Red Dog News

I have been publishing email newsletters for more than 10 years, and I have learned there are a few tips to gain great “opens” and “click-through” rates.

Open rates are statistics that track the percentage of readers who open your newsletter, as opposed to the number of people who are sent the newsletter (campaign). In regard to click-through rates, those are compiled by tracking the number of times a link in your campaign is clicked on to take the reader to a destination away from the newsletter.

At the present time, the Red Dog News campaign enjoys an open rate of 50+%, and a click-through rate of 25+%, which are very high rates in comparison to industry standards. Based on a variety of resources, the average open and click-through rates of similar campaigns in the RDN categories (Arts/Marketing) are 32.4% and 2.8%, respectively. The main reason for the high rates of RDN is that it is in its fifth year of publication and I have periodically ran surveys to capture information about what readers want.

This will bring us to the 10 Newsletter Tips (according to no one else but me…) that may help your enewsletter achieve legendary status. We can only hope! (note: some things may be obvious, but it’s best to start at the beginning)

1. Target a niche area in your market first to build recognition.
2. Choose subjects for your newsletter that pertain only to that niche.
3. Invite everyone you know to take a look at your great product.
4. Make sure you have a “Please Forward” link in your campaign.
5. Create a “Sign-Up” link.
6. Be sure to have subject lines that are compelling.
7. Maintain sources (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) that can be utilized to drive potential subscribers to your sign-up form.
8. Use your name or a recognizable term in your subject line.
9. Don’t stray from your original message.
10. Always thank your readers for choosing to subscribe to your campaign.
Bonus Tip: Just like Rome wasn’t built in a day, don’t expect readers to your newsletter to sign up by the multitudes. It takes a while for your great product to gain traction. Red Dog News has been in publication for more than five years, and its still gaining traction.

Each of these suggestions are based on a lot of reading and research on my part and are offered to use as guidelines in creating a great campaign.

Now, go out and get some great statistics!

As an reviewer, editor, publisher, etc., one of the questions that people ask me the most is “How do I get people to come to my site?” It’s a good question, and one that should not be overlooked when putting up a site, whether such a site is going to be used for promotion, publicity, sales, or whatever.

It’s usually, however, not the first thing one thinks of when making the decision to go “cyber.” Without going into a lot of detail about what it takes to build a good site so that “when it’s built they will come,” in this post I will just deal with the acquisition of millions and millions of potential clients, buyers, etc.

Along with many other considerations, one of the things that should be near the top of your site-building list is how are you going to bring people to your site. No matter whether or not you are an artist, musician, home builder, pet sitter, or the like, you do need to know how to bring people to your site.

OK. I’ve done the set-up, now for the answer to the question: You simply ask them. That’s right! I have used the time-worn adage many times over the years that “no one knows unless you tell them.”

Here is a short (and partial) list of how you can do that:
• Collect business cards everywhere you go
• Ask people to get in touch with you and save that email
• Download a list of your contacts from your email provider

Once you have a group of names saved you need to send those people a note and tell them about your incredible new site, where they will be amazed by the design and the products you have for sale.

The way I have built lists over the years is to use an email service provider (ESP). I have used a few, but the one I am using at present is Benchmark. They provide me with great statistics, and are fairly inexpensive. But you do need to do your homework. The best way to do that is to ask your friends what they are using.

If you are a WordPress user you can use one of the many free services that allow you to send small emails to a select group of people. That way you can announce your site, and let them know that it might very well save their life (not likely) and/or add the their emotional well-being (hardly) if they subscribe to your posts of your newsletter.

A couple of months ago, as I was in the process of judging the Color It Red 2013 photography contest, I became aware that one of the contestants had a website that was lacking in “presence.”

When I contacted that person, Dona Bollard (the eventual winner of Color It Red 2013, image left), I soon realized that she was one of those artists who had been doing a very rare thing these days: she had been out “on the road” doing shows and street fairs… and actually selling her work. As with many of us, we can spend so much time working on making money and moving our “product” that our Internet presence begins to look old and faded.

After several back-and-forth email discussions I agreed to work with her on bringing her site into the 21st century. Over the course of the next few months I will do a few posts on our progress. I say “our” because it will be a collective pursuit, as I believe it should be.

