Ths books tagline is “thriving as an artist without selling out.”

Now, I’m not an artist. This book didn’t resonate with me. It still had very solid information that will help those who want to find new ways of selling your art. In The Unconventional Guide to Art and Money, Zoe details how you can use the internet to build a network of supports so you can escape the starving artist mentality.

Chapter one: Introduction

It may see weird to focus so much on the introduction, but this really appealed to me as a freelance blogger. I don’t see my writing as art but I have still had a lot of trouble charging for what I love. I really appreciated how Zoe emphasised that your income isn’t a reflection of your talents.

Only your talent as a marketer is measured by the money you make. We’re going to redefine marketing as sharing your story with your people.

I love this quote and it really changed how I looked at marketing. Despite all my efforts online, I still feel like talking about myself too much is wrong. This definition has given me the confidence to share my story with the right people.

Chapter two: Strategy

Zoe used the analogy of viewing your website as an online studio. She focused on how to create a space that respects your creative personality.

Find your people.

Social media is a concept that most bloggers know a lot about. However, the analogy she used would also apply to those selling their art offline. She used the heart, mouth, limbs and ears analogy to convey how to connect via conversations.

  • Your heart is the home base of your online presence as an artist.
    e.g., your personal website or your Etsy shop
  • Your mouth is made up of the platforms where you connect and share your story with a global network.
    e.g., your blog, Twitter, or YouTube
  • Your limbs are the di!erent branches where you show and sell your work.
    e.g., your Flickr collection or your
    RedBubble store
  • Your ears are the places you go to learn what’s useful, new, or exciting in your areas of interest.
    e.g., Twitter, other artist blogs, or a Facebook group

She reiterates that this is a long term plan – which is something I also tell my clients. The concepts are really easy to understand and would really appeal to those trying to sell their art.

There was two other things that I enjoyed in this chapter:

  • Unlike other books targeting niche blogs, Zoe actually ensures that every example is related to the art niche.
  • She recommends using Social media as an anti marketing approach

Chapter three: Tactics

Put your work on display.

She did a comprehensive analysis of the different methods of showing your work. The main options were:

  • Personal website
  • Print on demand services
  • Online gallery services.

She discuss multiple options for each oneand included the pros, cons, financial considerations, tips and action plans. This may not necessarily provide the reader with a definite solution, but gives more than enough information to do their own research. It was really easy to understand.

Starting a blog

A lot of time is dedicated to this. As Chris writes a number of unconventional guides for different audiences, I would have appreciated a free general guide to setting up a blog so I dont have to read similar information repeated. I understand that I’m different in reading everything that Chris releases, and that his target audience would really appreciate the very specific examples given.

Chapter four: putting it all together

Creation + interaction= the value of social media

In this chapter, she talks about:

  • Spreading the news
  • Launching your site
  • Getting paid
  • Expanding your empire
  • Membership site

These were already topics that I was quite familiar with but I can see how it would be so useful for my artist friends. They might research blogging and social media, but not advanced web monetization and online public relations.

My Verdict:

If you are an artist struggling to understand social media, this book is a must read. There is no book that could explain the concepts better than in Art and Money. However I wouldn’t recommend buying this just because you are a fan of Chris. It is excellent quality but isn’t relevant to non artists and would most likely cover information you already know.

Click here to buy it today