One of the most difficult things for an artist is making money. It is true for almost anyone, but for an artist even more. The term “starving artist” is often applied to artists. It does not have to be the case. I’ve had people tell me “you will never be able to live,” “you won’t make it,” and so on. All of these statements are again not true, unless you want them to be true. I’m not aware of any laws that say an individual has to work at a corporate job or work a set number of hours a day. I’ve done both, and believe me I never had an abundance of money, and I certainly wasn’t happy. Life has enough headaches without spending at least eight hours a day at a job that crushes your soul and most often your dreams and aspirations.
The internet has brought many opportunities to artists, which have never existed in the past, and many of them have very little cost associated with them. It doesn’t matter whether you are an musician, writer, or artist, there are so many methods for getting your work out there and letting the world know about it. Traditional means of distribution are changing and the middle man is being replaced by social media and web based tools. My blog’s focus will be from the standpoint of being an artist, but the tools and techniques could apply to almost anything. My goal is to make money at being an artist and sharing those tips and experiences.
The internet has provided artists with tools like blogs, Etsy, E-Junkie, Zazzle, Ebay, CafePress, Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook, yes even Facebook is a tool. Some of these tools are for selling your products and some of these tools are for promoting your art. In future posts, I will go into some of these tools in more detail. My favorites tools for selling items are Etsy, Zazzle, and E-Junkie. In terms of promoting you artwork, blogs, Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube are all important tools. Again, I will get into more detail on each of these items in later posts. The great thing about these tools, is that almost all of these tools are either free, or have minimal costs to get started. There are small listing fees and auction fees on eBay or Etsy. So the bigger question, is what are you waiting for?
One last thought and a resource that I would like to add in closing, is the need to create digital products and to reward the people that help you. Everyday traditional analog items like books and magazines are becoming digital. It is something to consider, but not a deal breaker at this point, to create digital products. I highly recommend Everett Bogue’s blog as a resource for creating a digital product and minimalist approach to both business and life. The important concept is to reward the people that help you. I’m not talking about a simple thank you, which are great by the way, but rather monetarily. Digital products offer the possibility of affiliate sales, and giving part of your profit to those who are helping you sell it. By rewarding people for helping you, they will be more inclined to do so, and you will be able to reach far more people than you could by yourself alone. More posts will delve into this topic in the future, but if you would like to get started now, I highly recommend Everett’s eBook “Minimalist Business.”
The goal here is artistic, personal, and financial freedom. Remember the only starving artists are those that choose to be, because there are no rules that say they have to starve. I’m on this journey too. I intend to share my ups and downs, successes and failures along the way to living creatively. Good luck to all of us.
PS. Don’t forget to enter for the chance to win a free Dinosaur Grocery Tote, ends Friday, September 3, 2010. Good Luck.
PSS. I also have an original watercolor version of “Breakfast Pals”(below). You can either buy it in my Etsy Shop or directly from me using PayPal(link below).
Breakfast Pals Original Watercolor – $30USD