I am excited about ArtLicensingShow.com (ALSC). I had a manufacturer find me through the site
already! I didn’t do a thing other than join. It is a brand NEW only-one-of-its-kind website for everyone in the art licensing business. I asked the Founder and CEO Cherish Flieder to tell us about what is new and exciting about ALSC.
What’s New?
ArtLicensingShow.com is fully up-and-running. We have heard many stories of artists and agents connecting, working on projects together and signing deals! It’s wonderful to hear that the Art Directors/Manufacturers/Licensee Companies are enjoying using the site to see art and it is a huge relief to artists as well. Now licensors can take back control of who exactly is seeing their art licensing portfolios online. (Most of the deals are top secret, so we can’t tell you details until the products are on the market next year.)
This summer, I flew all over the country to New York (Stationery Show/Surtex), Las Vegas (Licensing Expo) and Atlanta (Summer Gift Mart) connecting with members and potential members of the site. There was a very high level of enthusiasm in the air and we are very optimistic for things to come! Members are giving very useful feedback and are an important part of making this website an excellent place to network and show art online. Art Directors tell us that they are eager to see more art on the site from a variety of art and photography styles!
Our development team continues to develop the features of the site to run smoothly and securely in the background. Since we launched, we have added a vetting process for new Artists/Agents and Art Directors/Manufacturers/Licensee Companies to join the site. It’s a difficult thing to do sometimes, but adding this step in the registration process actually has attracted a more professional level of Artist/Agent as well as Licensee Companies. Overall, we are very happy with the progress.
We are getting social…
Art Licensing Show is now on Pinterest & Instagram!
In effort to give our members more opportunities to get their names out there, we have decided to partner with these highly visual social media platforms.
Art Directors are always using these networks to look for art. They can find out about a new artist they like on Instagram or Pinterest and click through to the site to see their private portfolios on ALSC.
Follow ALSC on Instagram:
https://instagram.com/artlicensingshow/
Follow ALSC on Pinterest:
https://www.pinterest.com/artoflicensing/
ALSC portfolio members can find out the steps to get featured here!
(
http://artlicensingshow.com/instagram-opportunities/)
…and even more social!
ALSC has recently added social links to the portfolio enabled profile pages. Artists/Agents can share their links to: Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn, Ello, Pinterest, Tumblr, Vimeo, YouTube, Flickr, Instagram, Dribbble, Blogger, RSS, Email, Vine, Spoonflower, Etsy, and Behance.
What’s Coming Up Next?
More notifications:
The ALSC development team has been adding new ways for members to know what’s going on within the site including notifications for trigger behaviors and email updates from groups. Settings can be managed in the notifications section. We hope to provide more helpful notifications in the future based on member feedback.
Re-ordering collections:
We are in the finishing stages on a new feature that will allow Artists/Agents to re-order how their collections will appear on the page. (It sounds simple, but the way the portfolios are set up to give specific permissions, it’s much more complicated in the code than one would imagine). We are happy to announce that this long-awaited feature should be up and running by next month. We have hundreds of ideas in queue that we are working on with our development team. Members are encouraged to contact ALSC with feedback and ideas. (
http://redcarpet.artlicensingshow.com/contact/)
There are so many things you can do at ArtLicensingShow.com, but there are also MANY lesser known strategies that will help you out. Cherish and I brainstormed on some tips that have come up in recent discussions. Hope you find them beneficial.
Tips & Tricks for Artists/Agents
• Mark each image with your name so if an Art Director saves the image on their computer, they will know it is yours when they come across it in their files later.
• Upload tear sheets/portfolio pages rather than individual art. It will save you time! You can edit the crop if you want to zoom in on a portion of it for the preview image.
• Get connected with industry leaders. Join a group that interests you. There are 20 specialty groups, so far, such as Greeting Cards, Trends, Home Décor, Art Marketing, Tech Talk, Character Design, Art for Kids, Bi-Weekly Art Challenge, and Call for Submissions. Of course, Annie Troe’s “2nd Thursdays” group is very popular and a great way to get plugged into our community.
• Take time to add tags, keywords and descriptions. When an art director is in your portfolio and does a search (or clicks on a tag on your profile page) it is searching only within YOUR portfolio. Adding more art will make these searches more productive for them, which will give you more opportunities to license your art.
• Remember, this is YOUR private portfolio; you can invite any credible licensee to the site to come see it. They only need to register once and then they will be able to login and out with ease. (Invitation & art sharing steps:
http://redcarpet.artlicensingshow.com/kb/invitation-and-portfolio-sharing-process-infographic/)
• Sharing your art is VERY simple, but it’s not automatic. Login often to share your art with current and new Art Director contacts. Remember, you have 100% control of who sees your art. All you do is click the check box next to their name and it is instantly shared with them (no “save” button needed). (More info on sharing:
http://redcarpet.artlicensingshow.com/kb/share-collections-pieces-art-directors/)
Tips & Tricks for Art Directors/Manufacturers/Licensee Companies
• Click on the “My Activity” link to see an archive of everything that has been shared with you. There is a thumbnail for each share that will take you in to see the full collection or piece at your leisure.
• Feel free to request Artists/Agents to submit to you though the site. It’s very easy for them to share work this way (since they have already uploaded their art, they only have to press the button next to your name, this means you get to see it even faster!). (Info on how to request specific art “shares” :
http://redcarpet.artlicensingshow.com/kb/art-directors-ask-see-hidden-portfolio-collections/)
• All the portfolios are searchable, so you can find what you need at a moment’s notice. You can search within an Artist/Agent’s portfolio or the whole site if you go to the “Portfolio Tab”. In both cases, you will only see art that is specifically shared with you. (How to request art shares:
http://redcarpet.artlicensingshow.com/kb/art-directors-ask-see-hidden-portfolio-collections/ )
• Post your art needs in the “Call for Submissions” group if you are looking for licensors to submit specifically themed images with your ALSC account. Don’t worry, submissions via ALSC won’t bog down your email with attachments. You can login to the site when you are ready to review fresh new art. (Ask to join the group here:
https://artlicensingshow.com/groups/call-for-submissions/)
Note: You can join ALSC today and by setting up a
free, enhanced “yellow pages” type listing for your business while getting a feel for the site. Also, if you want to learn more about the tools and resources available to you with the premium account options check out our knowledge base site at:
http://redcarpet.artlicensingshow.com/.
THANK you Cherish for writing the majority of this post. Love the "Call for Submissions" group - what a great idea! I can't imagine the amount of time (years!) you have spent researching and setting up this amazing new site. I REALLY appreciate it and I find it is worth every penny.
Everyone - let me know if you found this post helpful and feel free to post comments below or email me
info@AnnGraphic.com. Thank you for stopping by!
Related posts: Why I am on Art Licensing Show
http://annietroe.blogspot.com/2015/03/why-i-am-on-art-licensing-show-com.html
Artists: See how your
profile page looks to Art Directors/Manufacturers :
http://annietroe.blogspot.com/2015/02/peek-into-artlicensingshowcom-next.html
