Artfire Daily Collection

"Spiraling Up" by Primal Painter

I've felt strangely verbally stifled for the past few days.   I think it has to do with the creative process kicking in and that seems to negate the desire to do computer related left brain kind of things.  Creativity is very nonverbal for me, it's abstract and in my head,  my eyes, and my hands and doesn't have much of anything to do with words and certainly not links and other crapola. Actually, when I'm embroiled in a creative frenzy, the computer seems like a chore and me no likey chores. 

Also, it's spring for cryin' out loud!  I have a garden to get ready to plant, phlox to transplant, red tipped photinias and Heavenly Bamboo to plant, yard to mow, flower beds to clean up.....Bizzeee bizzeee bizzeee.

I love my tall purple phlox.  They get green early, stay green late, have beautiful aromatic flowers that last a long time, and spread like crazy.  I transplant some every year to different parts of the yard.  I may have to name my place Phloxville....Welcome to Phloxville, Where Purple Rules....  (Wow, strange mental meanderings, maybe I should have stuck with the verbal stiflement! lol)  Did I mention the smell of the lilac bushes that's permeating everything right now?  How could I possibly focus on computer stuff with that wonderful aroma in the air?

 

Have you heard about Artfire's Daily Collection email they're sending out....daily?  It's pretty cool, actually.  You have to sign up to receive it (there's a button at the top right of this post where you can do that) and you'll be assigned a number.  With each Daily Collection, they're awarding the person with the matching number a $100 gift certificate to spend in any Pro shop of their choice.  It's pretty good odds, I'm thinking

If you're a collection maker, now would be the time to get one made.  Think of the exposure if yours got chosen for the daily email.  Wow!  With Artfire, there's nothing saying you can't include your own items as opposed to Etsy where it's frowned on.  I haven't been there long enough to know if people actually include their own things very often, but I think it's a great idea.

Here's a cool Artfire Collection put together by Richard from Prankearts.  It's called 'Blue Dreams"

Blue Dreams

Curated By: Prankearts

ArtFire.com

Indie Design

Pretty isn't it!  I love blue!  Thanks to Richard from Prankearts.  Be sure to check out his Artfire Studio, he does some really beautiful impressionistic style paintings.

Later,

Laurie

Artfire's 45 Day Success Guide - Days 11 and 12

"Metamorphosis" by Primal Painter

I'm still  working on Artfire's 45 Day Success Guide. I've gotten several energy art prints listed in my Artfire Studio,  and also in my Etsy Shop, but I'm still short of having the recommended number of 40 things listed according to day nine of the guide .......40!!! Holy cow, that's alot.  I'm starting to think that a big key for success is having a high number of things  listed.

I've managed to get 21 things listed, so that'll have to be good enough for now.  It takes quite a bit of time to list things I've noticed, even on Artfire.  Having duplicate listings on Etsy requires that the titles and descriptions be 30% different from each other or google will ignore one or the other of the listings.  So for those of us who have shops in both places, give one of those duplicate listings a different title, and write a new first paragraph.  30% is quite a bit more than I was expecting to have to change. Gah!

Also, something else I discovered, on Artfire if applicable, list multiples for your items.  Apparently, when you re-list an item, all of those links and SEO that have built up over time disappear and  you have to start over from scratch.  So listing multiples will keep your links alive for a long time, and that's a good thing. I'm wondering if frequent re-listing on Etsy loses your links and that's why google search percentages can be lower on Etsy. Re-listing helps with on-site category searches, though, but I'm starting to be suspicious that the Etsy re-listing strategy isn't google friendly. 

I'm on day 12 now, although I groan loudly at the requirements for social media and may not do it.  For me, twitter is easier than facebook, just a quick little blurb and you're out.  Artfire and Etsy both make it easy to do. Facebook seems like a popularity contest that I'm losing......and I don't like to lose! 

