CREATIVE SMALL BIZ

Turn your talent into a flourishing business.

For freelance writers and other creative professionals.

Published monthly, on the 15th of each month.

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Issue 109: September 15, 2005

Read this issue online at:

http://www.digital-e.biz/newsletter.html


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DAILY WRITING NEWS, VIEWS AND TIPS:

Angela Booth's Writing Blog:

http://copywriter.typepad.com/copywriter/

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(For instructions to join or leave the ezine's mailing list,
scroll to the end.)
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In this issue:
* EDITORIAL: Free phone chats/ consults for Pro
Write members via Skype


* ARTICLE: Why Every Artist Needs a Blog & How to Create an
Artist Blog By Kristin Royce

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=> EDITORIAL: Free phone chats/ consults for Pro Write members
via Skype

Want to talk? Now you can!

Reading ezines, Web sites and blogs is all very well, but talking
to someone about your creative work is even better, so now we're
now offering free phone chats/ consults to Pro Write members -
via Skype.

If you're not acquainted with Skype, the free Internet telephony
application, you soon will be. Today (September 13) Skype was
bought by eBay for a fabulous sum. Within a few months, Skype
will be everywhere and everyone will be using it. It's a great
way to get free unlimited long distance (or local) calls.

To learn more about Skype visit: http://www.skype.com

==> Skype is easy, even for non-nerds

You don't have to be a computer nerd to use Skype.

To make Skype calls all you need is a computer, an online
connection, preferably broadband, and a microphone. Phoning other
Skype users is easy, and the sound quality is brilliant, better
than a landline. If you sign up for Skype's other services, you
can call landline phones too.

You can use your Pro Write/ Skype consults to discuss your
writing, or writing as a business. You'll find instructions on
how to claim your free consults on the Pro Write site. If you're
not a member, join us. :-)

Sign up for Pro Write membership here: http://www.prowrite.biz/

Have a great month - and I look forward to talking to you on
Skype.

Angela Booth

P.S. I know many of you are still considering whether or not to
blog, and aren't sure of the concept, so this month's article
gives you basic info. (And yes, you should blog.)

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=> Earn as you learn with Digital-e! <=

Sick of your day job? If you'd rather stay home and write,
Digital-e's email writing courses will help you to become a
professional writer. Write when and where you want. The weekly
payment plans on our e-courses and coaching programs make it an
affordable option to earn as you learn. (You'll have Angela at
your side to cheer you on. :-)) You'll find the part-payment
buttons on the appropriate course pages. Not sure how it works,
or if it's right for you?

Info on Digital-e's courses:

http://www.digital-e.biz/ecourses.html

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=> ARTICLE: Why Every Artist Needs a Blog & How to Create an
Artist Blog_


By Kristin Royce



As an artist, the key to selling more artwork is maximizing its
exposure. The internet is an increasingly popular tool for
promoting original art, and if done properly, can be quite
profitable.

One of the most effective (and free!) online marketing tools for
artists is the blog. Artist blogs provide an easy way to display
your art, discuss your creative process, post exhibition
announcements and more. Best of all, blogs require no working
knowledge of HTML and the search engines love their dynamic
content.

==> What is a blog and how will it sell my art?

A "blog" is a web-based diary or journal. The author of a blog,
also known as a "Blogger", publishes content on a regular basis
about a focused topic. These regular postings typically provide a
"community" feel by allowing site visitors to post feedback to
your journal entries. This mode of communication can deepen
relationships with potential art buyers, leading to increased
sales.

Blogs also have the ability to archive all of your previous
posts, dynamically creating an individual page for each journal
entry. The feature is great for art buyers using search engines
to find original art. For example, if you have a blog post
describing a painting that you just completed of the Golden Gate
Bridge at sunset and an art buyer in Florida goes to Google and
searches for "painting of Golden Gate Bridge at sunset", there is
a very good chance that your blog entry will appear pretty high
in the rankings. Cha Ching!!

