How do you artists do on Steemit?
Wether you are an artist (or a musician, a photographer, a writer...) that makes a living with his art or want to, this concerns you!
That famous stall where Banky's stuff was for sale dirt cheap
It's only around a month that I have been actively diving into Steemit, it's slowly time for some kind of report. I have met a bunch of interesting humanoids and artificial intelligences and I am rather conquered by the platform but after all that time I spent writing, one crucial question sticks on my mind, ...
... what's the real potential of Steemit in promoting art?
Me - Selling at Kunst & Kuriosität Markt in StGallen, Switzerland. Circa 2015.
As an artist, making $ with my posts is great but come on, it's a side thing. My first need is to sell real art in real life. If I came on Steemit, it was to find an alternative to Facebook. Regardless of all the crap Facebook is doing, it's been so far, a good way to promote my work, reaching a very, world-scattered, audience.
Some good looking gallery
Is what is happening on Steemit, only happening on Steemit? Is the reward system keeping people disregarding older posts? Again, as artists, I believe what we want is a page that presents us well and reaches all our followers without algorythm deciding and regardless the amount a post «worth» in SBD or in terms of virality. Or?
Looks like they're networking, no?
What I didn't realised at the begining, is that Steemit is a Social BLOG and that is one thing that seem to make it primarly different, content and purpose-wise (is the announcement of a book release, a blog?). As I noticed, posts with the simple display of my today's finished piece get less attention than a detailled and documented progress report, somehow because it is less "informative" (or because it's "just to sell" something?). Today I have this whole wondering about how this is playing a role, in the sense that, if the blog is the main thing, does the information it contains really is going further out of Steemit?
So, fellow artists, would you let us know what you think about ...
- How do you think Steemit is good for your promotion? (now and in the future)
- Would you organise a promotion campaign through Steemit (for instance, for an exhibition, a crowdfunding, the publishing of a book ... ? (If yes, how?)
- Do you actually get sales, commissions or decent work opportunities through Steemit?
- If Steemit helps you increasing your sales, would you give us some tricks we might have missed?
- Is there any external, steem-based, application that is more adpated to artists and musicians?
- How do you think things might change when (if) more artists and musicians will be on Steemit?
- Ah, and what about events? Any way to post events?
Image: Lady giving alms - Raja Ravi Varma
Thanks a lot for your interest!
Please consider to
Thanks for asking, those are very interesting questions.
For me it has been the other way around. Without Steemit I would never have got the confidence to call myself an artist and just be that in real life.
I've had so much positive feedback, great conversations and collaborations with other artists, I took part in an art exhibition in Lisbon at Steemfest and I already sold several artworks using @steembay.
I also try to share my making-of posts on my other social network-accounts and it's usually much more successful to share a blog-post, than posting just the picture of an artwork.
Right now I'm figuring out, how to sell digital artworks through new art related blockchain projects like dada.nyc, but I'm sure, that this distribution channel will become something very serious in the near future.
Great to see the topic reaches people with a different approach like you @shortcut, that's super interesting! And it should give courage to some to know that taking part of exhibitions and even selling artworks through Steemit is possible. I am really curious about stuff like dada.nyc. Also it's true that since I have starting blogging here, my posts on other platforms are starting to take similar shape. Steemit helps me to find a way to write content in a different way.
Thank you so much for leaving your thoughts here!
You're welcome, the interaction at Steemit usually is much more valuable than on other social media sites and it really helps to shape the way, how a good presentation looks like. Also, did I mention, that Steemit posts rank very high at google, so including links to your homepage might even help giving it more visibility.
WOW
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When I thought things were trying to slow down here, with some Steemians caught up in the price of STEEM or SBD and miss the possible utility of Steemit. Guess its up to the artists to show the way, and how to walk the walk. It's a wellspring of knowledge and it keeps giving and giving, so I must honor this and USE IT!
Metamask I have to say just blew my mind. This might change everything...know the way to where I can work with people and DApps?
Thank you @shortcut for sharing!
You're more than welcome! #Cryptoart is really becoming a thing and it's way time, that the art market will be decentralized. There are a few people here like @stellabelle with her @slothicorn project and the @creativecrypto initiative by @sndbox, who are really pushing these kind of things. There is a slothicorn discord, where you will find some likeminded people.
