As many of you know, last March we launched a grassroots artwork discovery and sharing service called Artwork Reveal. (Here’s the original post, if you want the full details.)
The basic idea behind Artwork Reveal is simple. . . anyone interested in discovering new artwork can sign up and receive monthly issues in their inbox featuring recent artwork by a wide variety of artists.
So far, we’ve sent out 10 issues, and without any kind of advertising or marketing (besides mentioning it on EE) our subscriber list has grown from 521 to 635. We also see consistent numbers of “opens” and “clicks” on every issue we send out—so we think it’s high time that we take the next step. :)
Here are our goals for the coming year:
In 2016, we plan to grow the Artwork Reveal email list to 2000+ subscribers, focusing as much as possible on art buyers (both new and established), as well as art industry leaders, gallery owners, interior designers, and anyone else who has influence in the art community or a desire to purchase original works.
We’ve asked EmptyEasel artists to submit artwork to be included in Artwork Reveal before, and we’ll continue to do that. In fact, we’d love to have as many EE artists participate as possible, and since space is always limited in our monthly issues, we’ll be focusing on the following three things:
1. A new Artwork Reveal website
Right now we have a few sign-up locations to join Artwork Reveal, but no official website. I’ll be working building the website in January, which will include easy ways to join Artwork Reveal either as an artist or a collector, or both.
2. Segmenting our list and adding more issues/month
As new subscribers join Artwork Reveal, we’ll ask them to choose a few types of artwork they’re especially interested in seeing. Over time, when enough subscribers show interest in particular categories, we’ll set up a monthly issue just for that type of artwork.
Naturally, each additional issue per month will give more artists a chance to show their work, AND create a better “match” between buyers and artists. Definitely a win-win in my book. :)
3. Using advertising to grow our list, with your help
The more interested subscribers we have, the more we’ll be able to help our participating artists reach their intended audience. So, last (but not least!) we’ll definitely be advertising Artwork Reveal in a few different ways, including paid ads, social sharing, and whatever else we can come up with.
Any artists who’d like to contribute monetarily to our advertising fund will receive special placement or other perks yet to be determined (I’ll have a lot more information on that in January, but my idea at this point is to spread out the financial commitment so that no one person contributes more than $25.)
If you want to be involved in Artwork Reveal, but not financially, that’s OK! We’ll be looking for ambassadors and supporters everywhere to help spread the word, and contributing is simply an extra option—not a requirement.
There’s a lot left to be figured out, so stay tuned for more announcements and information coming soon. . . 2016 is going to be a great year!
PS, Artwork Reveal is already accepting new artwork submissions for the first quarter of 2016. Every genre, subject, and medium will be considered, and there is no cost to participate or be featured.
To apply, please email ArtworkReveal@gmail.com up to three images of your artwork, along with a link to your online portfolio, art website, or social media profile page. We are not currently accepting written submissions or artist bios—only your artwork is being considered.
Images should be at least 600px wide, and should highlight your strengths as an artist. Selected artists will be featured in at least one of our monthly email issues from January through March, 2016.
If you’re interested, you can also find previous issues of Artwork Reveal here.
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