Why Blog as an Artist? Promoting & Selling Your Art Online

UK artist & entrepreneur Kerwin Blackburn discusses the value of internet blogging for artists looking to sell – with insights from his ‘By Kerwin’ blogging ‘Project 24’ journey

In the ever-evolving landscape of the art world and its new digital dimensions, establishing a robust online presence is key for artists looking to reach a wider audience and monetise their creations. One powerful tool that often remains untapped is internet blogging.

As a UK artist who has their own online shop and blog (which you’re reading now!), in this post I delve into the topic of art blogging. I explore blogging’s significance and value, unravelling the benefits it offers to artists and debunking myths around its profitability. Blogging is an incredible tool I use alongside my physical art exhibitions.

I also provide valuable insights on how to kickstart your own artistic blogging journey as a strategy to help you sell your art. Welcome to the world where creativity meets digital expression.

Online blogging is a powerful tool for artists to globally showcase and sell their artwork. Sharing unique art insights through blogging can help build community, boost credibility, and offers monetisation avenues like ads, sponsored content, affiliate marketing, and direct online art sales.

Read on to learn more about the skill of blogging for artists.

Introduction To Online Blogging for Artists

In today’s digital age, where the art world converges with the online universe, crafting a strong digital footprint is paramount for artists looking to promote and sell their art effectively. This blog post explores the pivotal role of online presence in an artist’s success and introduces an often underestimated ally – blogging.

Online blogging is a powerful tool for artists to globally showcase and sell their artwork. Sharing unique art insights through blogging can help build community, boost credibility, and offers monetisation avenues like ads, sponsored content, affiliate marketing, and direct online art sales. Blogging is a dynamic platform for artists to thrive in the digital space.

What is Online Blogging?

Online blogging is like having your own digital journal or magazine where you can publish articles, stories, and updates regularly. It’s a practical way for individuals, artists, and businesses to share valuable information, experiences, or creative content with a broader online audience.

By creating blog content and putting this out into the virtual world, you have the chance to appear in search engine results for relevant search queries. People can then visit your blog website which, if this features your art, can mean audience’s eyes directly on your work. If you have an online shop, visitors can then buy your art, and you can also monetise this attention in other ways (discussed later on).

A quick note before getting started on blogging: creating a blog requires you to first create your website and initial online presence. Learn about the best platforms to create a simple starting website in my blog post here.

Is Blogging Good for Artists?

In today’s digital world, blogging is like a superpower for artists. It’s not just about showing off your art but creating an engaging story around it. Think of it as your own online gallery that people from all over can visit. Unlike real galleries, blogs don’t have borders (or high costs of rent) – your art can reach anyone with an internet connection.

Blogging helps artists connect with a range of different people who love art. It’s not just about posting pictures; it’s like sharing your artistic journey and unique insights. The more you share, the more people have to get interested about you. It’s like building a fan club online.

So, blogging is not just good; it’s a fantastic and cheap way for artists to get their work out there and make connections and attract potential buyers globally.

Why Online Blogging Is Ideal for Artists: The Benefits of Blogging

The beauty of blogging is its total flexibility. You can write your blog in any style, format your posts in the exact visual way you want to, and write about any topic that interests you (although the skill is choosing topics that interest others..). You can combine storytelling with statistics, include video and visualisations, and use your blog posts to bring your artistic narrative to life.

As an artist, blogging is therefore a dynamic tool for not only showcasing your creativity but also for amplifying your reach, fostering community, and ultimately transforming your passion into a sustainable commercial venture.

Two Unique Features of Blogging that Physical Art Exhibitions Don’t Have

Online blogging is also totally scalable; you can reach hundreds of millions of potential visitors interest in your topic. Or, rather, they reach you: once you put your content online, you are then hands-off while the search engines match your blog content with relevant user searches. It is therefore potentially much more scalable than a single physical exhibition is.

Another incredible feature of blogging is in the way it compounds. While I’ve organised and hosted several fantastic two-week solo art exhibitions of my ‘By Kerwin’ paintings, once these two weeks are up my work comes down, my visibility to the public ends. With blogging, the opposite is true; the more blog content you put out, the more it helps increase the likelihood of your existing content being seen.

This is because search engines such as Google are constantly making sure their putting the most helpful content in front of their users. Therefore, the more Google can see what you have to offer, the higher up its pages it will rank your blog.

Whether you’re showcasing your art, offering advice, or documenting your journey, blogging provides a practical and accessible means to connect with people globally, building a community around your passions or expertise. Writing your stories can also be a fun thing that you can do on-the-go wherever you are.

Do Art Blogs Make Money?