But recently I found lots of interesting cryptoart related projects and people on twitter. You may have a look at my account for a starting point. I'm also just recently started a small series about cryptoart, that you might find intersting.
it's true, I find the good feeling of the constructive forums "of the past" here.
Yes, I also read posts about how effective Steemit's search engine is and ranking on google, post was actually about linking affiliate products from Amazon but I guess it applies for any well written post that'd include links to your products.
Interesting post! I have had many of the same thoughts concerning Steemit and my creative efforts.
How do you think Steemit is good for your promotion? (now and in the future)
I think at best Steemit is a slow burn on that. There is potential to grow a large fan base and/or followership, but I'm too new to know for sure yet.
Would you organize a promotion campaign through Steemit (for instance, for an exhibition, a crowdfunding, the publishing of a book ... ? (If yes, how?)
I think the best way to do anything on Steemit, since it is a blog, is to document whatever it is you are doing. That in itself will build momentum for your projects and/or events. Then, tag your "action items" at the bottom of the blog post as a reminder of what is coming up or whatnot.
Do you actually get sales, commissions or decent work opportunities through Steemit?
Not yet, but there seem to be opportunities through #Steemgigs and groups like the #sfg (Steemit Freelancers Guild).
Is there any external, steem-based, application that is more adpated to artists and musicians?
Not that I'm aware of. I use Patreon and Instagram primarily.
How do you think things might change when (if) more artists and musicians will be on Steemit?
There is a confluence of art and science and technology happening in the world right now. I think trying to find ways to fit our art into a very tech-heavy domain is going to become even more common in the coming years. Especially in America and other capitalist economies. So it's not about the number of artists as much as how do you stand out in a virtual sea of others who are also seeking attention from viewers. It's all about grabbing and holding attention. To do that, we need to be doing things other than selling and asking for favors. People want value that means something to them. If they get enough of it that hits them where they live, then they respond by making whatever it is you are offering a part of their lives. Then they will buy and support freely because it adds value to their lives.
Ah, and what about events? Any way to post events?
Sure. Just tag it at the bottom of a post. You could even make a post about it to kick things off.
Thanks for taking the time in sharing your thoughts @har5h. I also believe the potential is there and as @midlet mentions, it is a fetus.
About campaigns, yeah blogging format fits well for detailed documentation and the post can anyways be shared anywhere so it's actually pretty cool. In facts it'll come soon as I will start story-boarding a project in the coming days, so stay tuned ;)
And I can only agree with the rest!
Great reply, thanks!
Hi @haedre. Thank you for posting this topic. This is exactly what I was looking for and want to talk about.
I am an artist making fabric base soft sculpture, colorpencil drawing, batik and crafts, interested in concepual art, installation art and architecture. and just joined steemit few days ago. I am facebook and instagram user for quite some time, but it seems like I can't delete them because very difficult to find artists here in this community, and I still get back to fb for artist friends, to view their artworks, exhibition info, open calls, getting to know new artists etc.
The questions you asked, I think it is good to promote ourselves and artworks on steemit.... with a condition. That their is an artists group to be as a foundation. As I mentioned I am a newbee, is there a group formed? Chat group or some sort? So we could exchange info easily.
Promotional campaign sounds great. So far I am quite engaged with off line duties, but very much willing to suppor it.
The selling and buying of product is forbidden in steemit, If I am not mistaken. It suggested to promote here, then do the actual bussiness outside of this platform.
I hope there is a trick to us artists and our works connect to others. I wish there is.
Hello and welcome @naomipangolin! Thanks for jumping in here, happy to see your concerns are same :=).
Yeah no, don't delete your facebook, Steemit is, like @midlet says, a fetus. We're here to feed him, like a creepy starving A.I. :D So, promotion will still be mainly on FB (Instagram is also not good at that, in my opinion -> you can't even put a link)
About a foundation, I am not sure what you mean, but there are some pages like @steemartists (they have also a discord channel) and people who curate. And the tags can work good to federate some type of works. Plus as it is new here, by using your own tags consistently you might create a nest (or a foundation) where you'll be the big bird in when others will join.
