Understanding Copyright Basics 

What is Copyright? 

Copyright is, literally, the right to make copies. But it is much more. Copyright grants creators certain exclusive rights to their original works. Those works can include music, audio-visual works, photography, fine art, literature, software, architecture, choreography, and more. In the U.S. and most jurisdictions, copyright protection is automatic upon the creation of an original work, as long as it is fixed in a tangible medium (like a painting affixed to canvas, a sculpture formed out of marble, or a digital file residing on your hard drive). But that protection is significantly limited without a copyright registration.   

What Does Copyright Protect? 

Copyright protects the expression of ideas, but not the ideas themselves. This means that while you may be inspired to paint the same landscape that hundreds of others have painted before you, your unique expression, style, and concept will be protected. For example, most Western movies have some of the same common ideas – people on horses in a dusty, dry land, good guys and bad guys, a disagreement at a saloon, a shootout, etc. While nobody can own the idea of a Western, each individual expression of that idea is a protectable creative work. Similarly, while Andy Warhol’s work may inspire you to create garishly colored silkscreens of consumer products, doing so is entirely legal unless you copy Warhol’s actual works of silkscreened soup cans, Coca-Cola bottles, and the like. You have simply expressed the same idea, but in your unique creative way, and you will be entitled to copyright protection.    

Copyright grants the creator of an original work a bundle of exclusive rights in that work, including the following: 

• Reproduction: The right to make copies of (reproduce) your work; 

• Distribution: The right to sell or distribute copies; 

• Public performance: The right to perform your work publicly (relevant particularly for music); 

• Public display: The right to display your work publicly (for example with fine art); and 

• Derivative works: The right to create adaptations of your work. 

Tips for Protecting Your Art 

1. Register Your Copyrights!

First and foremost, let us dispel a common myth: the so-called “Poor Man’s Copyright” – where you mail yourself a copy of your work to rely on the postage date stamp as proof that you created a work by a specific date.  In short, the Poor Man’s Copyright gets you none of the benefits of federal registration.   

Even though copyright protection is automatic once an original work is affixed to a tangible medium, registering your work with the U.S. Copyright Office provides significant additional benefits crucial to any artist, including: 

• Legal proof: Registration serves as legal evidence of your ownership; 

• Ability to sue, secure a damages award, and secure an award of your attorneys’ fees: With a registration, at the time of infringement, you can sue for statutory damages and secure an award of the attorneys’ fees incurred if you are forced to bring an infringement suit.   

• For many artists, if a third party infringes your work, it can be very difficult to prove your actual monetary damages resulting from that infringement. This is particularly the case for artists without a track record of selling and licensing their work. But with a registration in hand, at the time of an infringement, the copyright owner can dispense with the effort of proving actual damages and, instead, opt for statutory damages, which are increased if the judge finds that the infringement was willful.   

• Also, with registration, at the time of infringement, a copyright owner can seek and secure an award of the attorneys’ fees incurred in bringing the legal action.  That means that the infringer, in addition to paying his/her/their attorney, may have to pay the fees of your attorney as well.   

• Bottom line, infringement of a registered copyright exposes an infringer to the obligation of paying a significant monetary award in addition to the fees generated by all attorneys in the matter. This gives the registered copyright owner significant leverage, incentivizing early settlement of the claim.   
• Public record: Registration creates a public record of your copyright, deterring potential infringers.

2. Keep Detailed Records

Rather than rely on the “Poor Man’s Copyright,” maintain documentation of your work process as well as publication of your work.  Ideally, maintain the following: 

• Sketches and drafts: Save preliminary sketches, drafts, and notes. 

• Dates of creation: Keep track of when you created each original piece, and even portions thereof. 

• Exhibition and publication records: Document where and when each of your works is displayed or published. 

These records can help establish your ownership and the timeline of your creative process. 

3. Use Watermarks

Once your work is in digital format, it is easily moved around the world in seconds. If you share your work online, consider using watermarks. A watermark is a visible overlay identifying you as the author of that work. While a watermark will not prevent someone from using your work without your authorization, it makes it clear who the copyright owner is and, especially if the infringer tries to remove it, in the context of a copyright infringement suit it can significantly bolster your assertion that the infringement was willful, perhaps leading to a higher damages award. 

4. Generate Revenues from Licensing Your Work

If you wish to allow others to use your work, enter into a written license agreement specifying how your work may be used and how you will be compensated for allowing that use. Licenses can be exclusive (only party X can sell prints bearing an image of the work) or non-exclusive (grant the same right(s) to multiple parties). A license is a legal agreement that should clearly state the license granted, how long that license lasts, the reporting and accounting obligations of the licensee, and how the copyright owner will be compensated for providing that license, in addition to numerous other provisions. When a licensing opportunity arises, engage a copyright attorney to assist you in drafting that document.   

5. Understand Fair Use

Fair use is a legal doctrine that allows limited use of copyrighted material without the copyright owner’s permission under certain circumstances, typically for purposes of criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, or research. As an artist, be aware of how fair use might apply to your work and to the works of others, particularly if you engage in practices like remixing or sampling.   

6. Read Online Terms of Use

There are numerous online locations, including social media sites, that provide excellent platforms to showcase your work. But be very careful before posting your work. Check the platform’s Terms of Use because some platforms’ Terms provide that when you upload your work, you grant the platform a license to use it in various ways without your prior consent.  Consider whether you want to grant this license before posting and always include a copyright notice on your image. 

7. Know Your Rights When Selling

When you sell your art, clarify what rights you are transferring. The sale of an artwork does not automatically transfer copyright unless explicitly stated, in writing. For example, you may make 100 prints of your oil painting, but you are not selling or licensing your copyright in the original painting by selling these prints. Just because someone purchases a print doesn’t mean that they can make copies of the print to sell, distribute, etc. Always be clear in a sale whether the buyer receives only the physical artwork or if they also gain certain usage rights. 

8. Consult an Intellectual Property Attorney

If you’re unsure about any aspect of copyright, consider consulting with a copyright attorney. Every situation is unique, and an experienced intellectual property attorney can tailor your licenses and other agreements to your specific situation, help you with copyright registration, and guide you through potential legal issues. 

