Be Prepared for Success: The Distribution of My Illustrated Book Eerie Dearies
Even when I was nearing the completion of my illustrations for my book Eerie Dearies I couldn't imagine it being distributed. I kept my head in the present and refused to hope for future recognition in case something went wrong. In the past month I have really had to accept that it's out there and try to make myself ready for what that means.
When you get your art out there - whether it's a publication of paper or online you have to prepare yourself. People will come to your website - is it ready for guests? Or are there things you should be tweaking? You gotta respond fast in these situations. I made a few changes so that my website and online store were looking their best. It's actually one of the things I love about using Artist Run Website - it's super fast and easy to update when anticipating different types of traffic coming to your site because of publication. I was able to prepare for success as I received more attention due to the book's circulation.
In this situation you may look at your website and consider which items should be at the top of the menu --why is this new traffic coming to your site - where do you anticipate that they will click next? You may also cosider using an image on your home page that is most recognizeable as your work to these newcomers so that they feel confident that they have "come to the right place". Written content is important - you should populate your blog with some articles that will help visitors get a sense of who you are and insight into your practice. Now is also a good time to tweak your bio and/or artist statement!
When the book started circulating I received emails and photos from friends all across North America as they spotted my book in their local bookstores. I made sure to share this experience on social media as it was a unique moment for me and I wanted to celebrate it by sharing it with my friends and fans. Their response and encouragement was overwhelmingly positive! Above and below are a couple of shops that carry my book - so neat! Visitors to my site also saw this content in recent blog posts so I felt confident that my marketing was consistent.
Image source [1]