To put it bluntly: We have forgotten that the only reason we  have the joy of living our dreams is because someone else helped us do so. Think about it. The only reason you  receive an income from your goods and services is because of customers decided to purchase from you. In addition, friends, family and mentors have given you support, encouragement, and advice on personal development, customer service and the art of business. Is there anything you have accomplished that was not a direct result of someone else’s contribution? If you can think of one then I’d like to know.

The fact of the matter is that you can’t and there isn’t anything you have accomplished without the help of others. As a result, I think it is high time we bring back the art of the thank you note. I don’t mean a thank you text, email, or even phone call. I’m talking about the good ol’ pen in the hand, paper, envelope with stamp sealed by your DNA kind of a note. A thank you text, email or even phone call is nice and should be sent on occasion but a thank you note tells the person that you have taken the extra time to show them gratitude for what they provided you.  No matter how great you are , how unique or awesome in your own mind the lyric from Elton John’s “Good bye yellow brick road” still ring true, “There’s many like me to be found.” The fact that those who have helped you did so by sacrificing their time, effort and sometimes even money to help you succeed means they should be thanked with a little bit of your and my time. I’m not limiting this to only businesses but also thanking those who have helped you on a personal level. How many of your friends and family went out of their way to help you in your time of need? There have been plenty in mine so assuming we aren’t that different there have been some for you.

So take a few moments to create two columns: one for a list for your friends and one for a list of your business partners and vendors. Here are a few questions you can ask yourself to get your mind thinking. Just like everything else. The art of thanking people is a habit of remembering those who have helped you and letting them know that you appreciate them. ALSO, THIS IS IMPORTANT: Do not worry about how long it has been since they have helped you. Better late than never principle would apply to this.

1. Who are the family member(s) who went out of their way for you in a significant manner this past year?
2. Who was the highest paying customer last year or ever?
3. Who gave you encouragement that you really needed in the time you needed it?
4. Who gave you life changing advice?
5. Who gave a gift that was meaningful to you?
6. Who gave you life changing help?
7. Who has consistently showed you love throughout the years?
8. Who are you grateful for for personal reasons?
9. Who helped you buy your first home, business tool, or anything of great significance to you?
10. Apart from girlfriend, boyfriend, or family who do you know would be willing to help you at 3am?

There are a many more of questions that I can put up here but it should keep you going. In fact, IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTION YOU COULD ADD THEN COMMENT

People want to know that they are cared for and that they matter. This applies to your family member and friends. When you know that you are valued by another you become somewhat loyal to that person. In short, you build a stronger relationship with them. Just as this strengthens friends and family how much do you think this applies to customers and business relationships? A whole lot because the fact of the matter is you will pay more to people you trust and like than those who you don’t.

Personal Case Study:

I want to give you two personal stories of thank you notes.

This past Christmas I decided that I should thank the President of one of the colleges that I attended (10 years ago!) for taking the time to speak with me in his office a few times each semester. No I wasn’t there because I cheated on a test or any other mischief. I asked to speak with him about the my degree and things related to it. So many times though he would take the time to not only answer my questions but also ask about me and what I was doing. In addition, he would give me advice that really opened my eyes. How many students in colleges can say that. My guess….not many.

So I sent him a thank you note. And guess what. I got a response a week later. He appreciated it and the next time he is in the state we are going to get together.  By the way, Presidents of Colleges are good people to have in your phone. They are certainly networking hubs that we can all use.

Number 2

Last year I created the “To Have & To Hold” Breast Cancer photo shoot in which I took 12 ladies who were affected by breast cancer personally or sat along side a family member that did. These ladies were not models and the photo shoot went for 13 hours! Here is an email I got shortly after the shoot:

I just wanted to let you all know how grateful I am for all that you did yesterday (and preparing up to the day!) I cannot express how much it meant to me to be apart of the shoot. I was reminded how much the Lord has blessed me. I was so honored to meet each of you and all the women who were apart of the event.

I was telling Will, my husband, how blessed I was by the experience! What an honor and encouragement it was to be able to share my mom’s story. My mom’s life cannot be shared without sharing the Lord; it is times like yesterday that the Lord reminds me how he has used my mom’s life as a testimony of His grace, mercy, and to further his kingdom. THANK you!

