The 101 Blog

Tips, Tools, Tutorials and Strategies for Your Creative Business

Marketing Elizabeth MacLean Marketing Elizabeth MacLean

Boost Your Art Exhibition’s Success with This 3-Month Promotion Planning Roadmap

Congratulations on your upcoming exhibition! If you're pondering the best way to navigate the intricate world of event communications and promotion without delving into paid advertising, you're in the right place. This blog post unveils a 3-month timeline, essentially your roadmap, to guide you through the intricacies of planning communication and promotion for your exhibition.

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Marketing, Website Tips Elizabeth MacLean Marketing, Website Tips Elizabeth MacLean

Step-by-Step Tutorial: How to Create a Custom "Link in Bio" Page for Instagram on Squarespace

In the ever-evolving world of social media, it's helpful to create a custom links page on your Squarespace website. A custom links page allows you to showcase multiple links in one place, making it easier for your followers to explore your artwork, content, products, or services. In this step-by-step guide, we'll walk you through the process of creating a custom links page for your Instagram profile on Squarespace.

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Marketing Elizabeth MacLean Marketing Elizabeth MacLean

Enhancing Your Artist Portfolio Website: Unleashing the Power of Creative Pop-Ups

As artists, it's essential to capture the attention of our audience and cultivate a loyal following. In this post we're going to explore a powerful yet often overlooked resource for building your email list: promotional pop-ups. Prepare to discover a variety of pop-up ideas that will encourage site visitors to join your artistic community. It's time to embrace this underutilized resource and watch your list-building efforts thrive!

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Squarespace Websites, Marketing Elizabeth MacLean Squarespace Websites, Marketing Elizabeth MacLean

How to Set Up a Pop-Up in Squarespace 7.1: Step-by-Step Guide

Pop-ups are a powerful tool for capturing visitor attention, promoting special offers, and growing your email list. If you're using Squarespace 7.1, you're in luck! Squarespace makes it easy to set up pop-ups without any coding knowledge. In this step-by-step tutorial, we'll guide you through the process of creating a pop-up within your Squarespace website.

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Marketing Elizabeth MacLean Marketing Elizabeth MacLean

From Ordinary to Extraordinary: Elevating Your Portfolio Website with Expert Insights

Are you eager to make your portfolio website the best it can be? I've got some valuable insights to share with you. In this blog post, we're going to focus on the key areas that will make your portfolio website shine and leave a lasting impression on your visitors. From design elements to content strategies, we'll explore essential aspects, in the form of tips, that can help transform your website from ordinary to extraordinary.

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Marketing Elizabeth MacLean Marketing Elizabeth MacLean

Connecting with Your Audience: Visual Artists Who Lead with Authenticity

As a visual artist, the process of creating something meaningful and beautiful is what drives you. But when it comes to promoting your work, finding the right balance between self-promotion and being genuine can be a challenge. You don't want to feel like a pushy salesperson or risk turning off potential customers. So, how can you market your work to your audience in an authentic way? In this post, we'll explore inspiring examples of artists that lead with authenticity.

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Website Tips, Marketing Elizabeth MacLean Website Tips, Marketing Elizabeth MacLean

10 Leading Online Marketplaces for Artists: A Comparison (2023)

In this post, I provide a brief comparison of 10 leading art marketplaces, including popular platforms like Etsy, RedBubble, Saatchi Art, Artfinder, and more. We'll examine the benefits and drawbacks of each platform, as well as the associated costs and fees, to help you make an informed decision and find the best platform for your art.

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Marketing Elizabeth MacLean Marketing Elizabeth MacLean

The Power of Chat GPT for Fine Artists Seeking Gallery Representation

In this blog post, I explore how the power of AI, and specifically Chat GPT, can be used to gather important information about ideal customers. To put the tool to the test, I used a simple ‘role play’ prompt and a ‘conversation’ between an artist and the head of a leading art gallery in New York or LA, to try to bring some clarity to what this ideal client might be searching for when it comes to adding an artist to the gallery roster.

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Marketing Elizabeth MacLean Marketing Elizabeth MacLean

Leaving Mailchimp, and Ready to Step-Up Your Email Marketing Game?

Email marketing is, hands down, one of the most powerful tools you can use in your creative business. A well-maintained email list can drive traffic to your website, help attract potential new fans and customers to your work, and boost your overall revenue. However, as you may have heard, Mailchimp recently announced a major change to its pricing plans that may make it more difficult for small business owners to fully take advantage of the power of email marketing.

