Monthly Archives: October 2009

Exhibiting at SURTEX in May? Book your hotel now!

My obsessing has finally come to an end! For the past few years, we were able to book our hotel at the May show, for the show the next year. It became my habit. My sister & I have stayed at the same hotel every year – it’s like our home away from home. We know where the nearest Duane Reade is to get muchies and water. Which direction to go to catch the shuttle… yup! We are creatures of habit!

But this year the hotels were getting a bit tough to pin down on rates, or so I’ve been told. So from May till now, I check the website every so often… hopeful that I can book my rooms and know that we are good to go.

So joy of joys! My room is booked! Got my flights too.

If you know you are exhibiting at SURTEX this year, I highly recommend you head over to http://www.myglmtravel.com/ and reserve your room while there are still lots of choices available. (You can change them later without penalty.)

Here’s to your creative success and a great show – it will be here before we know it!

– Tara

Gut-feel decision making. Networking tips. PR & more…

I’m heading to BlogWorld on Thursday to work on a new non-licensing project. Why? Because Barbara told me I should. (Apparently I’m quite persuadable.) I admit to sometimes making quick decisions that have more to do with a gut-feel than endless research but have also found those to be some of the best split-second decisions I’ve ever made.

It was a 45 minute thought process that got me on a plane to Texas to learn about internet marketing, which turned into this blog, www.ArtLicensingInfo.com and the whold big web of art licensing learning.

It was a tweet on Twitter that got me on a preview call and plunking down some big $ to learn about Teleseminars. Without that quick decision making, there would be no “Ask” calls or teleseminars.

Without the Teleseminar Secrets class I also wouldn’t have met Barbara, who has me packing my bags and heading to Vegas! (And I don’t even gamble so that was no enticement.)

Barbara Rozgonyi is an AMAZING PR / Social Media expert. I’ve gotten to know her through a mastermind group (like a scheduled brainstorming / support group) and have become friends with her over the past year. One day we will figure out how to get her involved and helping artists here. (I hope to figure that out in Las Vegas.)

In her efforts to prepare for BlogWorld, Barbara did a great blog post about getting ready and getting the most out of networking events called -

Conference PR: Maximize Personal Branding

Much of this advice can be considered and tweaked to work for artists who attend or exhibit at trade shows or meet and network at other events. It is worth a read. Quite frankly, I think her whole blog is worth following – and not just because I like her, she has great insights and information.

READ HER POST HERE

Here’s to your creative success and wish me luck with the bloggers!

– Tara

P.S. If you are exhibiting at one of the winter trade shows (CHA, AmericasMart, SURTEX January show) be sure to look at the eBook and teleseminar to help you maximize your time and investment. CLICK HERE

Branding art – an excerpt from a blog about surf boards and greeting cards…

I’m all about ‘sharing wheels’ instead of recreating them sometimes – you can get more done that way! Below is an excerpt from Kate Harper’s blog about branding… it’s worth reading the whole entry so I encourage you to click on the ‘read more’ at the end. (and it’s here with permission from Kate of course – always get permission to reprint!)

Branding Art: from Surf Boards to Greeting Cards

What do surf boards and greeting cards have in common? Everything.

When I first read the story of Maria and Drew’s surfboard design business, Son of the Sea, Inc, I felt like I was reading about my own life: years in manufacturing, working day and night and then finally stumbling upon licensing and a whole new career. There is nothing in their story than cannot also apply to the card and gift industry.

Son of the Sea is a family owned business run by Drew Brophy and his wife, Maria and they have 30 active licensees including everything from beach towels, boogie boards, pen kits, sunscreen to greeting cards!

Drew creates the art while Maria handles licensing, marketing, and runs the operation. They have a wealth of information for artists on their website Business of Art tips.

Maria and Drew made a great success out of branding their designs and I wanted to ask them more about that.

Showing how your art looks on products just got a whole lot easier!