Wondering if your art blog can earn you revenue? Absolutely. An art blog is not just a creative outlet; they can evolve into lucrative ventures for artists. Through strategic monetisation, artists can turn their passion into profit.

Ad revenue, sponsored content, and affiliate marketing are avenues artists explore, proving that the fusion of art and entrepreneurship is possible. As the online art community grows, artists leveraging their blogs for income find that creativity extends beyond the canvas, becoming a sustainable source of financial success and artistic fulfilment.

Let’s dive into the practical ways of monetising your art blog.

How Can Art Blogs Make Money?

Let’s dive into the practical ways of monetising your art blog:

Ad Revenue: Ever noticed ads on websites? That’s a thing for art blogs too. Companies pay to be seen on your space, and you earn a piece of the pie.

Sponsored Content: Brands pay for exposure. Your blog becomes a platform for product placement or reviews for products related to your art niche and blog topics – and therefore related to your audience. If you’re authentic and your sponsored content aligns with your brand, it’s a win-win.

Affiliate Marketing: You recommend a relevant product on your blog, and if people buy through your unique link, you earn a commission. It’s like being an art influencer, but on your terms.

Selling Art: Don’t underestimate this. Your blog can be a storefront (such as my own online shop, www.bykerwin.com). You can sell prints, merchandise, or even offer exclusive access to your creative process through memberships to the online visitors who reach your site via your blog.

Real artists are doing this and thriving. So, if you’re sitting on the fence, remember, your blog isn’t just a canvas for you to recite your story; it’s a potential paycheque. Time to turn your art into earnings!

Thinking about starting an art blog? Go for it! It’s not just about showing off your art – it’s a journey that comes with personal and professional rewards. Worried it might be too much work? Let’s clear that up. Yes, blogging takes effort, but the long-term reward potential is definitely there commercially and personally.

Having an online presence isn’t just a thing for fun; it’s an asset that opens doors to cool opportunities, connects you with people worldwide, and helps your art get noticed. So, if you’re on the fence, remember: an art blog isn’t just a blog; it’s your ticket to growth and a buzzing community.

I’d recommend getting started – but first learning about the skill of blogging, from both a literary and technical point of view. Unlike how I naively used to think of it, blogging is not just about unloading all your random thoughts and opinions onto a page and dumping these on the internet.

Blogging is a delicate skill; getting your unique insights to stand out online in a sea of millions billions of other thoughts and bits of information requires ability. Read on to find out how I’ve built my By Kerwin art blog, ‘Confessions of a Pop Artist’.

How Do I Start an Art Blog?

Embarking on your art blogging journey is exciting, but knowing exactly how to start can be overwhelming, too. Although there are a lot of technical things to know to blog effectively (and I’d definitely recommend learning by following a blogging course), the overarching process is fairly simple. Let’s break it down into steps:

1. Define Your Artistic Blogging Niche

The first step to art blogging is to define exactly what your art niche will be. To stand out online and create a successful blog, your art blog needs to have focus and purpose. Don’t try and write about too many styles or aspects of art – Google won’t be able to recognise you as the expert in any one particular area to rank you highly on its pages.

As a UK artist who uses their blog to promote their brand, By Kerwin, my niche was largely defined my unique artistic and painting style: colourful, music-themed pop art portraits painted using my signature Jackson Pollock-style technique.

My blog therefore covers topics spanning pop art, Jackson Pollock and action painting and music-inspired art. I also cover other topics relevant to my art brand: wall art, paintings and the art prints I sell and practical stories of how I built my art business, By Kerwin.

This is a critical step in the blogging process. Don’t get started until you have absolute clarity on what you’ll be blogging about and why. Because blogging is a long-term game, your blog niche should ideally be something you already have some expertise in and an interest to learn more about – and not just a trending topic you think will provide fast financial rewards.

2. Choosing a Platform

Start by selecting a user-friendly platform. Popular choices include WordPress, Blogger, or Squarespace. Each has its perks, so pick one that aligns with your preferences and technical comfort.

As an artist, I use WordPress and its accompanying e-commerce platform, WooCommerce, for my online art shop. Read my blog post discussing the benefits of these platforms for artists here.

3. Selecting a Domain Name

Your domain name is your online identity. Keep it simple, memorable, and reflective of your artistic style. Ensure it’s available and ideally ends with “.com” for easy recall. Your domain name is just one aspect of many technical things to know when starting blogging – which is why I’d recommend following a course, such as Project 24.

4. Creating Engaging Content

Content is king. Share more than just your finished pieces; share insights into your creative process and inspirations, share stories, and connect with your audience. Mix it up with a variety of content types – text, images, and even videos. You can also interview people and create step-by-step art tutorial posts.

