So You Want to Be An Artist or Work From Home?

Well, you're in luck. My friend and former WAM colleague, Andy Fish, is posting a series of articles on the subject. Andy and his wife, Veronica, are successful artists, and Andy is wicked smaht as we say in Boston. He's my E.F. Hutton. 

Even if you don't want to be an artist or work from home, Andy has some great tips for organizing and time management. He began the series this past week.

FREELANCE GUiDANCE: A 10 Part Series #1: ORGANIZATION

How To Work From Home and Stay Healthy And Sane

Bookmark his blog so you can follow the series: https://andytfish.com/blog Andy's blog is listed on my blog roll, but for some reason Blogger doesn't update it.

If you need to Google Andy, be sure to look for Andy T Fish. Like Andy Tiberius Fish. That is his real name except his middle name isn't Tiberius. Just Andy T Fish

Anyway be sure to follow his series as you'll pick up some good ideas. Don't just stop at these articles. Andy is a Comic Book artist, among other things, so knows all about the history and art of comic books. Plus tons of other topics like movies, Photoshop, marketing...

Anonymous Comments

Lately, I've been getting a lot of anonymous comments on old blog posts. The comments end up in a spam folder.  Usually, the comments have nothing to do with the post in question. I suspect these comments are either phishing or bots, and I delete them.

Earlier this week, Anonymous asked for some advice on starting a blog. So Anonymous, this is for you. Last year, I wrote a post with some tips for blogging. You can read the blog post here.

In addition, let me add this. To be honest, anonymous makes you look like an Internet troll. I have received anonymous comments, but the author also includes his or her name. I treat anonymous the same way I treat phone calls where I don't recognize the name or number on Caller ID. I don't answer those calls. If it's important, the caller will leave a voicemail. If you want me to answer you, even if you are commenting as anonymous, leave a comment that has to do with the topic and leave your name. Let me know there's a real person behind the comment and not a phishing scam or a bot.

If you are sincere about starting your own blog, you can't be anonymous. Does anyone else have any other tips to help Anonymous?

Blogging Tips

My friend, A, wants to start a blog. I thought I'd post some tips to get her started.

It helps to think how/why you want to blog: advertise your business? show off your work? talk about a hobby? share recipes? keep an online journal? rant? review books/movies? all of the above?

Picking a name. If using your blog as a platform for business, it's best if you use your name as your brand. As much as I loved The Pony Express, it didn't make it easy for people to find me. Btw, that blog is still out there, but a reader will be re-directed here.

There are lots of blogging platforms. I like Blogger. It's easy to use. Readers don't have to have Gmail addresses to read or comment. You can schedule blog posts ahead of time. (I don't always do this). You can schedule your blog posts for a certain time of the day. (If I've schedule a post, I use 4:30 am)

Try to blog every day or on a schedule your blog readers will come to know. Some people blog week days only as no one really reads blogs on the weekend. Some blog Mon. Wed. Fri. However you choose to blog, be consistent. Missing an odd day every now and then is no big deal, but you'll lose readers if there's no fresh content.

I've found it helpful to have certain days be about certain topics. It's a way of always having new content on the blog. Wednesday is Wordless Wednesday, where I post a picture or cartoon. The wordless refers to the fact I keep my mouth shut for once. I follow the meme Throwback Thursday (#TBT) posting memories from long ago. Another meme was Friday Five (e.g. five favorite movies, songs, things about me) that evolved into The Friday Five Good Things as a way for me to focus on positive things. Lots of memes to use This Day in History, Quote of the Day, Joke of the Day.

Try to always include a picture with your blog post. Pictures are eye catching and make the post more interesting. Imnsho.

Try to use copyright free images. Your own pictures are best. You can find copyright free images at The Graphics Fairy or The Morgue File

Include blogs your follow on your blog roll. Most often they'll reciprocate (you can always ask if you're not too shy). It helps drive blog traffic.

Build a dialogue with your readers. If they post a question, answer them either on the blog. Or use their question as a new blog topic.

Less than 10% of readers will leave a comment. Don't be discouraged. Either they don't know what to say, are too shy. Look at your blog stats, you'll see people are reading. It takes time to build a tribe.

In your blog comment settings, you can moderate comments before you post them to your blog. It does help keep out internet trolls. I haven't had issues with that so I don't  moderate comments. Only if the blog post is several days old.

