Category: Art Business

Going All-in on Instagram & What I Learned (for Artists)| Liron Yanconsky’s Podcast – Episode 49

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Today I wanted to share this update regarding the recent changes I made in my Instagram routine / strategy / tactics, and the impact they had on my presence on the platform.

Two Main Changes on Instagram

I changed two main things in my Instagram routine:

1. Increased post frequency

This did prove to provide faster growth, and it didn’t seem my audience “got tired” of my content (:

I basically moved from 1 post a day to 2-3.

2. Tons of stories

I used to post 1-3 stories a day, and sometimes zero. Now I’m doing as much as 15-30 stories. I’m also making sure I use hashtags there as well.

One last thing I did, though that was a little while before all of that, was changing to a business account. I wanted to get the analytics (:

The Results & Impact on my Instagram Account

I’ve been feeling the acceleration in growth in terms of followers, no doubt.

But the more important thing is the amount of messages and genuine comments I’ve been getting, which really blew me away.

The engagement went crazy too.

So we’re not talking only about quantity, but also about quality.

Future Plans

My future plans are basic – keep this new baseline, and increase / go above it as much as possible. I’ve been doing the occasional 4 or 5 posts a day too.

I will keep you updated on how it goes! (;

That’s all I wanted to share today. We can now move onto the artist corner.

Artist Corner

Today I’m featuring Ilya Ibryaev, a Russian watercolor painter.

His focus seems to be light, and I don’t mean that in the usual sense. His great talent is portraying actual light shining through trees and clouds. He focuses on simpler landscapes with more complex and interesting skies, clouds and light.

What I noticed he does is play around with edges and contrast, to create a strong illusion of light. It actually FEELS like you can see the light itself.

If you want to see what I mean, I actually found a GREAT article written on him over at Seamless Expression – a website about painting and watercolor that I LOVE: Ilya Ibryaev on Seamless Expression

And here’s where you can find me

Check out my YouTube Channel – Liron Yanconsky

Or ask me questions on Instagram – @LironYanIL or Snapchat – @LironYan3

I hope you enjoyed this one. Take care, and we’ll talk again really soon,

– Liron

Anchor Podcast, Sales Funnel & Patreon | Liron Yanconsky’s Podcast – Episode 47

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Today I want to give you a quick update about my work and what I’ve been up, especially in regards to my new podcast on the Anchor app, my sales funnel and quitting Patreon.

Anchor Podcast

There’s this app for podcasting called Anchor. This month I decided to go all in on it and see what happens.

So for the entirety of November 2018, I plan on posting an episode a day on the app.

Unlike this podcast, there I’m posting shorter and quicker snippets, talking about how my day was, what I’m working on and so on.

I want to taste it and see if it has potential in addition to this podcast. You can actually find me there by searching (any podcast directory – iTunes, Google Store, Alexa, iHeart Radio, anywhere) for “Liron Yanconsky”.

Sales Funnel

This one’s going to be quicker. I finally finished and launched my third course, called Sketching People MASTERCLASS.

It’s more robust than the other courses, and so I priced it at 97$ (you get a 7-day free trial to try it out first).

I sold 3 of these so far, which is really nice, as the profit margins are much better (;

And I’m currently running Facebook ads and they are starting to pop and work for me.

This is one of my main sources of income, so it’s nice knowing I can start relying on it a little more.

Quitting Patreon

I talked about this on YouTube, Instagram and now here on the podcast as well.

I quit Patreon because (1) I don’t like to ask for money – tip jar style. I’d much rather have you buy a course or a book and learn something you want.

And (2) It stifled my ability to share in other platforms (as I would think to myself – hmm, this is good, maybe I should “save” this for Patreon).

I didn’t like that feeling of creating a wall between my content and you.

And by the way – I have NOTHING against the platform or the people on it. For some it is actually a GREAT match, and allows them to monetize their art and creation and actually make a living.

But I feel like it’s just not for ME (:

And that’s basically it for today’s episode! Now let’s move on to the artist corner.

Artist Corner

Today I talked about Lena Amstrand. She is a Swedish watercolor painter who works very loosely.

She loves to portray mood, atmosphere and especially – water.

You can check out his work here: Lena Amstrand

And here’s where you can find me

Check out my YouTube Channel – Liron Yanconsky

Or ask me questions on Instagram – @LironYanIL or Snapchat – @LironYan3

I hope you enjoyed this one. Take care, and we’ll talk again really soon,

– Liron

I’m Visiting The USA | Liron Yanconsky’s Podcast – Episode 37

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Hi there! Today’s podcast episode is a personal / blog update about my upcoming visit to the USA, and some additional updates.

