Then I look forward and I think about what I want for the coming year – what things do I want to keep from 2011 and what things could be changed and improved?  And if I want changes – what do I need to do to make them happen?

Here are four tips for making 2012 your best art business year yet…

ONE – Don’t do things the way you always have just because.

Look at how you do things and decide if they are working at an optimal level.  Is there anything you can improve upon?  For example, what did you do last year to let manufacturers know about your art – or to let agents know you were looking for representation if you’d rather not do your own marketing?  Were you happy with the results or would you like to make them even better?  What can you try differently?  Make a list of ideas and then track the results on any new ideas.  Trial and error is often the best way to determine what will work best for you and your business.

TWO – Look for ways to reduce your expenses.

Hopefully you act as a business and keep track of all of the expenses you incur for your art business, separate from your personal expenses.  Take a look at how you spent your money in 2011 and then decide if it was worth it or if the expenses could be changed in any way.  I changed from using Paychex for my payroll processing to Intuit Payroll.  While I spend a little more time each month on accounting and submitting the information each month (maybe 45 minutes a month) – I’ve saved about $900.  Well worth it!  Where can you trim your expenses by changing the way you do things?   Are you spending money on things you don’t need to anymore?

THREE – Maintain the relationships you have built.

While it is easy to always go after new business to build your business, often the best business is with your current clients.  They know you, you know them, hopefully you have a good track record together.  Spend as much time – if not more – fostering the relationships you have as you do trying to build new ones.

FOUR – Don’t forget what makes you unique.

What makes you and your art special in the very competitive field of art licensing?  Don’t try to be a “me too” artist if you see something that seems to be working for others.  Instead, always search for a way that you can bring something unique to the table – that is where you will truly find success.

Every business, like the economy, goes through ups and downs.

It is important to stay positive, stay focused and never assume that what seems to be working is the best way to get something done.  By regularly looking at your business you just might find ways to make things work faster and better!

Wishing you much success!

– Tara Reed

Do you feel like a talented actor with no publicist your website is sits alone when it should be networking and building relationships to help you sell your art.  You can do better!

I was so excited when Daniel Tardent – the expert from the Ask About SEO for Artists call – emailed me a few weeks to tell me that they created a version of this fabulous system for WordPress!   (SEO means Search Engine Optimization and is how websites are ranked when someone searches a term on Google, Yahoo, Bing or any other search engine site.)

I worked through the General Edition a while back and was able to make improvements to all of my websites SEO, WordPress websites and non-WordPress websites.  It’s an easy to follow, no-fluff guide that helps you get better ranking on search engines without stealing all of your creative time.

You don’t need (or want) to pay the people who email you and say they can get you top rankings for $500.  No one can understand your art, your business and your goals AND optimize your website for that.  Not to mention, they simply email everyone with a url – I get emails all the time telling my that this blog isn’t ranking well and they can make it better.  Umm… it’s regularly in the top 5 when you search “art licensing” so they obviously haven’t don’t their homework!

The best person to set up your SEO is you.

• YOU know your art.
• YOU know who you want to find your website.

• And with the SEO System for Artists, YOU CAN LEARN HOW TO DO IT.

Bring the most powerful economic force on the Internet to your artist website with the complete do-it-yourself SEO system for artists, “21 Days To Bring Search Engine Traffic To Your Artist Website”.

Created exclusively for artists by our partner and Beautiful Artist Websites co-founder Daniel Tardent, the Artist SEO Success System solves the big problems that confront artists with SEO and delivers powerful results.

NOW AVAILABLE IN A NEW WORDPRESS EDITION

In recent years, WordPress has developed a huge following with artists around the world because of it’s ease of use and flexible design and extension options. It really is an incredibly powerful website platform which offers evolved SEO capabilities out of the box.

Learn how to turn your WordPress Artist Website into an Art Marketing Machine with the new “Artist SEO Success System For WordPress”. This new WordPress edition of the BAW SEO Guide includes very specific instructions on exactly what to install and exactly what to do to get your website ranking well in search results.

I had the chance to interview Daniel last week.  We reviewed some of the basics of SEO and then talked about what was different in the WordPress version.

