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11.08.2010

Marketing Mondays: Website or Blog?

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Today's topic was inspired by an artist who emailed me with this question:
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"Do you find your art is viewed more from your blog than from your website? I don't see the value of keeping up with both."  

My two sites do different things, and I use them differently. The website is a static tool; the blog, much more dynamic. Here's how I use mine:

. The website shows fairly recent work; it's never updated often enough, but that's because I have someone else do it, and it costs too much in time to rethink the changes and in money to pay for them. It offers a look at my work--not a catalog for selling, but for looking. My visitors have no direct contact with me, nor I with them.  (I launched my blog in 1998, back when everyone was on dialup and the only way to make a website was to know code. Eventually I will either buy a template and create my own new website or design a "website" blog that I maintain myself. But until I find a secretary, an assistant or a clone, it will remain as it is.)

. This blog is a dynamic tool that I maintain myself, allowing me to show my work--usually on the sidebar--and to be more fully engaged with the art world via reviews, reports (like the Miamipalooza coming up next month), commentary, links to events and, sometimes, to curate thematic collections of images in online "exhibitions."  It's also interactive via comments from readers, and via the many links I include throughout the posts.

. This blog links to blogs specifically for my resume and exhibition schedule, both of which I update regularly. I don't put those URLs on my business card. While I want them to be available and informative, I don't want them to be in-your-face. 
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. I also maintain a blog for the annual encaustic conference I founded and direct. Part catalog, part newsletter, it links directly to my non-profit partner, which handles registration and does outreach of its own. The conference blog allows me to run a business from my studio, to interact with my producing partner, and equally important, to communicate casually and informationally with the conference particpants.

. And, finally, I maintain a syllabus blog for the class I teach at an art college. (Subtitle: Because Photocopying is so Last Century). There are tons of links to artists' websites and other blogs, to books and articles, and to information about the speakers who will visit the class or whom we will visit. I update it as necessary. And when I teach the occasional career workshop, I post an informational blog that remains available to the students of that workshop for one month.
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Other people use their blog differently: as a website, as a gallery for showing, as a catalog for selling, as a studio or personal diary, as a newsletter, as a vehicle for political activism, even as a scrapbook for various projects.

So, over to you:  Website or blog? Or both? And tell us how you use each. Include your URL. If you can figure out how to make the link live, great. Otherwise, just post it; we can cut and paste it into our browser.

46 comments:

LG said...

I have a site and a blog.

I update my site regularly. I designed it so I know exactly where to go to put what. I use my blog to show some of my work but also to showcase a new contemporary artists each weekday. I keep it simple so you can view a lot of different work quickly. This way once someone sees something they like, they can immediately go to the artist's site and begin learning more. My blog is purely to encourage more interest and support for the contemporary arts. My site, obviously to encourage interest in my work alone. I've seen mostly equal stats regarding which site feeds the other clicks.

I think every serious artist should have a (professional looking) site at minimum. A blog is nice but not necessary. These days, it's important to have that web presence (on top of a FB page and such).

My site: http://www.leegainer.com
My blog, Peek: http://www.leegainer.blogspot.com

Deb Lacativa said...

I think your example will prove to be the trend.
I too learned to write HTML code long ago and hosted my own website with the idea of presenting an overview of my work. It's as close as I've come to seeing my work in a gallery. Oh, those White walls. Now I see that I haven't updated since 2009! Time to get busy here:

http://www.lacativa.com/

Like your website, it's in need of updating mostly because I have been tracking my current work on my blog where I have posted entire processes from dyeing the cloth right through to the finished piece. Blogging is easier that tinkering with old code. Too easy.

http://morewgalo.blogspot.com/

I link back to main website from the blog, offer links to other artists who’s blogs I follow and keep a separate blog where I sell the excess fabric that breeds in my studio and on the dyedeck.

http://randomactsofdyeness.blogspot.com/

Altoon Sultan said...