I feel like I just gave birth… not to a child this time but to a project that has been developing for months. And this blog post serves as a ‘baby announcement’ of sorts because the baby is here, I couldn’t be more delighted, tired and proud to tell the world!

This is my first physical product that must be delivered by mail and not by digital download. Why? Because it has too many pieces and too much content.

What you get:

• 46 Photoshop™ (.psd) or PNG files with professional photographs of stationery, tabletop and gift industry products. The backgrounds have already been removed so they are ready to use for presentation and portfolio mock-ups.

• 9 video tutorials with more than 2 hours of ‘over the shoulder’ live-streaming instruction. Watch artist Tara Reed apply patterns and learn from a few mistakes along the way! (Then you will feel better when you make them too – right?)

What you need:

• Photoshop™ (the video tutorials show CS3 screens but the concepts should work with most professional versions of Photoshop™)

• Art that you want to show on products.
The tutorials focus on placing repeat patterns and borders on the product photos but you can use the same concepts for more illustrative art as well. If you don’t know how to create repeat borders & patterns and save the patterns to the pre-set manager in Photoshop, I highly recommend you consider working through the Repeat Pattern eBooks before buying this product.

• CD drive on your computer to access the product photo files and video tutorials.

Here’s a video that shows you a little more…

To get all the juicy details and a list of exactly what is included, head right on over to:

www.ArtLicensingInfo.com/mockup.html

Check it out now while there is a ‘pre-production’ price of $67 if you order before October 20th (products will ship on October 21st). Even a few freebies thrown in too. So go now… learn more!

Here’s to making things easier!

– Tara

Screen video recordings – a simple, professional video tool in the new Mac OS – Snow Leopard

One day I was chatting with @ecstewart taking about video… she mentioned that you could record what you are doing on your computer screen with the new Mac OS – Snow Leopard. COOL! Of course I’ve created all kinds of problems for myself in the past by jumping into new technology (especially operating systems) without making sure all the software I use is ready to hop on board with me!

Turns out, some of my daily stuff isn’t ready. So how fabulous that I have 2 computers… (spoiled, I know!) I added Snow Leopard to my laptop and am now re-recording video tutorials for an upcoming product – “Product Mock-Up Magic”. It will include 42 professional product photographs and instructions to teach you how to get your art on them to digitally mock-up products. Great for your portfolio, manufacturer presentations, etc.

“Product Mock-Up Magic” will be talking mostly about applying repeat borders and patterns to the product photos so if this interests you and you don’t know how to do the pattern part yet, I recommend you go look at that eBook series so you are ready to go when the product is. CLICK HERE

It will be a physical product so I have to finish the videos and send it off to have the DVDs made. My target is to have it ready in the beginning of November… stay tuned!

For now, here is a 3:20 video showing you how the screen recording works and a very small, sneak peek at what “Product Mock-Up Magic” will be.

I better get back to work so I can get this new project ready to go! Here’s to your creative success!

– Tara

Weighing in on Social Media…

Earlier this week I was interviewed for a magazine article about small businesses using Social Media to grow their business. It won’t be a long article but I’m quite excited! (Press! Always a good thing!)

Anyway, I thought I’d blog about my thoughts on Social Media while some of them are fresh in my mind.

Before June 2008 (when I took the class about internet marketing) I was rather blog and social media resistant. The blogs I had seen shared some pretty personal information (in my opinion) and I didn’t want to do that. The circumstances of my son’s conception, inner thoughts on ex-husbands, spats with friends… I didn’t see how that would help me or my business without turning me into another “tabloid Tara Reed”.

But in the class they talked about how it all helps and reminded me of a very important point – I’m the one with the keyboard. If information goes out on cyber-space (at least on my websites, blogs or other social media) it’s because I chose to type it. I share what I want to share and keep private what I think should be private.

Sigh of relief. Duh. Makes sense.

So I chose to climb out of my comfort zone and give it a shot. I signed up for Twitter not really knowing WHO I would talk to or WHAT I would say, only that I’d try it. Ditto Facebook, LinkedIn and MySpace.