Conclusion 

A basic understanding of copyright is essential for working artists, enabling you to protect your creative work, assert your rights as a copyright owner, and generate revenues from your work. By understanding copyright basics and registering your work soon after creation, you can safeguard your art from infringement and put yourself in the best position possible should your work be infringed. As an artist, your creativity deserves protection. By implementing these tips, you can focus on what you do best – creating – while ensuring that your work is recognized, respected, and protected. 

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Authors Bio: 

Co-founders of intellectual property law firm Crown® LLP, Elizabeth J. Rest and Owen Seitel have a passion for Advising Creativity®. Elizabeth is a brand builder and portfolio protector, focused on trademarks and copyrights, and Owen has more than 30 years of experience with commercial endeavors, transactions, and disputes involving intellectual property and broader business matters. They can be reached at elizabeth@crownllp.com and owen@crownllp.com.   

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CREATE A ROBUST ONLINE PRESENCE

The best place to start is to work on your online presence. You need a good website that will allow you to showcase your work. You can direct interested buyers, curators, art collectors, and museums to your website if they want to see more of your work or find updated information about you. You could also use your website to apply for a project or register for an art competition. Fortunately, websites are easy to create and cheap to maintain. You can use builders like Wix to create your first personal website.

PUT ALL YOUR ART IN ONE PLACE

Talking of creating a lasting impression, your audience won’t know how good you are if you don’t showcase the pieces you have already made. Again, one of the best ways to get exposure to your artwork is to create a killer portfolio where visitors and potential clients can see all your art in one place. Take time to gather all your work, take quality photos, and post them on a separate section of your website.

POST TOP-TIER CONTENT

Now that you have a polished website, it’s high time you beef it up with quality content that will keep your audience coming back for more. After all, your clients won’t be interested in your stuff if they have no idea what they are buying. Your strongest skill is visual not written, but you can still be creative enough to play with the words in the product description. You could also spice things up and write about the creative process and all the work that goes into making your art. You can also work with an agency with connections and in-house specialists who do guest posting services to get your content to bloggers.

ADD A LINK TO YOUR STORE ON YOUR WEBSITE

Most clients want you to meet them at their convenience. They might lose interest in your stuff if they must click away from your website to search for your online store. You could make things easier for them by embedding links to where they can buy your artwork. You can also create an online shop right on your site. In this case, your website visitors can complete the purchase without any redirection.

DESIGN A UNIQUE LOGO

A logo is an excellent way to take your art career to the next step and get you noticed. You don’t have to design a complicated logo that will take time to complete. A good logo can be as simple as your signature or a symbol that your audience can recognize as yours. Tap into your creative side and do deep introspection to determine what other people associate with you or what symbol you resonate with most.
Tip: You can also outsource logo design to a freelancer to make it fast.

CAPTURE THE TRUE ESSENCE OF YOUR ART

Unless you sell your art locally, most of your potential clients won’t get to see your pieces in person. Therefore, it would be wise to take quality photos with high resolution so your audience can see your art for what it truly is. Capturing the true essence of your art also means portraying it in action. For instance, if you created a glow-in-the-dark painting, you could take a picture with the lights on and off so your audience can get the full experience.

NETWORK WITH INFLUENCERS

People who have amassed an enormous following online are valuable in helping you get exposure to your artwork. Once they introduce you to their audience, chances are your content will get more engagement and conversion. Connecting with influencers is also excellent if you want to combine two different audiences. For instance, you could liaise with a fashion blogger and bring together your art-based audience and their fashion-based audience.

However, finding the right influencers to partner with can be tedious. An excellent solution to this predicament would be to use blogger outreach services like Outreach Monks which work with influencers to help secure relevant links to increase traffic to your website and boost your SEO rankings.

LEVERAGE MORE ON SOCIAL MEDIA

As an intelligent artist and entrepreneur, you shouldn’t trivialize the power of social media in boosting the reach and visibility of your products. However, you could miss the mark if you post on the wrong platform. First and foremost, we advise you to determine which platform your target audience uses and make it your primary focus. You can then tailor your content and visuals to suit your chosen platform to reach your potential clients. As you continue posting on your leading platform, don’t forget to use other social media platforms to broaden your reach.
Tip: Tap into new platforms like TikTok to showcase your art

TELL A DESCRIPTIVE STORY

Gone are the days when clients were more engrossed in the final product. In addition to marveling at your art, your visitors and potential customers want to know why you decided to get into the art industry and where you draw inspiration. Perhaps telling your unique story could be the key to pushing your art into the world and reaching your target audience to notice you. Optimizing your store copy gives your audience a chance to connect with you on a deeper level and cherish the pieces you make.

CONSIDER PEER-TO-PEER PROMOTION

One other clever way to take the tedium out of trying to promote your artwork without compromising on the effectiveness of the process is to encourage your followers to share your work. If you are yet to find a creative way to incentivize your audience, you could ask them to tell a friend or loved one about what you do. You could also create giveaways and get your audience to make a post that mentions your company or uses one of your hashtags. The winners could go home with an art piece of their choice or a gift voucher.

LIAISE WITH OTHER UPCOMING ARTISTS

Chances are you have come across numerous artists struggling to gain exposure for their work in your niche. Teaming up with these artists is a budget-friendly yet effective way to push your own work into the market. They could introduce you to their audience and vice versa, allowing you to cast a wider net. You could also learn from the artists you interact with and incorporate the new skills into your creative process to develop better art pieces for your portfolio.

WRAPPING UP

The biggest mistake you could make as an artist is an inaction. Failure to take the first step will leave you stuck in your current situation. You wouldn’t want to leave your stunning pieces tucked away in the attic when you could find a new home for them. It would also be a shame to let other people talk you out of your dreams and vision. The best time to start working on your goals and get exposure for your unique art is now!

Author Bio: Imala Green works with Outreach Monks as senior content head. She holds her expertise in business and technical writing. Her aim is to provide information about advance business trends worldwide, along with changing working parameters in an easy language.

