When I came downstairs to have my son take the latest goofy photo of me for the blog, I have to tell you I scared him a bit. I had my costume on, showed him the cartoon and said, "I have to look like this." He replied, "I'm terrified by how much you do! It's kind of creepy!"
Let's just say I was pleased as punch!
So just WHY had I created a costume and flipped my hair out (burning my finger on the rarely used curling iron!) and dressed up like a cartoon?
Simple... Paul Brent told me to.
(Or, as I say in the video, he 'double-dog-dared me')
I've been doing my homework he gave during the Branding teleseminar and know that others are as well. As I prepare for SURTEX I figure it is a great time to step back and look at the big picture: my art, how I present it, what I will be saying and showing at the show... the timing couldn't be more perfect!
If you, too, want to do a brand analysis, the "Brand Yourself for Success in Art Licensing" teleseminar replay is ready for anyone wanting to to spend the time and money to get big results!
I am excited to announce that I will be doing a series of teleclasses with Aletta DeWal - the founder of Artist Career Training. Aletta contacted me and asked to share my experience with art licensing and you can bet I said "Sure!"
I decided they would be the best people to explain exactly what they do at ArtistCareerTraining.com* so here is some information from the website:
Self-promotion does not have to be a horrible experience. With a little creativity and clarity, art marketing can be a gratifying experience. Our clients regularly report that they dramatically increase their income, with more time available to create art. Now they enjoy marketing their art as another creative activity!
Artist Career Training can help beginner, emerging, mid-career and seasoned artists who want to:
Stop believing myths about what it takes to be an artist.
Become clear on where you want to go and how to get there.
Adopt the winning success principles of prosperous art, business and career mentors.
Market your art without selling out or betting the farm.
Establish systems and routines that have been developed for artists who face similar issues.
Meet or exceed goals and deadlines consistently.
Artist Career Training offers a full curriculum of programs developed since 1996, teaching artists at all career stages how to make a better living making art with and without gallery representation, in any economy. Learning is exchanged among artists and faculty across time and space by a combination of email, telephone classes, recordings and internet technologies (web site, message boards, on-line discussion groups, desktop computer conferencing).
The first class is on Wednesday, March 10, 2010 at 4:00 p.m. Pacific
Five Things Artists Should Consider Before Deciding to License Your Art
Description: There are many ways to make money with art, licensing is just one. "Licensing" means that you chose to give manufacturers the right to put your art on their product in exchange for a royalty. You maintain the control and copyrights to your designs, and you can license the same art to several manufacturers at the same time. But how can an artist tell if licensing would be a good fit for their art and for their lifestyle?
$29.95 includes the TeleClass Outline and recording if you can’t make it. Click here to save your spot. (affiliate link)
A brand is more than a name, a logo and a business card.
Branding affects Art Licensing in multiple ways and it is important to know how this works. Building your brand can be as important as creating your art in order to stand out from the crowd. What makes you different than every other artist with a pencil or paintbrush? A well-crafted branding strategy can help convey your message while you are busy in your studio - providing you know what you are doing.
Branding is how you define yourself to your customers.
If you can successfully do this in a positive way you are on the road to success. Building a brand that will go the distance means more than picking a font and creating a logo. First, you need to analyze your art and how you run your business.
Paul Brent knows branding and will be sharing his tips and insights in a 60 minute teleseminar on Wednesday, February 24th at 5:30 pm PST / 8:30 pm EST. For $57 you will get a lot of knowledge and skills to build or improve your art brand.
I'm excited to announce that Paul Brent has put together an information-packed hour to get you thinking, strategizing and building your brand for success in art licensing.
Paul Brent understands branding.
An artist, interior designer and print publisher, he began licensing his art in 1988. Bookmarks, bed linens and insulated barware were among his first licensed products. Since then he has gone on to work with many, many manufacturers and grown his licensing business to be the 94th largest in the world, according to License! Global Magazine's Top 100 Licensor List for 2008 and 2009.
Paul Brent is the most well known coastal artist in the U.S. He has managed to build and evolve his brand to include so much more than beach and sea life and has done so very successfully. The Paul Brent Designer brand has been in the marketplace for over 20 years and shows no signs of slowing down.
