How to Create a Brand Identity for Your Art Business

When it comes to running a successful art business, a big part of standing out from the crowd is creating a strong and recognisable brand identity. But what does that actually entail? In a nutshell, your brand identity is how your business is perceived by both your current and potential customers. It’s more than just your logo or website design – it encompasses everything from your company values and mission statement, to your overall aesthetic and the way you communicate with your audience.

Luckily, creating a strong brand identity for your art business is not as daunting as it may seem. By following a few simple steps, you can develop a clear and recognisable brand that will help you to attract and retain customers.

art business toolkit branding and marketing

Define your art business and what it does

An art business is anything that involves creating, marketing, and selling art. This could be anything from fine art to digital art to craft supplies. To create a brand identity for your art business, you need to first define what exactly your business does and what makes it unique.

One way to do this is to sit down and brainstorm what your business offers and what makes it different from other businesses in the same industry. For example, if you sell paintings, what makes your paintings different from others? Do you have a specific style or focus on a certain type of painting? Who is your target market?

Once you have a good understanding of what your business does and what makes it unique, you can start to create a brand identity that reflects this. This can be anything from creating a logo and tagline to choosing a colour scheme and overall aesthetic for your business.

Whatever you do, make sure that your brand identity is cohesive and reflects the overall tone of your business. Creating a brand identity for your art business is an important step in making your business more visible and recognizable. By taking the time to define what your business does and what makes it unique, you can create a strong foundation for your brand that will attract new customers and help you stand out from the competition.

Research your competition

When you’re ready to start creating a brand identity for your art business, it’s important to do your research and find out what similar businesses are doing. This will help you get an idea of what’s working well and what you can improve upon.

One of the best ways to research your competition is to simply search for them online. Check out their websites and social media pages to see what they’re doing right. Make a list of the things you like and the things you don’t like about their branding. This will help you narrow down your own preferences and come up with a brand identity that’s unique to you.

Another great way to research your competition is to talk to them directly. If you know any other artists or art business owners, reach out to them and ask for their advice. They may be willing to share their own experiences and help you avoid making the same mistakes they did.

Finally, don’t forget to ask your customers for feedback. They’re the ones who will be interacting with your brand identity the most, so it’s important to get their thoughts on what you’re doing. Send out surveys, post on social media, or simply ask them in person what they think of your brand. By doing your research, you’ll be able to create a brand identity that’s unique, appealing, and sure to attract more business.

Find your niche and focus on what makes you different

When it comes to creating a brand identity for your art business, it’s important to find your niche and focus on what makes you different. This can be a difficult process, but it’s worth taking the time to figure out what sets your business apart from the rest.

One of the best ways to find your niche is to think about what you’re passionate about. What are the specific areas of art that you’re most interested in? What do you enjoy creating the most? Once you’ve identified your passions, you can start to focus on creating a brand identity that reflects those interests.

It’s also important to focus on what makes you different from other art businesses. What are your unique selling points? What can you offer that no one else can? By highlighting these differences, you’ll be able to create a brand identity that really stands out.

Finally, don’t be afraid to be bold with your brand identity. This is your chance to really put your own personal stamp on your business. So go ahead and be creative! Use your brand identity to show the world who you are and what you’re all about.

Create a mission statement for your brand

Creating a mission statement for your brand is a good place to start shaping your brand identity. This statement should be a clear and concise description of what your business is and what it stands for. It should be easy to understand and remember, so that your customers can quickly identify with your brand.

Your mission statement should be reflected in everything you do, from the products you sell to the way you market your business. It should be an integral part of your brand identity and should be communicated to everyone who comes into contact with your business.

If you take the time to create a strong and clear mission statement for your brand, you will be well on your way to creating a successful and recognizable brand identity.

Mission statement examples for an artist’s brand:

To create art that evokes emotion, inspires creativity, and encourages a deeper appreciation for beauty in the world.
To use my artistic talents to shed light on social issues and promote positive change in the world.
To connect with audiences on a deep, personal level through my art, and inspire them to find their own creativity and passion.
To bring joy and happiness to people’s lives through my colourful and whimsical artworks.
To use my art as a platform to raise awareness about environmental issues and promote sustainability.
To capture the beauty of nature and the human experience through my paintings, and share it with the world.
To create art that transcends language and cultural barriers, bringing people together through the universal language of beauty.
To inspire and empower women through my art, celebrating their strength, resilience, and unique beauty.

Develop a visual identity for your brand

As an artist, one of the most important things you can do is develop a strong visual identity for your brand. Your visual identity is what will help you stand out from the crowd and attract attention from potential customers and clients. This includes your brand colours, logo, banners, avatars, social media posts and more.