I maintain both a blog and a website; as with you, Joanne, they do different things. The website, which I maintain myself on a weebly.com platform, gives an overview of my work and a bio.
http://www.altoonsultan.com/
My blog is something else entirely: it is a visual journal, an almost daily practice, in which I write about and photograph my art, my thoughts about art and books and film, my walks in the woods, my garden, and food; it is an expression of a life, and has become an important part of my art practice, making me more aware of myself and my surroundings. Having readers who follow the blog and then become interested in my work is a bonus.
http://altoonsultan.blogspot.com/

Janna Maria Vallee said...

I agree with you on having both. I think website is for showing your work in an easily navigable way, whereas a blog is for dynamism (like you said) and a good way to keep people coming back to your website. I think they are equally important tools.

Wendy Rodrigue Magnus said...

We use our website commercially, not selling directly, but showing available artwork, directing people to the gallery, and alerting them to events.

http://www.georgerodrigue.com/

The blog, however, is strictly non-commercial, a way of providing detailed information on George Rodrigue's history, specifics about his artwork and method, as well as an opportunity to discuss other artist's work and the occasional human interest story.

http://wendyrodrigue.blogspot.com/

Although both are necessary, the blog's a lot more fun.

Joanne Mattera said...

Wendy,
Thanks for that word: fun.
Blogging IS fun.

Tracy Helgeson said...

Like nearly everyone here, I have a website and a blog; the website serves as a place to look at my work, resume etc. and the blog is where I babble on about me, my work and my chickens mostly;) I also have a sales blog where I sell small little studies directly, mostly to people who read my blog although I have recently put an ad for it up on a friend's blog that has a lot of traffic just to see what happens. I have had the blog for almost 5 years, but I am really liking the immediacy of my FB public page lately and have been trying to figure out how to balance the two. And still paint;)

I think the blog has been the site that has brought the most attention to my work, FAR more than my website. Almost everyone I meet at my openings, or who contacts me, reads my blog.

http://worksbytracy.blogspot.com/
http://tracyhelgeson.com/home.html
http://tracyhelgeson.blogspot.com/
http://www.facebook.com/tracyhelgesonart?v=wall

Donna Dodson said...

I have a blog where I post current shows and projects, www.donnadodsonartist.blogspot.com. I don't have a website, although I have hosted images of my work online but nothing ever came of these online portfolios so I took most of them down. Currently I work with galleries in Boston MA, Concord NH and Provincetown MA and they host pages with images of my work on their websites. I also have photo albums of my recent work on facebook. I create blog posts about my shows and events that I email to a private list of contacts that drives traffic to my blog. In that way, it functions like a periodic newsletter to promote and market my work. I also host a listserv for artists to post opportunitites, calls to artists and upcoming events at http://groups.google.com/group/art-salon. Members can post to the list directly and reach out to other artists in the group.

heidi said...

I have both as well.
Like you, I am not able to maintain the website myself, but it is a place where I can show finished work in a clean, concise format.

http://www.heidimatic.com/

My blog is a place to show work in progress and to give details for upcoming shows and open studios. It's certainly less formal but feels more lively to me.

http://heidimcdowell.blogspot.com/

Erika Lee @ A Tiny Rocket said...

I hook my blog feed into my website. I think the artist needs to commit on updating period- and not just have something that sits out of date.

www.erikaleesears.com - website
www.atinyrocket.blogspot.com - blog

Ingrid said...

At long last I have both a blog and a website.

I started with blogger- easy diy type of thing. My goal was to post about works in progress, or upcoming projects, but the truth is I post irregularly and not always about just art related things.

My website is more "formal" in that it is just about my work. When building the site, my web designer made certain he knew what the goals for the site were- record keeping, viewing or direct sales. I wanted to use mine as a means to share with curators or galleries to view my work- hence no pay pal button, which I don't like the look of and feels sort of 'etsy'. The website was built on wordpress so that I can update new galleries of artwork myself, which is great as there are no on-going fees for keeping the site up to date.

I do have FB as well, but do not link with my art on that-it is purely a means of following my teenagers.
www.ingridellison.com
www.ingridellison.blogspot.com
thanks for your Monday posts! I always enjoy them!

Nancy Natale said...