The post How to Get Exposure For Your Artwork appeared first on Art Business News.

Obtain a basic business education

A successful artist should wear two hats. They should wear the hat of a creative, but also one of a business owner. Most artists have no problem wearing hat number one, but many of them neglect hat number two. Take some time to study how to run a business and obtain a basic business education. This does not mean you need a college degree you just need to understand the basic function of a business.

Understand what your costs are and how much time it takes to do work. Time and cost must always be at the top of your mind. Small and basic pieces cost less time or money to make but have more competition and may make less profit. A large custom piece might bring you more profit, but it is going to take more time and money upfront to build. You need to understand you are running a business even if it feels like you aren’t.

When you are working on a piece it is important to ask yourself what your cost are and map them out. What do your materials cost? What will shipping of materials or your art piece cost? Most young artists don’t have their own studio so you may need to rent out studio space. If you are a glass artist or work in a medium that requires high heat, you need to account for an expensive energy bill. All these factors need to be considered when it is time to set a price for your art.

It is important you learn how to make money as an artist. Understand your art is your business and find a way to support yourself off your art.

Find a mentor and eventually mentor others

 Finding success in the art industry is a difficult thing to do. Artists put their heart and work on the line and they do so often for little money and acclaim. This industry is so hard to navigate, and you should not do it alone. Mentorship is a huge part of success in the art industry, and I would not be where I am today without having people I trusted mentor me in both art and business. You need people who can guide you through this industry and the general business world and help you grow. Mentorships don’t need to be some formal affair such as working with a famous artist in a studio. You can develop many informal relationships with artists in your community who will help you learn about the industry. As long as these people are helping you learn and grow then they are good mentors. Working with young artists has been a passion of mine for a long time and many of my best glass pieces would not be possible without the help of these talented young artists. Everyone young artist needs someone to hold them accountable and help them do art for a living. My mentors inspired me to be a better artist and they helped me make money in this industry so I could afford to share my gift with the world. They taught me that I could stay true to my artistic vision while not being a starving artist.

Find multiple mentors that are willing to guide you through this industry, they will make you a better artist and businessperson.

Always budget for emergencies and understand that cost and time are variable

Completing a complicated art project is one of the most fulfilling things an artist can do. However, accurately estimating the time and cost to complete said project often feels like an impossible task. The cost you estimate to complete a project is often less than the actual cost which is why you need to budget for emergencies. As a young artist, you are most likely not getting paid until you sell your piece and that could take up to a year for any large project. Start by doing smaller projects and save up your money to build an emergency budget. Any large project should be backed by three to six months of emergency savings in case the project goes over time and over budget.

Projects often take longer than you think to complete, and you often need to purchase more materials which with current inflation are often more expensive the second time you buy them. Cost and time are variable, and you must have money saved up to ensure you have the budget to combat these changes in completion time and material cost.

Don’t be afraid to walk away from projects 

Admitting that you don’t have the resources to do a project is a difficult thing for an artist to do but being humble and knowing when you are stretched too thin will help you in the long run. Art can cost a lot of time and money. You are spending money on materials and trying to market your piece which can put you in the red until the day you sell it. Understand what you need to make money off a piece and if you can’t make a profit off it then it might be best to put that piece aside. As creative people many of us are willing to lose money on our art if it means people get some meaning or enjoyment out of our creation; however, making this sacrifice will hurt you in the long run. The reality is it is better to do nothing than sell a piece and lose money. Not walking away only serves to burn through your materials, budget, and energy.

Think long-term and know your limits. As you grow you will gain more success and opportunities to create bigger and better projects.

Don’t be afraid to market yourself and be good to your customers

You can’t be a successful artist without finding a customer base willing to buy your art. If you want more people exposed to your work, then it is important that you market yourself. Establish your artistic brand and market it appropriately. Self-promotion can be a hard thing for many artists to do, but it usually pays off. Be active on social media and seek out magazines and local newspapers to cover your work and tell your story. Don’t be afraid to share your work with galleries, small businesses, and other artists. A lot of work I have received is due to the network of local artists I am friends with who tell their customers about me. If you have the money to do so it isn’t a bad idea to invest in some internet marketing help so you can improve your engagement on social media or show up more prominently on Google.

When you find new customers do everything you can to treat them right. I have customers who have been with me for over a decade and every few years they reach out asking me to commission a new custom glass art. Your art is your gift to the world so don’t be afraid to share it.

Lastly, it is important that you always continue pushing the envelope with your art. Don’t allow people to stifle your creativity. You shouldn’t take jobs that burn all your money, but you also should not take jobs that don’t inspire you. Balance that creative fire you have for art with the acumen to run a business and you will be successful in this industry on your terms.

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Author’s Bio: Newt Grover is the owner of the Scottsdale Arizona art studio Newt Glass. Newt specializes in creating hand-blown glass chandeliers and custom glass art for people across the United State of America. 

The post Artists Must Learn the Value of Their Art appeared first on Art Business News.

Your wall color is as important as the frame of the art piece. This should not disturb the masterpiece, but it should complement the art as one instead. You’ve devoted considerable thought to picking and organizing your art pieces. In that case, it only makes sense to provide the same amount of thought to selecting a fantastic color for your interior painting.

HOW TO CHOOSE THE BEST WALL COLOR TO GO WITH YOUR ART

1. Consider your Preferences

Before hanging any art piece on your interior walls, it’s crucial to think about the direction and theme of your design. Think about what you want a room to look like when everything’s done.

Evaluate your preferences, whether you want a peaceful or cozy vibe. Or you want your space to look more elegant, bright, clean, formal, or something dramatic. Whichever path you take will assist you in determining the suitable color scheme to match your art pieces and wall color.

A calm environment, for example, would require darker and cooler colors like greens, blues, and purples. A mix of neutrals and gentler, lighter tones could be used in a more brilliant and simple design. And how about some drama? Choose brighter, warmer shades like magenta or red.

