But they look so cool….

Artists are visual, so they are naturally drawn to these flashy websites.  In fact, companies that build them know this.  And they go out of their way to target artists, especially photographers.

Who doesn’t want their big beautiful images scrolling in front of potential customers?  

The Nuts and Bolts of the Flash Website Issue

A few reasons why I don’t recommend these types of websites:

1. They are not at all search engine friendly – those potential customers will never find you.
2. They can take too much time to load – are those who find you patient enough to wait for the images to appear while the hour glass turns.  (These days, you have less than 5 seconds to impress your visitor.)
3. The viewer loses much of the control in moving through a flash website.
4. Normal browser tools do not work.  (example: no back button)
5. Maintenance never gets done.  Once a string of images has been loaded, artists never want to go back and deal with it again.
6. There are no “inside” links to the website.  There is no way to link directly to a specific image or page within the website.

A flash website works contrary to the rest of the web world.  And it doesn’t take much to frustrate visitors on websites.  Simplicity is always best.

If you’ve been thinking about getting one of these flash driven websites for yourself, well… you may want to rethink that and take some time to investigate you options.

With Facebook Markup Language (FBML) you can create some very dynamic Tab pages to show your visitors what you have to offer.  And you choose which Tab opens when a visitor is a non-fan of your Page.

Now when I start throwing those mysterious letters around such as HTML or FBML, people start getting nervous.  But there are ways to work with these languages without knowing them.  Really, truly, there is.

So, I’ve added a workshop to my list of workshops that teaches just that, the how of building a fun, cool and dynamic Fan Page.  Those of you, who live in Michigan, of course, get to have the first shot at it.  It’s now listed on the Workshops schedule.

Please, feel free to leave a message if you have any questions.  Have a grand day!

________________________

Resolutions have become New Year promises that are thought about for awhile, but are than forgotten in very short order.  With goals come plans to turn those goals into reality.

Without Vision, People Perish

Maybe you’ve read something close to that in Proverbs 29, or heard it another way; if you fail to plan, you plan to fail.  I also like the way John Dewey said, “Without some goals and some efforts to reach it, no man can live.”

Write It Down, Act On It

Keep what you’ve written down in front of your eyes.   Build the vision in your mind.  Act on that vision.  That’s it, all summed up!  But I want more for you.   I want to drive this home for you, the importance of this.   So I’m letting a fabulous speaker do it for me.

Take a few moments to start out your New Year by watching these wonderful video clips.

May this become your best year ever!  Onward and Upward!

Download and printout a simple goal setting worksheet to get you started.

__________________________

Click Image to see Your e-card.

The holiday season is upon us!  And I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve been busy with shopping, wrapping and giving gifts, enjoy eggnog with friends, and have fallen down on my blogging responsibilities.

To all of you who have been reading my posts, I thank you!  To all of you who have been taking my workshops, I thank you!  I love what I do and give thanks for those who find value in my work.

I found this wonderful holiday card by American Greeting cards.  Turn on your sound and click the card image above and take a moment to enjoy.  May this holiday season be special for you and yours.

Rob Frankel, the author of “The Revenge of Brand X,” who has been called the best branding expert on the planet, says that branding is the most misunderstood concept in marketing today.  He says, “It is not advertising and it’s not marketing or PR.  Branding happens before all of those: First you create the brand, than you raise awareness of it.” 

What Does Your Brand Say?

What passions, beliefs, emotions and images drive your art?  A brand has its own personality.  What is the personality of your art?

When you think of the name, Jackson Pollack, what visions come to mind?  Now, when others think of your name, what visions do you want to come into their minds? Write that down.  That’s your brand.  That’s the personality of your art, which is an extension of you, of your name.

Believe in Your Brand

There is power in believing, both negative and positive.  Whatever visions you are holding in your mind will come to pass.  Replace the negative thoughts with your dream of success.

Make your brand part of that dream.  Then work it.  Build a plan.  Market…

Market Your Brand

Get your name out there.  Make it visible.  Get press.  Use every tool available, both off line and on line.  And do this repeatedly.  There’s the rub.  This isn’t a one time deal.  It’s a constant.  Most artists do it a little, then quit.  The ones who don’t quit will prevail.

If you want to become a known artist, if you want to sell your art, you must learn about and use the tools of the trade.  I’m amazed at how many artists don’t even have a business card.  Start today.  Identify your brand and make yourself known.

And if you haven’t grabbed the free report yet about Your Art and the Internet, do so today in the upper right corner of this website page.

ISMA is an organization with a mission of connecting, engaging and educating members on social media around the world to advance the knowledge, skills, and integrity of the social media profession.

There are three levels of membership you can choose from; basic, premium, and platinum with various benefits for each.  You can register to become a member on the new ISMA website.  

Why is This Important?

Social Media or Web 2.0, as it is sometimes called, is growing faster than any one person is able to keep up with.  Facebook, Twitter, Stumble Upon, Squidoo, U-Tube, LinkedIn, and scores of other sites are all part of the Social Media Networking craze where millions of people are spending more time connecting with each other.

Because of the speed of this growth there hasn’t been any standards set in industry.  People haven’t known where to go for training or who to trust in educating them in the matters of social media.  The need for such an organization has finally been answered.