In a nutshell, if you have a WordPress website, you will learn:

– How to decide what key words are being used by the people you want to attract to your website
– How to organize your website for optimal results
– What plugins to install and how to install them – to get great SEO results for your site
– Step-by-step instructions – including screen shots (love that!) – showing you how to enter your information
– and more…

Listen to the 30 minute audio online by clicking the play button below or download the mp3 and listen on your iPod or computer at your leisure.

If you choose to download the audio, please remember these IMPORTANT NOTES:

• If you use Internet Explorer and have trouble with the download, try using a different browser – Firefox and Chrome usually have no issues.
• Also make sure pop-up blockers are off if you have trouble – the link you get will prompt a file download.  Thanks!  My goal is to have fewer customer service emails so I can keep working.

Buy or learn more about the WordPress Edition*

Buy or learn more about the General Edition*

Unconditional Money Back Guarantee.

Here’s to your creative – and high ranking – success!

– Tara Reed

P.S. If you haven’t already, you can get a free hour-long Ask Call replay where Daniel answered lots of questions about SEO submitted by artists like you.  Head to www.AskAboutSEOforArtists.com now!

By wandering the aisles of a variety of stores and looking at the products with an art licensing mindset, you can discover:

1. If your art is similar to the types of art you see on products
2. The artistic elements that are required to create different types of products and
3. Get an idea of what types of products could be a fit for your art.

So what is the art licensing mindset required to do “Shopping Research”? When you are shopping to find something to buy, you look for designs that appeal to you, that fit your home, the occasion or the purpose of your purchase. When you shop for research, you take your likes and dislikes out of the equation. You are looking at the types of art on products being sold in the stores.

Let’s say you do landscape art and you want to see if it might work or where it might work for licensing. You go to a mass merchandise store and start in the paper party goods aisle, because it is closest to the entrance. Do you see any landscape art on paper plates or napkins? If so, start your research. If not, go to another aisle with another type of product.

The Seven Steps to Art Licensing Shopping Research

1. Find a product that may use your style or theme of art.
2. Turn the product over and make a note of who the manufacturer is. If there is a website, be sure to make a note of that as well.
3. Go home and get on the internet. Enter the website or do a search for the company and find a website.
4. Look for “Artist Submissions”, “Art Submission Guidelines” or a “Contact Us” page. Some companies give artists all the details for submitting designs for consideration online, others do not.
5. If no submission guidelines are online, call or email and find out who to talk to about art needs.
6. Ask if they license art. Some companies use only in-house designs, others only buy outright. You want to find the companies that license.
7. When you find the right person to speak to, introduce yourself and ask how you can show your art for consideration.

If you get in the habit of looking for potential manufacturers to contact every time you go to a store and researching and contacting the companies when you get home, you will be well on your way to licensing your art.

Here’s a video demonstration to show you just how easy it is…

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

Here’s to your creative success!

– Tara Reed

Regardless of when you created your website, when is the last time you looked at it to make sure it was all that it could be?

I like to review my art website 2-3 times a year.  I always go through it with a critical eye in February – a few months before SURTEX to make sure what manufacturers will see before, during and after the show is as good as it can be.  Then one or two other times a year I go through and make sure things are good.

Here is a quick checklist of what I look at:

• Home page – is the look of the page giving a good first impression?  Can people tell what I do quickly?  Is the text as strong as it can be from a marketing standpoint and is it relevant – or can it be changed to be even better?
• Visuals – are the visuals on my site up to date and do they represent my best work?  Do they appear current or are there some that look dated and should be changed out?
• About page – is this up to date and does it give people a better sense of me as an artist and of my business?
• Speed – is my website loading quickly enough and if not, what can I fix or change to make it better?

In addition to these basics, I also do a quick SEO (Search Engine Optimization) review.  Checking keywords and descriptions for each page.  I look at Google Analytics to see what keywords they see as most relevant to my website and see if I agree…

I just reviewed my site and dusted off my copy of SEO for Artists* by Daniel Tardent.  You might remember him from the Ask About SEO for Artists call we did over a year and a half ago.  It was a great reminder of the basics and I used some new tips that I hadn’t implemented the first go round.

If you don’t have it already, I recommend you go to www.AskAboutSEOforArtists.com and register to get the free mp3 replay of the call I did with Daniel. It is full of great information – he answered questions submitted by artists like you so chances are, you have some of these questions too.

If you are serious about optimizing your website, I also encourage you to consider his eBook – SEO for Artists*.