Here are five tips to help you create a visual identity for your art business:

1. Define your brand. What are your core values and attributes? What makes you unique? Once you have a clear understanding of your brand, you can start to develop a visual identity that reflects who you are as a business.

2. Consider your target audience. Who are you trying to reach with your art business? What kinds of visuals, colours, textures etc. will resonate with them? When you know your target audience, you can create visuals that appeal to them.

3. Keep it simple. When it comes to visuals, less is often more. You want to create a simple, elegant visual identity that is easy for people to remember.

4. Use high-quality visuals. The visuals you use should be high-resolution and professional-looking. This will help you create a strong impression and build trust with your target audience.

5. Stay consistent. Once you have developed your visual identity, it is important to stay consistent with it. Use the same colours, fonts, and overall look and feel across all of your marketing materials. This will help people easily recognize your brand.

Check out this Skillshare class DIY Branding for Creatives to help you design a visual identity for your brand!

Monitor and adjust your brand identity as needed

Like any business, it’s important to regularly monitor how your art brand is performing and make changes and re-iterate as needed.

Here are a few tips:

1. Keep an eye on your sales. If you’re not selling as much as you’d like, it could be a sign that your brand identity isn’t resonating with your target audience. Take a look at your branding and see if there’s anything you could change to better appeal to your desired customers.

2. Pay attention to your online presence. What are people saying about your brand? Are they sharing your content? If not, it could be a sign that your brand identity isn’t strong enough. Again, take a look at your branding and see if there’s anything you could change to make a bigger impact.

3. Monitor your competition. See what they’re doing that’s working and try to replicate it. But also, be sure to differentiate yourself from the competition so you’re not just another “me too” art brand. By regularly monitoring your brand identity and making changes as needed, you’ll be sure to stay ahead of the game and keep your art business thriving.

4. Update your branding regularly. It may take some re-iterating until you’ve reached a point where you feel like your brand truly reflects you and your art business.

Conclusion

Creating a brand identity doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive. By following the steps outlined in this article, you can create a professional and unique brand identity for your art business that will help you stand out from the competition. With a little time and effort, you can develop a strong brand that will attract new customers and help grow your business.

Cheers,

Promoting Your Art Online: The Top Five Ways

~ Julie ~ 2 Comments

When it comes to promoting your art online, there are a number of different strategies you can use. In this post, I will discuss the most effective methods to help you find your audience, and for your audience to find you!

With the ease of access to the internet, more and more people are turning to online platforms to showcase their work. This is especially true for artists, who can use the internet to reach a global audience.

There are a number of ways to promote your art online. In this article, we will take a look at five of the most effective methods. These include using social media, setting up a website, taking advantage of search engine optimization, experimenting with video, and using online marketplaces to sell and showcase your work.

Top 5 Tips for Promoting Your Art Online

1. Create a strong social media presence

For any business that wants to be successful online, it helps to have a strong social media presence. This is especially true for art businesses, which are usually highly visual.

person holding smartphone taking picture of bridge during daytime

There are a few key things to remember when creating a social media presence for promoting your art online. The first is to focus on quality over quantity. It’s better to have a small number of high-quality pieces than a large number of low-quality ones. This means that you should focus on creating work that is visually stunning and engaging, rather than churning out a large quantity of content that is quickly forgotten.

The second key is to be active and engaged with your audience. Social media is all about interaction, so make sure to post content that encourages comments, questions, and shares. Don’t just post your art and expect people to engage with it; start a conversation and get people talking.

And finally, the third key is to be consistent. Posting irregularly will only serve to frustrate your audience, confuse the algorithm, and potentially damage your chances of success. Make sure to post regularly, and to maintain a consistent voice and tone across all of your social media channels. By following these three key tips, you’ll be well on your way to creating a strong social media presence that will help promote your art to a wider audience.

2. Develop an art blog or website

There are many ways to promote your art online, but one of the most effective is to develop your own blog or website. By having a dedicated space for your art, you can control the narrative around your work and ensure that your target audience is seeing the message you want to send.

photo of person using laptop for graphic designs

Here are a few tips for getting started:

Choose a focus for your blog or website. Whether you want to showcase your own art, write about art news, or highlight other artists you admire, it’s important to have a clear focus for your site. This will help you attract the right audience and create content that is interesting and engaging.
Make sure your site is visually appealing. People are visual creatures, so it’s important to make sure your site is visually appealing. This means using high-quality images, an eye-catching layout, and easy-to-navigate pages.
Write compelling content. Even if your site looks great, it won’t be successful unless you have compelling content to share. Write blog posts that are interesting and informative, and be sure to update your site regularly with new content.
Spread the word. Once your site is up and running, be sure to promote it through social media, Pinterest, and other relevant channels. The more people who know about your site, the more traffic you’ll generate.
Monitor your progress. Keep an eye on your website’s traffic and analytics to see how your site is performing. This information can help you fine-tune your content and marketing strategies over time to further improve your results.

