Artists, Craftspeople, Musicians, Festivals, & Others that exhibit, perform or work in the music, art, craft, festival biz and special events industry, will find these past Newsletters of interest.
Years 2018-2022. To access a back issue, click the Newsletter title. Use the search box above to find a topic in all years.
Our industry has changed forever, and there is no going back to the old ways of doing business. Even traditional selling models will have to develop virtual components—or fail. Luckily, creative thinking is squarely in the wheelhouse of every artist and crafter. Are you using any of the following strategies?
Polish Your Artist Website
Your art website is the best place to showcase what you do, since you control content and presentation. Design it to display your art beautifully with stunning images and plenty of them. If your website isn’t ready for prime time, your sales will suffer. Does your About page share a compelling story? Do you provide information for shoppers about your art and how to purchase it, including terms and policies? Do you have prices listed and a shopping cart? If your answer to any of those questions is no, it is likely there is “friction” on your site that is preventing sales rather than encouraging them.
Anyone with a smartphone or computer can make videos. Present a collection of your work and tell your story authentically to reach your audience most effectively. Online tools like Lumen 5 are useful for this purpose.
Then, place your video content in multiple places, such as your website and social media profiles. YouTube is a massive platform filled with videos of all types—and as the second-biggest search engine in the world, it’s an excellent place to start. Many artists who teach have switched over from live workshops to video lessons on YouTube with very positive results. Videos are perfect vehicles for Instagram Stories and are also the format for Facebook Live. Sales can literally be made directly on these platforms.
If you’re camera shy, or fear that you don’t take a good photo, it could be slowing you down. Resolve to get past that hesitation. Start now by making a video about yourself and your work, then share and gauge the results. It gets easier over time, and you will most likely be glad you took the first step.
Savvy marketing tools and techniques can attract more customers to your food truck or food business and more viewers to your website. By building your presence without paying for advertising, you’ll have extra cash to invest in other areas.
Put your URL on all documents and packaging
There's no added cost to include your URL on every single piece of collateral that leaves your food truck or food business. For example:
* Truck wrap
* Business cards
* Letterhead
* Invoices
* Receipts
* Catering presentation folders
* Take-away menus
* Press releases
Be sure your URL appears in all of your advertising and social media. And of course, include it on all forms of packaging: cartons, labels, bags, and any other containers you use.
As musicians, touring, performing, and creating often begin with staring at a screen doing all the administrative tasks which keep the creative side alive. Here are some outside-the-box ideas as you consider what your ‘work’ is for the foreseeable future.
Do you maintain your own website? No matter what platform you use your skillset is necessary right now! People (especially small businesses) are realizing now more than ever that they need a website in what now feels like a virtual-only world. And believe it or not, most people don’t know how to make one. Offer this talent. Someone needs your expertise.
image courtesy: bandzoogle
And guess what? People who need websites also need help with their social media presence: Facebook Business pages, Instagram accounts, Twitter, subscriber mailing lists, and the like. Remember that while online communication takes a front seat to in-person communication, small business owners need help doing this better.
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