Category: Marketing

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A Marketing Challenge for the Year 2023

This is a follow-up marketing challenge to what was started in January 2022.

This is NOT a New Year’s Resolution – they don’t usually work. This is a re-commitment of something I did in January last year to jump-start my art photography business. It worked very well last year – and positive results/metrics were shared here on this website.

This year I am modifying the goals just a bit to make a longer-term commitment well within reach. I am continuing to wean myself from social media and put more emphasis on positive results from the major search engines. I want to (need to) increase the organic search results that bring people to see my photography and my galleries on the various POD (Print On Demand) art production companies that host my gallery stores – listed in the site menu.

Blue Flams heating the Tea Pot
Let me get the fire lit and get underway.

The goal is to create one new article per day for the entire first quarter of 2023.

The caveat is that I will give myself weekends off. (Hey, I am supposed to be retired.) I also will not adhere to a strict schedule. That means, overall, I will publish an average of 5 articles per week on one or more of my websites, 20/21 per month for January, February and March. (Yes, I will count this article among the list below…)

Obviously, this particular article will be a Work In Progress

January Articles

  1. Fenwick Island Dunes and Waves, USPictures.com, 01/01
  2. Fenwick Island Lighthouse Historic Panorama, USPictures.com, 01/02
  3. A Marketing Challenge for the Year 2023, BillSwartwout.com, 01/02
  4. Fenwick Island Lighthouse, SouthBaltimore.com. 01/02
  5. Eclipse of the Moon over the Indian River Bridge, IndianRiverBridge.com, 01/03
  6. Simulated Watercolor from a Photograph, IndianRiverBridge.com, 01/05
  7. Staying on the Boardwalk in Ocean City, Maryland, OceanCityBoardwalkHotels.com, 01/11
  8. For Purple Mountain Majesties, BillSwartwout.com, 01/12
  9. A Cat in a Fishbowl, BillSwartwout.com, 01/14
  10. One Cat Eye Looking Directly At You, BillSwartwout.com, 01/15
  11. Red Sky at Night, Sailor’s Delight, IndianRiverBridge.com, 01/15
  12. Dangerous Passage, BillSwartwout.com, 01/16
  13. Tuckahoe River Railroad Bridge in Delmarva, USPictures.com, 01/17
  14. Photo Tip for Photographing Sunsets, BillSwartwout.com, 01/20
  15. I’ve Always had a Keen Interest in Astronomy, BillSwartwout.com, 01/23
  16. Catching the Sun in Her Arms, BillSwartwout.com, 01/23
  17. Having Fun at the Beach in Ocean City, MD, OceanCityBoardwalkHotesl.com, 01/25
  18. Finding Places to Stay in Ocean City, MD!, SouthBaltimore.com, 01/25
  19. Ocean City Twitter Account Is Now Verified, USPictures.com, 01/26
  20. Iconic Red Barn, USPictures.com, 01/28
Fenwick Island Dunes and Waves
Fenwick Island Dunes and Waves and Sea and Sand in the Afternoon Sun

February Articles

  1. This Crab Saw His Shadow, BillSwartwout.com, 02/03
  2. Starry Night at the Indian River Inlet Bridge, IndianRiverBridge.com, 0204
  3. Before Sunrise at the Indian River Bridge, IndianRiverBridge.com, 02/05
  4. Starry Night Over Fenwick Island Lighthouse, FenwickIslandLighthouse.com, 02/06 (first sale was 02/07)
  5. Stay on the Boardwalk in Ocean City, OCtheBeach.com, 02/09
  6. Fenwick Shoals in the Atlantic at Fenwick Island, FenwickIslandLighthouse.com, 02/09
  7. Should I Choose a Hotel or a Condo for Vacation? OCtheBeach.com, 02/09
  8. Artificial Intelligence Art Imagery, BillSwartwout.com, 02/10
  9. Indian River Bridge Cam at Delaware Seashore State Park, IndianRiverBridge.com, 02/14
  10. Indian River Inlet Bridge Gift Shop, IndianRiverBridge.com, 02/14
  11. Song for Sunrise over the Bridge at Indian River Inlet, IndianRiverBridge.com, 02/14
  12. Ocean City Gift Shop, OCtheBeach.com, 02/14
  13. About Dead Tree Pictures, DeadTreePictures.com, 02/16
  14. Ocean City Jigsaw Puzzles, OCtheBeach.com, 02/18
  15. New Website Created, aiArtImagery.com, 02/20
  16. Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the Art World, aiArtImagery.com, 02/21
  17. Right Time Right Place Photo Tip, BillSwartwout.com, 02/22
  18. Why Are Barns Painted Red? BillSwartwout.com, 02/23
  19. Free Shipping Now Available for Bill Swartwout Photography, USPictures.com, 02/23
  20. Visiting Myrtle Beach, SC? USPictures.com, 02/23
  21. Do You Have a Tote Bag for the Beach? OCtheBeach.com, 02/23
  22. Vacationing in Ocean City, Maryland, OceanCityBoardwalkHotels.com, 02/24
  23. Virtual Sisters Feline and Human, aiArtImagery.com, 02/27

