I started offering online encaustic classes and they’ve been very popular, but I know I should be thinking bigger. I share the info on FB, Twitter and LinkedIn and also list on SeekYourCourse.com. Where and how can I get more exposure?

– Painter, Miami, FL

For every creative, the two biggest challenges are communicating value, i.e. making it clear to potential clients/students/collectors exactly how they will benefit from what you have to offer, and most importantly, establishing yourself as a trustworthy, expert authority in your particular field.

You should definitely enlist the help of other artists who blog. Ask former students to write about their experience and include images of the work they created using your teaching techniques.

Chances are, most of your enrollment will come by word of mouth. This is why getting other artists to write about your classes is so important. In fancy marketing terms, it’s called “third-party validation.”

It’s also the reason you should be including testimonials by past students on your website, complete with photos of the artists who wrote them and links back to their websites. Not only does this help build your credibility as an artist and a teacher, it’s a great way to connect and give back to artists who have supported you by taking your classes.

While running a contest or listing your classes on other on-line course websites isn’t necessarily a bad idea, offering the class to targeted art bloggers in exchange for a review on their blog would likely be a more worthwhile step. In fact, why not go one step further and organize a “blog tour,” where you appear as a guest blogger on several blogs over the course of several weeks, sharing a specific technique from each of your course offerings?

And last, but not least, how are you using your own blog as a platform to establish yourself as an authority in your field? Are you creating free content in the form of videos, tutorials, or advice about the technique on a regular basis? What can you create and distribute—for free—that sets you apart and establishes you as a “go to” person for this specific technique?

It might seem counter intuitive to give away information for free, but in fact this goes a long way towards gaining the trust of your readers and marketing your expertise. Try not to think of the gesture as giving away your best secrets. Instead, think of it as a way to gain trust, which is ultimately what you’ll need to rely on to gain new students.

Send your questions to Kesha:
freshartinternational@gmail.com
Subject Line: Fresh Rx