2. Identify Your Wall Paint’s Undertone

The shade of your interior walls may appear clear to you but take a deeper look. Unless the paint color of your wall is pure white, there will almost certainly be some undertones that will alter your entire color palette. All paint colors contain undertones, including grays, beiges, and whites. The problem is that these “concealed” hues are difficult to notice unless you compare your wall paint to a different shade.

That’s why having a paint color fan deck for color comparisons comes in handy. If your interior wall color is eggshell, cream, ivory, or another neutral white, choose the purest white on the fan deck to detect undertones. Likewise, compare your wall to other shades of blue, beige, or gray to get a sense of the fine undertones affecting the dominant hue.

Matching the color palette of your artworks with the undertone of your wall helps ensure that nothing appears strangely “wrong” when everything is put together.

3. Choose a Color Scheme

Here are some useful design ideas to consider — and when you’ll need to pull out your color wheel. When it comes to the type of color scheme that will bind your room together, you have three options: monochromatic, complementary, or analogous.

Let’s have a look at what each of these represents.

Monochromatic

Become one with your color palette. A monochromatic design creates a unified, harmonious aesthetic in your space by using only one color in various shades. Choose a few distinct tones, shades, or tints of the same color to incorporate in your artwork based on the color of your wall (or undertone).

Complementary

Do you want to make a bigger statement with your art? Then you should go with a complementary color palette. Complementary hues, such as green and purple or orange and blue, are opposite each other on the color wheel. Combining complementary shades produces a striking contrast and adds interest to the space.

If your wall paint color is neutral, consider the undertone to determine which complementary color to choose. If your wall already has a specific hue, simply locate its inverse on the color wheel!

Analogous

Analogous colors are those that are adjacent on the color wheel. Using tones of the same color will result in a more peaceful and harmonious effect between your hanging art and wall color.

Choose one dominating color and apply the remaining two or three as accent colors. If your wall paint color is neutral, start your analogous color scheme with the undertone of the wall. For example, if your wall color has a light-blue undertone, your accent colors could be soft green and navy blue.

BEST WALL PAINT COLORS FOR HANGING AN ART PIECE

Neutral Colors

You can never go wrong with hanging your paintings on a neutral-colored wall. Choose a darker color, such as dark bluish-gray, to create a dramatic space.

Sky Blue

A sky blue wall contrasts nicely with predominantly white art pieces. Both the art and the wall color have an ethereal appearance, giving a tranquil and dreamy vibe to the area.

Olive Green

Olive green walls are a perfect complement for retro-inspired spaces with classic artworks and accessories. The color definitely brings the 1960s and 1970s vibe.

Lavender blue

Choose a wall paint color that will mask your frames for a uniform design. For example, the pale lavender wall paint color will fit well in with silver-framed artworks, putting more emphasis on each block of color.

Pink-Orange

If your artwork has vibrant colors, don’t assume your wall color needs to be as vivid. Softer and more subdued paint colors will highlight your piece while downplaying the rest of the space. A vivid coral or Pink-Orange background is appropriate for artwork with subdued hues. Color tones that contrast add balance and interest to a room.

Yellow

A photo display complements the white elements in a space. With so much white, a bold yellow wall color makes the artwork and furnishings stand out without overpowering the space.

Terracotta

Photographs in black and white stand out nicely against a deep wall backdrop. For example, terracotta-colored walls complement gray or black-and-white artwork.

CONCLUSION

It’s important to consider the color, size, and type of art pieces you will hang on your wall before starting your interior painting project.

You can always go back to the tips and list of colors above if you’re still unsure about what color you’re using.

However, if you’re having a hard time deciding which wall paint color suits best for your artwork, don’t hesitate to call the most reliable painting contractor in your area. By doing this, you can ensure that you’ll get professional help and the best result for your project.

About the author: Jericho Miles is a copywriter and content creator of Custom Colonial Painting that specializes in architectural, landscaping, and construction-related blogs. He’s drawing his writing inspiration from his experiences as a junior architect.

The post The Best Paint Colors in your Home to Showcase your Art appeared first on Art Business News.

We understand that most artists find it extremely difficult to create art and a business simultaneously. Many artists who overcome this hurdle and begin transforming their artistic passion from just a hobby to a business often face several challenges like managing the stress of running a business, marketing their art, finding the best pricing point, and building an appealing brand for their business.

Take it from us, branding is the soul of marketing, and marketing is the lifeblood of every art business. But for your marketing to be more effective, you’d need to find a captivating name that’d capture your target audience’s imagination and attract them to your business. With that said, here’s how to find the best name for your business.

FOUR TECHNIQUES EVERY ARTIST NEEDS TO FIND THE PERFECT ART BUSINESS NAME

1. Have a Clear Goal for Your Art Business

The first step in developing a distinct identity for your art company is outlining what you want your art brand to become, what it should accomplish, and how you want the public to connect with your artwork over time. Simply put: Have a precise vision for your business.

The best way to draw people into your business with your brand name has always been to find keywords that convey your company’s vision, align with your target audience, and embody how you would like people to feel once they connect with your business. Doing this will help you decide if you want your brand to be known for its jaw-dropping design and high-quality art, its ongoing push to expand the artistic horizon, or for its broad reach.

We all know that words have great power. Everything in our environment has an identity, a name that transmits information, moods, and ideas that we use to interact with things. Getting a solid name can infuse your brand with powerful meaning. Having these keywords will play a critical role whether you choose to brainstorm your brand’s name or visit a name generator for businesses.

After outlining the major areas you want your company to focus on as it grows over the years and creating a few keywords from them, the next step is to properly assess these words or phrases and choose a batch that best reflects your business. These will form the base for your company’s identity and branding.

2. Choose an Appropriate Brand Tone

Know this, the tone of your company’s name influences the effect your name would have on customers. Brands like Lifetouch, Pentagram, Fireart Studio, and Meta Design, all radiate different flavors and tones. Your brand’s tone expresses its genuine essence to customers. If done correctly, it will capture a wider consumer base; if done improperly, it will dissuade them.

Creating an engaging tone that is in tune with your company’s core ideas is a key method for shaping how your target market sees your business. Put effort into evaluating your customer base and discovering their basic identities, what they do, what they love to do, and what they stand for since this will give a comprehensive picture of what the appropriate tone for your company should be.