You can restrict your blog to only people you know. Through settings add their email addresses. I don't do this.

Any setting you make, can be undone if you change your mind.

Include a LinkWithin widget on your blog. It will show random, past posts. Might entice new readers to stay on your blog longer.

Ditto popular posts.

Your blog is  your home. You make the rules.

Have fun!

Anyone else have tips for A?

Tumblr

I can hear you. Your saying, "Isn't Tumblr another blogging platform?  Help me, Lord, she isn't starting another blog, is she?" Wait, wait, she is...I mean I am, but I need to use the site. Well, I don't really need it. It just goes along with something that's way cool though a little bit of hubris is involved. More on that tomorrow.

Do you use Tumblr?

The Friday Five

Thank you all for your comments on the blog this week and for helping me to celebrate the opening of my Etsy shop

Mafundsalo Curio

And now The Young One will draw a name out of the cowboy hat...

And the winner of the 

is...

Congratulations, Robin! 

Moo Cards

I've been hearing a lot from colleagues about business cards from Moo Cards. What makes Moo cards different from other business cards is printing on the back side of the card at no extra charge! For artists and creatives this means you can upload samples of your work. Authors, upload your book jackets or selected quotes from your books.

The cards are reasonably priced for small orders and price breaks are offered for larger orders. I placed an order and they arrived a week sooner than expected! Uploading and designing my cards was easy though there are tons of designs to choose from if you don't want to design your own. The cards I chose are a nice weight with a satin finish.  You can even have rounded corners if you want. The cards come in a sturdy box that doubles as a display box. My only disappointment is the cards are just a tad wider than standard business cards so they don't fit in the brass card case I have.

Want some business cards that are not run of the mill? Use this link and get 10% off your first Moo Card order 

Tools, Gadgets, and Widgets - Marketing

If you or your group needs a way to keep in touch with clients or members, Constant Contact may be just what you need.

The Constant Contact site is a marketing tool. You can create a newsletter to keep in touch with clients or members to let them know what you are up to. The service allows you to send to multiple e-mails without your email address being flagged as a spammer.

The service offers a free 60 day trial. The site interface is easy to navigate and intuitive. There are hundreds of professionally designed newsletter templates which you can easily customize with your own logo and pictures. You can then track your results to see how effective your newsletter campaign is. You also get free personal coaching.

The paid service is affordable for small businesses and there are discounts for nonprofits.

What's In A Name?

In trying to reinvent myself and expand what I do, I needed a new title to put on my business card. Calligrapher - Lettering Artist wouldn't cover the expansion into web design and computer graphics.

Princess Grace of Monaco had a cool title. She was to be addressed as Her Serene Highness. Very classy and very fitting for the former Grace Kelley. I don't think I could get people to address me as such.

Another title I always liked was Charge (accent acute) d'affaires, the person in charge of an embassy or consulate when the ambassador is not there. Though I'm in charge of lots of things, a diplomatic mission is not one of them.

During the marketing study, one of the teams came up with Interactive Graphic Media Specialist. Coming from a computer background and having a fondness for acronyms this one really appealed to me. Interactive Graphic Media Specialist. I.M.G.S. Images. Pretty neat. A friend recently asked if it stood for "I Make Good Stuff." That works too!

What's your title? If you could pick a title for yourself, what would it be?

Marketing Me

A student in my calligraphy class teaches a graduate level Marketing class at a local college. She asked if I would like to be the final project. I saw this as a wonderful opportunity. The students would have a real world case to work on, and I'd benefit in an area where I'm severely lacking. Besides, it would be all about me. Monday last, I was invited to the presentations.

From a teacher's point of view, I was fascinated by the creative process. The students were divided into groups. Each group was given the same basic information (factoids about me and what I do, my CV) and then told to be creative. Though there were common threads (website, pricing), each group had a different take on how to grow my business. There were some great suggestions. The teams gave me so many things to think about. My mind is reeling with possibilities.

I'd like to thank all the students for their enthusiasm and hard work. Your presentations were polished and insightful. Presentations have certainly come a long way from a blackboard and a pointer or more commonly, the back of a napkin. I loved the company names, titles, acronyms, artwork and props. My jury is still out on the value of Twitter. (-; I think you all deserve an A.

Thank you, SB, for allowing me to sit in on the class. I gained so much from this experience.
CJ