To Blog Or Not To Blog...on Faa! Is It Worthwhile Or Worthless?

Lots of people have off site blogs that are more interesting looking, you can put ads on, design to your liking...

I just put a link to my actual blog in a post on the blog tab here.

Brooks -- I use the FAA blog as my fine art blog, because my Wordpress and Tumblr are photoblogs. I post updates at least once per month, and link it from the FAA email campaign feature. It pays for the premium membership many times over .... Or, in other words, saves hundreds $$ from paying for 3rd party platforms. Hope this helps?

Here is an interesting thread with the same topic: http://pixels.com/showmessages.php?messageid=1503357


By the way, I've notice sometimes if an artist does not have an outside blog but does use the FAA blog a lot, when you search their name especially on Google sometimes their blog comes up on the first page of search before their gallery page. So, the SEO from FAA is at work on the blogs too!

Well I started out trying to copy what I'd posted in my off-FAA blog here on FAA's blog, but it was too much work for even just duplicated content. And if it has enough features to be usable I didn't even bother to figure out as already had started an off-site blog.

I think if you blogging for marketing and branding purposes you want to be in a public blog instead of just with mostly other artists on FAA. Blogs are alot of work if done correctly. The advantage to the FAA blog is that it's just people blogging about art, while on the internet it's rules-less.

I use blogger.com and have just integrated it directly onto my website: http://www.meafineart.com. There are a number of different approaches depending on how you plan to use your blog and the integration capacities of your blog with your other social media. But in general I don't believe FAA's blog has enough features and reach that you'd want to use it as a professional blog.

So I haven't gotten it done, but I'm just going to use my blog on FAA for posting mostly static info like an Artistic Statement and redirecting to my maintained blog.

-- mary ellen anderson

Blogging is hard work. If you're going to put in the time, get a real blog with real features (like backup) that can't be taken away from you. The cost ranges from FREE (wordpress.com) to anywhere from $4 - $6 per month for a full-on self-hosted, responsive wordpress website.


Dan Turner
Dan Turner's Seven Keys to Selling Art Online

Thank you, Heather, Frank, Mary Ellen & Dan. You make some great points & offer some very good advice. Glad I asked the question! Will check out the links posted & other options. Appreciate the feedback.

What Dan said x10. Future proof your business. Having a blog - provided you update it regularly, even if regularly is once per week is one of the best ways to develop your business online. Use your own domain name and use it as the basis for all promotion work and advertising. Build your brand without being dependant on any one person or company, because you never know what changes the future may bring.

I blog off-FAA, but it seems that blogs, overall, are less interactive than they once were. People seem to be reading them, but I'm much more likely to get a brief comment via Twitter or FB - or no comment at all - than to engage in back-and-forth dialog with blog visitors. I visit a lot of blogs, and only political, medical (health), and financial blogs seem to be pulling in steady numbers of comments.

My stats show that visitors are spending an acceptable number of minutes on the blog and are often looking at multiple pages, which indicates they're having a solid UX (user experience).

In general, it seems that Internet users (myself included) are still gathering info from blogs, but have migrated to the immediate communication of other types of social media - including forums - for comments and discussion.

With or without comments, I'll keep using my blog to show and talk about my work, as long as visitors stop by to read my stories and ideas, look at my art, and use my links. The magazine-like format I use more than meets my current blogging needs.

I'm curious to see where blogs stand, over the next five years.

http://art166.info

Wise words, Michelle & Wendy. Appreciate your take on things. You are right, Michelle, what Dan says makes a lot of sense. Taken to heart. Also, Wendy, thanks for your more in-depth analysis. Just wondering if it's worth the time to blog h-e-r-e on FAA...or not. I will continue to do so with some regularity, mostly because it's available and I'd like to take advantage of that, not because members are paying very much attention or offering comments. Maybe, at some point, that will change...or not! In any event, I will be ready & waiting. Lol. Have a great day.

I post brief excerpts here on FAA with a link leading back to my main blog, FWIW. I don't have anything against blogs on FAA per se but my own blog pre-dated my time here so I'd rather keep it on my own site.

