Friday, March 12, 2010

Twitter success story...a follow-up to the Etsy article, Part 2

Let's keep chatting, shall we?  So you've decided to focus on your strongest body of work, you've started to connect with members of the Twitter community with like-minded interests, and now you are ready to build on those relationships!

Build Relationships


Answer questions, compliment a blog post or new piece, try and take an interest in what they are talking about. Of course you cannot do this with everyone, but what’s great about Twitter is you can do this quickly with several people each time you log in. And who knows if your interest in them will lead to an interest in you, and your work?

Think about how you build relationships in the real world.  It starts with a handshake, the simple questions of "what do you do?" "where are you from?" "where did you go to school?" etc.  On Twitter, it's just that simple, too! 

I find that a lot of what I post on Twitter are those little moments that are funny...at that moment (like about 1/2 an hour ago when I cut open a bag of green onions, only to realize, upon turning the bag over, it had a zip-lock seal on the other end...sigh)  But then other tweeters respond and I can laugh at myself and move on to the next thing!

If you are following people in a field you want to break into, be sure and respond to or re-tweet their interesting posts.  For example, if there is a blogger who you would LOVE to feature your work on their blog, pay attention to their current projects and show an interest in what they write.

Not everyone will write you back, but don't fret, and don't take it personally.  Sometimes they may mark your tweet and respond to it later, or may remember your name the 2nd or 3rd or 97th time you tweet back to them (remember - there's a fine line between friend and stalker) and then take a moment to really check out who you are and what you do.

Build on Your Success


Don’t be shy! Brag about yourself a little! Did you sell a big piece? Let us know! Did you finally master a new technique? Tell me how! Get into a major juried show? Awesome! I once had a fellow artist tweet to me, “You are always so positive about your art. I can’t do that with my own work!” To which I replied, ”Well if I don’t like it, who will?”

I am a firm believer in "Shameless Self-Promotion".  Well, maybe shameless is the wrong word...dilligent? aggressive? Maybe...but seriously! - we need to be our own best advocate for our work!  If you are a memebr of a gallery - awesome! Great! Your work should be there.  But the gallery owner will not ALWAYS push your work over another artist to a buyer. 

I spent a lot of time selling my art directly to buyers IN PERSON - at gallery shows and outdoor art shows as well.  I know the questions potential clients will ask, I know what questions to ask them about their needs, I know how to SELL my Art. 

Be positive about your work, show that you believe in what you are doing.

And then, when you have a great sale or story...let's hear it!  When my work was selected for a new frame collection in Restoration Hardware, I wrote about it - and got additional sales from it - because people who saw the work searched the web for "Restoration Hardware Art" and found my blog post.  Had I not said anything...I could not have built on that success.

***If you have any other questions, or some great tips on using Twitter - or a Twitter success story - I hope you share it here in the comments!***

I'd like to introduce you to another favorite Etsy artist, a great example of an Artist at Work!  Victoria Webb, also known as FuriousDreams.  We have chatted so many times, and share many of the same views on Art and Selling, and I hope you take a moment to visit her amazing shop!


13 comments:

Amanda Russian said...

Very interesting post....I'm not a big fan of 'Facebook' or 'Twitter', but you have given me something to 'think about'...maybe it might be worthwhile looking into. Thanks (Love your work too!)

LizsWares said...

wonderful tips.

will read through again and put into affect.

marasubo said...

Hi Kristina,

I've been studying chalk pastels a lot these days and will be making a purchase of select colours to add to my set of 48 soon thanks to a local art store discontinuing their open stock Sennelier.

Their colours are too incredible. So far I've bought silver and gold and a moss green that are out of this world.

You mention a particular fondness for periwinkle from Nupastel. I'm not sure which one that is. Do you have a reference #? I'm curious to see what it is.

wallis paper sounds delightful but is incredibly expensive here. Few stores carry it and the cheapest sheet is $17. I picked up some dark water-friendly sandaper from the hardware store to experiement with - goes for about 1.50 per 8 x 10 sheet.

I'm new to this blog thing and am struggling a bit. Is posting images on Flicker the best way to share images w/ you?

Look forward to your reply.

bye for now.

Mara

Dora Sislian Themelis said...

This was such a good post, with really usable info. You and Victoria are not only wonderful artists, but smart at promoting your art. I'm learning!

Krystyna81 said...

Amanda,

Thank you...I'm so glad you like my work! Twitter and facebook can take up as much or as little of your time as you'd like - you can decide! The flexibility is in your hands. But, they are both free services (for now anyway) and a great way to start building business. Good luck!

Krystyna81 said...

Hi Mara,

I will have to check and see if I can find the right color number for the periwinkle...I should probably order some more, myself!

I have another artist friend who has also experimented with sand-paper - it's definitly a great alternative! I think there are even multiple colors to choose from...I'd love to try a black sheet!

Wallis IS an investment, one that I was hesitant to make, but you should treat yourself to one sheet and cut it up. One good thing about it is it's pretty durable - a fellow artist has actually washed sheets off witha garden hose and re-used them!

You could post photos on Flickr and send me a link, or send them to me via my Etsy shop thru a convo (use the "contact" button)

I look forward to seeing your work!

Krystyna81 said...

Dora...we're ALL learning...I'm just glad we're all in this together :)

marasubo said...

i'm actually thinking of doing a cross-border shopping trip to feed my art-supply habit. FYI, you guys have access to much better prices and way more selection than we do in Canada!

luigi bluoso said...

Ciao, mi piace quello che dici, anch'io la penso così: importante è sentirci insieme e 'regalarci' reciprocamente le nostre esperienze. Grazie e buon lavoro.

Michelle said...

Un bel commento Luigi --

very roughly translated --

"The important thing is to feel we are together, and to give our experiences to each other with reciprocity..."

but much more beautiful in italiano...

Krystyna81 said...

Thank you Michelle! I't beautiful in both languages :)

Julie Riisnaes said...

Thank you so much for these helpful articles on twitter. I've only just joined find it quite baffling! You've convinced me to stick with it and learn!

Victoria Webb said...

Kristina, thanks for the kind words! I just found your post here through socialmention.... a wonderful surprise!