Content marketing for artists

Housekeeping

• Agenda–Overview of Content Marketing– Capturing Your Stories, ID your

audience, give them what they want to see

– Artists who are doing it well

• How to ask questions in the Webinar

Who am I?

• BFA in Theater• Actor, Storyteller,

Husband• Six years in corporate digital strategy• Three years helping artists sell art online

what is content marketing?

1904 – cook book sells Jell-

O

1982 comic book revolutionizes toy

sales

Nike+ revolutionized running and exercise

2006 - Will It Blend – 600% increase in sales

Content Marketing is making what you do interesting in other

contexts

The Unfair Advantage

“…what people are looking for online is original and remarkable media content…the less your content looks like advertising, the more effective it will be at advertising.” – Mark McGuinness

Open up the artistic process – Gwenn Seemel

Action Item #1

• Document your process, from start to finish, in whatever medium feels right - audio, video, pictures, whatever. • Be sure to include your why

OK, I have my process – now what?

Building content for each persona

• Professional art collectors & investors• Art enthusiasts• Curators• Gallery owners• Interior designers• Corporate buyers

What does it mean to sell art online?

• eCommerce – shopping carts & credit cards• Selling commissions – showing off

your work so you can sell this service• Showcasing for galleries, museums

and agents

Action Item #2 – ID your niche

• Every artist has one• Understand your Uniquity• Get in the minds of your audience

Build Content Your Collectors Want to See

• They want to see your process & get a “behind the scenes” look• Create content for each stage of

the purchase cycle• automate & outsource

The Marketing Funnel

• Content for the buying cycle– awareness

• Traffic & Lead generation– email opt-in, lead

magnets

• Nurture leads– blogging, email, social

media– build value through

exclusivity, authenticity, status

• Tell your story• Credibility• Courting the Press• The purchase

experience• Testimonials• Exclusivity and

Status• Building buzz

Content Marketing – The Checklist

Behind the Scenes – Matt Richards

Matt Leblanc – charity, fun

• Content for the buying cycle– awareness

• Traffic & Lead generation– email opt-in, lead

magnets

• Nurture leads– blogging, email, social

media– build value through

exclusivity, authenticity, status

• Tell your story• Credibility• Courting the Press• The purchase

experience• Testimonials• Exclusivity and

Status• Building buzz

Content Marketing – The Checklist

Driving traffic

• Offer up something incredible, in the right context

• Search Engine Optimization – keyword research

• Blog about controversial topics, take a stand

• Blog about other artists you love/hate• News drafting techniques• Guest posting• but, remember…

Melissa Dinwiddie – Creativity Coaching

Lisa Firke – the Rabbit, Rabbit emails

Jolie Guillebeau – Daily Stories

Hugh Mcleod – Gaping Void daily cartoons

• Content for the buying cycle– awareness

• Traffic & Lead generation– email opt-in, lead

magnets

• Build relationships– blogging, email, social

media– build value through

exclusivity, authenticity, status

• Tell your story• Credibility• Courting the Press• The purchase

experience• Testimonials• Exclusivity and

Status• Building buzz

Content Marketing – The Checklist

Blogging Content Strategy

• Research what other artists are doing• Talk to your readers• Create content from your art process–what you love, why you make art, how it

gets done

• Create a calendar

Automate distribution of content

• Schedule posts in advance• RSS to Email is your friend• Auto-post to social• Tweet Archives

Scheduling

Auto-posting

&

Social Media Management - Hootsuite

Amber Jean - exclusivity

• Content for the buying cycle– awareness

• Traffic & Lead generation– email opt-in, lead

magnets

• Nurture leads– blogging, email, social

media– build value through

exclusivity, authenticity, status

• Tell your story• Credibility• Courting the Press• The purchase

experience• Testimonials• Exclusivity and

Status• Building buzz• Build urgency

Content Marketing – The Checklist

Storytelling

Translating the Monomyth to the Artist’s Journey

• Gwenn Seemel’s bio page• Obstacles–making your art happen– technical challenges– funding

• Going dark• Growing as an artist and person

then, enable others to tell your story

• Optimize your images & page titles for discovery/sharing• image sharing sites: FB, Pinterest,