On Wendy's comment about comments ;-) I have observed the same. Comments have definitely declined over the years. However, I have found on my art blog if I allow comments to be made with Facebook and/or G+, people are more apt to leave comments than if they have to sit down and type out their email address and name. I don't know if it's simply less friction, i.e. they can type their comment quickly and leave or if it's a privacy concern to leaving their email address behind? Or a spam concern?

The thing I don't like about FB and G+ comments is that they really exist on the servers of FB and G+ and they are often invisible to me. I've stumbled over whole conversations that I never knew about on my own blog posts. G+ has no way to get notifications and FB seems to notify me about 10% of the time, if that.

Brooks, I actually just found the blogs. We never hear about them in the discussion area so perhaps if people were made more aware a little more often, we would see more activity and participation there. I enjoyed reading and will try to visit a bit more.

I posted daily blogs during my trip to Italy. hardly anyone read them. I didn't do any more.

Simply posting a blog up randomly to FAA will get you a handful of reads from curious members. Probably not your targeted clientele? You most definitely need to get yourself set up with a format to begin blogging.

Dan T. has offered the best solutions above ^

Brooks, All my blogs are here...at the moment anyway...I sometimes promote them..I cut and paste them into Facebook..Linkedin etc. I am building a website which was to be their official home...but then I wondered why I would redirect potential customers away from my artist website?? Anyway...I am in a bloggers-no-mans-land at the moment and not much help to you I am afraid but good luck!

Amanda -- what you just said is the brilliance of having a blog page on our tabs. How we use them may be different, but when I share cuts in my emails, like you do on other platforms, I see more visits right afterwords on my artwork. Slap me with wet fish but, I think Sean is brilliant.

I am also personally guilty of leaving fewer comments just in general but I hate logins. You can forget hearing from me if I have to ask your server to send me my password. I personally will usually leave a news site article or blog that I clicked on to read and a big sign-up screen pops up.

Today people have real issues with being able to trust any website. If you start asking people to jump through hoops before they even get to see why they clicked on your link, than the smart person is gone.

I haven't promoted a blog long enough to have a track record, and have received a handful of comments. But I also have a way to email me and have received quite a few email comments.

But there is a difference between peoples uses of blogs and forums. Forums really are the discussions and conversation media. Blogs are more publications you've written. They are like works of art, just read and thought about; but not interacted with. People are going to dash off a email to the artist (the person) or find a forum, not leave it as a comment on the artist's work somewhere.

Don't worry about comments, but make sure they can contact you with their question on the price you want for the work being blogged about. Because they won't leave that question as a comment.
-- mary ellen anderson

Thanks, everyone! The blog, the blog...the reason I started one was to take advantage of all the options available to us on FAA, that being just one.
Mark, it's true, there are no notifications when/if someone reads or responds to your blog, unfortunately. Was going back through my blog recently and saw that there were actually some comments on several...from a year ago! I responded, but I'm sure 'better late than never' didn't inspire any of those people to keep commenting! Lol.
Phyllis, yes, it took me a few months to notice the blog option, too, and then longer to actually write one. Thank you so much for taking the time to read mine & respond. Look forward to seeing one from you?
Melany, wish I would have seen your Italy blog. Would love to visit there myself, one day, so your travels would've been very interesting to me. Maybe you should try posting one again in spite of the non response to the first?
Amanda, thanks for your input. Every little bit helps! Appreciate the 'good luck'! I need it!
Frank, I agree re Amanda's comments as well. Btw, I think I need to pick your brain rather than slap you with a dead fish! Lol. Yes, I'm sure Sean is a real genius!
Mary Ellen, I do see some blogs where there is quite a bit of interaction, much like the discussions here. I 'assumed' they were similar in that way, but, I do 'get it' that they are not the same. That said, there is a place especially for comments in the blog, so I thought, well, maybe. You make some great points, though! And, yes, I have received a few private emails re some of my blog topics/artwork. Will try to be figure out creative ways to draw more attention before letting the idea of it fizzle out, completely. And, try some of the advice from those in-the-know above, too.

Actually Mark I think your idea of posting a very short excerpt leading back to your main blog has a lot of merit. It certainly negates most of the reasons why I don't use the blog feature here.

I won't give up my main blog that is on my domain (it has been running since 2005, so the longevity and keywords are incredibly valuable to me), and I won't risk being penalised by google for duplicate content by duplicating a full post here, but it would be interesting to see if my statistics so that there are any click throughs from the blog tab here on FAA or my AW.