When I work with someone on their site I don’t want it to be something that I will be taking care of for a long time. I look forward to the time when I can put my hands behind my back and walk away, with the knowledge that the person with whom I am working will be able to take over. Sure, I will be available for intermittent consultations, but the bulk of the work moving forward will the responsibility of the site owner.

As it turned out for Dona, the person who had created and maintained her site was no longer around and she had no idea how to work on her site. Long story short, we decided to move her site from where it was to a host I work with, GoDaddy. Their customer service has been impeccable for the many years I have been associated with them.

It took a couple of weeks to move her URL to the new host, but once that was done, I was ready to get to work on the back-end. In the next post on this subject I will discuss what needs to be done in order to get “all the ducks in a row,” as far as setting up or upgrading your site.

As I mentioned in Red Dog News #105, me, Paula Scott, Doran Smith, and my studio partner, Pat Berrett (pictured below, left to right) took a day off and went on a day-trip to Chaco Canyon. I had never been there and it was on my New Mexico Bucket List of places to see.

It was a magical day for all of us. We mainly spent time at Pueblo Bonito (below, artist rendering of how the site may have looked based on a variety of resources), the main living area of the National Historical site, where Pueblo peoples lived from 850-1250 A.D. We did some hiking, fighting very high winds, picture taking, and regular tourist stuff.

The picture below is of me looking out over the current remains of Pueblo Bonito (photograph by Pat Berrett). It is rather breath-taking to imagine how life may have been for these high plateau, desert dwellers. I am somewhere on the wall in the center of the above picture above. You can read more about Chaco Canyon, here.

There is no way you can tell, by the picture, how hard the wind was blowing that day. Aside from the wind, the day was absolutely perfect. We hiked around for several hours, drove around for a couple more then headed back to Albuquerque. On the way back we did stop for dinner in Cuba (New Mexico, that is!) at Bruno’s, which is a great place to experience true New Mexico food: hot and very tasty. The margueritas weren’t bad, either.

You can click on the thumbnails below to see additional images from our day trip to Chaco Canyon:

When was the last time you got away? Maybe, just maybe it is time for that day-trip you’ve been thinking about.

Red Dog News Market Wise Photographics Blog series #3: The second thing you need to be aware of when you decide to find a “home” on the Internet.

If you have spent the last week gathering a list or file of your family friends, and other people who have either contacted you or that you know… you are getting closer to finding a home for your photography on the web.

See, it wasn’t that difficult was it? It just took some time. That will be about the only expense you will incur on your journey to Internet stardom, aside from hosting charges, which we will visit a bit down the road.

Now, we are going to talk for a few minutes about deciding what to actually “name” your site. There are a few factors to weigh before you think of something real cute that you may want to name your site. Wait! Don’t get your payment card out yet. Naming your site should take a bit of serious thought and some research. You should try to think of a name that can be readily identified with you or your product; this will be what you will use to build your brand.

If, for some reason you are still doubting about whether or not you want to be connected, read the following example.

A friend of mine recently completed a series of paintings. After she had the paintings professionally photographed, she placed one of the images on her Facebook page. Within an hour the painting was sold. Had she not had that avenue, it would have probably taken her months to sell it. Granted, she had already built her list, selected her URL (domain) name, and begun the “branding process.” (we’ll get into social media much later) 

It took this artist about a year to get to this stage, most of it being planned out ahead of time. It does work much better if you can work with some sort of outline.

If you are working with your own, personally created, items, it could be best to title your site using your name or some derivative: first/last, first/middle initial/last; last/topic.

Examples using my name:
• www.timothyanderson.com
• www.timothybanderson.com
• www.andersonartworks.com
• www.andersonphotography.com
• www. andersonphotoarts.com

It is a very simple thing to do to go to a site like GoDaddy and search for your domain name.

You may want to consult with a few of your friends and some selected family members about the actual name. It may not be rocket science, but it is something that will stay with for quite a while, so whatever the amount of effort you put into the naming process the better it should work out for you.

If any of you have any questions or considerations about this process, let me know. Get out that notebook, tablet, lined yellow pad, etc., and get going!

The next topic will be about preparing your work for Internet presence.

Red Dog News Market Wise Photographics Blog series #2: The very first thing you need to be aware of when you decide to find a “home” on the Internet.

