization (Facebook and Twitter) or are highly dependent on novelty and video (TikTok and Instagram). The result is that it’s harder for smaller accounts to be seen by their audience and it’s become very difficult to get in front of new audiences. New works shown are typically from artists with very larger followings. What makes the difference? People you’ve interacted with through comments on their page and your page or in DMs.How we find our people, especially new collectors, is changing.What isn’t changing?Growing your email list.Stewarding your current collectors.Emailing regularly (weekly or bi-weekly).Blogging regularly (weekly or bi-weekly).Keeping your customers on your platform—your website and blog.

Here at The Abundant Artist we are here to help you plan, even when the future is uncertain. While we won’t know how the coming year will turn out, having a good plan in place means you will be more successful—even if you have to modify your plan part way through the year. 

To support you in planning, we are pleased to offer The Abundant Artist’s Get Your Art Business Ready for 2023 2-day workshop, complete with an updated workbook. Led by TAA’s head coach, Sarah Guthrie, the course runs December 28-29 with two live coaching calls (that will be recorded for replay) at 1pm Pacific Time. Register here and get the planning support you need for 2023 for just $39.

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Crafting a Photography Collection with Dan Cleary | TAA Podcast Season 5, Episode 15

Welcome to season five, episode 15 of The Abundant Artist, the show that dispels the myth of “the starving artist” and shares how you can live an abundant life as an artist and make a living from your talent one interview at a time.

“Oftentimes, we’re afraid to ask because we think the answer will be ‘no.’ And perhaps, it will be ‘no.’ But perhaps it won’t.” — Dan Cleary

Joining the podcast today is Dan Cleary, a professional portrait and fine art photographer. He works with various clientele, from individuals, families, and small companies to fortune 500 corporations. Additionally, Dan has written and published the book, Wright Brothers: Then and Now, a compelling visual tribute to the pioneers of flight.

In this episode, Dan shares about his journey in discovering his passion for photography, how he came to open his own photo studio and build a client base, and the process of creating his newly published book.

In this episode:
[:30] How Dan Cleary got started in photography.
[7:54] Dan’s photography journey post-grad school; How he came to learn his strengths in photography and open up his own photo studio, Cleary Creative Photography.
[10:44] About a recent large client of Dan’s.
[13:05] Where Dan grew up and his strong connection with Dayton, Ohio.
[17:55] About Dan’s photography series and book, Wright Brothers: Then and Now, and how he seamlessly blended historical images with the modern-day images he shot.
[25:22] How did Dan orchestrate such a large project both logistically and financially?
[29:13] How Dan managed his travel logistics and international flights for this project.
[33:36] Dan shares his experiences with marketing and getting his Wright Brothers book on the shelves.
[41:33] Why relationships are crucial in any business – especially art – for return customers.
[43:20] Cory thanks Dan for joining the podcast!

Resources mentioned:
Cleary Creative Photography
Cleary Fine Art Photography
Henri Cartier-Bresson: The Decisive Moment
Wright Brothers: Then and Now, by Dan Cleary

About the guest:

Dan Cleary has been a professional photographer serving his Dayton, Ohio, region for the past 35 years. He has a Master of Fine Arts degree from Cranbrook Academy of Art in Detroit. Much of his day-to-day professional photography work is photographing people and working with corporations and families. Dan has worked on multiple public art installations. He has created more than 200 artistic photography displayed in area hospitals and doctor’s offices. About five years ago, Dan started a photography project titled Wright Brothers: Then and Now. Last year he turned this photography project into a book.

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After the Twitter Meltdown: Where Do Artists Go Next?

Social media is splintering into much smaller networks. Twitter is imploding. Facebook has been losing people for years and may have entered a death spiral where fewer people spend time there, so fewer people visit, and so on.

Artist Social Communities Go Small?

There’s a lot of enthusiasm for smaller, more open communities. Part of this is culturally driven by people who would like to see a return to a more open Internet that is less centrally controlled by large corporations. Facebook (Meta), Twitter, and Google have dominated for 10+ years. In many ways they are victims of their own success. Google choosing to weight their algorithm in favor of established brands was the end of easily discovering cool new bloggers. Have you ever tried to get advice on a niche topic on Google without adding +Reddit to the search? It’s an exercise in frustration. The big social networks have created at least a perception of bias, if not engaged in outright bias against certain groups of people. Of course, this is all due to the hellish nature of large scale content moderation.

