Brooke Shaden

So many up and coming photographers these days have been born online. If you are one of these people I bet you know exactly what I’m talking about. Perhaps you mark it on your calendar, or keep it as a mental note, but you have a date in which you consider your artistic self to have been born via the internet. These people are those who got their start online. I 100% fall into that category. So I’d like to take some time to talk about the ins and outs of online marketing, or at least what I have learned about it.

I thought this was a great time to explore this subject as today (well, yesterday technically) happens to be my blogaversary! That’s right…it has been one year since I began a blog. I remember creating one so hesitantly, thinking that they are nothing but a waste of time and do no good for self promotion. However, I have found exactly the opposite. Through keeping this blog I have rediscovered my passion for writing and I have also found a way to reach out to others in a way that perhaps was not being expressly communicated through my photographs. Yes, I want my images to stand alone and to be open to interpretation, however, a photograph could never explain my views on self portraiture.

Blogging, along with using other social media sites such as flickr, deviantart, linkedin, facebook…the list could go on forever…is invaluable when it comes to self promotion. I think that the first step to being a formidable online presence is knowing how to sell yourself and knowing where your market is. For example, I would probably never venture into the world of linkedin to try and promote my photography because that is known for being a business venture site and is not heavy the creative aspects. However, flickr was perfect for my endeavors.

I got an email recently that said: “How does one become popular on flickr?”. What a loaded question. Flickr is just like any other site where people interact with each other. It is about getting out there, making sure your content is slapped in people’s faces. It is also about the amount of work you create. But most importantly, it is about the quality of work you create. I won’t pretend to not notice the phenomenon of the 365 project. The reason why it goes over so well is because people love a schedule. People love to know that if they check someone’s flickr page everyday, something new will be there to look at. It makes getting online and searching a person on flickr worthwhile. It is exciting to build momentum and see what that person will come up with the next day. This is one way that people successfully use flickr as a marketing tool. I think that beginning a 365 project is the fastest way to get noticed and to be followed. So uploading and/or updating frequently is key to gaining and keeping a following.

That said, updating too much can be a huge turnoff. Who wants to get on flickr and see that someone has uploaded 10 new photos all at once? It becomes too much of a burden to comment on and follow. There is no more suspense. I think that a cloud of mystery does an artist well in that respect. The same goes for facebook. I think many people will be in agreement that seeing 16 different status updates everyday can get tiresome and can also make someone lose interest in the updater pretty quickly. I try to keep a schedule for my updates. I update facebook more than flickr because of the wordy nature of the site. I try to upload three images to flickr each week, that is my personal goal.

Another way to use social media sites is to be as interactive as possible. For me personally, if I am reading a description under a photo and the only thing it says is Strobist info and a link to to buy prints, I feel so much less connected with the image in most cases. I feel like I am being sold something rather than shared something. People want to feel connected with the artist. Again, I think it is good to keep some mystery but sharing something about the image is a great way to connect. I love hearing why someone created something, or their thought process, etc.

So you might be reading this (if you’ve gotten to this point) and are thinking “Okay Brooke, this is all fine and good, but you still haven’t really told us how to get noticed”. Creating art regularly and uploading it will not get someone noticed. You have to get involved. To use flickr as an example, join groups, talk to people, email people, be genuinely engaged. The people that I remember at the end of the day are those who wrote a thoughtful comment or email, someone who actually seemed to care.

To use another example that I recently explored: I joined the site Blue Canvas (www.bluecanvas.com) after it was suggested to me. I perused the site and found that certain people are chosen to be featured in their magazine which is printed internationally and in all major bookstores. What a worthwhile cause, right? So I joined the site on a Monday and I said, “I am not going to quit this site until I get published”. I half believed myself and half not, but I put my best effort out there. I uploaded some images that I am fond of, I took my time writing thoughtful descriptions, and I commented everyone I could find on the site, but I did it genuinely. I tried to find something I could connect with in the art on that site. I submitted for their photo contest. Pretty soon I was getting comments back, I was getting friend requests and one week after I joined the site I was asked to do a 12-image spread with a long interview and short interview in their magazine as the featured artist, and be part of their 2011 calendar.

It is all about getting your name out there and forcing your art in people’s faces (in the nicest way possible, of course). And most importantly it is about creating interesting art that speaks to something new and unique. If people have already seen something like it, they won’t remember it. I hate falling into Business Brooke to write this, but that is the reality of the industry. There is a huge business aspect to all of this creative fun that we love so much. A successful photographer, especially one born online, would be fooling themselves to think that they do not have to be business savvy.

Here is a recap, what I find to be useful tools in online marketing:

1. Do your research. Figure out which social networking sites work for you and which ones you enjoy yourself.

2. Become involved in the site and engage with others.

3. Create interesting art that shows a different perspective on something.

4. Share something about yourself or your art that is more personal in nature.

5. Make sure people are seeing your art by putting your name out there in as many places as you can with a link to your images.

6. Update your site just enough, but not too much.

7. Create a standard for yourself. Don’t share your art for the sake of sharing.

8. Remember that being an artist is not the same as creating art. Being an artist requires a commitment to promotion if you want to call it your day job.

I know that a lot of this might be common sense, but I do get emails asking me about things of this nature so I thought I’d touch on it in a blog post. Perhaps I’ll write another after I reveal some new business-type things that are in the works for me. Thanks for reading!