Writing an Artist Blog

Important considerations when planning a blog are your audience, what you want to write about and why. Do you want to appeal to a broad audience, or a more specialist crowd? Is the blog for promotion, support or both?

Blogger is an easy-to-use, free way of obtaining an online presence to reach a wide audience. All media content can be easily posted, and there are a number of formatting templates to add, so your blog can be customised to a certain extent.

Buttons can be added so visitors can share your blog post with others using social media sites.

An Artists Talking blog can be a good option to speak directly to others in the art world about your projects, getting by and places you’ve been.

Although there are limited options for formatting, blogging about hot topics and commenting on other blogs you find interesting can start discussion amongst a specialist audience.

By filling in your ‘About Me’ details, visitors can contextualise your posts and contact you, meaning the first post doesn’t have to be an introduction, you can just launch into whatever springs to mind.

Follow artists you admire, and comment some of their blog posts. Blogging is very democratic, so artists are much more likely to reply if contacted this way, and your blog may be read and followed back.

Let your friends and family know that you’re writing a blog to receive instant support – never underestimate the PR power of a parent or best friend!

A blog can be however you like, to suit the way you are and how you work. The diary format, ease of use and media support mean that the blog can be a direct flow from mind to page – great to catalogue a fast flow of ideas!

If you're part of a group show, find it difficult to spare any time, or just want to play around with the format, consider a collaborative blog. Group blogging gives flexibility, makes content more energetic and encourages visitors to comment on the dialogue taking place.

The Art:21 blog is an excellent example of a large scale collaborative blog, with people contributing posts about the art scene around the world.

It's well worth a look, both for seeing how blogs can work at their best, and as a great source of information.

If process is important, think about how you’d explain what you do, or if you dislike writing, think about a visual blog, perhaps a drawing a day. You may want to write about other people’s work or review shows

If you’re working on a few different ideas, consider having a blog for each to be clear and help you organise your thoughts and inspirations. Think of each blog as a drawer in a filing cabinet of ideas!

Don’t be afraid to be opinionated – readers want to know you, and won’t listen long to a woolly virtual mumble. That said, don’t be overly critical or personal – anything you write could be out there for years!

Utilise pockets of time that might otherwise be wasted, like waiting for paint to dry or wax to melt, to plan your next blog entry. If you’re on the move and tech-savvy, post with your mobile, or go lo-fi with sketchpad and pen to post when you get to a computer.

Writing an Artist Blog

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Important considerations when planning a blog are your audience, what you want to write about and why. Do you want to appeal to a broad audience, or a more specialist crowd? Is the blog for promotion, support or both?

The Art:21 blog is an excellent example of a large scale collaborative blog, with people contributing posts about the art scene around the world.

It's well worth a look, both for seeing how blogs can work at their best, and as a great source of information.