I will be facilitating the teleseminar on Wednesday, February 24th at 5:30 pm PST / 8:30 pm EST. At only $57, this could be the best investment of your time and money you will make to help you build your brand in the market place.
This teleseminar is for artists who want to learn to effectively create a brand for their art that will help them grow their business, with emphasis placed on building a brand for the art licensing industry.
What to expect from a successful branding strategy over the course of the next 30 days to one year.
What the 9 most common pitfalls are in both a visual brand and a business brand – and how to avoid them.
Key strategies of branding to help you:
create and maintain good artist / agent relationships
protect your copyright
keep your brand fresh in the market place
and use your brand to attract attention in the media.
How to commit to your brand strategy and take the first step.
Go to www.ArtLicensingInfo.com/branding.html for further details or to see the long list of valuable freebies you will get in addition to the hour long teleseminar.
P.S. Combine these branding strategies with the SEO (search engine optimization) skills you will learn on the Monthly Ask Call on Wednesday, February 17th and the impact will be even bigger!
Posted by Tara Reed on Sep 17, 2009 in Art Licensing
hope is on the way! It will arrive on Tuesday, September 22nd at 5 pm PST / 8 pm EST to be exact.
After 10 months of questions coming in like, "What should I do first to license my art?" and "How do I know if my art will work for licensing?" I finally got the hint. Or lightening bolt of inspiration. My "a-ha moment". Something. But I got it.
I will be doing a 45 minute call to give beginners the basics... what licensing is and how it works. It is interesting to hear how so many artists have "stumbled upon" licensing. Have you ever heard that about art show or galleries? Nope. Art Licensing is a little elusive sometimes.
The goal is for you to get off the phone polarized. You will think "Yes" or "Heck No!" I want you to say to yourself, "Oh that sounds interesting. I might like it and I want to learn more." or I want you to think, "Oh heck no! That is so not for me. Glad I figured that out in 45 minutes instead of 45 days or weeks!" If you are still scratching your head and confused, I didn't do my job. (And I always do my job!)
Here's a video with some basics. CLICK HERE to get all the details. I hope you decide to join me! – Tara
For the past 10 months I have been doing a free, monthly "Ask" call, answering questions sent in by artists like you. We've had fabulous questions and content that is helping artists at all levels - from beginners to those who have been in the industry a while. I've learned a lot when I have special guests like Paul Brent, attorney Cheryl Hodgson and Joyce Lukczar of FontSite.com.
Each and every month at least one or two people will ask,
"How do I get started in art licensing?"
"How do I know if my art is a good fit for licensing?"
"What should I do first?"
These are GREAT questions! Hard to get started and use your time well if you don't have the basics. (And everyone has to learn it at some point - no one is born just 'knowing' what to do - so no question is a bad question. If you have it, someone else does too!)
I have decided to put together a $20 introductory call called "Art Licensing - Beginner Basics". For 45 minutes by phone, I will explain how it works, what to expect and where to start. This is a great investment for people just hearing about the concept of licensing. You will leave the call knowing if art licensing might be for you or just doesn't sound like a good fit.
If the call is well received, we'll do them regularly. At minimum, the replay will be available after the September 22nd live call date.
So if you want a more detailed answer to "How do I get started" then you get on the monthly calls, go to www.ArtLicensingTeleseminar.com/start.html to see what we will be covering. Hope to talk with you on the 22nd!
Here's to your creative success!
– Tara
P.S. The September monthly ask call will feature artist Jill Seale - go submit your questions or just sign up for the call at www.AskJillSeale.com NOW!
The next "Ask Tara Reed" about art licensing call is on Wednesday, August 26th at 5:30 pm PST / 8:30 pm EST. This will be the 9th call of this kind - I started this little phone adventure last December and have been having a great time with it!
But don't forget, it's up to YOU to make the call informational, inspirational and full of great content. I just give my experience and opinions on things YOU want to know about. So no sitting back and chilling, assuming everyone else will do the heavy lifting... or questioning.
I know it is August, heat makes us a little sluggish, we are fighting our way to back-t0-school supply deals and clothes. Maybe sneaking in one last vacation, camping trip or getaway. But I still need questions!
