I’ve had a blog as long as there has been such a thing. I post once a week on topics of business for artists, collecting art and occasional thoughts about my process of painting. When I look at my web site stats, there is a huge jump on viewers every Wednesday, on blog post day. I don’t know that it relates directly to sales, but it does bring interest to my web site. I also have a newsletter that goes out twice a week about my life as a country painter. I also have a facebook group where I tell stories about my career. They are all slightly different and put tons of content out for me. I agree that marketing is all content now.

If you write a blog, make sure you write it consistently and publish on the same day each week at the same time. People learn to look forward to it.

I know a few “big money” type artists who pay a kid to do the website, and really don’t even touch a computer much after that. In my mind, there are enough “business” topics that a person who is selling something must do. If you have both a job and sell art, all of your time would be consumed. I used to write a blog, but I gave it up. All I could say were things that had already been said by thousands of others. I think it is something best left to other people. It is up to you.

I kept a street photography blog for a few years. It still exists out there on the (cob)web — http://www.thebongolian.com I did it out of pure love for street photography. It was popular enough at the time to put me at the top of google’s search pages for “bongo”. But I never tried to commercialize it, never used it to sell work. I posted nearly every week and felt compelled to provide new insights or new takes on the medium.

But the bar I set for myself was unrealistic. What started as a labor of love became a struggle and burden. Then when cellphone photography took hold, the landscape changed and I lost all motivation.

But I digress. Speaking of digressing, I think that is an important element for a successful blog. People might come for “nothing but the facts, mam” but they stay for the soap opera – the personal, the personality of the blogger. You have to be willing to give more than your time. You have to bare part of your soul, show some humanity and humility.

Information, facts can be had with a few keystrokes on google or wikipedia – but it’s you as a surragate friend, fellow traveler that they (unconsciously) seek and keep coming back for.

The topics are different on the blog, newsletter, and facebook group.

….Katy
Making art since 1973-ish
[COLOR=”Red]Blog under reconstruction[/COLOR]….

Katy, your blog has been under construction for over 9 years, how’s it going?

I’ve been blogging since 2005. I’m not just a painter, but also a writer and teacher. (I teach workshops and write art instruction for The Artist’s Magazine and Pastel Journal.) I’ve found my blog to be, after my web site and my mailing list, my most valuable asset for doing business. I believe that in today’s world of social media, it is difficult if not impossible to go into depth on any topic via Facebook, Instagram, etc. The blog allows me to go deep and to engage my audience. Yes, it takes work, but it’s worth it–to me.