Here’s a video I did before the call that is still relevant today – and now closed captioned! – How SEO for Artists is Like making a Google Field Goal.  Enjoy!

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

Here’s to your creative website’s success!

– Tara Reed

Multiple Streams of Income: An Online Course
Runs July 10-20, 2011

Attention Artists and Crafters!

• Are you struggling to make a living doing what you love?
• Do you feel like you are working all the time and getting nowhere?
• Do you feel overwhelmed and confused about all the ways artists and crafters can make money?
• Are you always jumping from one idea to the next without following through on anything?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, this online course is designed for you!

Laura Bray, an artist with an M.B.A., will teach you how to create income by doing what you love. Specifically designed for the creative personality, this online course will teach you how to develop a successful business and how to have fun while you do it!

In this course, you will:
• Learn that creating multiple streams of income is the fastest way to reach your financial goals while making a living a doing what you love.
• Learn how to leverage your artwork and projects to make money for you over and over.
• Learn how to create passive income. You can be independently employed, go on vacation, and still make money!
• Find out the many ways an artist or crafter can make money from their art. You probably haven’t even thought of some of them!
• Learn from experts in creative income areas such as, getting published in magazines and books, working as a professional craft designer, using print-on-demand websites like Café Press and licensing your artwork.
• Create a personalized work plan, outlining your income choices and the steps you need to take to make your plan a reality.

You won’t want to miss this unique opportunity!  Here’s what’s included in your online course:

• Access to the private, online community on the Ning network. The website will be the main hub and will be updated daily with:
• 7 Lesson Plans about the various income choices you have as an artist/crafters
• Expert articles, giving you information about various income streams from experts in:
• Professional Craft Design with expert Ana Arujo
• Getting Published in Books and Magazines with expert Jenny Doh
• Licensing with expert Tara Reed
• Print on Demand (Café Press) with expert Jen Goode
• The course website will be active from July 10-20, 2011, but you will have access to it until September 1, 2011. Work at your own pace and when your schedule permits!
• The opportunity to make new friends and brainstorm with like-minded, creative people in the online, course forum
• And much more!

This ecourse is being offered at only $39. This is an incredible deal that you don’t want to let pass by.

To sign-up for the class go to: http://bit.ly/j157s1*

Once your payment is received, via Paypal, you will receive an attendance confirmation (within 24 hours) and information about accessing the ecourse. If you have any questions, contact Laura Bray at laura@katydid-designs.com

About Laura Bray
Laura Bray is an artist with an MBA. After 18 years as a Controller and HR Consultant, Laura rediscovered her creative abilities and began her career as an artist, designer and crafter. Her artwork is collected internationally, and can be found in numerous books and magazines. Laura uses her business background to help others make a living doing what they love. You can learn more about Laura and see her work at www.katydiddys.blogspot.com.

Here’s what alumni students have to say about my online courses:

“Many thanks Laura for an excellent course. Your eClass was EXTREMELY helpful and your “voice” was one I could relate to. I will be back to take future courses with you!”
-Vicki O’Dell

“I am so pleased to have signed up for this course. Prior to signing up I was somewhat reluctant because I did not know if taking the course would help me in my artistic endeavors. I am happy that my reluctance did not prevail. This course has helped me learn and see opportunities I did not know were available. Plus, it has given me a direction/path to follow and has allowed me the chance to develop new goals. And I’ve also met a new community of artists during the course.”
-Christine Lehto

“I was already on my way to enjoying multiple streams of income, but before this course my approach was scattered and uncertain. I felt overworked and overwhelmed by the enormity of organizing my methods to grow my business, and I knew I needed help. The tips and techniques I learned from Laura, other experts, and the other class participants helped to provide the focus and information I needed to achieve my goals.”
-Kelly Pounds

Here’s to your creative success!

– Tara Reed

While talking with Kim Beasley (my webmaster extraordinaire and the woman that did the Ask About WordPress for Artists call – it’s free – do you have your copy?)  I learned about the Feedback Army and thought I should share this new info with the group!

For $15, you can get 10 anonymous reviews of your website and better understand what someone “sees” when they visit.  While they aren’t manufacturers, feedback from someone who isn’t familiar with what you do could be quite valuable.  SO… if you want to give it a try, head to www.FeedbackArmy.com

Here’s to your creative success and effective website!

– Tara Reed

In Guy Kawasaki’s new book – shipping on March 8 – he will teach you about Enchantment – The Art of Changing hearts, Minds, and Actions.