Can you tell your response is a bit low this month? Don't let me down... go submit a question, no matter how large or small and I'll talk to you on the 26th. www.AskTaraReed.com
Thanks for your help in making these calls a fun and informative experience!
Are you exhibiting at an upcoming Art Licensing Trade Show?
Do you have a booth at SURTEX in May or the Licensing Expo in June?
As the show approaches, are you getting nervous about being prepared, what to bring, what to show, what to say?
Exhibiting at an art licensing trade show is a huge investment in your business in money, time and effort. I have been successfully doing art licensing trade shows. More than 75% of my business is a direct result of meeting manufacturers at trade shows and those meetings have generated over $200,000 to date. After 6 years and exhibiting at 10 art licensing shows – I have some experience and pointers to share!
I will reveal my “Top 10 Trade Show Tactics”
on Tuesday, April 21st, at 5:30 pm PST / 8:30 pm EST. If you are exhibiting, you should be listening.
How to make your booth a manufacturer – magnet
Why including licensed products or mock-ups can get you new business
5 tips for a low-stress setup
How to make yourself stand out from all the other artists in the room
How to look and sound confident, even if you are shaking in your boots!
3 key questions to ask anyone who stops at your booth
3 ways to keep track of leads during the show
Why follow-up is 90% of the work and strategies to not let your leads slip through the cracks
...is that they are not a beauty contest! Unlike teaching or speaking at a live event where you have to look good, all you need is your voice and a phone line to deliver great content in a teleseminar.
Clean office? Not required!
Perfect hair, nails and makeup? Nope!
Does your outfit matter? Not at all!
All you need is a plan, something to say and a phone. I just went through an 8 week intensive course with Alex Mandossian called "Teleseminar Secrets" – it is not for the faint of heart because this man does not hold back. This course is for people who want ALL the information in Alex's brain, then it is up to the student to decide what parts and pieces work for them.
I did my 5th "Ask" call last night – spending an hour at home, in my comfy socks talking about art licensing, what could be better? This time I was the interviewer instead of the interviewee – I discovered I really enjoy both roles. Future plans include one night and possibly multiple part teleseminars. Who knows what else!
If you teach, have written a book or need to get some kind of word out to people, think about doing it by phone. No travel, less expense and of course, no beauty contest! If you want to learn more about how to do your own teleseminars, click on the link below. To learn about art licensing through mine, stay tuned!
I'm trying something new... I love to learn new things and I'm loving "meeting" the artists and getting feedback about the eBooks I've done so far.
I just started a class to learn all about teleseminars and "Ask" campaigns. "Teaching at the Speed of Sound" as teacher Alex Mandossian says.
I must admit to multi-tasking because I'm listening to a Q&A session while I type. They are telling me that my first attempt at this won't be the best and could provide some funny stories. (Like dry mouth or needing to pee mid-talk.. yikes!) Care to join in on the fun?
I already have 40 great questions for my first "Ask Tara Reed" call that will take place on Wednesday, December 17th at 5:30 pm PST / 8:30 pm EST. And since I'm not sure if I should do general questions each month (did I tell you I'm planning on doning this each month?) or if I should have a topic (like "presenting art" or "trade shows") each month.
Well guys... you aren't helping much! It is about 40% no topic, 39% topic and the rest of you have no opinion. So I need more data. Even if you don't have a specific question, you can still listen & learn. Just say, "No question" -- it's all good! And if you vote for the format and ask a question (or a "no question") this month, you might win a free eBook.
Care to join in the fun, the bloopers, and get a chance to win? Go to: AskTaraReed.com
Talk to you Wednesday!
~ Tara
P.S. Do you write books or have a cool "how-to" book out there? Listen in and see if this might be a good format for a "Virtual Book Tour". Alex has a class that teaches you how to promote and sell your book through this same format. For $20, you get a 2 hour training to see if it is for you. I think artists can use this to educate and keep the sales coming in! Let me know what you think! CLICK HERE
Don't let me down... go submit a question, no matter how large or small and I'll talk to you on the 26th. 
where you have to look good, all you need is your voice and a phone line to deliver great content in a teleseminar.
I'm trying something new... I love to learn new things and I'm loving "meeting" the artists and getting feedback about the eBooks I've done so far.
