Art bloggers make two common mistakes when they blog. These mistakes lay at opposite ends of the spectrum from each other.
At one end lays the trap of only blogging your art and nothing else. The result is that unless you can create new art daily, there are vast amounts of time where your blog sits unused while you create. No new content equals no new viewers.
At the other end lays the trap of absolutely having to blog about everything. The result is your message is lost and diluted.
The most important rule is:
"If it can't be related directly back to art and creativity or connected to the art world or dealing with artists problems. DON'T WRITE ABOUT IT"
People come to an art blog to learn about the individual artist. Not just the good things but the bad also. The struggles that we face as creatives. The challenges of surviving in a world that can be pretty hostile to artists at times. These are all bloggable moments.
When I train artists, part that training involves getting a solid footing in the world of social networking Lesson #1 is always to remember that the more you are recognized online, the better. It is not necessary that any given person says "I've seen their work".It is necessary for as many people possible to say "I've heard of that artist".
You see this is where many bloggers make early mistakes. They figure that they have to show their art in as many places online as possible and they end up spending more time juggling social networks than they do creating art. Eventually it becomes a losing battle because all your doing is recycling the same work over and over again for people to see.
If you view your social presences in terms of name recognition rather than work recognition you are able to reach a much broader audience.
But now we come back to the same problem. How can I possibly create name recognition when I have little content to post?
You have more than you realize you do. But you sometimes have to dig deep to find it. Here are five categories I use often:
Informational Posts: Your reading one now. These are information that you have direct first hand knowledge about and can share back with others.
Data Regurgitation: This is information you run across daily regarding art and creativity but created by other people. This post is a perfect example of information you can pass on to others.
Reactionary Posts: These are posts in reaction to something that has occurred during your day and relates directly back to your artists journey.
Other Artists: This can also be called "spreading the love". You have an artist you feel is particularly good, then share them with others.
Tutorials or Studies: Say your starting a new painting. Share it back out with others. Not the finished work but right from the start, show it step by step from its origins to its conclusions.
Insights: As artists we have insights daily into new ideas for art. Most we never pursue, but that doesn't mean they don't have value. Share your insights.
There are more that you can add, but some of them are specific to your own journey. For example, I post a lot about the artists that I teach. I post photos of them and talk about the various projects that they are working on. If you are attending a class, you may post photos about that class, the teacher, the other students, the lessons. All of this makes for interesting content.
Always remember, if its creativity related, its good info. We don't want to know about your trip to the grocery store or what you had for dinner unless it relates directly back to your journey as an artist. If tonight's broccoli led to an insight into mixing a new shade of green for an upcoming painting then its good content.
Consider that your journey as an artist should be a work of art in itself. Don't just make your art amazing, make your journey equally so. You may think its boring, but to others its not. That you worked two jobs today and could barely stay awake to get home may seem boring to you. But if you still managed to pick up that paint brush at the end of the day for 30 minutes of relaxing with your art then there is a story worth telling because it speaks of the truth of the artists journey. If your day has been filled with pain and problems and you still manage to keep the artists perspective, then your telling other artists not to give up either but to keep working. That is worth sharing. That is what good content is made of.
The end result is that people recognize you as an artist even if they do not recognize your work all the time. If someone recognizes your name, they will begin to recognize your art also.
This is how interactive artists function and become successful in today's wired in world. Its no longer about which galleries your work is found. It is about someone 5,000 miles away saying "oh yeah, I've heard of that artist".
Check out this great link for more useful ideas on content here:
25 Easy Tips for Creating Great Content in 2018
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