Marketing – Page 6

January 27, 2022January 27, 2022

Weaning Myself from Social Media

SEO should resolve to my websites – not someone else’s.

Yes, that’s me at the controls of an AT-6 “Texan.” Now I need to take control of my own marketing efforts.

Content that I create should benefit me and my business. Whenever I post on Social Media that content helps attract visitors to the benefit of the stockholders of Facebook or Twitter or wherever. When I post to a forum, the basic SEO benefits go to the owner of that forum. There is, however, a compromise in that some judicious posting to a forum or social media may have the residual effect of sending a visitor to my site(s). Therefore I am not abandoning…just making changes and redirecting the bulk of my efforts.

My aim is to wean myself from a lot of social media and from posting on forums (quite so much). I’m not talking about a “cold turkey” removal from social media but, instead, a re-focusing of my posting efforts. I have have begun a rigorous campaign of article publishing (blogging) on several of my sites (mostly BillSwartwout.com and USPictures.com) that support my art photography. I am sharing photographs and places of where we have traveled. I am also sharing some marketing insights – here on “my site” rather than there on “their” sites. My goal this year is to publish one new piece per day ( on average) for 2022. At the end of January, as I write this, I am ahead of my goal by a half dozen new blog posts.

Posting on SM and forums is good SEO for “them/those.” I am striving for increased search engine clicks for “me” and my photography. So far it is working – I am seeing a two-fold increase clicks from Google and Bing this month compared to December (and there is still nearly a week to go in January). Unique visitors and page views are up, as is bot traffic (the stats on my server separate the two so I can see “real numbers” of visitors).

I want to create articles and photographs that help me, both in the short term and long term. I’ve had some success on Facebook, but I’ve never been able to fully monetize it. With all due respect to the owners of Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites, I have to focus on my own business. I have to be more deliberate in what I post and how I use social media. While I do have a Facebook page(s) and Twitter accounts, I need to keep in mind: there are no real (do-follow) links back to my sites. So why do I need them? Why do I care about “likes” or comments? What does that do for ME? Well, I do receive visitors from those sites and, yes, some of those visitors buy my art photography. Therefore, I am not being “ungrateful” for the work that these sites do for me; instead, I see it as running in place. I just need to keep in mind that the ultimate goal for SEO is rank well on search engines by creating original content that people want to read and share (link back to).

With that said, I am using FB and Twitter to help promote my new articles. For example, an article I published two hours ago (just before I wrote this paragraph) has already had 31 views, with 24 of them coming directly to that post from Social Media. The others were likely me (for one or two) and some from people landing on the home page of BillSwartwout.com where “The Making of a Classic Bridge Photograph” was that first article.

Bill Swartwout Photography USPictures Header — Bill Swartwout Photography at USPictures.com

December 31, 2021January 20, 2022

Rebranding and an Art Challenge

Welcoming the New Year with a few changes.

Not really changes – let’s just call it a few adjustments for 2022. The main adjustment is the “rebranding” of my vanity domain name, USPictures.com. For the last few years I have simply pointed that domain to my Fine Art America/Pixels Premium Gallery at https://bill.pixels.com. I have decided to develop the U.S. Pictures domain as a unique website where my current and future art buyers will have more choices.

Now for the 2022 Art Challenge. Lofty goal but will it be reality?

The goal is to create and post a new article EVERY DAY for the entirety of 2022 on one of my photography related sites (blogs or what ever moniker you choose). I had participated in several create-a-new-piece-of-art-per day (for a given number of days) challenges in the Fine Art America Forum throughout 2021. I completed several and felt I was learning and growing with each one. Now, Abbie, the dear forum moderator, set up a major challenge of one new piece of art per day for all of 2022 (with the ability to “skip” 30 days).

I initially thought yeah, I can do that. Even with our hopeful set of road trips this year I should be able to shoot or edit a new photograph and upload it every day. Sure. Yup. Yes.