At first when I was doing the facebook thing, I was spending way too much time on there, commenting, shout outs, link love, and I got a ridiculously high number of shop views and hearts.  No sales, though, and I was spending quite a bit of time there for no sales....time that I should have spent in the studio.  Plus, you have to keep up the effort or you'll lose people's interest.  It can turn into an addiction, I think.   I understand how it would be beneficial though, and I'll probably try it again at some point.  

Now Etsy is starting to be more like facebook every day!  Have you noticed that now there are "like" buttons on your etsy pages? Geeze..... 

Here's a little summary of days 11 and 12:

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Day 11


Your Daily Checklist

Five New Products listed in your ArtFire Studio  (good grief!)
Three Posts on the ArtFire community Forums   (I'll try....)
Three Tweets sent from your Twitter Account   (I can do that.....)
Two Posts on your Facebook Fanpage Wall    (Oh maaaannn, nobody will even notice)
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Day 12
Social Media Day Two

We encourage every seller to maintain both their ArtFire blog and an offsite blog (with different material). While this may seem overwhelming, but committing to two blog posts a week (one on each blog), will provide you with the benefits of being an active blogger and keep your readers coming back as long as you post regularly.

(Two blog posts a week, one on each,  that doesn't sound too bad......)
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Your Daily Checklist

Three Posts on the ArtFire community Forums (We'll see...)
Five Tweets sent from your Twitter Account   (5 tweets now?  Gah!)
Two Posts on your Facebook Fanpage Wall   (noooooo)
One Blog post on your offsite Blog  (Done!)
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If you go to the Success Guide  there are all kinds of helpful links for each day plus more in depth  suggestions.

Well I'm off to tweet something,  maybe I'll post something in the forums, (I'm not sure about that), and I may drag myself kicking and screaming to facebook.  I think I'm nervous about getting addicted to the popularity aspect and then feeling up or down based on the number of comments, impressions, likes....  I even read somewhere that some people are getting facebook depression because they aren't getting noticed like some of their peers.  That saddens me.....

My success at following the success guide doesn't seem to be too successful so far!

Have an awesome day!

Laurie

Saturday Laughs

I've decided that today is a day for funny videos.  (Not one business link or business keyword in sight! Yay!)  Uh, can you tell I've acquired a bad attitude towards the whole internet marketing thing?  Maaann, so unfulfilling and just  a total drag.  I'm afraid spring and summer weather will keep me away from the computer quite a bit.

My day started off by walking outside barefoot to take in this glorious sunny warm weather, and promptly stepping in chicken poop. Gah!  So I thought, maybe some funny animal videos are what's called for.

Monkeys are so cool.   I mean, wouldn't it be fun to live and swing in the trees!?  On the flip side,  I don't think it would be that fun to throw poop at each other.  Although, maybeeee... (staring off into space imagining myself throwing my own poop at someone........EWWWWWW!)   Yeah, that would be gross, just had to make sure.

Now dogs, how awesome would it be to have the life of a pampered dog!  They've got it going on and I  like that they can be mortal enemies with the neighbor dogs one day, then do a little butt sniffing and wa la! truce!  Too bad humans couldn't solve their differences that way....(staring into space imagining feuding humans bending over to sniff each other's butts.... ewwwwwww!)  LOL, Ok, maybe not, just had to make sure...

Kitties, how I would love to be a kitty, sleepin' all day, oh yeah!  Sometimes I see our kitties at the neighbors house, getting fed special treats no doubt.  They come around when they want to and go off on big adventures whenever they feel like it.  And in the spirit of a poop/butt oriented post, they're neat and clean and bury their poop. 

I remember when we first got our pygmy goats, they were about eye level with the chickens at the time.  I was out in the shed petting them, and our cat Sugar comes creeping up to check it out.  One of the goats took a step towards her and she sprang about two feet straight up in the air, held there for a second, and somehow projected herself sideways about 4 feet!  It was like watching the real life version of that cartoon with Snagglepuss.  Remember this?  "Heavens to Murgatroid! Exit, Stage Left!" lol....I'm probably the only one old enough to remember that cartoon....Maaaann!
Have an awesome Saturday!