Tricks are always interesting but they are never a magic formula untill you succeed to integrate them to your own sauce!
@haedre, thanks for your reply.
Sorry, I am not familiar with technical terms, but you already understood my point!
So I really appreciate about the @steemartists, I will go check it😊
hey you're welcome! And I get your point. Best is to check around for tags that fit you I think but yeah the chats seem good too ;)
I've been on Steemit for the last two months and to be honest I am not seeing the return of the investment of my time.. I've spent many hours on some posts and I barely make cents on them.. I do understand it takes time to build community though, and I guess getting seen is the most difficult part. I've always had a hard time selling my art because not many people crave my style, and it doesn't have a solid concept like other art. And not only that, I live in one of the poorest countries of the world (Honduras; 65% of the population lives in extreme poverty). I don't specifically blog for the money, but y'kno.. if I spend more than 4 hours a day on this, I need a little to money to get through my passion... Last and definitely not least, I haven't showcased my art enough, so basically I got things to change.
I used to do my art as a hobby, but I would like to step it further. It's hard because I'm also growing plants and trees which consumes most of my time and energy. I'm trying to do more than I can, I believe (working on changing this). I thought that Steemit would pay at least a little bit of my expenses but I've only made about 2SBD so far, which is totally lame for the amount of input. I've never been too social and haven't known how to promote my art (I even set up a shop in Society6 more than three years ago and have sold like 20$ which is also lame). Sorry, I don't want to whine or be negative, I've honestly had no clue of how to move about with my not-so- popular work jajja My time has come to change this, though, and I'm taking steps.
This is where Steemit has helped me, but not because of its features, specifically, but because I was pretty excited in the beginning and started to make contact with others and have taken more time to promote my stuff, which are things that I hadn't done too well before. I do have faith that Steemit will one day rise and make things better. I believe in the blockchain and in Steemit. I just published my first entry to a contest and I will try to stay more active and also stay consistent, which has always been one of my weaknesses.
I think I don't have any valuable info. for your questions (at least not as to any method or anything, because like I said before, I'm starting out, but I will still share my opinion with you)
How do you think Steemit is good for your promotion? (now and in the future)
I Haven't had any sales, commissions or decent work opportunities through Steemit yet, but I do plan on diving and promoting my production services somehow.
How do you think things might change when (if) more artists and musicians will be on Steemit?
I think this will be good in general, but will make it even harder to stand out. More people will come looking for music and art, but there will be a lot of which to choose from! :) So the struggles are the same. I really like that I can earn some money posting art process, sketches, designs, and any other thing, really. This has kept me motivated to share my stuff, make connections, and become a little more social with other artists. By the way, it's cool that we can share our opinions.
Sorry if my post is a little negative, I know I have work to do. Hope we can find ways to make our experience better here, and that we can fix what's broken here. I do feel we have a lot lot of work to make this fetus grow strong and healthy.
Hey thank you for participating @doodledanga! Hey, it's fully ok to be (or sound) a bit negative :) I am also very often :D, and getting frustrated is part of this job wich makes it not the dream profession like many people tend to think. What I do is a niche (SF) within the niche (Comics), not sooo much people care about it neither but with internet I can more or less find the ones who are interested.
If you think you can't bring answers here, no worries! At the contrary I believe you can grab some here as you can see (and mentionned) the community is rather supportive. There are "tutorials" about everything on the internet (just adapt to your thing and be yourself as there's also no magic formula)!
Of course (and I can only imagine) if where you are people are poor, it can be difficult to impossible to sell. Then internet might be the only way.
So, if you really want to sell your art online, first, try to stick to a project that is attainable (and go to the end, just finish it, to pass to the a more difficult one) and indeed, steadily post about it to build a solid follower base, set up an artist page on Facebook, Instagram.... set up a Patreon page and there are websites specialised in selling originals .. and spam evryone gently :D . And for exemple if you want to organise an exhibition or print your art in a book, try crowdfundings (they all need a minimal fan base before tho), crowdfundings are great because you also create a community of people which will support you. Don't forget to network in real life and find a way to stick your works nicely in front of people and be tough about your prices! Make contracts to set up things clear with clients if opportunities are showing up.