Part of the move to a more open web is explicit laws in places like the European Union, where new laws just went into effect requiring large social sites and marketplaces to create ways for small companies to interact with their users in a more open and transparent way. This creates regulatory burden on marketplaces, slowing them down. It remains to be seen whether these hastily passed laws will enable the openness that many people crave.

TAA’s Facebook group for course alumni has been slowing down for a while and we recently decided to experiment with moving the whole thing to Discord, a group chat app that allows for a lot of fine-tuned granularity. We’ve been slowly testing inviting new users and currently have about 20 members. There’s a lot of enthusiasm for a smaller, more engaged community that doesn’t depend on Facebook. Feel free to join our group. https://discord.gg/QgnrUsYA

I recently joined Mastodon. I have met a number of tech-savvy artists who are operating at the forefront of what’s possible on the web. If you don’t know what Mastodon is, imagine a large group of smaller Twitters, each focused around certain topics like art or cyber security. You can start at any of them, but you can also follow people from other Mastodon topics. Admins for each topic group can choose to block other groups as a way of keeping a community safe (see the recent dustup over .art blocking users from a white nationalist instance). I’m currently following people focused on art, journalism, physics, and the LDS religion. It’s a fun, eclectic group and it feels a lot like the early days of Twitter right now. eel free to follow me there @ mastodon.art/@coryhuff

What Happens to the Big Social Networks?

In addition to Discord and Mastodon, Tumblr apparently still exists and has a niche following. They brilliantly trolled Twitter’s paid checkmark feature and have enjoyed a resurgence in users. I logged into my account for the first time since 2017 this week and realized that there’s still some cool art being posted there. If you’re still on Tumblr, let’s connect there. https://www.tumblr.com/coryhuff

TikTok is already under the gun for cybersecurity issues and revenue sharing with the music industry. It’s the cool, still growing social network, but based on history, TikTok will mature, slow down, and eventually collapse under its own weight.

I don’t know what the future of the social web will be, but it does seem pretty clear that the days of endlessly scrolling an infinite feed might be numbered. Most artists I know have a love/hate relationship with Instagram because of the way the algorithm works and yet a great deal of the art industry centers there online. Business is still strong there for many, but I think the days are numbered.

What about you? Where are you hanging out? What have I skipped over or missed?

The post After the Twitter Meltdown: Where Do Artists Go Next? appeared first on How to Sell Art Online | Online Marketing for Artists.

Black Friday & Cyber Monday Deals for Artists

Check back on this page for Black Friday deals for artists. This will be updated as we get more info closer to Black Friday. If you want to get a list of our Black Friday deals in your email, join our email list.

TAA Courses

We usually hold a sale on TAA courses with a special discount on pre-enrollment for the January How to Sell Your Art Online 101 cohort. Check back here and get on our email list to get access to that presale.

 

Divi WordPress Theme

One of my favorite companies, Elegant Themes, is doing a week-long giveaway where you can win things like a brand new iMac just for entering, and their Divi theme is the best WordPress theme on the market.

If you are looking to build a WordPress website for yourself, we’ve recommended Divi for years (I use it for several sites – here’s our review). Now they’re offering 25% off on Friday, and a bunch of cool goodies. Check out the giveaway page (affiliate link).

 

Other Tools & Supplies

For Digital Artists, the iPad Pro can be had at a substantial discount from retailers like Best Buy.

MacRumors has a comprehensive list of Apple discounts at this link.

Michael’s craft store usually has 40% off all regular priced items from noon to 10 on Friday and a bunch of great deals. Lots of artists recommended this sale.

Jerry’s Artarama has some killer deals on a wide variety of supplies as well. Do your planning on their Black Friday page.

Printer sales! Coming soon. If you know anything…

Email Marketing Service: Our recommended email marketing service, ConvertKit, frequently has Black Friday sales.

Check our Tools & Resources page. We have a page with all of our recommended resources. You might check that page to see if any of those companies are offering Black Friday discounts.

Deals from fellow artists

A round up of deals from artists all over. Prints and other gifts. More to come as we get closer.

 

 

What Else You Got?

Got a Black Friday / Cyber Monday deal you want everyone to know about? Comment here and let us know before 11/22/22 so we can include it in Friday’s email.

The post Black Friday & Cyber Monday Deals for Artists appeared first on How to Sell Art Online | Online Marketing for Artists.