Laurie

My New Strategy

"The Beginning" Digital Abstract Energy Art by Primal Painter

I'm going to start putting the new things that I've listed on Artfire here in my blog complete with links, blah blah blah, all that SEO stuff.  I've decided I really need to make a push to generate sales because I'm tired of treading water (oh and I'm broke).

For someone who's really laid back, I can be very competitive.  I seem to have lost that competitive oomph for the last few years, but there was a time when it was a driving force for me.  Of course, after achieving the goal, I would get bored and have to start from the bottom with something else.  Hopefully that won't happen this time, but yesterday, I was excited to feel  that little defiant surge of "if other people can make x amount of dollars per month, so can I" attitude.

There are two main things I'm going to do.  First, I'm developing new products. The funky art pendants which I'm making with mini wallet sized prints of my digital energy art are really cool and affordable.  Plus, I'm incorporating my prints into ready to hang wall art.  I'm not talking frames and mats, I'm talking airbrushed embellished wood "mats" to enhance the presentation of the print in an affordable way. 

I don't know about other people, but I'd be more inclined to buy prints that are ready to hang as opposed  to matting and framing them myself.   I'm thinking that presenting them differently from the other prints out there might set mine apart.

Second, I've decided I'm going to try Artfire's 45 Day Success Guide.  I'm not the most self-disciplined person in the world, so I thought maybe if I announce that I'm going to do it, I'll actually stick to it.  Gee, wouldn't that be novel! 

The first week is mostly getting your shop set up and a getting a few things listed, so I got to jump to day 8 which is about writing in the provided blog.  (Really?  Another blog? Oh maaannn.....) Actually, they say that if nothing else, just write an introduction post about yourself and your artwork,  plus include a link to your main blog, so I guess I can do that. 

Melinda, from Inspiration Earth did a feature on me a few weeks ago, and I was thinking (with her permission, of course) that I would use excerpts from that interview as my introductory post, providing links to her blog and  her Artfire shop  Inspiration-Earth.  Melinda's questions were so insightful and thought provoking for me, she really was the trigger for me pulling together my intentions into written form. Thanks Melinda!

Another important thing that was mentioned in this success guide, is how important it is to get as many products listed as soon as possible.  That way, your products will be indexed by google much faster and will show up in a google search.  This is different from the Etsy strategy of listing one thing here and one thing there in a futile effort to be seen at the top of the listings (for a whole, what? 5 minutes if that?)

Other important strategies, tweet your listing, post a link to your new listing on facebook, put a link on your blog, add it to stumbleupon, kaboodle, and something new called pinterest.  I haven't actually checked out pinterest yet, but I've started doing the other things.  Oh and post in the forums three times a day. I tried that yesterday and got Nuthin'...no views, no nuthin'!

So we'll see how it goes.  Such a beautiful day today, maybe I should wait to start everything tomorrow.....oh nooooo, get a grip, Laurie, remember the word "BROKE."

Have an awesome day!

Later,

Laurie

Proud To Be A Purple Lover

Purple Passion

Curated By: Prankearts

ArtFire.com

My wall sculpture "Psychedelic Starburst" was included in this awesome  Artfire Collection called "Purple Passion", curated by Prankearts.  Be sure to check out Prankearts studio on Artfire, he has some really cool paintings.

Handmade Gifts



"Psychedelic Startburst" A Wall Sculpture by Primal Painter

I really love purple, I just can't help it!  I seem to include purple in practically everything I do.  Last year, I thought I would paint the trim, the shutters and the porch of the house in some nice grown up colors.  I did the railing on the porch with sage and cream which looked pretty and tasteful on this really nice house I saw in town, so I thought it  might work for me.

When I was finished, I felt so......ugh.  For the first couple of days, I looked at these colors with skepticism every time I went outside, but by the third day I noticed that I was averting my eyes whenever I walked up the porch steps.   Well, that's not a good sign!  By the fourth day, when I would approach my "tastefully" painted porch railings, I'd start dragging my feet on the ground like they weighed 1,000 pounds and would actually moan and groan and throw my hands in the air.  These are not good signs!