I realized, however, that if I could do that on my own sites, instead of FineArtAmerica/Pixels, that I would be adding SEO value to my own work and potentially attract more buyers to me and my own art – rather than to the main site(s) at FAA and the art of thousands of other artists. I believe if I focus on this practical solution – it provide more exposure for my photography. (Catch the intended puns there?)

The caveat is that I will allow myself to miss two days per week – but hope to accomplish 300+ new articles, with images, during the course of the year. Please wish me luck and please follow along if/when you get the chance.

Put MY photographs on YOUR walls. Thank you for supporting my art.

My art-photography related sites that will be growing this year are…

USPictures.com (my rebranded domain)
BillSwartwout.com (this site)
BethanyGallery.com (Bethany Beach area of southern, coastal Delaware)
MyPhoneography.com (cell-phone photography
AssateaguePony.com (the wild horses of Assateague Island, MD)
iOceanCity.com (Ocean City, Maryland)
JigsawPuzzleArt.com (my photographs on quality jigsaw puzzles)
FortMcHenry.net (birthplace of our National Anthem)
IndianRiverBridge.com (may merge this with the Bethany Arts Gallery site)

The site I plan to grow the most is U.S. Pictures. Much of my photography is a sharing of places to which we have traveled through parts of the USA.

February 22, 2021February 23, 2024

US Pictures @ USPictures.com

Bill Swartwout Photography and USPictures are one in the same.

So why the different domain names you ask? One is so much easier to say, to spell and to incorporate into a logo for advertising. US Pictures is also appropriate because Bill has traveled through most of the states in the United States – 48 of the 50, to be exact – and has photographs available from many of those travels. The only caveat is that he has also traveled to 20+ different countries in Central America, Europe, North America and South America. Photographs from those areas are included in his “wanderlust” mix.

Over the years, Bill Swartwout Photography has worked with many (too many) of the art/product fulfillment companies out there – and has eliminated most of them. Some are fast, some are high quality and some are cheap. Just remember that you cannot have all three of those qualities from the same source. Our main focus is having high quality products delivered to your door that you will be pleased to hang on your walls. Here is the rundown of product fulfillment companies with which we are associated. These companies handle the sales, production and delivery process and, in reality, license Bill Swartwout’s work to use on their products.

Bill has worked to hard over the years to trust his work to just any production company but he is also one who believes it is not safe to keep all of your eggs in the same basket, so to speak. The best situation is to work with only the “best baskets” out there. Here is the rundown of product fulfillment companies with which we are associated. These companies handle the sales, production and delivery process and, in reality, license Bill Swartwout’s work to use on their products.

Fine Art America / Pixels – The Fine Art America “family” is the largest single Print On Demand (POD) art company in the world. They produce great quality art – we have seen only four returns out of the last 500 products delivered. They currently host Bill’s photographs in three configurations.
– Link: Fine Art America – Wall art and home decor items.
– Link: Pixels – Wall art, home decor and ancillary products, such as puzzles and face masks
– Private Label Link: Bill Swartwout Photography – Offers all of the products on a stand-alone website.

Pictorem – Pictorem is a Montreal, Canada based company that is smaller in scope than many others but produces a boutique level of high quality wall art on a variety of substrates. Because Pictorem has shipping centers in both the the United States and Canada they currently offer FREE SHIPPING throughout North America with no “duty” charges and a favorable dollar exchange rate. Pictorem currently hosts a very popular gallery for Bill Swartwout Photography.
– Link: Bill Swartwout Photography

Zazzle – Zazzle is a multi-faceted POD company that produces a wide variety of products, many of which are based on art by Independent Artists but also working with customer-submitted photos and designs. Bill likes Zazzle for high quality calendars and jigsaw puzzles that incorporate his photographs.
– Link: Bill Swartwout Photography – Bill is a “Pro Bronze” Seller with Zazzle.

Imagekind – Imagekind is an older, traditional company producing fine quality wall art by Independent Artists – but only as prints, framed prints and canvas. Bill has been with this company for a decade and a half. They also sponsor some of his popular pieces on Amazon.
– Link: Travel at Imagekind