Today I had the great pleasure of introducing an artist to blogging and it’s importance in an online portfolio.
So I thought I would share some of the thoughts behind why it is important for artists (of any genre) to have a blog.
In the olden days of being an artist and getting discovered it was leg work and networking. You kinda had to be at the right place at the right time and with the right people. Getting your portfolio in front of the right people, when you’re green, was nearly impossible. Unfortunately that hasn’t changed much, but it has changed some (and will continue to do so in the future).
While I can’t speak for every genre (my emphasis is photography) I can say that photo editors are starting to turn to the Internet to find their artists. Now photography may be a little ahead of the curve because of it’s natural relationship with technology, but a little research shows that the rest of the art world is catching up.
If you’re an artist in this day and age you don’t want to be left behind. The leg work you do now will help you tremendously as time progresses. Experts are predicting that everyone will have an online presence in the not so far away future.
We are already in a state where HR people are googling applicants names. I certainly hope your Facebook account doesn’t have any pictures that you wouldn’t want your boss to see. I’ll wait while you set your Facebook account to private.
Now that you’re back.
Ask yourself this question: What does google have to say about you? Go ahead, google your name (it’s called an ego search).
Do the top things represent what you want people to know about you? Do you even show up? If you’re an artist and you can’t answer these things in a positive way then you need to seriously consider fixing these things. Why?
Glad you asked.
Say you have a showing at a local gallery and it went decently well. You sold a couple of pieces and handed out business cards (you do have business cards right?). Now let’s say that Joe (he’s an art dealer) has your business card with just your phone number or email address. Now Joe can contact you directly and that’s good and all but what if he forgets about you and finds your business card months later when he’s cleaning out his wallet?
He may wonder why he has your business card but doesn’t want to call you and embarrass himself or his memory. Even with a “static” website Joe may want to find out more about you. So he googles you. Nothing. Nothing shows up. Joe’s impression now is that you aren’t important enough if google doesn’t think so.
I know this sounds extreme, but it happens. I’m lucky enough to have contact with a photo editor that has told me these things happen. Marketing in this day and age is key to success and that marketing needs to happen online now more than ever.
So what are you gonna do about it?