Evidently, selling original art that goes over hundreds of $ or € is very difficult so try cheaper products/copies, books or posters.
I'd say, do not concentrate on Steemit for the promotion as most people seem to agree that at the moment it's not the best platform but still, put your links to S6 (I also have an account there with nothing happening -> you need to share that link everywhere) or other selling pages. You can still create interesting post here and share them on Facebook, just be consistent, qualitative and regular, like 2 or 3 times a week (time you post is also important). Try also what @shortcut explains as he seems to have a different approach. But yeah, do not focuse on earning micro-dollars here, I think you'll end up whining :D
Well, there's many things to say and to do, can't do it all in here and above all I am not an artist coach as I probably need one too, you need to dig your own space and like @har5h says, try to make your stuff to stand off and grab attention.
I also believe in blockchain for many things but I don't believe it'll give us a basic income or anything like that in the society we live today, people will always make you pay for everything.
A strong will is your best ally! (I've seen many people with litterally NO talent going much further than people who thinks they have one).
Im an (Hobby) Artist but im just here because i was curious if steemit is better than facebook wich i left long ago. Sure im also here for blogging and i do promote my free music sometimes.
My Soundcloud feedback is very quiet since i stopped putting effort into promotion on SC, but i dont care. My music is free. People can download or not.
I do the music because i enjoy not more and not less but since im here i noticed some spikes in my SC activity. (Average plays per day 7, im here since 2 days now and i had 50 plays and 5 DLs yesterday. Also i earned about 4.5$ here wich is more than i ever did in my life with music. lol
Here is a big list of Steem Tools. Maybe you can make good use of some of them. ;)
http://steemtools.com/
Thanks a lot for bringing your opinion @remotehorst23! So you completely left Facebook? Indeed if you're not trying to make a living with art or selling your brand then, except for staying in touch with friends and to see creepy news and cat videos, I can understand :D . Still, would you let us know why you left? Is it because of all the scandals? It can also be so distracting, it is a job to use social medias without getting distracted.
Yeah feedbacks, reactions, sales, everything needs a constant spam/posting. Selling yourself! (Necessary sometimes but painfull if it's not your thing)
Thanks a lot for the steemtools link!!
Yes, i didnt know any better than spending a whole night (about 5 Hours xD) to delete one Post after another until my profile was empty. Then i deactivated my account and shortly before it would be really deleted (as far as i remember its one year of deactivation) i accidentially opened an app that logged in to FB. Stupid me, why did i even open up Spotify when i only used it once before?! xD
Yes, i left because of typical Neighbourhoodspam like memes you seen a hundret times or people telling you that they take a shit now or all those phony postings. It all distracted me and was enough reason to set me up and i even told the people. To all extent the feedback to that was even negative! Seems like people love spend their time with Spam because its Spam on FB and everybody is on FB.
Imagine Sheeps jumping off the cliff and telling you "why cant you be like everyone else?"
(me wants to add meme here but not sure if copyright) xD
I knew before that facebook is a devil written in code but i couldnt resist to try promote my music there. Now that i got a more grounded view and knowing my music isnt as good as the top 10 (just kidding, its even worse ;)) i see that from a more relaxed point of view and maybe this makes the difference.
I just need to recover from that ugly facebook journey and maybe i will do more promotion soon because i also notice that my music production gets better with time.
I have no problem with spending hours for Promotion every day but to me its all about having fun producing and great feedback is my motivation for promotion. I need to be so good that it becomes a self loop. Then i can start to even think about make a living of it. ;)
it must takes some balls to remove yourself from facebook, not to mention deactivating is not deleting. Crazy how they've made this so addictive and seeming necessary. I hate them because they hold my data and threats you for various idiotic reasons, they just don't respect their users. But yeah I really can't get out at the moment, as it means my virtual storefront to disappear. There's also ways to use social medias without getting distracted, and well, a lot of will :D
about promoting your music or art, it's all about how far you really want it out your room and how long time you spend on it whithout having to pay bills. And yeah an equilibrium between fun and a rewarding activity. Had this conversation with a friend, he says work has to be annoying to be considered work, cuz when he comes back from his job of smartphone seller, he's not happy :D . I am happy and satisfyed when I finish a piece and I love it when it's tough and challenging (annoying according to my friend), to me, that's where the "fun" lies. Wish you good continuation with your music!