I'm for the dual approach, too. The website is a more formal presentation of my work, organized into different types of work and/or series. I think of it as my professional web presence. The blog is more a promotion of me, the artist who makes the work, and the writer who likes to comment on a lot of things. It's informal, pretty wide-ranging and allows me to reflect, rant and communicate with readers. I find Facebook too scattered to do much with besides putting up notices when I publish a new blog post and/or post political/art/human interest news and views. I don't think much communication goes on there outside of *like* or *wow* or *How are you doing?.* It's not exactly scintillating. I also find it a pain to look at photos on FB because getting back to the FB location where you left off requires scrolling around, etc.

my website: nancynatale.net(soon to be changed to a new format via http://www.icompendium.com/) and with professional photos

my blog: artinthestudio.blogspot.com

Tom Hoadley said...

Since several people have mentioned the work and expense of maintaining a website, I want to recommend a template that I found recently thanks to you, Joanne, from a link to an artist mentioned on your blog. The company is http://www.icompendium.com/ and the basic plan, which is more than most would need, is $200/ year. It's clean, minimal, and easy to use. I just made my own website - http://thomashoadley.com/ - and am pretty happy with it other than the issue of putting two images on the home page. (It can be done but will take some doing.) I can update it probably just as easily as you update your blogs.

kathy loomis said...

My website has been under construction for several months (don't ask...) and I didn't start my blog until after the website was underway. Had I realized how easy it is to do a blog, and how much visibility would come from it, I might not have even worried about the website. My current exhibits and awards are shown in the blog sidebar and can be updated in a minute. It will be nice to have the website finished but the blog is really great.

http://artwithaneedle.blogspot.com/

Kathryn Hansen said...

like almost everyone here i have both a blog and website..and for very similar reasons. The website gives the viewer a taste of my work and the blog helps me connect with people, tell my story, share my accomplishments, etc. It's way more fun than just having a website and i've put way more of my heart into my blog because i like the interaction.

annell4 said...

Great post, as always. I agree with what everyone else has said. Thanks

Robin said...

Yes, like everyone else, I have both a website and blog:

www.fineartbyrobin.com

www.robinsamiljan.blogspot.com

I just learned how to design my website and after paying a webmaster for over 10 yrs. I am proud to say I am finally doing it all myself! I pay $99/yr. for webhosting but I am an apple person and I use mac software with mac webhosting with a mac computer (and it was surprisingly easy!). My website has always worked as an online portfolio that can lead to either internet sales or gallery interest.

My blog, like most of you, is my fun place. I used to use it as a journal of my personal creative process and did not engage followers often but after about a year of this I realized how important it was to be interactive with followers and only recently have I been more verbal and interactive. I feel as if I have made some dear, "real life" friends via the blog world.

P.S. I also have a FB fan page

Tracy Helgeson said...

Yes, I would also like to add another option for a very easy and affordable DIY website. A friend of mine designed a website for me in exchange for a painting but then it turned out to be very difficult to update and make changes. Finally JT Kirkland suggested Other People's Pixels, basically you pay about $160 per year for the hosting and you set up the site yourself, using their templates of which they have a wide variety. It is REALLY easy to set up and that really means a lot coming from a computer illiterate like me;)

Check out my website and if you want to learn more click on the little OPP logo on the top right.

www.tracyhelgeson.com
www.otherpeoplespixels.com

Wendy Rodrigue Magnus said...

Just a follow-up note to say .... This was such a fabulous post, because I learned about so many interesting blogs, websites, and artists! Thank you-

Caleb Taylor said...

I also have a blog and a website, but have found it recently easier to update my website. I had a flash page that was designed by a friend. I finally decided to design my own page w/o flash to be iPhone friendly and easily updated. The service I use is www.cargocollective.com. They have sleek templates to choose from that are free unless you want to really alter the CSS code. Any questions can be answered by their technicians on their support forum. Plus it is a social network for artists and designers.

my website is www.calebtaylorart.com

I blog in spurts and love doing it when it happens. With the new website, I finally have a link to the blog which allows for more traffic. And a blog is a chance to post projects that are not quite ready for their own website category.

www.calebtaylorart.blogspot.com

Thanks Joanne.

LXV said...

