Visual Art Marketing Tool, the Vlog

Unless you are a first time blog reader, or a new reader of this blog, you know the idea of blogging as an effective marketing tool for artists has been pounded, expounded and nearly ground to death. That's not to say give up on the idea, au contraire, if you haven't yet started blogging get with it post haste.

For those of you who want something more, who can visualize that YouTube is a force to be reckoned with and harnessed, there is video blogging, or vlogging, as it is known. I like the idea myself quite a bit, but haven't conjured how to make it work for this blog. Perhaps that day will come later this year.

Here are a couple of contemporary artists who are effectively vlogging. One is Natasha Wescoat. She is a natural in that there is not much she hasn't done or touched in the electronic media world to help further her career. If you have followed her career and realize she has achieved her success by dint of talent and perseverance on a budget and with other constraints that would have stymied most, it's that much more impressive. An early pioneer in selling art in volume on eBay, she's gone on to continue to develop an avid fan base via the Internet and the tools that come with it, including using vlogging. She has a wide range of video offerings. Here is a sample from her Natasha Wescoat's ArtCandy Web site:

Another artist effectively vlogging is Valentina on her Val's Art Diary site. She sells prints on eBay and DeviantArt as well as her prints. She also has a weekly drawing for a free prize using a clever dart throw selection. Watch the whole video to see how she does it. She uses the videos to give her viewers insight into her as a person and her thoughts about the paintings she creates. Viewer comments for her and Natasha substantiate it's working for both of them. Here is one of Val's weekly vlogs:

These are just two artists exploring how using vlogs can make their art much more accessible and real to their collectors. It's a brave new world out there. Whatever you do, don't forget Val's weekly admonition to eat your cookie. Explore her site and she'll generously show you in another video the tricks she used to make her trademark silhouette "Eat Your Cookie" video.

With the advent of blog and now vlogs, collectors can get to know the artists whose work they admire. Instead of reading the bio sheet and a couple of press clippings, they can get to see the artist, watch work created in time lapse videos and hear in the artist's own words what the the motivation is and what the meaning is behind their imagery. More and more people are spending time on sites like YouTube in lieu of watching reality TV shows. With the interminable Writers Guild strike, who knows how many more devotees the likes of Natasha and Val will be developed.