Most brand’s tones are usually:

• • Prestigious
  • Practical and pragmatic
  • Modern and innovative
  • Emotionally impactful

3. Specify the Elements of Your Brand

It’s wonderful that you now have a particular tone, but your quest for the right name isn’t done. You also need to establish your company’s brand elements. Why are these elements vital? For starters, your brand’s elements not only serve as the foundation of your brand but also the foundation for developing amazing name ideas.

But beyond naming your business, think of your brand’s elements as the building blocks of your brand’s personality. Customers will easily misinterpret your brand if your branding elements aren’t cohesive. And the easiest way to create and grasp your brand elements is to establish your company’s:

• • Big ideas: What are the key concepts your brand is focusing on?
  • Values: What ethical or professional values does your business support?
  • Story: Have you got any interesting stories to tell about your business?
  • Benefits: Will you provide your clients with any special benefits?
  • Feeling: What feelings do you want your patrons to have after interacting with your brand?
  • Value proposition: What separates your business from the art businesses in the market?

4. Gather Your Team and Start Brainstorming

It’s time to open your laptop, take a notebook, and start digging for some original, inspiring, and compelling words that match the naming needs of your business.

Trust us, brainstorming talks may be thrilling and enjoyable, but they can also be exhausting. Any entrepreneur aiming for a powerful name should not be afraid to get input from family, coworkers, and even employees. Excellent ideas can come from anyone, anywhere, and at any time.

While searching for a name, you’ll be swamped with tons of lovely and horrible naming ideas. But don’t be in a hurry to embrace one word and ditch the other.  Instead, take your time documenting every word you find. This would give enough resources to draw from as you begin testing your name.

Also, give yourself time. No name is perfect, so you shouldn’t really expect to get a faultless name right away. And if you do, set it aside and generate one or two additional great ones, so you can have multiple options to test with your audience.

5. Trademark Your Chosen Name

Once you’ve decided on a brand name, have a tiny fraction of your target market rate it to determine whether they like it. If they don’t like it, try another one since it’s pointless to select a “classy” name if your customers don’t appreciate it.

After you’ve examined and determined that your prospective name is acceptable to your clientele, be sure to register and trademark it. This would restrict other companies from using your business’s name.

Author’s Bio: Grant Polachek is the head of branding for Squadhelp.com, 3X Inc 5000 startup and disruptive naming agency. Squadhelp has reviewed more than 1 million names and curated a collection of the best available names on the web today. We are also the world’s leading crowdsource naming platform, supporting clients such as Nestle, Dell, Nuskin, and AutoNation.

The post Finding the Perfect Name for Your Art Business appeared first on Art Business News.

Nevertheless, without a considerate strategy and plan for marketing and selling your art prints, you won’t be able to be successful. You might upload your images for sale on an open platform like Pixels.com for example. But just imagine how many other photographers do exactly the same thing. That is why your promotion strategy is vitally important to let you stand out from the crowd.

In this article, we would like to advise you on where to start and how to market and sell your fine art photography for the most benefit possible.

USEFUL STEPS FOR MARKETING & SELLING YOUR DIGITAL FINE ART PRINTS

You do not need to get an academic degree or even take a photography course to start doing this part of your business. You need to join the community of photographers who sell their photos online or develop your own recognizable website. Defining your personal style is also a good place to start before you get your prints seen and bought.

Let’s have a more thorough look at how to do your fine art photography sales and make them as beneficial as possible.

START MARKETING YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY VIA SOCIAL MEDIA

Social media sites like Facebook and Instagram are great options for starting your marketing campaigns, even if you do not have your personal website or blog yet. Get accounts established there, remembering that all your followers are your potential buyers. Use the different advertising options provided by these platforms to make your edited photos recognizable and increase your exposure.

Ask your friends and colleagues to like or follow your page and share it with their acquaintances. Let everybody know that you are selling your fine art prints and word of mouth together with the ads in the social media will quickly spread. You can also start interacting with people who are potential fine art photography buyers interested in your work. Answer their questions or write short photography-related posts informing your potential customers that you have created a new piece of artwork. This can be a bit time-consuming, but it can result in positive outcomes.

HOW TO MARKET PHOTOGRAPHY VIA YOUR PERSONAL WEBSITE OR BLOG

It’s not a secret that, if you have your own website, you get more control over the interactions with potential customers. Of course, it will take more time and effort, but it will be beneficial in the long run. You can either utilize your own domain name to establish a store or create an online store on such reputable platforms as BigCommerce or Shopify. These platforms require small fees while others, such as Wix, provide free templates to get started. Choose your templates, which will integrate payment processing and order forms. You can buy a domain as well to introduce a paid service for more selling options.

If you cannot develop your website yourself, you can hire a development company to create a photography website according to your needs. The developer can also teach you some basics on how to maintain the website, integrate the keywords for search engines and keep your website optimized.

You can also create your personal blog where you will be able to show your fine art stock photography and write some interesting articles on photography. Your potential customers will be able to email you and ask for more information or shipping details if they need them. Such a convenient payment service as PayPal is appropriate for receiving payments. 

CREATE EMAIL LISTS AND MARKETING CAMPAIGNS

As you gain blog followers, you can start creating email lists for further communication. It does not matter much whether you have your own website or use social media or other websites to introduce your images. You just need a place where you can communicate with your potential buyers. A place where you can receive emails from them and send them newsletters and notifications about your new pieces of fine art photography.

You do not have to share all the new pieces with your followers, of course. Give them just enough to stay in touch and get interested in what you are doing. People should see you as a real person and like you and everything you do.  If you have a blog, keep them informed about your new ideas and let them see you behind your art.

You can also collect the email addresses via a giveaway or raffle, by using Facebook or local contests, everywhere you can to make people remember you. These small marketing campaigns are sure to boost your sales and provide you with a lot of benefits.

USE LOCAL OPTIONS

To find the new market for photography, you can also develop an interest in what you are doing at the local level. You can offer to hang your artwork at the local coffee shop. You can also go to art galleries and ask them if they can accept your photos as exhibits.