I was fortunate enough to get an advance copy of the book and have had the pleasure of reading it over the past few days.  Guy Kawasaki is the former chief evangelist of Apple and author of other books I’ve read including Reality Check and The Macintosh Way.

Kawasaki says that enchantment isn’t about learning to manipulate people to get your way, but rather to transform situation and relationships.

When I first looked at the table of contents I will admit I wasn’t sure this book was for me – or us – since it seemed like it might speak more to larger companies than solo-preneurs.  There are a few sections I skimmed because that was the case but if you dismiss this book on that basis, you are missing some great material!

Guy talks about core values and actions that enchanting people have in common – things like being likeable, trustworthy and transparent – as well as how to achieve those things.  How to overcome resistance to ideas, use technology and become an all around enchanting person.  You will learn effective marketing strategies, negotiating strategies, presentation strategies and more.  All in easy-to-consume bite size pieces – easy to read and entertaining.

As I sat down to write this post I grabbed the book and looked at the pages – I’m a person who folds down pages I want to go back to and wow were a lot of pages turned down!  This book is much, much more than how to get people to like you.  It’s how to get them to like you, become enchanted by you and how to use that for the benefit of all – your business, your life and for the benefit of each person you are enchanting.

I highly recommend you look at this book and add it to your business bookshelf.

In the spirit of full disclosure – which is highly recommended in this book and something I always do for you – if you click on the links in this blog post I will earn a commission if you make a purchase.  LEARN MORE ABOUT ENCHANTMENT OF AMAZON.COM If you don’t want me to make some change on your purchase, go directly to Amazon or your favorite retailer and search for it.  Hopefully you will be fine with it and know that your clicks are appreciated and help me keep all the free info coming!

Here’s to your creative – and enchanting – success!

– Tara Reed

To me, the most important thing is to be extremely conscious and considerate of the exhibitors and their time and investment in any of the particular shows.  I’ve exhibited at more than 11 shows and have seen some crazy things.  I’m not an agent for others yet some artists want me to spend a lot of time looking at their portfolio and telling them what to do. (That is what coaches are for, and not on a show floor.)  Or others want to take my promotional materials and say to me, “So I can do mine just like yours”.  That isn’t really a complement, it’s copying.  Or one time and artist literally stood in front of my booth, rocking back and forth on his shoes saying, “Yup.  I’ll be in a booth one day and you will have to compete with me.”

I don’t think most artists are mean-spirited in what they do or how they act, they just don’t know better.  They get such tunnel vision about why they are there and wanting to learn that they forget the exhibitors have spent a lot of time, money and effort to be there – and not so someone can block your booth rocking back and forth on their shoes.

But don’t take my word for it – here is some great advice a fellow artist shared with a new artist wanting to learn what to do or not to do when walking a show.

She refers to SURTEX and a few of the details are specific to that show but overall, the advice is sound for any show.

Sometimes when we’re so full of enthusiasm and want to learn so much, we can accidentally do things that make us seem rude and offensive. This happens often at Surtex. You may not realize it but those of us in the booths have spent thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours preparation to be there. We MUST make it pay. We are there to meet present clients and prospective ones. Our money and sweat has paid for that huge venue and brought those people into the building.

So while I know you’d never try to take advantage, you can understand why we ask you to walk down the middle of the aisle and not approach our booths. We don’t want people taking photos because we have struggled to dream up something that’s ours- we don’t want you to copy it. You must find your own vision, dream up your own wonderful and unique booth, not copy mine.

We exhibitors would ask you not to walk over and engage us in conversation unless we make the move first because if you are standing at our booth, proper show etiquette means that nobody else will approach us. Others do not know this is just a friendly, non-business conversation and if we’re just having a pleasant chat, prospective clients will walk by because that is politeness in this industry. They will not interrupt what might be a business meeting. You may unintentionally be wrecking our show. We may be wishing you’d leave but too polite to ask and make it awkward.

The same with portfolios. It is absolutely a no-no to start looking at another artist’s portfolio unless they invite you. Sometimes artists look through another artist’s portfolio to steal ideas. Of course that is probably the last thing you’d do. But if you innocently start looking through a portfolio, you are likely to have the artist respond by asking you to stop immediately. This happened to me a dozen times last year and after the first time or two I’m afraid I wasn’t particularly sensitive in the way I said it.

