Blogging for Artists - Resources for Artists is my new squidoo lens. It's going to be the home for all the links that I've accumulated about blogging as an artist.Like my other squidoo lens I've developed the basics prior to publishing but will be continuing to develop this lens and to add more links and information - both as I dig out links I've used and perused in the past and as I find more goodies to share.
The two major omissions which needs developing at the moment is a section on video-blogging and a second section on blooks (books of blogs). Please feel free to suggest via the comments function any other omissions which you'd like remedied sooner rather than later.
Now - three questions for you! I'm sure we will all enjoy and learn from your answers.- what's your top tip for artists who are starting to blog?
- As an artist - what are your top five blogging tools?
- As an artist - what's the one tool or skill you'd like, but don't have or haven't found as yet, to help you with blogging your art?
Reminder:
Please nominate the best drawing or painting of 2007 produced by an art blogger in 2007 and posted on an art blog in 2007.
See yesterday's post The value of giving awards and testimonials - and a prize! for details. The deadline for nominations is midnight (GMT) Friday. Take a look at the nominations received to date - they're most interesting. To clarify - you may also nominate the same artist and a different image if you wish.
Links:
- Squidoo: Blogging - Resources for Artists
My top tips:
ReplyDelete1. Just keep going. :)
2. Learn simple html - especially image and hyperlink tags. It just helps if you can jot them in manually if the editor goes a bit squiffy. (Which Blogger sometimes does.) It also means you can copy and paste your html blog as a whole into other blogsites without lots of site-specific coding.
3. Photoshop actions - set up some simple ones for quick batch converting of blog-sized images.
4. Check out Feedburner and Statcounter.com for feeds, rss, stats and all that stuff.
5. Don't forget tags and categories and the like. Blogger has a space for labels (like keywords), MySpace has subject matter categories (including Art and Photography) and I'm sure other sites have categorisation of some type.
6. Get active in the blog community - leave comments (*genuine* ones, not just to get your name out there) on other blogs you like, read more blogs, recommend blogs to your readers.
Tina.
A great start Tina! Thanks
ReplyDeletewhat's your top tip for artists who are starting to blog?
ReplyDeleteUse at least one picture or photograph per blog post. We are visual people talking an audience who likes visuals.
As an artist - what are your top five blogging tools?
1. A Moleskine notebook. Take notes on anything and everything, capture your ideas for articles, titles, resources to check...
2. Word. I prefer to work offline and then publish into the blogging platform. It is easier for spelling checks, printing, etc.
3. Google Analytics (to learn about your audience) & Feedburner (to make it easy for them to follow you)
As an artist - what's the one tool or skill you'd like, but don't have or haven't found as yet, to help you with blogging your art?
Becoming better at photography to create better illustrations for the blog.
Regards,
Benoit
http://myfrencheasel.blogspot.com/
My advice is don't get discouraged. Before you begin your blog, decide your focus. Are you going to post your daily paintings with only a title and size, or are you going to say something about it? How often do you want to post? These are important things to consider. When you have figured all that out, jump in and start your blog. Don't worry about who is looking at first. Announce your blog to all your friends and family, but don't be discouraged if they rarely, or never, make comments. Think about how many times you visit someone's blog without leaving a comment. People will find you, especially if you follow the tips in several posts in this blog. Most importantly, have fun.
ReplyDeleteYour contribution of "quality lenses on squidoo" is amazing. Thank you for this new one.
ReplyDeleteI try to keep myself informed by reading "Making a mark" and related lenses !
Thank you Martin.
ReplyDeleteI just think it's a great waste if you find things out which are interesting and/or useful and don't share. People don't have to read if they don't want to but if they are interested the lenses are a very neat way of assembling information and links in one place.
Thanks to everybody else for all the great suggestions - keep them coming!
My advice for artists who are starting to blog...don't feel you have to start out posting every day. It's not easy coming up with so many blog posts, especially if you want to post an image with every entry. I set my goal at posting a minimum of 4 times a month. And while my readership isn't as large as Katherine's :) I do get subscribers, regular readers and comments on most posts. So start slow and build up to daily posting. It's better than starting and quitting 2 weeks later!
ReplyDeleteDitto most everything here!
ReplyDelete1. Baby Steps -- have starter goals about frequency, topics, etc. Once you figure out what works well, you can go on from there.
2. Take Part in the Art Blog Community -- There's so many heartfelt artists out there to chat, compare notes and share with. It's wonderful. Katherine you're awesome!!
3. Stick to It -- Be clear with why you have a blog, and do it for yourself. There'll be times when comments or views will be minimal and you feel like you're talking to yourself. Keep at it.
4. I like using Feedburner too.
5. Don't be afraid to show a little humanity and personality.
I started my blog 6 months ago kicking and screaming and dragging my feet for a year before. I had no time for yet another "project". Now, I really love having it! Write more often than expected (ok, not in December), and usually can wait to put up another post.