There is a tremendous amount of value that comes out of online conversations in social networking communities. Today, the concept of PR 2.0 focuses on reaching people who are like-minded individuals who share similar interests through meaningful web discussions. And, as you venture into and explore different web communities, whether it’s MySpace or Facebook, you’ll find opportunity to build trust and strong relationships with people. Just by setting up a profile, you open up and make information available about yourself. By taking this first step, you are welcoming the opportunity to talk to people one-on-one and to listen to them. That’s the best kind of relationship building there is!

As an artist, there’s tremendous potential for you to speak directly to someone online who may be interested in your style of art or perhaps they will contact you to help them answer a question pertaining to a period in art history. Either way, you use dialogue to start the interaction and to build the “friendship.” In these social networking forums, you are also able to participate in groups, perhaps with other artists or with people who prefer a particular type of art. On Facebook, when you search under the word “art” about 500 different groups surface that you can peruse and join if you are interested.

Another great opportunity for you to speak with people who share you passion for art is by setting up your own blog and by blogging regularly. You can easily start your own blog through Word Press (www.wordpress.com) or Blogger (www.blogger.com) or you can choose to blog in a social networking community (whether your blog is posted as a part of your profile or within a group that you participate). Blogging is a great way to start conversations and learn about people and have them learn about you. However, whether you are blogging about your favorite artwork, your technique or your passion, it’s really important to make a solid commitment to blogging and to stick with it (however often that may be). Soon you will have people who follow what you say, and look forward to reading your blog, on a regular basis.

In the past, you may have heard that social networking is just a way to collect “friends” rather than a PR strategy, but savvy people are realizing it’s so much more. In fact, it’s one of the best ways to talk to people who are like minded and who are able to share interesting insight. If you listen and listen hard, you will learn, and then you will be able to reciprocate with information that will guide someone else. That’s how to make real friends and possibly gain new followers who end up someday as your best customers.

By Deirdre Breakenridge, Art eXposed President.
Her new book: PR 2.0: New Media, New Tools, New Audiences

“Smart World, Breakthrough Creativity and the New Science of Ideas” is a book written by Richard Ogle. In this book Mr. Ogle talks about the mind and how it can be used to foster creativity. Below, I define the nine laws of breakthrough creativity as it relates to artists.

The Nine Laws of Breakthrough Creativity:

1) “The Law of Tipping Points” - The tipping point is the critical point in an evolving situation that leads to a new and irreversible development. This happened in every artistic movement to date. Your art may not have hit the tipping point, but when it does; you will be in the forefront.

2) “The Law of the Fit Get Rich” – Think of Darwinism: The theory of evolution that states that all plants and animals developed from earlier forms by changing and adapting to their environment for survival. Can your art survive, does it have a quality that attracts people to it?

3) “The Law of the Fit Get Fitter” - Does you artwork have the traits to engage other artist ? As Picasso brought in so many follows, does your art have this quality? Can you get other artists to see the light of your work?

4) “The Law of Spontaneous Generation” - Can your style grow and multiply. Look at the Lowbrow or Graffiti scene; it’s infectious, with hundreds of artist thriving.

5) “The Law of Navigation” – Treat your creativity and art as a matter of navigation, rather than invention. Tinker, break away to fuel your creativity.

6) “The Law of Hotspots” – Breakthroughs happen through hotspots and occur at them. Hotspots create energy. If Andy Warhol didn’t move from Philadelphia to NYC, the art hotspot at that time, pop-art would not be what it is today.

7) “The Law of Small-World Networks” - You cannot live in a vacuum; you must be part of a network. All networks are connected by hubs, which connect to other networks. Artists have always collaborated, their networks help them to excel. Get into a network today. Use the power of community the internet provides, join forums, and show other artists your work.

8) “The Law of Integration” - Innovations that bring fundamental breakthroughs are not the end game, they transform common thinking. J.M.W Turner’s revolutionary paintings show the possibilities of this law. His peers did not like or understand his work. With the industrial revolution starting, Turner grasped the inner workings of things, rather than just their surfaces.

9) “The Law of Minimal Effort” – You will do your best work when you’re “In The ZONE” (In a state of focused attention or energy so that one’s performance is enhanced). You mind takes the route of least effort when solving problems, so as an artist, your “In The Zone” when your creative juices are flowing. Find that state and keep it for as long as you can.

The Art eXposed PR Toolkit is an easy set of communication templates that enable you to selectively broadcast recent news and information about your artwork and share it with your public. Let’s discuss what a PR toolkit is, what it does for you in terms of self-promotion and why it will help you to reach groups that want to learn more about your artwork.

What is a PR Toolkit?

It may sound complicated but it’s such a simple concept. A PR Toolkit is a set of PR templates that you are able to customize on your own for personal use. Art eXposed makes these templates available for download as a part of your membership with our community. These templates are assembled in individual Microsoft Word files. Whether it’s a news release template that announces a new piece of art work or an announcement about a recent award, you fill in the details and it’s ready to share with your friends, family, art patrons, prospects, galleries, associations and the media.

What does the PR Toolkit do for you?

A PR Toolkit is an easy way to assemble you best news to make it available to the parties who want to know about and share information on you and your artwork. As an artist, you need to spend time creating your artwork. Promotion is important, so we try to make it easy on you. The PR Toolkit templates are written so it’s easy for intended audiences to digest information use it in a useful way. For example, the news release templates are created for journalists who are looking to take your digital release and incorporate information into their stories or news briefs. These templates are media friendly and use an accepted AP style format that’s accepted by journalists world-wide. In terms of promotion, the more you fill in and use your templates, and send them out to an email database of interested parties, the more you’ll see those parties will take interest in you!