Fast forward to October 2009 and now I’m hooked. I also have some opinions about how and why to use Social Media. I’ll share my thoughts and maybe they will help you get some clarity if you are hesitant like I was or some more ideas if you are already here.

Why I Joined Social Media Sites

I joined because someone said I should. I joined to see what I could do in the internet marketing space. Connect with artists and share my experience in the art licensing industry.

I have connected with some amazing people. Built a community of artists and non-artists I never would have gotten to know, albeit ‘cyberly’ and not in person in most cases. Although I’ve met more than a few locally because of the internet as well.

How I See Social Media Helping My Business

Connections. Relationships. That is what business, friendships and community is about. “Social Media” is just a way for technology to get involved.

Social Media has helped me spread the word about my products, Ask calls, coaching and more for artists wanting to learn about licensing. It has helped my affiliates spread the word as well so I can ‘share the wealth’ with others. (I do love paying affiliate commissions each month – truly!)

Social Media has given me a sense of belonging. I have never worked in an office. I’ve been a sales person in charge of an entire state and working from home. I’ve been a stay-at-home mom… again, at home. Now I’m an artist and business owner… guess where I work? Yup. Studio in my home. I find Twitter to be like a virtual office. If I need to connect with humans I have but to go online and chat with people in the virtual cubicles around me. Awesome!

A little more detail about my feelings on each platform

Twitter – LOVE IT! Since June 2008 I’ve tweeted over 6,600 times I have nearly 2,500 followers. I’ve made friends on Twitter. Last winter when I took the Teleseminar Secrets class I connected with people on Twitter while listening to the calls. When I went to the “reunion” in March I felt like I was at a high school reunion. Even though I never met these people before you can really get to know them online. Of course some were a little different than I expected but many were not. How much fun is that?

Twitter has been a great resource for me to get answers to questions. I have thrown out questions about software, resources, even “anyone know what font this is?” and 9 times out of 10 get help. Of course you can’t join and have that work on day 1. You have to build the connections first – hmm… kind of like in real life. The friendly, social and helpful people often have a better network to turn to than those who don’t talk to anyone, right? Same thing applies online.

Facebook – also LOVE IT. Facebook is a great mix of everything. From the ability to connect with high school friends you’d never see without it to creating business fan pages to connect with your end user, Facebook has a bit of everything.

Now I may ruffle a few feathers with this next statement but I don’t believe in having your Twitter stream on Facebook. Unless of course, you are rarely on Twitter and therefore missing out on its true potential. You see, in my view, there is a different expectation on Facebook. I can’t tell you how many people will complain about their friends who “just say such random stuff I could care less about and fill my feed!” I reply, “I bet they twitter”. Twitter is about streaming – like texting. Facebook is more of billboard – here’s my deal for now. Of course there are comments and interaction but it’s different. I tweet way to much to stream it on Facebook.

LinkedIn – still learning it. I haven’t figured out how to use LinkedIn as effectively as Twitter and Facebook. I have connected with some people I used to work with when I was selling college textbooks – that was awesome! I have made some connections for my current business too. But I haven’t quite got my finger on how to really tap into it – stay tuned for an update when I do.

MySpace – sorry, I was over it pretty quickly. Once I started getting multiple emails from widowers and men who thought I had great eyes, was pretty and wished they lived in Portland, I got a creepy feeling. It felt way too much like Match.com which I was thankful for for a while but am happy to not need now! I think MySpace is for the younger crowd and have decided it isn’t a good fit for me.

Well this little ‘weighing in’ is getting a bit lengthy so I’ll stop there and do some more in-depth posts soon with more detail. The article will be in the November issue of the Oregon Business Magazine - can’t wait to see what it has to say! (of course my blog post is already double the article word count and I won’t be the only one offering opinions… that’s what I love about a blog. I can be chatty when the mood strikes!)

Here’s to getting and staying connected!

– Tara