A 100-Day Project to Establish Art Marketing Habits?

It's a pretty broadly accepted fact that repetition is the best way to go about establishing a desired habit.

I remember this well from my days as a runner: It took me a good three months before the habit of "going for a run" took hold sufficiently that it didn't feel like a chore I had to think about, anymore... I just did it, as part of a normal day.

Which brings me to my ongoing challenge with self-promotion and spending regular time putting my art "out there," via social media and other channels.

As I've said before, I'm good at creating, but not so much at a bunch of the other stuff. And something has to change, in that respect.

The "100-Day Project" has been knocking around for a while, and is actually a sort of New Year's resolution related to exercise and fitness. But it has been "appropriated" for other uses, as well... because, why not?

I came across it again a couple of days ago in a post from @gillianpearce and it turns out that it actually is a creative challenge.

A Bit of Background

I started "taking my art more seriously" around 2015, when we first developed a regular schedule of going to arts and crafts shows, and establishing online stores for Alchemy Stones.

In the early days, things did go quite well. In 2016, I started selling to a couple of local gift shop/galleries, as well as through our own brick-and-mortar store; subsequently also through a couple of out-of-town venues.

Painted stones — however pretty and appealing they might be — are not an easy sell, so I was very happy with the reality that it was developing into a significant sideline business for me.

Unfortunately, a couple of things derailed further growth.

First, the sudden popularity and proliferation of "rock painting groups" in 2018 took what I was doing from the realm of "an esoteric artform" to "family fun." Suddenly, everyone was painting rocks.

Second, "and then came Covid" which meant all the retail sales outlets closed, and we went from 8-10 outside selling events per year to zero.

Some of that is finally starting to come back a bit, but so far we have not been able to make even a small dent in online sales, which basically went from about $5,000 a year in 2017 to about $100 a year in 2022.

The Challenge

So, my intention is to use the 100 Day Project for two things:

First Objective: To actually sit down and do some new creative work every day for 100 days, to get back towards some semblance of the work habits I had before Covid lockdowns.

Second Objective: To do at least one social media/promotional thing every day for 100 days, in support of spreading awareness... could be twitter/X, Instagram, Facebook page or whatever. I have to get back in that habit.

I suppose I could call "Putting a daily update/proof-of-work on Hive" a third objective, but I'm not going to add that extra level... since some days might not have enough "meat" on them to warrant an update.

And even though it is my blog to do with as I see fit, I don't like the idea of post flooding" with content that lacks substance.

So, that's my thinking, at this point.

Going to ruminate a bit until the podcast on Tuesday, and then take it from there.

I appreciate you coming to visit and please do leave a comment if you feel so inclined!

Thank You!

If you enjoy painted rocks, do check out The Hive Rocks Project and help spread the word about Hive, while also being creative!

Because I am trying to make some semblance of income — a part time living, even — I now add this footer to all my posts, in the hope that someone, somewhere, might decide to take a further look at my work, and perhaps consider supporting independent art.

Thank you, in advance, for your consideration and support!

My Alchemy Stones Patreon appeal

Alchemy Stones web site and blog

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Regardless, your upvotes and comments are always appreciated!

Thank you for supporting independent art!

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