#2, August 2020
Contents:
- NEW FEATURES VOTE
- Insta Top Tip: on SHOWING UP TO AN INTERVIEW NAKED
- 10-minute art content of the Week
As always:
- We appreciate you sharing our community with other artists!
- We welcome new ideas on how to make the community better!
COMMUNITY FEATURES: LAST WEEK'S POLL
Last week we polled the group on whether ONCE A WEEK all group members should post a story saying "Check out this fellow artist! @artistname". We would rotate the artist every week and PARTICIPATION IS OF COURSE OPTIONAL!
We only had 22 votes, but 95% of them said YES. This week I will run a pilot. It will take some time for the group to adapt... so please bear with us!
How it will work:
- Every week a small judge panel will select one post from the Dx4 submitted in the group (we will change the winner every week!)
- Community members can share the chosen post as an Instagram Story on their feed with the message: "Check out this fellow artist! @artistname"
Please STILL vote in the Poll section if you support this feature, or let me know if you don't! If there is enough interest we will do our best to implement it.
INSTAGRAM TOP TIP: YOUR KICK-ASS BIO!
As I mentioned in the Instagram for Artists Podcast with Dot Lung, a ton of research suggest visitors to your feed decide whether to follow you in seconds.
Your BIO is the first thing they see, and your business card when you’re not interacting with other grammers. Don’t leave it empty! You wouldn't show up to a job interview naked, would you?
You have 150 characters to show your personality and give people a compelling reason to hit “follow”.
The number of people that do not maximise its use is surprising. Thankfully, it only takes a few minutes to make drastic improvements. Here is how.
1. Have a good avatar/image – crisp and clear, and the same across all your platforms
2. Insta uses your name and username for searches, so add a keyword to your name to improve searchability: put your name in the Bio field if it already appears in your insta handle!
3. Use your bio to tell visitors what you do and why you’re great. Make it relevant to them. Be genuine and human!
4. Add a powerful Call To Action: visit my website / drop me a line / visit my studio / check out my other account “@...” / come to my event (and add details)
5. Add a URL: key turning visitors into email subscribers, customers or links to your events, causes, work and contact details. If you have a lot of options, you can use a service like linktr.ee to turn one URL slot into many so you can keep visitors engaged
6. Make sure you include contact buttons so people can reach you!
Extra-credit boosters:
- Keep it to-the-point: don’t make us press “More”
- # your personal brand #storieswithoutboundaries. Over time, this will pay off!
- Liven up with emojis (location pin, envelope, anything personal, point to important things)
- Add Story Highlights with your favourite output: tell visitors what you’re all about
For a more VISUAL explanation of the above points with examples read this:
10-MINUTE ART CONTENT OF THE WEEK
Artblock. We've all been there. It feels like the worst... but it's totally natural!
I love Canadian astist Bobby Chiu's panel discussion (link below) from Schoolism.com on this subject. Whether you get stuck occasionally for practical reasons, or whether it is the more pesky 'mental block', it's great to hear how others deal with it - especially because it shows that it is part of the process of pushing in new directions!
Chiu works in concept and character design and has won a number of awards, including an Emmy, so he's worth checking out separately.
The next time you're pounding miles on the treadmill (or driving them in the car!) give this a listen:
THANK YOU AND TOODLELOO
We hope you find these updates useful.
Please continue to send us your suggestions, support and artist friends, and we will continue to work to make this group a valuable resource for you!
Keep in touch, and keep creating.
- Dario