December 2023 Creative Resources

Pencils

December 2023 Creative Resources to help you with the business of art. Restarting this series as we conclude 2023. A bit of a look forward to opportunities in 2024 and planning for the end of 2023. 

Use Anytime

Guide to the Best Artist Grants & Opportunities in 2024

Artwork Archive has their 2024 list of opportunities for artists. It is a fairly comprehensive list. It is searchable by region as well. Check it out and see if there is something which interests you. Continue reading “December 2023 Creative Resources”

Preparing for Tax Season as an Artist: Useful Tips for December

Tis the season - to plan your taxes

As the year draws to a close, artists who sell their creations online and at art fairs find themselves at a crucial juncture—tax season is just around the corner. While the creative process may be the heartbeat of your artistry, managing your finances is equally vital. Here, we provide valuable tips on how to prepare for taxes in December, ensuring a seamless meeting with your tax preparer. Continue reading “Preparing for Tax Season as an Artist: Useful Tips for December”

Maximizing Your Creative Business: Choosing the Right Email Service Provider

As an artist or maker, building a thriving online presence is essential for connecting with your audience and growing your small creative business. One powerful tool in your digital arsenal is email marketing.

Collecting and nurturing a dedicated email list allows you to engage with your fans, share your latest creations, and turn casual admirers into loyal customers. The key to harnessing the full potential of email marketing is choosing the right Email Service Provider (ESP). Continue reading “Maximizing Your Creative Business: Choosing the Right Email Service Provider”

Five Key Strategies for Artists for Black Friday Promotions

Are you eager to join the frenzy of holiday shopping without reducing the prices of your art? We’ve got you covered! Let’s explore five key strategies to balance boosting sales and maintaining profitability while providing a unique and exclusive experience for your art-loving audience.

Strategize Exclusive Offers:

Focus on creating limited-edition pieces or special bundles only available during the Black Friday event. Allow your customers to own something unique they can’t find anywhere else.

Examples of this could be limited edition prints of a favorite series of paintings or photographs. Or create a limited edition soap or candle collection just for the holiday weekend. Continue reading “Five Key Strategies for Artists for Black Friday Promotions”

Boost Your Art Website Traffic With These 7 Proven Strategies

Boost Your Art Website Traffic With These 7 Proven Strategies

To effectively market a craft or art fair business and attract new traffic to your website during the holiday season, you can use a combination of online and offline strategies. Here are seven key marketing tactics to consider:

Search Engine Optimization (SEO):

    • Optimize your website for search engines by using relevant keywords and phrases related to your craft or art fair niche. This will help your site rank higher in search results, making it easier for potential customers to find you. 
    • Use keywords in your art title and description. Use words your customer would use to find what you sell. (Ex. Modern purple ring or antique amethyst ring)

Continue reading “Boost Your Art Website Traffic With These 7 Proven Strategies”

Selling Art Online Versus at Art Fairs

Art Fair

As artists contemplate the best avenue to sell their art, a critical decision arises: selling art online versus at art fairs. Each approach has advantages and drawbacks, presenting artists with unique opportunities and challenges. 

The art world has witnessed a profound transformation with the advent of the digital age. Artists are no longer limited to traditional brick-and-mortar galleries or local exhibitions to showcase their creations.

Instead, they now also have the power of the internet at their fingertips. Enabling them to reach a global audience through online art marketplaces and social media platforms. On the other hand, the charm of art fairs, with their lively ambiance and direct interactions, still holds strong appeal for artists and art enthusiasts alike.  Continue reading “Selling Art Online Versus at Art Fairs”

Promoting Your Art – Five Strategies to Gain a Larger Audience

Art

Promoting your art is crucial to building a creative business and generating sales. Here are five strategies that can help you gain recognition, reach a wider audience, and potentially sell your work:

Establish an online presence:

Create a website to showcase your art. Share high-quality images of your work, descriptions, artist statements, and contact information. Additionally, consider joining art-focused social media platforms or using popular ones like Instagram to share your artwork regularly and engage with other artists and potential buyers. Continue reading “Promoting Your Art – Five Strategies to Gain a Larger Audience”

August Creative Resources

Pencils

Creative resources for August 2021. This list includes a few free-to-watch classes on CreativeLive, a resource list from Artwork Archive, and an uplifting blog from Creative Mornings.

Below is our Roundup of August Creative Resources
Use Anytime

The Best Opportunities for Artists in August 2021

Artwork Archive has a great monthly roundup of opportunities for artists. This list includes grants, residencies, events, and much more. Bookmark their page to come back each month to find out new resources.

HEY CreativeMornings!: 39 Things We Wish We’d Realized Sooner

Need a little inspiration? This post is from the CreativeMornings website may encourage you to move forward with your art. What would you tell your younger self?  

Creative Mornings is an incredible organization just for us creatives. After you read the article, take some time looking through their website. They have an amazing creative community.

August 25

Blogging to Sell Your Products

Do you have a blog? Or maybe you use Instagram to help you draw awareness to your art. Either way, you are using photos, captions, and writing to sell. This CreativeLive course is taught by Megan Auman and will walk you through the best ways to write and sell. The class takes just over 3 hours and is free on this day and available for a fee after this day. 

August 29

Turn Your Etsy Shop into a Sales Machine

If you are new to Etsy or looking to revamp your Etsy store, this course will lead you through what you need to know to grow your sales. It is over an 11-hour class and gets into the details to optimize your store. The course is a few years old, and Etsy is updated its business model and what you need to do. However, this course will help you use Etsy as one tool to create a better business. This course is free on this date and available for a fee after this date.

Above is the list of the August creative resources. If you would like to be the first to see what we round up for September, feel free to follow the blog through WordPress Reader or subscribe to our newsletter.

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July Creative Resources

July

July creative resources to kickstart this month’s creativity. A few posts and classes I found across the internet to keep your creativity moving through the summer.

Use Anytime

The Best Opportunities for Artists in July 2021

Artwork Archive has a great monthly roundup of opportunities for artists. This list includes grants, residencies, events and much more. Bookmark their page to come back each month to find out what’s new.

Toolkit: How to Write Your About Page

This post is from Creative Mornings website. The about page on your website may be one of the most important pages. This post will guide you through creating one just for you, along with examples of pages they liked. Take a look and maybe spend a little time this month updating your about me page.

Creative Mornings is an incredible organization just for us creatives. After you read the article, spend some time looking through their website. They are an amazing creative community.

July 12

Start a Handmade Business

Kari Chapin gets into details on everything you need to know to start a handmade business. Even if you already have your business started, you will learn something new on this video series on CreativeLive. This course runs just under for 15.5 hours long and a half and is free on July 12 and is available for a fee after this date.  

 

July 20

Lightroom Classic: Essential Training

Mark Wallace teaches this class on CreativeLive. If you are interested in using this software, this is a great chance to learn about it for free on this date.

Here is the class description:

This class is a step-by-step walkthrough of Lightroom Classic, perfect for the beginner as well as those who have worked with Lightroom Classic previously. This class is everything you ever wanted to know about Lightroom Classic but were afraid to ask.

This class will give you an overview of Lightroom Classic and show you how to maximize its potential by creating a workflow for importing, keywording, adjusting, and exporting your images.

Want more creative resources, here is a look back to the last resource page and come back next month for the August resource page.

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