March Articles

  1. Decaying Red Barns, BillSwartwout.com, 03/01 (Almost ready…)
  2. Vanishing Red Barns in America, aiArtImagery.com, 03/01
  3. Myrtle Beach Beach, Sand, Dunes, Ocean and Sky, USPictures.com, 03/02
  4. Watching the Sun Setting Under the Indian River Bridge, IndianRiverBridge.com, 03/03
  5. Pier Against the Storm, aiArtImagery.com, 03/09
  6. What’s Cooking in the Kitchen?, aiArtImagery.com, 03/09
  7. Fenwick Island Lighthouse on the Rocks, FenwickIslandLighthouse.com, 03/10
  8. Last Bridge into Ocean City, OCtheBeach.com, 03/10
  9. Double Trouble – a Two-Headed Rattlesnake, aiaARTimagery.com, 03/11
  10. OC Vacations on Record Pace for 2023, OceanCityBoardwalkHotels.com, 03/31

OK, so March did not make the cut. We were on an extended vacation and I “finally” realized that doing a daily article was distracting. I will pick this activity up once we return home and things get back to normal (whatever that may be).

Results

Metrics and more… TBD

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Why Do I Spell Bill Swartwout Incorrectly?

I purposely typosquat my own “billswartwout.com” and “billswartwoutphotography.com” domain names to retain more website visitors.

First, let’s get this out of the way: I have a love/hate relationship with typosquatting. I love it because it’s a great way to get additional traffic to my website. I hate it because it’s often used by nefarious individuals to scam people. I do not do the “scam stuff” that gives domain squatting a bad name. OK, lets move on…

Our family has been here a very long time. The original Swartwout to come to the “new world” sailed with Henry Hudson and helped establish the trading post at New Amsterdam, today known as Manhattan. Brigadier General Jacobus Swartwout was the highest ranking officer in the Revolutionary Army in the state of New York.

jacobus swartwout homestead in swartwoutville, NY
The original homestead of Jacobus Swartwout in Swartwoutville, NY

My surname, Swartwout, is a difficult name – to pronounce and to spell. The second “w” is silent but no one knows. Couple that with the full website name(s) and it can easily be confusing.

I want to make sure that when people type in my domain name they are taken to my website. By “typosquatting” my own domain name I can do this. The name SWARTWOUT is often, very often, misspelled SWARTOUT – without the second “w” in place. There is, in fact, a variation of my surname that is correctly spelled that way. There are two more spellings, SWARTHOUT and SWARTWOOD, that are also variations of the “original” SWARTWOUT. But the most common error, by far, is to leave out the second “w” in the name.

swartwout coats of arms
The Swartwout Family Coat of Arms with spelling variations of the name.

Of course there is a town (actually a Hamlet, a VERY small town) of Swartwoutville in the state of New York.

Sign at Swartwoutville, ny
Welcome to the Hamlet of Swartwoutville, a Hudson Valley Greenway Community

Examples:

Link: BillSwartout.com –> BillSwartwout.com

Link: BillSwartoutPhotography.com –> BillSwartwoutPhotography.com

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Yes, I am Still on Twitter

And I plan to remain tweeting as long as it is beneficial to my business.

There has been a lot of misinformation spreading around social media about the “demise” of Twitter after its acquisition by Elon Musk. I’m not seeing that demise at all. In fact, I am seeing increased engagement, fewer scam posts, fewer (obvious) bot posts and fewer misleading advertisements.

twitter screenshot for article
Twitter profile header as might be seen by a “follower” of my twitter feed.

However, many people are being led astray by the naysayers and meme posts on Facebook and other social media sources. Many of the people sharing, adding negative comments and bashing twitter have little or no first-hand knowledge themselves.

Here is a recent interchange I experienced on Facebook that illustrates the twitter-bashing that has become prevalent. I created a Facebook post asking people to head on over to my Twitter Photography Page and give me a follow (thanking them in advance).

  1. Please hop on over and “follow” my (more general) Twitter Photography Page at https://twitter.com/Beachy (TIA).
    • 5 comments
    • 1) Commenter: you’re on Twitter? geez.
    • 2) Reply: (to Commenter) – been there (started for business) back in 2007. Why “geez”?
    • 3) Commenter: because Musk is a lunatic.
    • 4) Reply: (to Commenter) – Evidently you are not a Twitter user – who can actually see improvements in the platform over the last several weeks. Sadly, you must be a believer of Facebook memes (which are mostly created by foreign bots).
    • 5) Commenter: Oh please…resorting to personal insults? get over yourself.

I must apologize if that someone took offense, thinking I intended a personal insult. I actually believed the commenter was not speaking from personal experience. (And, somehow, I do not believe that person has any real Twitter experience. )

Well, anyway, I’ll stick with the platform and am even happy to subscribe (pay a few bucks a month) to be a “Verified” Twitter user (with the small blue checkmark). That small fee may help support the platform but, more importantly, it will also discourage the nefarious plague of demons (spambots and scammers) emanating from the depths of Hades. (Maybe Facebook should take note.)

Finally…

Twitter has been, and will remain, one of the marketing tools I use for sharing (and selling) my landscape/seascape photography. Why? Simply because it works.

If you are a twitter user would care to give me a follow on Twitter, click here: https://twitter.com/Beachy. Thank you.

office studio at the indian river inlet bridge
My office/studio at the Indian River Inlet Bridge near Bethany Beach, Delaware.