You can offer your prints to local businesses that can use your business cards with fine art images for further promotion. A local restaurant or retail outlet may want to have your photos on their walls. They obtain free artwork and you get a free advertising option. Or go to the local libraries and offer to make a display of your photos on a monthly basis.

The option of placing your fine art photos for sale in local fine art stores should also be considered. Such shops will charge you some fees only if your artwork is sold. Leave your business cards so buyers can refer to you directly if they are interested.

You can expose your fine art prints at an art fair. That is the place where you can network with different enthusiasts of fine art photography and your colleagues. Start by finding out how selling your photography at the fair works, the terms of such cooperation, and possible fees at art fairs in your area. Bring some of your prints with you and let them be sold immediately. You can also leave your business cards and flyers to the organizers. This is also a great chance to get email addresses and other contacts of your potential buyers. Offer people to sign up for a raffle to win your print.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Do you really want to start selling fine art photography? Then there is a lot of hard and interesting work in front of you. We think you’ll find it is a rewarding experience.

Communicate with your potential clients as much as possible. Let them know you and what you are doing. Get noticed via small marketing campaigns. Focus on the sources and means which you can manage easily.

Of course, you will need to invest a lot of time and effort in all this. Don’t rely on selling fine art photographs as the only means of living. Take it up as a hobby first and then you will see that you will start selling your work both online and offline and your business will grow. You will be delighted knowing that your pieces of art decorate people’s homes and offices. It’s a great feeling of success — so get busy and try it now.

Author Bio: James Baxter is a professional ghostwriter, online marketer at photo retouching company, and blogger, who loves sharing his experience and knowledge with readers. His hobby is photography and traveling, so he has already been to 35 countries.

The post How to Market and Sell Your Fine Art Photography appeared first on Art Business News.

There are so many aspects of writing your art blog content to consider, that you simply need a helping hand. You can find many useful online tools and use them to write better, faster, and more successfully. We’ve put together a list of the 9 best writing tools that will help you develop your art blog.

Let’s break them down.

1. BuzzSumo

To produce interesting content for your art blog, you need to know what the buzz is about. That means you have to research the topics that are currently trending and gather ideas for your next blog post.

With BuzzSumo, all you have to do is type the keyword or phrase you’re thinking about covering. This tool will provide a list of the most popular content topics that are currently performing best online. Then, you’ll use this list to create fresh content that will draw the necessary attention of your target audience.

2. Trello

During the development phase of your art blog, you’ll have a ton of ideas. In fact, you probably won’t be able to organize and use them all for your blog.

But, with Trello, you’ll find the organization of your ideas to be a simple and even fun process. This organization tool allows you to:

• turn each idea into a card
• add notes, calendars, timelines, and even files
• keep track of your progress and blog development

It’s like having an organization board that you’re constantly updating and using to make the most out of every blog idea.

3. GetPocket

As a blogger, you’ll need to keep an eye on the competition and stay informed about the things happening in the world of art. That includes reading other blogs, watching videos, following the right social media channels, and much more.

This is to help you produce better blog topics and write about the things people are interested in.

But, it will be challenging to keep track of all of this at once. So, use GetPocket to save the content you find online and read it in peace once you find the time. This tool will allow you to save articles, videos, and stories from any publication, page, or app.

4. Keyword Planner

To keep your art blog up and running, you’ll need to keep track of the trending keywords and use them in your posts. Why? Because this is what will get you the attention from the readership you’re targeting. Also, it’ll signal to the search engine algorithms what your content is about.

Google’s Keyword Planner helps you:

• find the right keywords
• estimate the searches and popularity
• learn the cost of targeting them

The more you know about a keyword, the better you’ll organize your blog posts and use them the right way.

5. Hemingway

When you want to conduct an in-depth analysis of your blog post, before publishing, Hemingway is the best choice.

This tool will scan your text and grade your readability. It’ll also highlight the parts that need to be changed or improved. That includes:

• overuse of passive voice
• complex or hard to read sentences
• misuse of adverbs

Then, you’ll be able to rewrite the parts that are weak and recheck your content results. It’s a tool that’ll help you upgrade each blog post.

6. Yoast SEO

Search engine optimization (SEO) is what gets your blog the high ranking it needs. This leads to more people reading your blog and growing its popularity.

Yoast SEO is a tool designed to help you improve your blog’s SEO and reach your target audience easily.

Here’s how it works:

• it analyzes your content
• it rates your readability and SEO
• it tells you what needs to be improved

For instance, Yoast will tell you to add a meta description, improve your blog title, or create better CTAs.

7. Grammarly

You need your art blog to be professional and to contain nothing but high-quality content. That means you need to double-check everything you write before you publish it.

Grammarly is a free editing and proofreading tool that will:

• scan your blog content
• find and mark spelling, grammar, and punctuation mistakes
• offer the correct alternative

Once you finish with Grammarly, your text will be publish-ready.

8. Daily Page

When you’re just getting started with your art blog, you may struggle to produce content regularly. Developing a productive writing routine is crucial for running a blog that’s always publishing fresh and fun articles.

Daily Page is a tool for bloggers such as yourself that aims to motivate and remind you to keep up with the hard work.

Here’s how it works:

• you’ll receive daily email reminders to d some writing
• you’ll be able to take writing courses
• you’ll be able to use a ton of writing prompts to help you write better
• you’ll receive a personal writing score with statistics

This tool is everything you need to stay focused on and keep working on developing your writing skills. It’ll help you develop and maintain a high-quality art blog.

9. Canva

Finally, if you want to boost your blog with powerful visuals, you can turn your writing into stunning designs. Canva is a free graphic design tool that will allow you to create:

• blog headings
• infographics
• images
• banners
• social media posts to advertise your blog

It’s simple to use but will add value and depth to any of your blog posts.

Final Thoughts

With the right resources and writing tools, you won’t have to worry about developing your art blog. You just need to be creative and love what you’re doing. The rest of it will simply come together.

The 9 tools we’ve shared with you are extremely useful and practical. Start using them today to develop an art blog that art lovers from all over are going to enjoy reading.