How does the PR Toolkit help you to reach different groups?

The PR Toolkit is designed to appeal to a number of different groups. You can cut and paste a PR Toolkit template into the body of your email message or send it as an attachment (but, only if the intended recipient knows you and is expecting the attachment). These templates are universal and can be used for many different groups. You can brand them with your logo or artwork and send them out as frequently as you feel the information warrants dissemination. With respect to the media, you should always be sending the media news release announcements regarding exhibits, awards and the unveiling of new pieces of art. You may not see a story every time, but the ability to send a customized release, at intervals throughout the year, will keep you and your artwork top of mind.

The PR Toolkit was designed by Art eXposed to make publicity and self-promotion easy. We want you to spend your time creating the ultimate masterpiece. Promotion, we know is very important, but when there’s only so many hours in day, the PR Toolkit is your best way to accomplish many things in a very short period of time.

Twitter is a Micro-blog .   It allows you to post short 140 char blogs, called tweets.   It is also considered a moblog (mobil blog), because you can send your blog via your cell phone (text Message (40404) , or via their wap site m.twitter.com). You can also  post from the web (http://www.twitter.com/) or by IM using their screen name  “twitterim”.  Internet developers are also creating other methods for you to enter information into your twitter blog.

So why should artists use Twitter?  Well unless you live in a cave, every art magazine, art marketing guru, and Internet site is telling you to blog.  But if you’re like me, it’s HARD to stop and take the time to write an article.  That’s why there’s twitter… for people like you and me.  Just a couple of sentences will keep your patrons happy and with an easy to use interface you have no excuse not to blog. 

With Twitter you just let your patrons know what your doing. So when you’re  excited about something just send a tweet.

Let me give you a few examples of tweets you can post:

• Just started a new painting: The long Island sound on a cool fall day. (Sept 18)
• Spent the morning on the sound, 74 degrees … life doesn’t get any better than this. (Sept 19)
• Happy with the progress so far, can’t wait for you all to see. (Sept 21)
• Just finished the painting … check it out on Art eXposed !!!! (Sept 24)

You can post your tweets to your current blog, on your myspace.com page, or on your website using widgets.  Below I have place an RSS feed of the Art eXposed twitter.  

The Art eXposed Twitter

Please wait while my tweets load    

If you can’t wait - check out what I’ve been twittering

Setting a price

It’s always hard for new artists to part with their work. But, if you want to make a living creating art, you must learn to let go and sell your work. You will always have the photographs to admire when the sale is complete and then the satisfaction that someone else appreciates and enjoys what you have done.

Some steps you can take and things to consider when determining a good selling price to your artwork.

What have they sold for in the past?
What are other artworks similar in size and style selling for?
- Scour the internet for similar art, see what artists are getting.
- Note, well known artists will command higher prices.

Once you set a price you can always go up, but you never want to go down (i.e., discount your work). You always want to show your patrons that you are improving on their investment in you and the artwork they purchased from you.

As you start selling more and more art, you can begin increasing your prices. You want to be at a price where you have a low inventory and people are waiting for your next piece.

If you really love a piece that you have done, do not price it higher than other works of similar size and style. Some artists will double and triple the price of these pieces, which is a mistake. If you love the work that much, then keep the work, but keep your prices consistent.

Regards prices (Price points)

A great way to keep a large group of varied buyers is to have wide-ranging prices. If you can have works in all price points described below, then you will have a diverse group of patrons and a steady flow of income.

Under $75 - Impulse sales, customers will buy with no thought at this price. Once you make a sale at this price you may have just found a future collector. Get details of these buyers and put them on your mailing list.

What to sell at this price: 5×7 originals, signed prints, posters, small sculptures, smaller giclées, and nick knacks that represent your brand, including postcards and other promotional items.

$75 - $800 – Pieces in this price range will sell at art shows, via the web, and through interior designers. New collectors can be found at this level. New young collectors are the best to have; their income grows as your reputation grows. A match made in heaven.

What to sell at this price:

New Artists: Before you have a following, your work should fit into this price point. Larger giclées, limited addition giclées, and limited additions print if your originals are on the high end or out of this range.

Established Artists: limited issue giclées and prints, miniature sculptures, as well pre-framed prints and giclées.

Over $800 – At this range you are willing to accept gallery commissions. Before this price range, gallery commissions could cut into your profits or heavily impact your profits on an item. In this range you should have a following and a large e-mail list. You should now be attracting patrons that do not care about the price of the item; they are looking at status, enjoyment of their success, and hope for a return on their investment.

For artwork over $5000 collectors are buying you and your brand, and hoping to follow your rise to fame. At this level, you could be seeing sales in the secondary market, which can even take you higher.

In the beginning your goal is to build a list of patrons that will stay with you as you grow as an artist. To do this you must set your price point correctly, when it’s hard to keep an inventory you know it’s time to move up the price, and bring on more collectors as you become more established as an artist. Also, don’t forget as you go to keep items in the lower price point to retain your original patrons who cannot YET afford your new higher priced offerings in the mix.

If you keep these price points in mind, then you will always have artwork priced for all your patrons to enjoy!

Other References on Art Pricing:

Sylia White: Pricing Your Art

Art Business: Price your art realistically

EBSQ Art: The Lighter Side at Pricing Your Art