I hand-coded a website for myself five years ago and update it once a year in the fall when my painting season is over. It is incredibly static (no flash or anything) but people seem to like it a lot and I tested it once with an online utility and found that it loads nice & fast. It's chief benefit to me is as an archive. I actually go online when I need info on a particular piece. The domain is just my name dot com, which makes it easy for people I meet (like my dentist, or somebody at a party) to go visit: agnesdebethune.com

The blog, on the other hand, I just never got the hang of. I have the beginnings of thirty-five thousand fascinating but embryonic blog posts cluttering my desktop that I just lost the enthusiasm to finish. People like Joanne amaze me for their consistency, organizational skills & high-energy.

Fi said...

I have both a blog and a website, and they are integrated to look as part of the one site.

The website is the static part with the about me, copyright etc and will be expanded in the future to have a CV, press releases etc. It contains the sort of information that does not need to be updated more than a few times a year.

The blog is where I interact with people and where people can get to know me. It's where I post all my latest artwork multiple times a week and it's definitely the part of my site that gets the most traffic.

I also have links to a FB fan page, an online store and use Flickr as a gallery page. These are all accessible from all the site pages.

My website: www.wherefishsing.com
My blog http://spacesbetweenthegaps.wherefishsing.com/

Tina Mammoser said...

Definitely both.

I have a blog and website.
http://tina-m.blogspot.com
http://tina-m.com

My blog is virtual news, and social. It reaches out primarily to my fans, customers and potential customers. It shares progress on the paintings, my thoughts and ideas behind my subject and process. They can comment and I answer questions. You could call it a "studio site".

My website is a "portfolio site". It's aimed primarily at galleries, agents, and customers looking to see the portfolio. There is a link to the blog but news is generally limited to event and exhibition announcements, and my full CV is there.

Both are absolutely vital. Galleries are interested in the actual work to start with and my professional presentation. Yes some of mine read the blog too, but not many. Customers nowadays want interaction and a more personal look at the artist and work.

Martha Marshall said...

I have both, and mostly for all the same reasons already mentioned. My website is an easy one to maintain myself and fairly inexpensive, though I'm liking the solutions other artists have found with even cheaper sites (like Caleb's free one -- beautiful and sleek!)

The website works for me when I get inquiries about commissions and licensing, and when I want to show a quick online portfolio of current work. I've never sold anything directly on my site.

My blog is a place where I throw everything up against the wall. Some things stick, some don't. And the interchange with readers is so rewarding and inspiring

I've enjoyed looking at all the blogs and sites in this discussion. Thanks for the post, Joanne.

Catherine Carter said...

Like many folks here, I have a website that someone else maintains for me with updates several times a year, and a diary type of blog that I write in approximately once a week. I also have a separate career-news blog (linked to my website) so that I can add up-to-the minute show and sale information, rather than waiting for my web mistress to add them.

I also wanted to point out that it has greatly increased the number of visits and visitors to my blog to mention it on my Facebook page (both a personal one and a professional one) whenever I make a new blog post. I also offer a link to my professional Facebook page from my blog. This back and forth connection has resulted in quite a number of new readers/viewers.

I think a lot of artists are afraid they'll overload people with information, but I've found that people are really interested in others' careers and will come out to your openings, talks, etc., if you are conscientious about publicizing them. If you mention your career details in a variety of places, folks are less likely to slip through the cracks.

Like you, Joanne, I LOVE blogging and I also have a separate blog for my teaching career/students' reference. Thank you for posting on this topic.

Website: www.CatherineCarterArt.com

Blog: www.catherinecarterart.blogspot.com

Unknown said...

Working outside my studio as an artist educator and gallery director I have been very tempted to jump into the blogging arena as an individual publisher but I have held off because, effective blogs are active-blogs, maintained, up-to-date, and focus on substantive issues. I have focused my effort on maintaining my website for informational purposes and I get my “blog-fix” by participating in blogs by those that are presenting challenging topics and good conversation. (Such as here.) Regarding maintaining a website, years ago after months of training to use web software I spent hours constructing and working on my website until this past year when I tried the iweb program in the Apple utilities package. For my needs, iweb has been a gift from the heavens. It is amazingly user-friendly and I design and make all changes myself, anytime and anywhere from my laptop. I can keep it current and I don’t have to pay an outside source for design or construction. I don’t claim to be a web designer but feel free to check out my site made and maintained in iweb. www.janenodine.com

Oriane Stender said...