Many artists have felt the pain of email marketing losing its
effect due to spam filters, junk email overloads and virus
paranoia. Blogs provide a new way to communicate with clients,
fans and industry professionals. This trend can support your
email marketing efforts by allowing blog subscription options for
site visitors so that they are notified whenever your blog is
updated along with providing a permanent place on the web for all
of your postings as opposed to newsletter emails that are
typically deleted.

==> How to start a blog

* Blog Publishing Tools

To begin, visit some of these free blogging sites, all offering
unique template options that even an artist can appreciate, image
uploads and syndication ability.

Blogger.com (blogger.com) - Simple to set up and multiple
authoring ability MSN Spaces (spaces.msn.com) - Create your own
mini site, with an exceptional blogging feature Live Journal
(livejournal.com) - Requires a bit of 'blogging knowledge' to get
it set up Blog Drive (blogdrive.com) If you're interesting in
reviewing additional blog features, these sites require a small
monthly fee to maintain.

Typepad (typepad.com) - starts at $4.95/month Tripod Blogs
(tripod.lycos.com) - starts at $4.95/month

Note to artists with MySpace accounts: MySpace provides members
personal blogs, but it is important to know that MySpace blogs
are not currently listed in search engines, which as noted above,
is one of the main reasons to get a blog. While MySpace works to
remedy this issue, it is recommended that you blog using a tool
that is accessible to search engine spiders.

* Decide on a title for your blog

The title of your blog should be brief and to the point. You can
get creative with your language in the blog description / tag
line. A focused title will help with higher search engine
rankings and make it clear to visitors what the blog is about.

For example, the title for ThePauper.com blog is "Diary of a
Pauper". The blog description is "Rants and raves about the
careers and lives of starving artists." The title is concise,
stating exactly what it is, while the description is a bit more
creative.

* Blog theme

It's important to establish yourself as a professional working
artist if you want to use your blog as a vehicle to sell your
art. Blog theme involves the layout and color of the page,
quality of the artwork images displayed and verbiage used for
blog postings.

Select your blog template carefully and make a habit to review
your blog from the perspective of a potential client. Is the page
visually appealing? Do the images of your artwork provide a link
to an extra large version to see detail? Does your content have a
consistent theme?

Here's a good example of a working blog by mix engineer, Ken
Lewis: http://protoolsmixing.com/blog.html

The content theme is exceptionally consistent, plus the colors
and page layout match his website.

*What to write

What's beautiful about blogs is that there are no rules on what
to write, but if you want to attract and keep an audience, you
might consider some of these suggestions.

Keep your posts creative and interesting. Move and inspire your
readers by being completely honest about your creative process.

Use keywords in your blog title and post. Using the example
mentioned earlier - if your post is about a Golden Gate Bridge
painting, be sure to use that exact phrase in the title and body
of your blog. Think about what people might type into search
engines to find your content and then use those keywords in your
blog. This technique will help increase the ranking of your web
page on search engines.

Post daily, or at least twice a week. If you publish blog entries
frequently, you will see more return visitors, subscriptions to
your blog and comments from site visitors. Proofread and preview
your blog entries before posting. Some blog HTML editors have a
way of creating weird symbols out of certain characters and a
quick spell-check never hurts. (Note: be sure to create your blog
entries using Word or some other text editor. Many blogging tools
tend to "time out" after a certain amount of time and you could
potentially lose hours of work.)

==> Publish your blog

Finally! Your blog looks great and has unique content. Now,
depending on the blogging tool that you selected, follow the
steps to publish it to the World Wide Web. Test the live URL that
now houses your blog. If all of your graphics appear correctly
and the copy is flawless, then you want to make sure that you
promote your blog on your personal website, in your email
signature and by word of mouth.

Using the tools you already have to spread the word while testing
your dedication to frequent posting is the best way to get
started.


Kristin Royce is a search engine optimization and online
marketing professional contributing online marketing and
promotional content for artists to The Artrepreneur E-Zine and
newsletter.

The Artrepreneur offers articles helping artists focus on proven
techniques to accomplish any goal. Read More:
http://www.theartrepreneur.com

Copyright (c) 2005 Arctic Mouse, Inc. All rights reserved.

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