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Marketing Elizabeth MacLean Marketing Elizabeth MacLean

How to Customize a Free Lead Magnet Template for Visual Artists, in Canva: Step-by-Step Instructions.

As a creative business owner, I know, from first-hand experience one of the things we all struggle with at one time or another is building an email list. And, because I work with a lot of artists, I know that coming up with a lead magnet (or opt-in freebie) that is right for their particular audience can be challenging. I got to work, and created a lead magnet specifically for visual artists that is better aligned with what you do, and also addresses an audience ‘pain point’ or FAQ. In this post, I provide step-by-step instructions on how to customize the shared template inside Canva.

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Marketing Elizabeth MacLean Marketing Elizabeth MacLean

Are You Using These Email Marketing Features to Powerfully Level-Up Your Newsletter?

You’re probably already using an email marketing service in your business as a way to share your new works and launch special promotions with your subscribers. However, you may not be taking advantage of some of the lesser known and newer features that are available to make your newsletter the best it can be — both in presentation and in performance. In this post, I provide three email marketing features that will help you power up your newsletter.

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Website Tips, Marketing, Examples and Case Studies Elizabeth MacLean Website Tips, Marketing, Examples and Case Studies Elizabeth MacLean

Four Inspiring Visual Artist Videos, from Delightful Intros to Engaging Studio Visits

In January of 2021, Contently, an industry authority on content marketing, surveyed their community to find out what they thought their most important content format would be, based on what best aligns with consumer preferences. Survey said (in my best game show host voice): “blog posts,” followed closely by “videos.”

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Website Tips, Squarespace Websites, Marketing Elizabeth MacLean Website Tips, Squarespace Websites, Marketing Elizabeth MacLean

10 Common Artist Website Mistakes, And What To Do Instead

An artist’s portfolio site is so much more than a collection of artworks. It is also a business and marketing tool that is capable of attracting new business, and generating profitable, sustainable growth over time. Whether you are thinking about creating your first site, or if you've had a site for years, here are a few things to avoid, and a few things you can implement instead.

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Marketing Elizabeth MacLean Marketing Elizabeth MacLean

How to Add a Countdown Timer in Flodesk.

Countdown timers are a tried and true tool in email marketing. Use them to help drive online sales during periods of high sales, or during launches and special promotions. This video provides step-by-step instruction on how to set up a countdown timer in Flodesk emails.

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Squarespace Websites, Website Tips, Marketing Elizabeth MacLean Squarespace Websites, Website Tips, Marketing Elizabeth MacLean

Wix Versus Squarespace: Which is Better for Creative Businesses and Brands in 2023?

Squarespace and Wix are both great website builder platforms, but they also stack up very differently based on where you currently are in your business, and where you might want to take it in the future. In this infographic post, I’m going to share a snapshot comparison of both website builders, so you can identify some of the features that are important to you at a glance.

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Squarespace Websites, Website Tips, Marketing Elizabeth MacLean Squarespace Websites, Website Tips, Marketing Elizabeth MacLean

Squarespace Versus Wordpress: Which is Best for Your Business in 2023?

One of the questions I get asked most is “which website builder is best?” The answer to that question is “it depends.” There are a lot of options on the market, so it really boils down to what kind of features and functionality you’re looking for, as well as your degree of comfort with the tech side of things. Both Squarespace and Wordpress offer powerful solutions, so I’ve created an infographic for comparison.

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A digital version of "The Art of Framing" a free customizable lead magnet for visual artists

Free Customizable Lead Magnet for Visual Artists: Framing Guide

Build your email list with this pre-written, beautifully designed 14-page editable Canva template. Give your fans and art collectors a framing guide, with expert recommendations and resources. Customize as much or as little as you want.

  • Drag and drop images of your own work into the document;

  • Modify the color palette with your brand colors;

  • Edit the text as desired.

Or, simply personalize the guide by adding your name and contact information. It’s all ready to go, so it really is THAT easy!

D O W N L O A D  ➢

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Welcome! I’m Dr. Elizabeth MacLean.

I’m a media and communications consultant, art director/designer and educator who helps visual artists and creatives launch and grow their online presence through custom Squarespace services, training and writing. I built my consulting business by helping my creative entrepreneur clients shine online - without the overwhelm.

When I’m I'm not working, I’m dedicated to my own creative projects, and to being a dog-mom to my 10-year old rescue pup. I live in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, and Austin, USA, and am originally from Venezuela.

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