I have a website but not a blog. Since people seem to spend a lot of time on Facebook these days, I recently started an "artist's page" on Facebook as an experiment. It's very easy and quick to update and people can comment and have discussions so I'm thinking that I could use it as a combination blog/website. Of course, it being Facebook, I don't really own it, but the time invested in setting it up was so minimal that I think it is worth it, no matter what happens there. Feel free to check it out. If you "like" it, you can join in commenting. If this link doesn't work, you can type Oriane Stender, Artist into the search box.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Oriane-Stender-Artist/155527197812344?ref=ts

My website, which, like most of you, I don't update often enough, is

www.orianestender.net

ben said...

I have a blog because it's the fastest solution to show my work, and also what inspires me, online.
I (mis)use it as a gallery, so it is less static than an ordinary website, and people can comment on every single picture. Also they're organized with tags, what seems like a good method to not lose track of them.

Anyhow, I might start a website in the future to merge my different works of design and art, and implement the blog on the website.

http://creativitypays.blogspot.com

Anne Cresswell said...

Thank you for posting on this topic Joanne - both your post and the comments make for a very informative read.

I don't have a website (I am a quite new to art making and still studying) but I have just started my own art blog a couple of months ago: http://annebirtchnell.blogspot.com/

It's very early days for me, but I have so far found the discipline of keeping a regular art blog rewarding in that I think it allows you to view your own development from a distance of sorts, and also to hone, filter and structure the best of your thoughts and ideas - all whilst ideally building up an online presence as a long term goal.

Unknown said...

In reading other comments I realize I forgot to mention I also maintain a Facebook Artist Page. It has been a good way to post current images, exhibit announcements, etc. and it is linked to my website. I have picked up a number of followers there that might not otherwise find me on the web.

Ruth K. Ben-Dov said...

This has given me a lot of food for thought. I thought my website would be easy to update, but the process is sometimes clumsy. Finding a way to combine it with a more dynamic format is something I will look into. An added challenge for me is that since I'm in Israel I try to post everything in Hebrew and in English.
I'd like to thank you, Joanne, for this weekly blog. I discovered it somewhat recently but read back through all the posts. Even though the art world here is different, a lot of issues are relevant - and most of all, your upbeat attitude toward navigating the art world is something I really appreciate (and I hope it rubs off on me a little).
www.ruthkbd.com/en
(and speaking of technical difficulties, if the address leads you by mistake to the Hebrew site, press on English in the upper left-hand corner).

Ruth K. Ben-Dov said...

This is my third and final try at leaving a comment - if for some reason they are all showing up on your computers and not on mine this will be very embarrassing - but at least you'll see how my style is improving each time. Anyway, the post and comments gave me a lot to think about. Not only do I live in a tiny country in the Middle East, but I live in a remote part of a tiny country in the Middle East - the Galilee in northern Israel - so I really should be taking more advantage of the internet. My website turns out to be more cumbersome to update than I had hoped, and the idea of supplementing with something more dynamic is a good one. Thank you. For me (and others in non-English-speaking countries) is added the challenge of writing posts in two languages (Hebrew and English in my case) or choosing one and in effect choosing one's audience.
Besides that, this is my chance to thank you, Joanne, for your blog, which is teaching me a lot. Most important, your upbeat and optomistic attitude toward navigating the art world is something I really appreciate - and I hope it will rub off on me!
www.ruthkbd.com/en

melanie millar said...

great subject, great dialogue. i have looked at pretty much everyone's web sites and blogs. i started blogging about ten months ago in order to have a web presence while i figured out what to do about a web site. my blog was a combination of my work and other's work that interested me.

then i came across Julie Evans' blog which functions more like a website: very clean, pretty much images only, her work only, no comments. i loved the look (and i love her work) and it motivated me to set up a second blog to function as a web site. i set up a url: www.melaniemillar.com which takes you to melaniemillar.blogspot.com. it contains only my work plus tabs for biography, artist statement, contact info, etc. i love being able to update it immediately with new work.

my blog is www.mediationofornament.blogspot.com. its a combination of other's work and my own work. there is some commentary and i have shown the development of my own work in progress.

i think the combination of a website and blog are important. i feel like the content of my blog informs the viewer about my own work.

reading all of the comments and looking at everyone's various forms of websites and blogs makes me realize i need to step up my game in both areas.


my blog is www.mediationofornament.com

Elizabeth Bisbing said...