By following these tips, you can develop an art blog or website that is both successful and enjoyable to maintain.

3. Use search engine optimization (SEO)

Search engine optimization, or “SEO” for short, is a technique that can be used to help promote your art online. By optimizing the content using key phrases related to the artwork, an artist can make their content more visible to potential customers who use search engines like Google.

One way to optimize your content is to ensure that all images and videos are given descriptive file names, titles and alt tags. This allows search engines to index the content properly and help people find it when they search for specific keywords.

Another way to optimize content is to use key phrases on your artist website that are related to the artwork you want to promote. Think descriptive phrases such as “landscape paintings” or “custom pet portraits”. By including these key phrases in titles, tags, and descriptions, artists can improve their chances of being found by potential customers who are searching for those phrases.

In addition to optimizing website content, artists can also use SEO to improve the visibility of their social media posts. By including key words and phrases in the file name, post description, and alt tags (where available) artists can make it easier for potential customers to find their work on social media sites like Instagram and Tiktok, which are moving towards more SEO based search algorithms in place of hashtags.

By using these basic SEO techniques, artists can reach a larger audience and promote their artwork more effectively.

4. Create short videos of your art

There are many ways to promote art online, but one of the most effective is through creating short videos of your art or art process. Art videos can be used to give potential buyers a tour of your studio, a closer look at your work, or even just to provide some educational information about your process or medium.

Here are five tips for creating great art videos:

Keep it short and sweet. Ideally your video should be between 15 -60 seconds long, which is what most short form video apps accept. Check out my post on how to use TikTok for artists for more short video ideas. If you want to post long format videos of your art, YouTube is a better place for that.
Start with a bang. The first few seconds of your video are crucial in hooking the viewer, so make sure you start with an attention-grabbing image or scene.
Use professional-quality footage and audio. This doesn’t mean you need to hire a Hollywood film crew, but your video should be well-lit and have clear, high-quality audio.
Edit for maximum impact. A good edit can make all the difference in a video, so don’t be afraid to cut out any sections that aren’t essential. I recommend the InShot app for editing videos on your phone.
Include a call to action. At the end of your video, make sure to include a call to action, such as asking viewers to like and share your video, or visit your website to learn more about your art.

If you want step by step instructions on how to create short videos of your art for Reels, TikTok etc. check out my Skillshare class!

5. Sell your art online

When it comes to selling art online, there are a few different avenues that artists can take.

Here are five of the most popular methods:

Set up your own online shop: One of the best ways to sell art online is to set up your own online shop on your artist website. This gives you complete control over the prices, shipping, and promotion of your work. You’ll need to invest some time and money into setting up your shop, but once it’s up and running, it can be a great way to make sales. You can use a storefront app like Shopify (paid) or Woocommerce (free) to set up your store.
Use an online marketplace or Print on Demand: If you’re not ready to set up your own shop, there are plenty of online marketplaces that you can use to sell your art. These platforms make it easy to list and sell your work, and they handle all the payments and shipping for you. Some of the most popular art marketplaces include Etsy, Saatchi Art, and Fine Art America.
Sell through social media: Social media is a great way to connect with potential customers and sell your art. You can use platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter to promote your work and drive traffic to your shop, or sell directly through DM (direct messaging). Just make sure you’re using high-quality images and engaging copy to grab people’s attention.
Take commissions: If you’re not interested in selling your existing artwork, another option is to take commissions. This involves working directly with clients to create custom artwork to their specifications. You can find clients for commissions through social media, by posting the type of artwork you want to take commissions for, and then taking requests via DM.
Participate in art fairs: Another option for selling your artwork is to participate in art fairs and other in person events. This is a more traditional approach, but it can still be effective. Art fairs can be a great way to meet potential customers and build up a rapport with them, even if they don’t buy anything. You can hand out business cards with your social media links so they can follow you, and then potentially make a purchase through your website later on.

All of these methods can be effective ways to sell your art online. Just choose the approach that makes the most sense for you and your business.

Conclusion

When it comes to promoting your art online, there are a number of different ways to go about it. By utilizing the five promotion strategies I’ve outlined above, you can give yourself the best chance for success. Let me know in the comments below, what’s your favourite method for promoting your art online?

Cheers,