By Carolyn Edlund
Do you have big plans but a small budget? Here are 10 ways to get the word out about your art without breaking the bank.
Let’s get started:
1. Social media. Networking online includes sharing images and videos of your work, and telling your story on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Instagram, TikTok and other sites. Interacting with other people and sharing their content too will increase your influence and popularity.
2. Get interviewed by the press. Create a marketing calendar with an ongoing outreach to the press. Press releases, press kits and emails directly to reporters and editors with your content which is relevant to their audience should be regularly submitted to publications, and tailored to each, with interview topic suggestions.
3. Use free press release sites. Flacklist is a good example of a site accessed by reporters where you can create an online press room and post press releases for free. They also offer a paid professional level which gives you more benefits.
4. Get free business cards. Start with 250 free business cards from Vista Print to hand out, and include with orders that you ship. These free cards won’t have your custom logo. You will have to choose from their designs. But they are, well, free.
5. Post your work online for free. Many websites that help artists sell their work don’t charge any upfront fees for a basic level, or charge only commissions. Take a look at 250 Places to Sell Art Online which lists many of them.
6. Write a guest blog post. Contact bloggers in your niche and suggest a story that jibes with the theme of their site. Read for tips on how to get guest blogging opportunities and how to use them to raise awareness of yourself and your business.
7. Attend free art events and do in-person networking. One of the Top 10 Ways Galleries Find Artists is through social events. So get out there and attend gallery openings, art shows and other events where you can meet people who can help you get more traction with your art.
8. Create a video. Posting a video of your work in progress, or a video about yourself on YouTube will put your work in a position to be seen by many people. If you come up with a really creative and appealing video, it may even go viral.
9. Send email newsletters. Cultivate a list of subscribers to your art newsletter and use a free site like MailChimp or Vertical Response to reach out to them. Use links back to your website to drive web traffic, and invite them to like you on Facebook or Twitter. This connects you through social media where you can communicate with them more frequently.
10. Volunteer. Give a free talk at a local venue. Act as a docent. Be part of a big event. This puts you in close contact with others in the business who can become friends or networking contacts. Make sure you become known to those who are in a position to help you.
Moo.com provides a better product than Vistaprint, and it’s compatible with both mac and pc platforms. Plus, they won’t spam you with irrelevant offers. They also have locations within the U.S. which may be important to some vendors.
Hi Terri, I checked out Moo.com before posting the article, but didn’t see a free offer (and this article is about free, after all.) Since I don’t use Vista Print myself, I was unaware of their constant “irrelevant offers”. Moo does offer very cool mini-cards which can be used for marketing as shown in this article http://www.artsyshark.com/2012/04/14/fun-creative-promotional-tips-for-artists/