I know that I can speak for all of the girls when I say that we could not have had a more smooth, relaxing, and FUN day. I do not think you will ever know how BLESSED we were by YOU! The time, energy, words of encouragement, running around, planning, gifts, sponsors, make-up artist, food, drinks, etc. the list could go on for pages… THANK YOU!!!

Anyway, I just wanted to tell you all again how GRATEFUL that I am to know you and to be apart! Get some much deserved REST!

God Bless,
Cat

For more information click here about “To Have & To Hold”

So take your pen out and start writing.

Twitter is an amazingly useful tool for gaining exposure. Each “tweet” has the potential to reach thousands of viewers and with the right content can result in invaluable connections and maybe even sales. Here are 3 ways to use Twitter to increase your exposure for your art:

1. Share your latest works of art – When you create something new, don’t just post a blog post or add it to your gallery pages, send out a tweet announcing you have a new piece and add a link to your blog post or gallery page. As for feedback. Your followers are interested in your art enough to read what you say, so ask them what they think.

2. Announce places you will be or places your art can be seen. You never know where your Twitter “followers” are. Some may be in your neighborhood or traveling to a location your art is available. Share those locations. In addition to telling people where to see it, ask people if they have seen it already – talk to your followers about their experiences with your art. Again you can write about these same things in your blog and link to your blog encouraging further discussion as an added bonus to the communication you’ve started.

3. feature past pieces – a great way to drum up new excitement for an older piece is simply by showing it. Through social media you can potentially gain new fans/followers every day. Not all of these new comers have seen all your work. Not to mention, some followers might like to be reminded of old favorites. Again ask for feedback, ask them what their favorite piece is – listen and then reply.

Try to avoid talking about things you’ve been selling if you aren’t talking about things you have to share. No one wants to sit in a room and listen to the holler about what others have, they want to know what they can have or offer their input and be heard. Keep that in mind when you’re using Twitter to promote your work. Your followers want to be a part of your success – include them in the adventure!

Creative minded people tend to think in big goal perspectives. We want to make something grand and have it appreciated by many. Sure, we’re happy with every little “yay”, but we’re artists because we want to share something that is inside of us…with the outside world.

To do this, however, sometimes we need to make ourselves accept small as a success. If a goal is to be a famous artist with fabulous pieces in a well known gallery, we might need to start with delightful little works of art in the local coffee shop. The key is to start.
Some places to consider when trying to find ways to show art:

• Coffee shops and Cafes
• Furniture stores
• Co-op galleries
• Specialty gift shops
• Church and community sales
• Donate work to charity and fund raising events you support
• Enter contests – not only for the exposure but for the experience

There are so many smaller arenas you can start with to help build your portfolio of exhibiting locations. Don’t focus only on the high end art gallery as your only venue for displaying your art. Allow yourself to share your art with the “common folk” on “common ground”. You never know where your next big collector is going to see your work. Give them that opportunity to find you.

Although artists like to think they create art for the love of it, if you’re looking to make a living as an artist, then you need to think like a marketer. On Mark G. Mitchell’s blog, How to be a Children’s Book Illustrator, he shares an interview with Jo Ann Miller of Serbin Communication’s Directory of Illustration. Jo Ann talks about how promoting and selling art comes down to fitting in with what the market wants.

Now keep in mind, there’s a big difference between letting the market drive your art and making your art fit into the market. You can have your own unique style, technique and charm while appealing to trends and market demands. Fitting into market trends doesn’t mean you need to fit in with the top trends of the “all American Suburban family” style either. It simply means, keep tabs on what is selling and try to pin point key features buyers are looking for and integrate that into your art.

Before you can create for trends, however, you need to audience. You need to know who you are targeting your art towards, figure out the product types associated with that audience and then you can watch for trends to follow.

“The children’s publishing market can pay very well but advertising and design generally pays better.”

This is true for a variety of art related markets. Not every artist is going to be the – thousands of dollars per original – success. It’s a good goal to strive for, but be willing to branch out into other areas with your art as a way to market yourself, build your fan base and broaden your exposure.

Read the full article: Should you advertise in an illustration directory?