Author’s bio. Jessica Fender is a researcher and academic content creator. Her job is to facilitate student learning – she creates educational content that aligns with search queries “write my thesis” and “hire writer”. When Jessica has free time, she enjoys reading, blogging, and hiking.

The post 9 Writing Tools to Develop Your Art Blog appeared first on Art Business News.

Do you want to sell your art online? If yes, it is not as tough as you may think. However, it does need some effort to get things going. There are few ways available for you to achieve your online selling goals. The prime task is selling art through creative content. Yes, valuable and informative content will help you sell art online with a positive outcome for collectors.

Impeccable content lets you sell your art without losing customers’ interest. Persuading customers to buy your art directly might not bring the results you want — but add creative content and it helps you reach your goal easily. Providing useful and valuable content to the readers is the key to your success.

Tips for Content That Can Help You Sell

So you’ve decided to sell art online. Now you need to rise above the online marketplace and its platform of perpetual advertisements. Giving readers fresh content without a sales pitch is a gift indeed. This type of content is valuable and gives readers information and knowledge about you and your art.

Let’s see some ways to promote your art with creative content.

Tip #1 Blog Creation

Change the trend by creating emotional content for your customers, which will give you a major inroad to success. A triangular love is established between your art, customer, and you through creative content on your blog. This technique helps sell your art online — and is so much easier than a sales pitch.

Develop a free blog and create content that touches the mind and soul of the reader. Developing an emotional connection for promoting your art on your blog will give you better results.

Tip #2 Share Your Creative Content on Social Media

As an artist, you can tell your story, again and again, rebuilding on the past with today’s impressions can help make you memorable to your readers. An artist can connect with online fans on social media with intriguing posts. Fun and engaging content, but not in an aggressive way, will bring readers and fans back for more.

Building a good relationship with fans on social media is an easy way to promote your work. You don’t have to persuade fans, instead, you move with them by expressing your views about your artwork. Post the work with your mind-blowing comments and impressions.

Engage with collectors and fans by posting photos of the art along with content to entice them. Then they will share your posts increasing your impact.

Tip #3 Creative Content on Videos and Photos

Whenever you post videos and images of your art to support your content, it entices your customers. Sometimes, ordinary photos or videos do not attract fans online. You will need to use all the latest techniques when you create videos and photos to go along with your compelling content. Then you will see success gradually build and sales increase. Remember to also post your videos on YouTube to maximizes your videos’ reach.

Tip #4 Newsletter with Soul

Use a newsletter to give fans and collectors insight into your creative thoughts and musings. Give them a glimpse into your soul. Introduce them to or remind them about your latest work. A newsletter that is heartfelt with great content will always be compelling. For example, you could share a catchy story and news about an upcoming art exhibition through the newsletter.

Tip #5 Host A Podcast with Creative Content

You might try hosting a podcast to promote your art. A strong podcast that is enticing and attractive with content can lead to sales.

For example, share an inspiring story about artwork, your experiences with your art, or what you’ve learned along the way. A podcast using some of these ideas can provoke interest for a listener to buy your art. And it is a great way to encourage a fan to buy your art online. Make it creative and it’s a top-line way to reach fans.

Creative Content Starters

Use these examples as a starting place for your descriptions, comments, and stories:

• Art is not a work, but it is life to all of us.
• We can realize ourselves through art.
• We can change the world through art.
• Art is magic if you view it through all your senses, not just your eyes.
• Focus on the art with your feelings and emotions, not your brain. The feeling you get from viewing the art should be sensational.
• My artwork is not simple colors and words, but my thoughts and understanding of the world.
• It can guide you to endless happiness.
• Endless and unlimited happiness is possible through the heartfelt emotions that occur through my artwork.

Conclusion

Start now creating content that intrigues buyers. A mesmerizing artwork described with emotion and great content not only kindles the interest and passion of the audience but lets them share their creativity virally. A committed audience of followers and collectors is equal to millions of dollars spent on advertising online or offline. Your inspiring artwork reaches customers with content that adds wings to your artwork, thereby helping you achieve your sales goals.

Author Bio: Addys Mayers is a freelance writer on Omnipapers. She is also a marketing specialist. She enjoys sharing her writing tips and experience on blogs. See more of her most recent work @addys_mayers.

The post How Creative Content Can Help Sell Art appeared first on Art Business News.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF YOU

Every time you begin introducing your work, you need to share some information about yourself. How old are you, where you are from, where did you study — if you’ve studied somewhere and some other basic facts that are important for your work. Think of having your bio as part of your artist statement. But, there are a lot of ways you can introduce yourself, it doesn’t need to be the traditional way, you could end up matching your work with the information you’d like to share.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF YOUR BODY OF WORK

In your artist statement, it’s important to include a brief history of your body of work. When composing this paragraph, it’s difficult to keep it short, simple, and to the point. Don’t include every detail of your journey, but rather think of turning points in your path as an artist. Think of the pieces of work you created that transformed your point of view or came from a place of rethinking. Consider the situations that inspired you to create and in what way this influenced you. Last, this needs to be a brief statement, so choose what you want to include wisely.

INFLUENCES

Another subject you should consider including is your influences. When writing about influences, it’s important to not be just name-dropping. Think about how other artists inspired your work, and in what way you look up to them. When deciding what to write in this section, be sure to fact-check your information.

PREFERRED MEDIUM AND METHOD

Now, method and medium are two completely different things. Your method could be the same, while the medium may change constantly. So apart from sharing your work, you can share how you work. How do you approach a piece of art? What is it that you do first? How do you research? These are all questions that you can answer in this segment that will highlight your uniqueness.

A PARTICULAR PIECE OF YOUR WORK

In an artist statement, it’s important to focus on the present. Think of a piece of work that you have created in the past or something that is current, and it reflects on the issues and themes that are close to you right now and showcase it. Explain why it’s important to you and why you have selected the particular piece to say something more. It could be your latest piece of work or something you have created a long time ago, but it feels current to your state of mind at the moment.

