Periodically there comes a stirring and a swell around the Internet where artists on art forums, blogs, and web networks begin to fuss, nudge, and niggle about promotional activities.  This stirring and swell reminds me of the BUY NOW, BUY HERE ad blasts that happen when sales are down or a company is losing margin.  On the forums, blogs, and websites, though, this happens when the economy starts taking a dive.  It happens amongst those who are desperate to make it on their own because they are fed up with the BS they have to put up with at their day jobs.  Likewise, though, it comes when they, worried that they aren’t making sales, start to foment inside because they equate sales with approval, never mind success.  

Good artists don’t need to run right out and sign up for every promotional venture out around the Internet.  To do so only steals their time and money.  Oh, I know, most are free, and those which aren’et, well, $10 bucks here, $20 there, isn’t a lot…but time is money, folks.  And there is little enough time to spare.  So I have this to say:

Have you, the artist who is really interested in promoting your career, built a portfolio, then sent or walked it around to art reps, art agents, art dealers, and galleries, large and small?  Have you answered a “call for artwork,” entered contests, donated your works to worthwhile charity auctions…which details, of course, go in your portfolio.  If you really want to “self-promote,” have you bought advertising promoting your name and your artwork, carefully planning your ad campaign?  Or, if you really want to drive your career, have you thought of hiring a publicist, a promoter — good ones, not the “entrepreneurs” who are only doing what you are trying to do– trying to make it on their own?

Spend your time wisely.  Do your art.  Judiciously work on your real world presence and on your own websites using only a good escrow service and one, maybe two, of the best print and drop ship services on the Internet.  Don’t go running around the Web trying to pump up sales, especially penny sales, by signing up for every marketing strategy and networking “opportunity” out there.  What you think you are signing up for isn’t what you’re getting.  You are simply signing up for yet another dot-com that wants lots of people to use and promote their website into the top 1000. 

Work on your art and on your art careers instead of making yourselves into small time Internet self-advertising agents.