Over 93% of my AW visitors are referred by my website anyway - my aw comes up within my website, so unlike the way most other members have external sites set up, I wouldn't be directing traffic away from the point of purchase (plus I sell originals and commissions).

Thanks for your feedback, Michelle. Much appreciated. Agree with you re Mark's idea...it does offer good reason why adding an FAA blog might be a positive thing. Sounds like you already have a pretty good thing going on that respect. Best of luck. Might check out your pre-existing blog myself. Have a great weekend.

The beginning of my most recent blog re hosting FAA contests:
"So far this year, I've hosted nearly 70 contests on Fine Art America, which has proven both rewarding & challenging! I realize it's strictly voluntary on my part, but since they do take a lot of tending, if one does it well, a short break is necessary. Will someone, please, tell me how certain members find the time to administer groups, host contests, create new work, promote their art/photography [and, sometimes, that of others], work a full-time job, have energy to spend with family & friends...and sleep, too? I wish I could drink coffee again!"
Take a moment to read the rest...and leave a comment, too.

Well, I see that more members are creating a blog on FAA! Some did not even know the option existed here, so they tell me. I also notice more members checking them out...but, leaving comments, not so much. Views are good, though! I like to take advantage of any/all options FAA offers. Fun stuff.
Have a great day/week! And, take a peek at the blogs.

I tend not to read blogs, here or elsewhere, because to be honest -- who has the time? I can barely make it through the stack of books on my nightstand. I have looked at blogs here and there out of curiosity, but if it doesn't link to my email to let me know when it's been updated, I don't return. Maybe someone here can enlighten me as to the reason for taking the time to read a blog. I'm open to it, just haven't had the need.

It appears most of the above responses are on target. Since I became "active" here (~2 months ago) I have been resurrecting an old blog, using WordPress installed on my own domain (http://www.BillSwartwout.com) on my own server. I want to develop my own "Brand" - Bill Swartwout Photography - based on my name and use a (second) Gallery URL of USPictures.com to which I can direct readers/visitors/customers. That way I am "future-proofing," as someone mentioned above, and not be totally dependent on any one company. I will likely discuss this concept in more detail on my own blog.

Actually, in my case, calling it a blog may be a misnomer. I use Wordpress as a content management system (CMS) that makes it easy to create and publish articles (posts) with images. I am beginning to put up small versions of my art photographs with short descriptions - with the intent of having different set of keywords and description narrative to serve as "spider food."

~ Bill
~ USPictures.com

Patricia, the problem with a lot of blogs is that people make them out of a sense of marketing obligation without any understanding about how to create a successful one that keeps readers engaged and coming back for more. That's why reading most blogs seems like a chore, because the content isn't entertaining or relatable to readers in any way. But there are some gems out there if you're willing to sort through the rubble to find them. Plus, commenting on blogs gets your name and website out there for others who come along days, months, or even years from now, so I consider that something like sowing the seeds to future sales. If you look at it that way, it might make it seem a little more worth your time.

http://www.aprilmoen.com/blog

There are a host of reasons 'why' creating a blog here can be a good thing, and not just because FAA offers us the option! I, too, did not take the time, or rather 'make' the time, to check them out for a long time. But, I when I did, after becoming less than enthused w/the discussion forum, I thought, well, here is another way to connect, get one's name, ideas, work, links & such out to others...another venue where we can promote our work/selves.
After I started this post, I heard from many who had not known there was even a blog available, and who have since begun their own or say they want to. I also found some folks would rather send me a private message than comment on the blog? They thought the allotted 500-character response was too small a space & felt stifled, as I did at first. But, I'm beginning to look at it as a positive; keeps the responses short & sweet. If you want to say more, start your own blog! Lol.
As a writer, I aspire to make mine somewhat entertaining, conversational and appealing, as in varying the length, offering some visuals, addressing relevant topics & so on. Hate boring, throwing out any old thing or using it just to post work. Of course, everyone has their own opinion [yay, nay or neutral] on the subject, as we all know, which is why this is called a 'discussion'...and not a blog. I think of a blog as a sort of 'show & tell'. Worth a few minutes of my time to create...and yours to read & comment on, if you want.
Beautiful Sunday in southern OR, btw. Hope yours is as well.