If you have decided that you want to do “something” with the work you have created, there is no other efficient way to do this in the 21^st Century than by being on the Internet. Regardless of the size of your projected photography or any creative business or how high you may want to aim your success arrow, you have to be on the Web.

Actually there are two things: your email list and your URL (unified resource locator). We’ll discuss that in the future.

The very first moment you think about getting your work on the Web, you should already be thinking about how you are going to announce your presence on the Internet. How are you going to draw viewers in to look and to purchase your wonderful art?

This appears to be a troublesome step for most people. Many will wonder, who do I know that would want to see work on my site? This is not uncommon.

While many people are stumped as to how they can even begin to build a list, it is rather easy. All you need to do is go to your email and make a list of who you are communicating with through emails. Most email providers make it even easier than that. They provide a method for you to export your “contact” list to a file on your computer. The most common method is by using a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. If this is something about which you know nothing I am sure one of your friends will be happy to assist you.

Don’t be shy about asking your friends and family if they would like to be on your list. You can at least send them one message. If they no longer want to be on the list, they can unsubscribe. The one thing you really don’t want to do is buy or rent a list.

There are many services that would just love to sell you one of their “targeted” lists. The problem is, however, that you don’t know these people and they certainly don’t know you. You will have a better chance of success contacting people you know.

If you are still doubting the necessity of maintaining a presence on the Web, just read about a photographer and how he got to be “in” the movies.

One of the best examples I can think of to better illustrate this point is the case of professional photographer, Julio Hardy. In 2011, Hardy had been doing work on a portfolio of a remote school on the border of Argentina and Bolivia, at 15,000 feet high. That portfolio was seen online by producer David Heyman, who was going to be working on a new George Clooney/Sandra Bullock movie, Gravity. As a result of that event, Julio was contacted and contracted to shoot stills for the movie. They had done a search for a “fine art/reportage” photographer.

“Finally, I would like to stress that having a website and being present on the Internet, was indeed the factor that allowed me to get contacted by the filmmakers.” Julio Hardy

So, start building your list. In the next post we will discuss deciding on a name for your site.

Red Dog News Market Wise Photographics Blog series #1

It’s a new year. Is it a new you? Is it a new business year for you? Is it time for you to take your art form to the Web? Is it not even a question of a “New Year’s Resolution” this time?

The purpose of this new weekly blog series, Market Wise Photographics, is to enable you to be able to place your artistic creations on the Web. This will not be a tech-oriented, plug this in here, then plug that in over there process. We will start at the beginning, assuming you either have no presence on the Internet, or have some, but want to be more serious about the whole process.

At this time I will offer a little bit about me, because if you choose to participate in this series we will be in this together.

I have been involved in the creative arts, including painting, music (Motley Crüe, below), photography, theater, etc., for more than 40-years. I have photographed celebrities in a wide variety of artistic pursuits, managed artists, and owned and managed galleries, as well as published a photography magazine.

Presently, I review photographic portfolios for a wide range of photography organizations all over the world, as well as build simple websites to get artists going on the Web. I continue to photograph, and participate in teaching workshops.

Red Dog News has been in publication as an online e-zine or newsletter for more than five-years. During that time I received many requests for help in assisting artists to bring their work to the Internet.

You will notice that throughout this series I will use the terms artist and photographer interchangeably. I believe that no matter your creative pursuit you are an artist. Most of the discussion in this series will be targeted to artists as a general field.

Whether you are a painter, sculptor, illustrator, photographer, writer, or cinematographer: the tools will be the same. The overall results will be the same. The only reason I have chosen to title the series Market Wise Photographics, is because this is a photography-based site, and I have to maintain my SEO- (search engine optimization) specific interests, which we will get into much later.
         

Are you ready to go? Are you ready to learn what it takes to have and maintain a successful presence on Internet? Alrighty then… see you next week with the very first thing you will need to do.

Beginning with the next issue of Red Dog News (issue 100!), which will be out January 11, we will begin a new series aimed at making us all more aware of what we need to do in order to have a more efficient visual marketing presence. we will be discussing many things, including (not necessarily in order):
• Preparation for “World Domination” (Ok… maybe not the WHOLE world)
• Platform choices
• Production planning
• Hire out or DIY
• Artful inclusion
• Affiliations
• To blog or not….

This should be a good series. I am hoping for a lot of input and questions. I will probably learn just as much as you!