"it must takes some balls to remove yourself from facebook"
Really? I mean as a normal user it must take some balls to NOT do that. :D
"I love it when it's tough and challenging"
Yes, the reward when you finished your piece and you are satisfied is really great but i must confess that this doesnt hold on very long for me. Few Weeks or even days after i upload a track i think "Man what did i do there? I should delete that shit"
There arent many tracks im satisfied with for a long time but the ones i dont like anymore are sometimes downloaded a lot more than the ones i still like. This is why i just leave them online and let the Crowd decide themself. ;)
Thank you and i wish you the same for your great artwork!^^
haha, yeah well, not saying it's for everyone and .... balls (I guess I just meant a bit of courage), ... well, some might have to surpass themselves, as I know only a few who did it. And most people are addicted.
Haha, I often look at older pieces and even if there are some I indeed find crap, I am just happy I have finished it, that's what's important, finish it and then passes to something new. This is how you learn. There's nothing wrong about having done crap tracks and drawings :D
You are so right and im glad you wrote that! Thank you so much :)
Good thoughts here! Realistically, I think many of us "artrepreneurs" have the intention of using Steemit as an advertising vehicle to promote our artworks. I've seen a lot of people try to introduce their product lines here, from mom-and-pop's handicrafts to well-established brands. It appears there's some selling potential here, e.g. @quinneaker's SteemGear. But most of the success stories I'm seeing for are service-oriented. For example, there's a market here for original logos and graphic design services. Ultimately, the movement seems to be shifting toward alternative kinds of exchanges, rather than a focus on $, in my impression. It's a great conversation, thank you, and it'll be interesting to see how the Steemit story unfolds for us artists.
Hi @cabelindsay! Thanks for taking a seat in the topic!
Do you think that this market for logos is decent? I mean, do people seem to get properly paid or is it a lot of mediocrity and cheap stuff? If it goes ok for these people then it's cool for them but cheap market of art is killing the entire profession :D
I do hope it progresses here in making promotion interesting, I did see these "marketting experts" posts that were talking about sticking affiliate products from Amazon and similar platforms, using google keywords to bring people here. We'll see how it goes.
You're right, the platform seem to incent more toward exchanges which is a bit in contradiction with the posts making $ but maybe it balances that anarcho-capitalist wild wild west :D
Thanks again for your impressions, it is definitely valuable!!
Man, I'm not sure of the market for logos here. I've been the in the advertising industry for 15 years, as an art director, and I haven't seen any big budget branding gigs on Steemit so far. I've seen some awesome brand design work here though, and I've seen some substantial rewards, but I don't know the details of these exchanges. I know @stellabelle is a prominent Steemit success story, and she's commissioned some impressive artworks, as well as creating some of her own. Many of the logos we see in Steemit give credit to the artist, and this is a form of reward. Wish I could recall the specific logos I've admired here, so we could ask the designers about this directly. I'll keep this conversation in mind, and let you know when I find them again.
ah well, how exactly they get paid is private but it's good to know it's happening, can only grow up. I'd be surprised if companies don't start soon to brand on Steemit as so many are already dealing with cryptos (even my printing company accepts btc).
Hello @haedre, I have discovered that finding one's audience is one thing, and selling them art work is another. My way of earning my living was in public art which I practiced successfully for about 40 years. Public entities actually have the money to invest in murals, mosaics, and sculpture.
As far as Steemit is concerned, I find it playful and fun, but for it to be lucrative I think it would be necessary to invest real money in the platform and I am not sure I trust it enough for that. The Steem dollar has been falling like a rock for the last few months; it's a risky business.
Hi @kathleenscarboro! You got goods point there. I try from time to time grants and other public projects where I think I might fit but they are quite rare around.