As to the $150 fee to walk the show, if you are planning to go you should pay it and consider it a cheap education. That’s only fair. We who have paid thousands for our booths have asked the show organizers to do this to make it more fair. Why should we pay all those fees so that others can walk in and take photos, meet clients, peek through our samples… all for free? If you look at it from the exhibitors’ point of view (and we after all are the ones who fund the whole show) why would we put out all that energy and money so that others can have it for nothing? I know that’s not the intention, but it’s how you will look at it when you have a booth, too. We are not major corporations, we are small design shops for the most part, individuals just like you. And we have to make it pay.

If you pay the $150 fee, you should wander the show and look at everything. Walk those aisles for hours. Smile and some of us will chat with you when it’s quiet and we can do so. But for the most part you are there to observe and learn. Don’t take photos, don’t approach busy people, and for heavens’ sakes don’t bring your portfolio and plan to whip it out and make a deal in the aisle. Bring a little stack of business cards and your most comfortable shoes, a notebook and pencil. If you see an agent you are interested in, note their name and you can contact them after the show. If there’s an artist you admire, write their name down and send them a kind email when you get home. This way you’ll build a reputation for being appropriate and considerate. You may make some valuable contacts and you’ll have gotten a good education.

I hope I haven’t offended anyone. I am only trying to offer you the advice someone should have offered me when I was starting out.

I wish you joy and success walking the show. If you come to Surtex, wave at me from the middle of the aisle and smile and if I can I will step out and greet you.

– Tara Reed

Here is what we covered…

• How Drew Brophy got into art and licensing
• What’s the most important thing you’ve done to connect with/market to customers in your niche to create a fan base?
• How important do you feel your work connecting directly with consumers is to your ability to get licensing agreements?
• How important is it that you create art that will fit on certain products vs. just creating whatever you feel and letting art buyers decide what to do with it?
• How do you choose what a new designs to create?
• Where do you go or what do you look at to recharge your creative batteries?
• How do you stay motivated if things are slow?
• What gives you the most joy in what you do?
• How do you deal with rejection?
• Maria, what was your 1st year at licensing Drew’s work like? What was some of the things that you did to get Drew’s work visible.
• What are the most important first 3 steps to set me on the road to learning to license my art?
• How can you figure out which licensing market one’s style of artwork would be most appropriate and succesful in?
• How can one be sure he or she is getting a good “deal” when negotiating a first contract?

There wasn’t a lot of action on the Facebook page during the call but quite a few artists were tweeting away – here are a few of the comments:

“Loved listening to @mariabrophy and @DrewBrophy talk art, licensing biz and surfing! Thanks @ArtistTaraReed! #ask”

“@ArtistTaraReed @mariabrophy knowing that perfection does not have to be met for success…#ask”

“@ArtistTaraReed: @DrewBrophy talks abt being unemployed every Mon morning – u have 2 figure it out! < yes! #ask” Keeps us on our toes!”

“People want to be a part of your story as an artist” – @DrewBrophy #ask

“I love this call so much-I’ll be replaying it for inspiration! They are so grounded, relaxed, smart and thoughtful!”

If you missed the call, the mp3 replay is available for free at www.AskDrewBrophy.com.

Thank you Drew and Maria for sharing your experience and insights – truly appreciated by all!

– Tara Reed

P.S.  Coming up next…

Wednesday, February 16, 2011: www.DebbieMumm.com/askDebbie/
Art Licensing guru Debbie Mumm got her start and stays true to her fabric and quilting design roots. Over the years she has expanded and built her business to include just about every product imaginable. This is an amazing opportunity to listen and learn from this talented artist and business woman – submit your questions for consideration!

Wednesday, March 16, 2011: www.AskTaraReed.com

People often fall into a trap of feature-marketing – telling about the features of a product or service and not telling why anyone should care about it.  So the next time you work on a web page, a print ad or promotional piece to mail or take to a trade show I want you to pretend you are the person reading it and ask yourself “So what?” after every statement.

This is the first in the transition to free and Inner Circle content blog posts.  When I add a new blog post to the ArtLicensingCommunity.com blog, I’ll give the first paragraph here and the image to indicate that it is an Inner Circle post.  That let’s members know to head over for new information.  Are you a member yet?

Here’s to your creative success!

– Tara Reed