Branding is the go-to buzzword in any industry nowadays.
And it’s the same for textile and fibre artists too.
It’s important, so let me share with you what I’ve learned over the last decade or so.
I’m no expert, but I’ve tried to read and research how I should be doing things to promote myself, my work, and my brand – and it’s exhausting.
Large companies devote an entire workforce simply to meet these demands, so what are we time-poor, self-employed textile and fibre artists supposed to do?
Well, my experience is to stay calm and carry on – but educate yourself first.
I’ve bought and downloaded books, I’ve searched the web, read blogs and I’ve looked at what other artists here in Australia do – and trust me, while I don’t believe in all I’ve seen and read, there are glimmers of gold sprinkled here and there.
The upshot is to set out with an understanding of what it is you want to achieve, and even that can be no easy thing.
So what’s involved in your brand?
Well, there’s your name, perhaps a logo, branding colours, your identity as an artist, marketing ideas and a strategy to bring it all together.
I do believe it’s best to use your own name because it immediately builds a relationship with your audience – we are, after all, the embodiment of our brand, but you could also incorporate a business name if you really wanted to.
Listed below are some of my top tips to help consolidate your brand, and your branding message:
- And top to the list, in my opinion, is to be consistent. Be consistently professional, and be consistently on point with your messaging, colours, and style of writing.
- Use only good quality styled images of your work – this is my number one bug-bear if I’m judging – how can you judge from poor images? Just remember every time there’s an image used of you or your work, it’s there forever, so make it the best it can possibly be.
- Use these tools across all your media platforms including your website, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube, as well as your business cards, flyers, brochures or pamphlets used for marketing, so that there’s a consistent look and feel to them all.
- Post your beautiful images on social media regularly, but be careful, too many posts can also turn people off, and too few don’t work either – you have to find that happy medium, and the best time of day to do it.
- Always respond to comments on your social media. If someone takes the time to comment, it’s up to you to respond – thereby forming a connection. Who knows where that may lead?
- Look at how other artists you admire post – the time and frequency. Do they curate their images to help reinforce their brand and look at their style of writing too? Does it make you want to read on?
- Learn how to write entertainingly about yourself and what you do. After all, if you’ve been asked to submit an article to a magazine or other publication, you obviously have something to offer. Take your time, edit and re-edit, check your grammar and spelling and throw in some little gems of inspiration or ideas for how to work better. The more you show your personality, the more people like to see it.
- Start a weekly blog or podcast – it’s a great way to train yourself to write about what you do, feel and think. Become an influencer simply by sharing your passion and knowledge. It not only supports your brand, but it’s also a great way to open yourself to even more people.
- Keep on top of metrics that are meaningful to you. I’ve watched the number of subscriptions to my weekly blog grow from almost nothing to what it is now. I also check visits to my website. What that does for me, is simply reaffirm that I’m heading in the right direction.
- Show you care in everything you do. People can see through the artificial and counterfeit, so just show your love for what you do and how you go about doing it.
Really try to open your eyes and your mind to what you should or could be doing.
Make it your mission to research ten textile and fibre artists. And by that I mean research their websites, images, social media platforms, responses to comments, blog posts, and videos as well as how they write about their work.
That was a huge eye-opener for me.
Just make yourself relatable, and entertaining by offering something people really want – and that’s you.
Visit my Pinterest Boards and simply scroll through to find some interesting boards on this topic.
All views and opinions expressed are my own, except where acknowledged information is included from other sources.
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