I am far from being expert but all crypto-currencies are down, just really curious where all of this will lead us :D. Thanks for leaving valuable opinion! ;)
My strategy was to work with the same city over a 30 year period. I knew all the city councilmen by their first names, went to the chamber of commerce meetings, knew many of the teachers. We would propose murals and then talk to each person who had the power to make it happen. Kept me alive for many years; now I am retired with a little pension that allows me to really enjoy life and paint as I please.
It's an honor to be included among the ranks of the great artists you mentioned here, thank you @Haedre. I'll answer your questions best I can from the standpoint of a full-time hobby artist and steemian.
How do you think Steemit is good for your promotion? (now and in the future). Steemit is the only social media platform on which I share my work, so for my promotion it is fantastic. I've encountered many artists and creative minds - it's almost too much to put the impact of those interactions into words. As the platform has grown, so have I.
Would you organise a promotion campaign through Steemit (for instance, for an exhibition, a crowdfunding, the publishing of a book ... ? (If yes, how?) I don't have experience in this regard yet, so I will share what I've seen from others. One of our fellow steemian artists, @gotmeens, is working on a children's book. He's been posting progress day by day, giving us a peek at the pages he's been making. Another steemian, @drwatson (writer for comic book, Ithaqa) recently posted his thoughts on steemit crowdfunding.
Do you actually get sales, commissions or decent work opportunities through Steemit? No because I have not used steemit as a platform to sell any pieces. I haven't sold anything, but I have exchanged art with some of my fellow steemians via mail, for fun. I know there is steemian art available via @steembay, though I haven't used it myself. As an art consumer, I ordered a personalized signature from @fabiyamada earlier this week after I saw her post announcing she was making voxelart for anyone who wants one. And last year I ordered some hand-made stickers from a steemian who had them on offer. ☺
If Steemit helps you increasing your sales, would you give us some tricks we might have missed?
Is there any external, steem-based, application that is more adpated to artists and musicians? None that I'm aware of. There has been talk of 'steemit communities', but I don't have enough information to speak on the topic. Also, you may be interested in checking out steemgigs if you haven't yet.
How do you think things might change when (if) more artists and musicians will be on Steemit? More artists of all kinds are joining every day! The more people join, the more ideas will flow and the more ideas flow, the more people will join. Steemit is a huge social experiment, its impact is rippling through the lives of thousands of people. The best, and worst, is probably yet to come. For what it's worth, I'm buckled in, enjoying the ride!
Ah, and what about events? Any way to post events? There's no integrated events feature here yet. Right now you can make a post about an event and use relevant tags. Also, kind of related, Steemfest is an annual IRL event where steemians meet and mind-meld. I missed the first and second -fests, I'll be there for Steemfest 3 this year though.
Great that you're commenting on this @enternamehere! This is really interesting as it is quite a different point of view as many, I am really curious how to really make work Steemit as an efficient promotional tool, since it seems it is not impossible.
About sales, I personnally do not rely on Social Platforms to sell original pieces as they do go more often during exhibitions or events but from time to time, it happens. But to share my projects and sell (cheaper products like) books and posters, FB (and I did sell a few books from Steemit actually) is still good for me.
If I remember, I think I did comment on a post from @drwatson, incented him a bit to use Steemit to post regular stuff about his kickstarter, as I wouldn't see any other way. Doing crowdfundings too, I will definitely read his topic and follow his progress. Curious how it'll develop.
Yeah the event things, well, I hope Steemit (or busy.org) will get a proper interface with all the controls we need! Also need to catch the next Steem Event in Berlin.
Thanks for being so complete and thanks for the links too!
Thanks for bringing this up.. I was actually discussing this with @thermoplastic on Facebook this morning... I don’t have time to read all the responses nor answer properly ( off to work in 5) but in a nutshell I think all these platforms have potential. If we have sincere and interesting content we will ways find an audience. Blogging for artists is not ideal but despite simple blogs on my part I do note an audience.
Galleries will always be the way to sell work. People need to see it. However social media is the best way I know to be known. I have gotten many gallery shows , articles and fans because of social media. It has its place but can not replace the physical gallery
Resteemed!
Thanks a lot for sharing your experience @libaws! I agree, one must juggle with all the tools.
Actually I start to be conquered by the blogging, as there are sometimes subjects I want to develop with text!
Thanks again ;)