Question: I have both a blog and a website. I can check how many people view my website, but I do not know how to know the numbers visiting my blog. I don't know which is more effective without that information. Do you know how to get that?

Elizabeth Bisbing

ebisbing.com
ebisbing.blogspot.com

ken said...

Elizabeth B.,
You can use Google Analytics
(https://www.google.com/analytics/)
to track hits on your blog as well as your website. It provides more info than just numbers. It tells you where they are, how long they stayed, and which pages they viewed (as well as some other more specialized stuff). Pretty handy, and free. I use it for my website and my blog.

Kim Matthews said...

I added a WordPress blog to my website (built in Dreamweaver) and thus far have been far better at updating my website than blogging. If I don't start writing more posts, then I think I'd better take the blog down. Few things are worse than blogs that never get updated and websites that are perpetually "under construction."
www.kimmatthewsart.com
www.kimmatthewsart.com/thoughts

Liz Davidson / Artist Notebook said...

Great post Joanne and great feedback from all. I too have a website , which I use as an online portfolio, up dating maybe 2 times a year [www.lizdavidsonartist.com] and a blog that I update every 2 days [http://lizdavidsonartist.blogspot.com/], that I use as a notebook. One of the things that has surprised me in reading all the posts is that more people are not designing and maintaing their own websites. Most artist have a good graphic sense and there are some WYSIWYG programs out there. I have used Freeway for years and it really is fairly easy to use, and you do not have to do code. Finding places to host your site is easy to; $ 25-50.00 a year and really the only hassle is learning a new vocabulary when you upload . Love doing my blog but feel like the shape of it is still escaping me and am trying to figure out if FB is a good fit [Liz Davidson Artist].

Joanne, thanks so much for this blog, I learn a ton here and tried to leave a comment last week to say how lush your new work is. Thanks

Ted Larsen said...

First off, really great to meet you in Boston! The photos of your work online don't do the work justice, as they are really radiate light in a phenomenological way while retaining a very compelling objectness. Interesting combination.

I have a website which is concerned with the formal considerations of my work and career. Any "blogging" I might be inclined to pursue happens on my FaceBook page. It has a huge potential audience with a much larger feedback loop. The website has definitely proven it's worthiness while almost everytime I sign out of FaceBook I am am inclined to deactivate my account!

Have fun down in Miami!

www.tedlarsen.com

Gwyneth Leech said...

I too have a portfolio website and a blog which serve different purposes.

The website is a template site by Icompendium (http://www.icompendium.com/) which works very well for me. I upload and maintain everything myself. It is easy to use and quick to update.

The blog, where I post cup drawings and text once or twice a week allows me to elaborate a particular part of my practice and build up a substantial body of content over time. I connect it into my Facebook pages and a lot of my readers come from there, but I feel it is important to have a blog site separate from FB.

And then there is Tumblr.com - a whole other story.
Just starting another blog there, all images, to test the water.

My portfolio site: http://www.gwynethleech.com

My regular blog: http://www.gwynethsfullbrew.com

JMB said...

Thanks Joanne, for all that you do to inspire conversation among artists and others, not to mention the valuable insights you share with us!

Like you I have both a static website: www.jmbroekman.com, which serves as an online portfolio, and a blog www.jmbroekman.com/news/, where I can show works in progress and write about the process as well as upcoming shows etc. Because I designed, built and maintain my website I was able to incorporate my so-called blog into the site itself as the news page. I think the integrated approach works well, in particular so visitors can move around and within both the site and the blog seamlessly.

