With the rise of social media and more visual content options than ever, there’s never been a better time to create an art blog. But with so many blogs out there, how do you stand out? You may not have access to every piece of equipment in the world, but that doesn’t mean you can’t still make something beautiful. All it takes is a little bit of research and planning to get your art blog up and running. Below, New York City artist Aryea Flohr shares three things you should consider before starting your new art blog.
Research Your Field
Art blogs often focus on a specific topic or style. Before diving in and creating a blog around your own work, it’s important to know the landscape of your genre. Start by reading other artists’ blogs and finding blogs that focus on similar topics. As you grow your blog, you’ll have to keep in mind your readers’ interests. If a majority of your readers are interested in fine art, you’ll have to think carefully about which topics you cover. Look up popular hashtags related to your topic and see what kinds of conversations are happening around them. You can also look at past art blog posts to see what kinds of topics are trending. That will help you to see what kinds of posts your readers are interested in reading about, explains accomplished artist and entrepreneur Aryea Flohr.
Plan Ahead
Begin by researching your genre to better understand the landscape of your blog. Next, figure out what your mission is for your blog. Do you want to share your own work, show other artists’ work, or something else entirely? Knowing what your goals are will help you to keep them in mind as you grow your blog. Next, create an outline of your post ideas. How many posts do you think you’ll write in the next year? Write them down and put them by your computer or wall where you can easily see them. Having this outline in front of you will keep you focused and help you to make sure you put your time into the right posts.
Provide Quality Content
Readers want to hear what you have to say as well as see your work. Following an artist who only posts images with prices is not anyone’s cup of tea. People want to read about the art and the artist. Your blog is an opportunity to connect with others. Write something about the artwork. Aryea Flohr recommends starting by writing about the piece, how you did it, the inspiration behind it. Once you begin writing, the ideas will flow. You just have to be yourself!
Another reason for including content is to help you get found. The search engines like content. Aryea Flohr will be talking more about search engine optimization in another post.
Stay Consistent
Art blogs are often visual and often share images, so your posts will likely contain visuals. This means that your blog will likely need to be mobile-friendly. After you’ve created your blog, you’ll want to make sure you’re consistent with the way that you build it. That means making sure your header, your images, and your posts all look similar. It also means making sure that you’re regularly posting. Blogging is a bit like networking, in that you have to continually keep in contact with your readers. You can’t just post once a month and expect to have an impact. You’ll have to consistently share your work, grow your readership, and keep them interested in your blog.
Don’t Forget To Have Fun!
Starting an art blog can be very serious and even difficult at times. That’s why it’s important to keep in mind the things we’ve discussed above and to have fun while you’re doing it! Remember that your blog isn’t going to be perfect when you first begin. You’re going to make mistakes and you’re going to have to learn how to improve. That’s why you should keep things fun and light. Finally, don’t ever let your blog be stagnant, but instead make sure it’s always growing and evolving with you.