Tag: business

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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.

US Pictures Business Card Preview

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…

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.

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Art Sales as a Hobby or a Business

Selling art online can and should be a business.

There is a lot of belly-aching and complaining among artists at just about any online art sales site. Usually the gripes are about something the “site” is not doing that hurts the artists’ chances of sales success – or – something the site should be doing to help the artists achieve sales success.

There was recently a long thread about how poorly the site’s internal search is set up. The is always (these threads crop up periodically) griping and finger-pointing and very little in the way of constructive ideas. There was a detailed response by a moderator and this is likely the most salient sentence in the entire thread over at the Fine Art America forum/discussion group. (Originally stated by Abbie…)

If you’re in the business of selling art, then you have to treat it like a business…”

A breakfast of blueberries and shredded wheat in whole milk can provide energy to give you a great start to your day.

To that I am adding important concepts to help achieve that goal. Like having a good breakfast is the foundation of a healthy lifestyle, having a foundation in “the basics” provides a healthy start to your online art business.

Do these. Seriously!

  • Read the Terms of Service (TOS).
  • Become familiar with everything in the admin interface (at Fine Art America the admin area is called Behind the Scenes). If you do not understand something there, THEN ask questions, usually in the forum.
  • Accept responsibility for your own actions.
  • Act and present yourself and your work professionally. (Grammar, spelling, punctuation are important.*) To do less hurts your credibility.
  • etc…etc…etc…

Let me repeat: Accept responsibility for your own actions.

* If language skills are not your forte, do not be afraid to ask for help. A friend, neighbor, and even online sources can be of assistance.

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Photography & Business Goals for the New Year

Foreseeable, attainable and lofty goals to move my business forward.

A wise man, Benjamin Franklin, once said, “If you fail to plan you are planning to fail.” With that in mind, I’ve been looking at a few marketing goals for my Bill Swartwout Photography business for the coming year.

Attainable goal: A couple weeks ago I started back at my earliest upload folder and began making black and white versions of images where B&W actually “works” well. In doing that, I am updating (cleaning, culling, rearranging) keywords and adjusting descriptions as needed. I have been selling a few black and white images and, with a greatly increased inventory, hope to sell even more in 2021. That project will likely add 500 +/- images to my current gallery total at USPictures.com.

Attainable goal #2: Increase my web presence of individual sites (blog and image style) that support my better-selling themes/collections.
Examples: https://www.FortMcHenry.net – https://www.IndianRiverBridge.com – https://www.MyPhoneography.com.

Attainable goal #3: Redefine my personal website to better focus on photography. I’m trying to be/act (more) retired – so I want to eliminate all old affiliate marketing “stuff” and clean out extraneous and obviously dated posts/articles.

Lofty goal: Double my current inventory by the end of 2021.

But – first and foremost – my photography must remain fun.

YOUR THOUGHTS? Please leave a comment…