Whatever your level of interest is with Social Media you should definitely check out this new website and find out what is available.  http://ismaconnects.org

Available Training

ISMA offers an eight week Social Media Specialist Certification program.  If you are interested in becoming a Social Media Specialist, Strategist, or Consultant, this program may be what you are looking for.  Enrollment is open for the next class which begins on Oct. 26, 2009.

Free Bonus!  If you decide on the ISMA Social Media Certification program be sure to use the code: DOMWMQS and receive Mari Smith’s Quick Start Social Media Program on CDROM worth $497!

Join Me and Others!

If you are at all interested in working in the social media arena, I invite you to explore our new ISMA website.

And yes, for artists, doing art is your number one priority.  But then, there is the marketing side of your business.

Since you are here, reading this, than you have some interest in marketing your art via the Internet.  Twitter is a tool to help you do that.   Like everything else in your web presence, it’s up to you if you want to use this tool.  So….

What is Twitter?

Twitter has to be the fastest growing site on the web today.  There are well over ten thousand new users signing up everyday.  Twitter is best described as a micro blogging platform.  Some people even use it as instant real time email.

You are limited to 140 characters each time you write an update.  I know that seems terribly small, but if you decide to dive in and give this a try, you’ll be amazed at what you can fit into those 140 characters.

Twitter, like all social media sites, is whatever you make it to be for you and your goals.  It can be like one huge global chat room, but it doesn’t have to be.  It depends on how many people you choose to follow.  It’s a great way to meet new people online, particularly those with similar interests to you.

How Does This Apply to my Art?

Connections, networking, and letting the world know you and your art exists.  This is another tool to help make that happen.  Every art magazine is on Twitter.  Art galleries and organizations are joining Twitter by the groves.

Let me be perfectly honest with you right now about this tool.   If you get on Twitter without a goal or purpose, you’ll be among those who claim it’s just a time eater and you’ll be lucky if you last a month.

Make a Plan for Using Twitter

Collect followers who have interests in the type of art you do.  What do you paint?  Fish, motorcycles, landscape, western scenes, etc, etc.?  Use the Twitter search tools to find people with those interests.  Follow them so they can follow you back.

You can add links to your Twitter messages that open pages of your website or blog.   People love to click on links in Twitter and see where it’s going to take them.  You collect the followers that you want and then lead them to the places you want them to see.

Budget Your Time

Marketing your art takes time.  Any social media method you use can turn into a major time eater.  You decide how much time you are going to give to your online art marketing.  It takes a bit more time to set things up, but then you should create a schedule.

If you can give an hour a day to your online marketing, you’ll be miles ahead most of the artists in the world.  But it needs to be planned time.  There needs to be purpose and method.  Think it through and have goals.

There are tools that you can use to speed up and even automate some of your Twitter labors.  You can learn more about Twitter, these tools and how to use them through this set of Twitter Tutorial Videos.  Don’t waste time floundering when it’s available to learn these things quickly and inexpensively.

When you are up and running, be sure to send me a note @dee_overly and say ‘hi.”

 

It’s paramount to have the right mindset before diving into project.  And it’s your thought patterns that will determine the outcome of that project.  This applies to everything we do in life. 
“Nurture your mind with great thoughts, for you will never go any higher than you think.” ~ Benjamin Disraeli

Below is a link to a 30 minute video interview of Tony Robbins by two top Internet Marketers, John Reese and Frank Kern.  You are going to want to find the time to watch this interview.

Tony draws out what he calls the “Four Square Method” for creating massive action and building a mindset that will carry you into a continuing success cycle.  This cycle becomes a lifestyle where you can apply it to everything.

Watch, enjoy, discover….

http://tonyrobbinstraining.com/320/interview-with-frank-kern-and-john-reese/

There will be drawing and eating and sharing of many ideas.

But the main focus will be on the hows of getting your art on the Internet and building your web presence.

Oct. 16 -18, 2009 at St. Gabriel’s Retreat House, Clarks Summit, PA
Hosted by District Chapter 115 of the Colored Pencil Society of America

“Your Art Web Presence”  (The Basics)

This workshop will take you step by step from the camera to the computer,
through image preparation, and into the process of getting your art onto the Internet.

Topics covered in this workshop:

~ Load Artwork onto Your Computer
~ Create & Organize Art Folders
~ Digital Cameras
~ Photo Editing Software
~ Preparing Images for Competitions
~ Preparing Images for the Web
~ Domain Names
~ Web Hosts
~ Website Pages, Blogs and much more….

Could a weekend like this be for you?  Want to know more?  Leave me a message.

One of the fastest ways to make a folder is to right-click on your Desktop screen.

A list of options will pop open, scroll down to “New”, click, and it’ll open another list of options.

The first one is “Folder”, click on it and the list disappears with a new folder in it’s place.

The area under the Folder will be highlighted in blue and you can just start typing in the name your want for the New Folder.

Folders Inside Other Folders

The very first item in the list on the left under “file and folder Tasks,” shown next to the black arrow.  Just click on the words “Make a new folder.”

Another method inside of folders; click on “File” in the top row of pull downs, the “New,” then “Folder” as shown below.

Now that you know how to make folders, you should give thought to organizing all of your art files.   I keep all of my art folders inside one main folder that I call “Dee’s Art Stuff”.  That way I have only one place I to .

It also makes it easier to make back-ups.  Depending on the amount of activity you have, you should remember to maintain and update your Art folder back-up.