How do you get the word out? Does ‘word of mouth’ work for artists interested in licensing? What collection of things can we do to increase our visibility – both to the end consumer and to our first customer – the manufacturer?

I just read an interesting article by Steve Strauss – a very savvy small business guru I happened to meet through my boyfriend Craig. (Someone recently asked how he was since I hadn’t mentioned him in a while – he’s great in case you were wondering as well!)

Steve just began writing for AOL Small Business and his latest article is titled, “The New Word of Mouth”.  I recommend you read it.  Not only does he give interesting statistics about different types of media and the time it took them to reach the eyes of 50 million users… but he gives a list of hows & whys to do blogs, eNewsletters, social media and more.

I find it interesting and helpful to my business to step outside of the art box and learn about how and why other industries are implementing marketing strategies.  Then I sit back and ask myself, “Now how can I use this in my business?”

As you know, I’m a big advocate of social media.  Twitter and Facebook being my favorites, LinkedIn I’m still working on. (Time! I need more time!)  Social media is a piece of word of mouth.

This blog is a word of mouth tool.  So is my personal art blog. The  websites.  Videos.

While sometimes you might (or someone around you might) question how writing a blog post about decorating liquid soap with rubber stamps will further my business efforts, I believe every little bit helps.

I have heard artists say manufacturers found them through a Google search and their blog postings.  Magazine editors have requested the ability to reprint blog post ‘how-tos’ in their magazines.  Plus if end users begin to enjoy your digital content, they just might notice your products in the stores too and want to buy them because they feel connected.

So this post isn’t a definitive answer to the question, but more of a launching pad to get you thinking and deciding for yourself.  What are you or could you be doing to make the word of mouth about you and your business just a little bit louder?

Here’s to your creative success!

– Tara