Knowing how to choose topics for your blog posts that a) people are actually searching for online and b) that aren’t already so congested on Google that you can actually rank highly for is a delicate skill. This is perhaps the single most important step of blogging – and is in stark contrast to the way I used to think bloggers should just write whatever comes into their heads!

There should also be a strategy behind how to link different groups of blog posts together – hence the need to learn from experts first.

5. Designing a Visually Appealing Blog

Once you have content ready to publish, capture your visitors’ attention with an aesthetically pleasing design. Choose a clean layout, complementary colour schemes, and high-quality images to showcase your art.

Tips for Consistent and Sustainable Blogging

Consistency is key. Set a realistic posting schedule and stick to it. Engage with your audience, respond to comments, and stay authentic. Consider using scheduling tools to maintain a steady flow of content without burnout.

To become successful with your art blog to the point where you can monetise this, you will need to create a huge volume of content – you can’t just dabble with a few posts and expect to get anywhere.

Speaking from experience, blogging is a long-term game and skill, and requires you to invest a significant amount of time before you begin to build any traction with it. Staying consistent and motivated to create high-quality content without initial reward or recognition is a huge part of the challenge.

Starting an art blog isn’t just about showcasing your work; it’s about building a connection with your audience. Follow these steps – while following real guidance and expertise – and you’ll be well on your way to creating a captivating online blog for your artistic journey.

My By Kerwin Art Blog Journey: Learning with Income School’s ‘Project 24’

Embarking on my own ‘By Kerwin’ art blog journey has been a profound learning experience. At the time of writing, I’m 12 months into my blog-writing journey – and am closing in on 100 topical blog posts written and have just hit 1 million impressions on Google Search. (In other words, my website and blog has appeared in a million Google searches in the last year. This sounds a lot – but I’m only part of the way into my blogging journey.)

To learn the skill of blogging, I’ve been following an online blogging course for the last 18 months or so. This is called ‘Project 24’ and is provided by an online blogging organisation called ‘Income School’. It aims to teach bloggers how to build a full-time income from blogging in 24 months.

My 12 months of consistent blogging so far also followed a period of several months during which I followed and studied the online videos of ‘Project 24’. This involved learning the skill of blogging through their excellent step-by-step instructions, and also mastering the technical details required to make your blog a success online.

These initial months also involved building this new By Kerwin website on WordPress – as my previous site hosted by BigCartel didn’t have the blog pages function that blogging requires. I wrote a blog post comparing these two platforms – read this here.

Reflections on My Art Blogging Project 24 Journey So Far

The journey and storing I’m telling through my blog is uniquely mine, but it’s not without the valuable guidance of the Project 24 blogging course. Following the Project 24 methodology has added layers of insight, shaping the trajectory of my blog. From navigating technical challenges to teaching strategies for the selection of my blog posts, the Project 24 blogging course has allowed me to achieve results I simply would never have obtained on my own.

Project 24 talks a lot about the ‘Ghost Town’ phase any new blogger must go through before they start to get recognition – and having this patience and perseverance is certainly a test. However, staying consistent ultimately started to bring in online traction and visitors that have continued compounding over time.

I’m now receiving daily website visitors in numbers that would cost a significant amount of money to attract in the form of Facebook Advertising (which I still do to complement my organic blogging reach).

One Way Road

Blogging about my art has been an intensive journey so far, with a long way to go. However, when I first decided to start an online art business in 2019, I figured this would be an inevitable step required one day to create the online presence and ultimate the art sales I desired.

Given that my blog aims to tell the story of how I built my art business, By Kerwin over its few years, there is no shortage of blog topics for me to write about. The challenge is staying patient as I write this and share my in-depth insights, one post at a time. Thank you for visiting this blog post and becoming part of my art blogging journey.

Conclusion

In a nutshell, blogging as an artist can be a game-changer for you and your art. It’s not just about showing off; it’s a global spotlight for your art. If you’re an artist, dive into blogging. It’s not just a hobby; it’s a potential avenue for promoting and selling your art worldwide.

Your artistic growth, both personally and professionally, can skyrocket. So, in this massive online world, start that blog, share your story, and watch your art reach places you never imagined. It’s not just pixels on a screen; it’s your ticket to a global audience eager to be wowed by your creativity. Time to make your mark!

What is the most helpful piece of advice in this blog post about art blogging? Contact me if you have any further questions – I’d love to hear your thoughts. Explore my full range of paintings and shop prints in my online shop.

Explore the rest of my blog about my art business and online shop, By Kerwin, here.

View my full range of Jackson Pollock-inspired pop art paintings and prints of your favourite music and pop culture icons at www.bykerwin.com. High-definition printing, fast worldwide delivery and satisfaction guaranteed. You can follow my art progress on Instagram and Facebook.