Tumblr, Flickr, imgur, Photobucket, Shutterfly, SmugMug, Youtube, Slideshare• individual pages/urls for each image• sharing buttons• form a sharing alliance

copyright concerns

• leverage Creative Commons• use low-res images (72dpi)• keep them small (500 pixels wide or

less)• don’t use scripts that disable right-

clicking or sharing

• Content for the buying cycle– awareness

• Traffic & Lead generation– email opt-in, lead

magnets

• Nurture leads– blogging, email, social

media– build value through

exclusivity, authenticity, status

• Tell your story• Credibility• Courting the Press• The purchase

experience• Testimonials• Exclusivity and

Status• Building buzz• Build urgency

Content Marketing – The Checklist

Shows, awards, press

• Content for the buying cycle– awareness

• Traffic & Lead generation– email opt-in, lead

magnets

• Nurture leads– blogging, email, social

media– build value through

exclusivity, authenticity, status

• Tell your story• Credibility• Courting the Press• The purchase

experience• Testimonials• Exclusivity and

Status• Building buzz• Build urgency

Content Marketing – The Checklist

Press releases & relationships

• Find out what your ideal collector reads• Form relationships with your local

journalists• Form relationships with art bloggers• Learn to write press releases –

informal and formal

• Content for the buying cycle– awareness

• Traffic & Lead generation– email opt-in, lead

magnets

• Nurture leads– blogging, email, social

media– build value through

exclusivity, authenticity, status

• Tell your story• Credibility• Courting the Press• The purchase

experience• Testimonials• Exclusivity and

Status• Building buzz• Build urgency

Content Marketing – The Checklist

You don’t just want traffic, you want readers & leads

eCommerce, commissions, packaging & shipping

• Content for the buying cycle– awareness

• Traffic & Lead generation– email opt-in, lead

magnets

• Nurture leads– blogging, email, social

media– build value through

exclusivity, authenticity, status

• Tell your story• Credibility• Courting the Press• The purchase

experience• Testimonials• Building buzz• Build urgency

Content Marketing – The Checklist

Ask collectors for testimonials, get pictures

• Content for the buying cycle– awareness

• Traffic & Lead generation– email opt-in, lead

magnets

• Nurture leads– blogging, email, social

media– build value through

exclusivity, authenticity, status

• Tell your story• Credibility• Courting the Press• The purchase

experience• Testimonials• Building buzz• Build urgency

Content Marketing – The Checklist

Plan the release of new pieces, partner with others

• Work in a series, have something to say• Find bloggers or journalists who are

interested, give them inside access• Have a group of early access

collectors

working in a series

• Content for the buying cycle– awareness

• Traffic & Lead generation– email opt-in, lead

magnets

• Nurture leads– blogging, email, social

media– build value through

exclusivity, authenticity, status

• Tell your story• Credibility• Courting the Press• The purchase

experience• Testimonials• Building buzz• Build urgency

Content Marketing – The Checklist

Urgency = power

• Buy it now, before I release to the wider public• I’m leaving to go to …• This series is the only time I’ll do this

work• Limited edition prints

Michael Whitlark

Measurement tools

• Web analytics• Social analytics• Email measurement

Google Analytics – most important stats to watch

Google Analytics – most important stats to watch

Referring sites Top pages on your site

Facebook Insights

Hootsuite analytics

Mailchimp analytics

What’s next?

Advanced Content Marketing for Artists Course

• 3 live sessions, with recordings–Generating Content That Makes Collectors Swoon–Advanced Blogging and Email Marketing –Social Media Hacks by the Pros

• Evaluate your existing content and look for ways to repurpose, reuse and recycle• How to take a blog post and turn

it into audio, video, and image material• Understanding analytics and how

to make decisions based on data

Part 1: Generating Content That Makes Collectors Swoon

Part 2: Image Optimization, Blogging, & Email Marketing

Strategy

• Build a content strategy & calendar• Guest posting• Search engine optimization• Autoresponder madness –

automating your lead nurturing and sales process

Part 3: Social Media Hacks from the Pros

• How to find your target collectors online• Collaborating with other artists• Drafting off of more successful

artists and social media celebrities• Automating and analyzing social

What you get• Three hour-long classes that show you

exactly how to build an automated marketing program that grows your audience in ways you never thought possible

• Video recordings and transcripts of the courses for you to review and implement later, so you can focus on learning, not taking notes

• Access to a members-only mastermind group on Facebook that will allow you to ask questions and collaborate with other artists

Want to join us?

Go here now: theabundantartist.com/cont

ent