I enjoy writing for the blog, though I fear I don't do it often enough. Sometimes I worry that it's just personal drivel and I don't want to bore the considerate people who actually subscribe! On the other hand, I know from experience that when I share thoughts about what goes into bringing a piece into the world, or what it is that I'm noticing and influenced by, most of the audience (who are already interested in the work) are truly appreciative. I suspect for many people it really adds to their experience of the work.

julie w said...

I have a website for the primary purpose of allowing galleries and clients to view my work easily.My son did the website for me using HTML initially but we recently changed to using a wordpress platform and it enables me to tweet it as I need to with out his help.
www.juliewecker.com
For my blog I also use wordpress and update it regularly with my latest art and exhibition news.My blog feeds into my personal facebook page but I want to make a public fan page in facebook next.
www.juliewecker.wordpress.com

Carolyn A. Pappas said...

I have a blog http://capappasart.com which is self hosted using wordpress. I am in the process of expanding and revising my static pages (portfolio, about, contact, etc). I think having a blog and website as part of the same url makes things a lot more streamlined and allows for a more consistent look. I also want one "home base," so to speak. It is easier for me to back up and maintain that way.

I could change the front page to a static page and just have my blog as one of the menu options, but I am debating if I want to do that. I think a static "splash page" might be more of an encumberance than anything else. Most people spend awhile on the blog itself before clicking on the other pages so I would not want to make more work for my readers.

There are so many tutorials and help forums out there for Wordpress and tons of people (but not so many artists that I have seen) are using it as a CMS. There was an article recently on Art Biz Blog concerning this topic that might be of interest. I have also recently seen a lot of people selling online courses on how to set up a wordpress site. That is not really necessary though as all that info is available for free online already if one is able to take the time doing a little research.

Jazz said...

hi there, stumbled across this - enjoyed reading the many contributions - is it too late to add to the discussion?

my blog is embedded in my website - i installed wordpress. my 'blog' covers works in progress, exhibitions, etc + some more philosophical musings on art and life - occasionally i mention/link to other artists i've been thinking or reading about - it's a quieter place... i have tried out a facebook page (don't have personal account) and is zero maintenance as i set up rss feeds from my blog to post to the 'wall'... still not sure about fb - issues about need to network online impacting on one's creative practice...

i built my own website. i link from my portfolio images to blog posts where appropriate and it seems the blog gets a number of new visitors this way. my website is both an online portfolio and an archive of sorts - i select what work to show, clearly not everything goes up - i try to keep it quite minimal but still cohesive - the 'blog' is where i feel i can talk more informally about ideas & concepts - i say talk, but don't always consider the audience - i get a lot of email enquiries from students doing visual & contextual research - but people rarely comment, but that's ok. i've begun to see as a bit of a personal, historical document since i've begun to post more frequently and has helped to reflect on and rationalise work more - but blogs are high maintenance whatever their content...

i think people like to see a visual timeline or history too - you get that in a good portfolio site but blogs can become quite unwieldy with thousands of pages, even if there are categories & archives - pages often slow-loading because of the number of images and posts.

p.s. an organised, well-designed blog can function as a very respectable website with its pages, categories, etc = no need to call in the experts anymore!

and my website is...

www.jazzgreen.com

thanks...

Fiona the Artist said...

This is a very interesting post. I find that many of my artist friends have a blog and a website. I set up my blog two years ago, before I knew how to create a website. A blog seemed a good way to showcase my work, especially as I linked it up to Facebook. But I felt a need for a website, as it always seems to impress potential clients more, and I had great fun creating my own website.

I find that the two sites have a different focus for me. The blog is an extension of my creativity, as it has developed its own rhythm, and helps me dissect my emerging ideas about my work. The website is a tool for showing my work, and focuses on details about the paintings.
My Site: http://www.fionastanbury.com/index.html

Fred said...

Very interesting information to use. Thank you for the post.

joshua lance said...

I have a blog I use for my website because it is dynamic like my art. I like that it stands out and is unconventional, yet I can write and post my art and make it an interesting experience for myself and the viewers. Plus blogging can get you found easier in the search engines. I get about 2-3000 visits per month. But you have to keep blogging on a regular basis. My site's at http://www.joshualance.com.