IDEAS ON THE EXHIBITION OF YOUR PARTICULAR WORK

The work in itself and how it’s exhibited are different decisions that affect one another. Showcase your ability to think out of the box when exhibiting a piece. Even if you haven’t had your work in a gallery or shown to the public, you can write your ideas on how you envision it. This segment will give the reader a feeling for the final product, while it showcases your process and method as an artist.

WHAT YOU ARE EXPERIMENTING WITH, WHAT YOU WISH TO EXPLORE IN THE FUTURE

This segment is very important because it’s referring to the direction you wish to go to, your future. How are you pushing your boundaries? What is it that you want to explore further and experiment? These are questions that should be answered in this segment. You could write about different techniques and methods that you’d like to try, different mediums, a combination of mediums, etc.

THINK OF THE WHY CONSTANTLY

A great tip that someone told me once when I was writing my own statement was to think of why you are including every piece of information. Writing an artist statement is very personal and psychoanalytic in a way. It requires you to be honest and very open with your work, your thoughts, and your intentions. The more honest you are with yourself, the more unique your work will be.

WRITE KEYWORDS THAT YOU WANT TO INCLUDE THAT SHOW THE CONNECTION TO YOUR WORK

Another trick that you could try is to jot down some keywords that you believe describe you and your work best, and then try to find a structure that makes sense to include all these pieces of information together. You can take each one of the questions you want to answer and write down five keywords for each.

INCLUDE YOUR ASPIRATIONS AS AN ARTIST; WHAT IS YOUR VISION?

This segment is closely tied with the “What would you like to explore” section, but it is a wider answer. It’s a segment where you could write how you envision yourself and your art in 10 years. You could write about your values, how you want to continue transforming, what you would like to achieve, etc. It could be something that isn’t only about you — it could be your vision for a better world and how you would or will contribute to it.

CONCLUSION

As it was stated previously, an artist’s statement is deeply personal because it showcases an artist’s connection to their work. As long as you are honest and know why you are including all these little pieces of yourself, the information you deem important, you will end up with your own unique voice and identity. Show your journey, your method, your point of view, and you’ll have an artist statement you are proud to represent you and your art!

Author Bio: Nicole Garrison is a professional writer and art enthusiast at TrustMyPaper. She loves traveling, reading books, and going to museums. Nicole writes frequently on blogs and sites to share her expertise as a writer. 

The post 10 Tips on How to Write a Unique Artist Statement appeared first on Art Business News.

Sound familiar? And you probably can also envision the logo that goes with each. Those are taglines that have been embedded in our memory, and quite effectively. Ideally, a tagline should become synonymous with the brand  — but more importantly, it’s a message that resonates with the core emotion of the brand. Shoes, services, sodas, cars, and — yes — art can all have effective taglines.

5 STEPS FOR DEVELOPING A GREAT TAGLINE

1. KEEP IT SIMPLE

Successful taglines tell the story simply. Your tagline should be six words or fewer.

2. IT NEEDS A REASON TO BE USED

Don’t have a tagline just because it seems like it would be cool — or because successful people use one. It needs to bring meaning to your brand. If it doesn’t, skip it until you land on one that does.

3. MAKE IT CLEAR

No ambiguity here. This is not the place for gimmicks, puns, or anything that confuses. It’s a simple, clear statement. Test it out and if it doesn’t resonate, go back to the drawing board.

4. BENEFITS SELL

No matter the brand or product, buyers love to hear about benefits. So make it part of your tagline if it adds value. With artwork, creating an emotional connection is always a benefit that will get a positive response from collectors.

5. TELL A STORY

A tagline that tells a story — and your story is key to your overall marketing message. If your tagline tells a story, it reinforces your brand and messaging.

GETTING IT DONE

Actually creating the tagline can be difficult or quite easy. Much depends on where you are with your business and marketing already, as well as on your creativity.

1. START WITH YOUR BUSINESS GOALS

Where are you now, where do you want to be? What do you hope your art, your gallery, you, and your business mean to people? What does it inspire in people? Write the answers to these questions down and look at the words you’ve written.

2. WHAT’S THE EMOTIONAL PLAY?

What’s the emotional reaction that you’ve seen people have? Or hope people have? Happiness, joy, excitement, surprise, serenity, wonder, awe, love, pride — and how do you turn those emotions into a key phrase to describe you and the work? Start with a list of words that describe reactions along with key emotions the work evokes. This will give you a good start and it may even be a combination of words from the list that form a perfect tagline.

3. CREATE MULTIPLE, THEN NARROW IT DOWN

If you are clear on who you are, what the work is all about, and how you want people to react and feel, then you are on your way. Here are a few artists’ taglines that tell their story:

• John Scanlan: Windows to the World
• Samir Sammoun: Today’s Monet
• Gebhardt Gallery: Integration of Strength and Beauty
• Kristen Naugle: Poetry in Nature
• Kent Wallis: From Soul to Canvas
• Shima Shanti: Inspired Artworks

4. LOOK AROUND

Think about how this article started — with a few memorable businesses’ taglines. Look around for others that may get your creativity and inspiration flowing. Here are a few more:

• “A diamond is forever” – De Beers
• “The pause that refreshes” – Pepsi
• “Can you hear me now?” – Verizon
• “We bring good things to life” – General Electric
• “Be your way” – Burger King
• “Think different.” – Apple
• “Open happiness” – Coca-Cola

And, by the way, did you know a tagline is not forever? McDonald’s has changed its more than a dozen times over the years. And some businesses, artists, and galleries included decide to just not do it. It’s up to you, but it can be a terrific tool that resonates with your brand and makes the artwork and you memorable.

____________________________
Linda Mariano is the Editor-in-Chief for Art Business News and Managing Director of Marketing for Redwood Art Group. With a career that spans 30 years, Mariano is a leader in marketing, brand management, e-commerce, and promotion initiatives for major retailers, specialty retail, art industry, licensing partnerships, media, and entertainment, as well as entrepreneurial business environments. For Redwood Art Group, Linda oversees the marketing and brand extension efforts of the company.

The post What’s a Tagline? appeared first on Art Business News.