So I hightailed it to the paint store, got a gorgeous purple, dark teal, and cerulean blue and proceeded to paint everything as bright as possible.   Oh yeah, that's better!!  My friends think I need a painting intervention, but even they agree that sage and cream just aren't me.   I'm sure my neighbors raised some eyebrows, but I'm used to that by now, as a matter of fact, sometimes I do things just to raise those eyebrows!

I painted my kitchen in some wild oranges and reds, which left some of my visitors speechless, (my kitchen glows when the light shines through the windows) but thought, well I'll paint my dining room in some neutral normal color to balance it out.  I don't even know how it happened exactly, but somehow, I ended up with a fuschia, maroon, orange and red pyramid on my wall. Seriously, I don't even know how it happened, I went into a color trance of some kind....

I might as well face it, me and neutral tasteful colors just don't go together.  I'm starting to become suspicious that I may never grow up.  Oh well, colors that make me go "Wheee!" are better than colors that make me go "ughhhhh" so to all those people with their raised eyebrows.......Take That!!!

Maybe I'll put up some pictures after I tackle spring cleaning.  Oh noooooo, spring cleeaaanning!!!!!!

I won't think about that right now.

Have a great day!

Laurie

An Artfire Collection called "I Love Abstract Art"

"The Portal" by Primal Painter

I have alot to do today, but I was excited that one of my new digital energy art prints was featured in a collection curated by AsktheMoon from Artfire, so I wanted to share it.

I Love Abstract Art

Curated By: AskTheMoon

ArtFire.com

I'm off to enjoy a beautiful 80 degree day!  I've started working on my art pendants and I got a new set of prints from adoramapix yesterday, so lots of work to do.

Have an awesome Sunday!

Laurie

Fine Art Paintings

Happy April Fools Day!

Oh.....my......Gawd!!!!!! On Thursday, I'm singing the praises of my talented daughter Andi for making a youtube video of my artwork, and today....well.....let's just say I'm singing a different tune......

So I get a text message that says something along the lines of "OMG, I was driving down the road and both my front tires fell off my car and now I'm stranded on the side of the road"!  I read this, squealed in a high pitched tone that possibly only the dogs could hear, and immediately called her back.

"Oh my Gawd, OH MY GAWD, oh my Gawd!  Are you ok?  Where's your car?  What are we going to do?  Is there someone there you can call?  Can the tires be put back on?  Was there alot of damage?  Was anyone hurt?"  She says, "My car is on the side of the road, my boyfriend came to pick me up and I don't know how I'm going to get my car home.  I'm pretty sure the damage is bad and the tires can't be put back on"

So after much flailing of arms, spinning around in circles, squealing, shrieking and scaring the dogs, she finally says "April Foools"!  Well you little brat.....Oh my Gawd, YOU LITTLE BRAT!! 

All I can say is, payback is a bitch, Andi.....payback is a bitch!!  Although this could possibly be my payback for playing April Fools jokes on her in the past.  The best one that comes to mind was when I made a stuffy man out of our friend Aaron's clothes, complete with his signature hat, and put it in her bed face down with the feet hanging off the end.   She came home from school and I said "So Aaron showed up here drunker than a skunk and is passed out in your bed."

She runs in there to take a look, flies back out in the living room in a rage, screeching and carrying on, just furious and throwing a hardcore temper tantrum.   It was one of the only times I've heard her use the "f" word.  (heehee)  I told her to go wake him up and kick him out of her bed, so she goes in there and yanks the blanket off, pulls off his hat, and smacks him in his (stuffy) head.  Heheeee!

I guess she got her April Fools mentality from me, as I've pulled a few stuffy men practical jokes in my time.

So did anyone else get April Fooled today?

Have a good April Fools Day, but don't give your mother a heart attack.

Laurie