Visiting the USA

I will be visiting for the entirety of August (2nd – 29th). I’m visiting family in Cleveland, Ohio.

I’m really looking forward to this time. It will give me an opportunity to recharge and reset, and perhaps refresh my vision for the future.

In addition, I’m pretty happy to visit my family! (: We may also visit Canada.

YouTube Channel VS Painting

This is something that’s been on my mind for a while now.

I feel like I’m putting A LOT of work into the YouTube channel, and not enough time into painting and making art.

I think I need to rebalance this. I’m unsure if this means going down to 2 vids a week, or less, but it’s something in that range.

I’m actually considering taking 2 weeks of a complete break from YouTube for a hard reset, but we’ll see.

I don’t want to give up the possible upside / potential, but I do want to make sure I don’t burn myself out.

Results VS Expectations

This is something that pops from time to time. I sometimes feel like my progress isn’t “fast enough”, or that I’m not getting better as fast as I can.

This is of course a little ridiculous. I am working as hard as I can, and I am doing my best. I need to re-sharpen my gratitude and acceptance skills! (:

IGTV

Finally, just wanted to mention this awesome platform.

Instagram created an additional app called IGTV. It’s like YouTube, or a TV, only made for mobile. The videos are vertical, and it’s just fun to use.

I’m posting A LOT there (almost every day), so make sure to check it out. You can get there by visiting my Instagram page, and clicking where it says IGTV.

Artist Corner – Tim Wilmot

Finally, today I mentioned Tim Wilmot. He is an incredible watercolor painter from the UK.

He has – what I think are – some of the best YouTube tutorials out there. Be sure to check out his work:

And Here’s where you can find me (:

You can support me on Patreon

Check out my YouTube Channel – Liron Yanconsky

Or ask me questions on Instagram – @LironYanIL or Snapchat – @LironYan3

And this is it for today, I hope you enjoyed this one, and we’ll talk soon!

– Liron

How to Draw Courses & Sales Funnel Update | Liron Yanconsky’s Podcast – Episode 34

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Hi there! In this episode I talk about my sales and marketing funnel, through which I share my online video course on drawing and sketching.

Valuable Information for Artists

I think there’s not enough information out there about marketing and sales for artists. This is one of the white spaces I’m trying to fill up with my work.

As I’m very business oriented, and enjoy recording videos and podcasts, and writing – I try and leverage these skills to share my business insights.

Sales Funnel for Artists

My sales funnel is essentially a website. The goal of the funnel is to lead potential customers through a purchase process.

I sell several products using my funnel.

A funnel is a must. It’s a system that’s meant to automate as much of the sales process as possible.

I want to grow really big and reach and positively impact as many people as I can. One of the best ways of doing that is actually getting many students into my courses. A system like that is a must if you want to be well-organized and achieve some significant level of success.

Can You Sell Art?

It doesn’t really matter what you sell. The most important part is doing the proper research work. You need to know your market and customers really well.

You need to do audience research, competitors research and much more.

The New Course I’m Adding to my Sales Funnel

I’m currently in the last stages of working on a new, third course to include in my funnel. The course will go for 97$, and customers will be charged after a 7-day free trial.

This course is really meaningful, because it’s where I plan on finally getting some profit margins (for example when compared to my first course that goes for 24$).

Want to Learn More About Sales and Marketing?

I’m starting to talk about these topics a little more on my YouTube channel, as part of my Business Monday series.

If it interests you be sure to tune in to that. Here’s a Playlist of all the episodes: Liron’s Business Monday Show.

Let me know here / on YouTube if there are other topics you’d like me to talk about. I want to make this useful and practical.

And this is it for today, I hope you liked this one!

Artist Corner

Today I talked about Shari Blaukopf. She is an amazing artist from Montreal, Canada, and her urban-sketching style has a special place in my heart.

The reason is that this is what got me initially into watercolor painting. I fell in love with urban sketching, and the loose painting style that is so often seen alongside it.

She is an incredible painter and graphic designer. She actually had the opportunity to learn from Edgar Whitney, who is a master of the medium.

Shari also teaches as part of the Urban Sketchers organization.

You can learn more and see her work in her websites:
http://www.blaukopfwatercolours.com/
https://shariblaukopf.com/about/

Here’s where you can find me (:

You can support me on Patreon

Check out my YouTube Channel – Liron Yanconsky

Or ask me questions on Instagram – @LironYanIL or Snapchat – @LironYan3

And this is it. I hope you enjoyed this episode, and I’ll talk to you again real soon!

– Liron

 

Interviews With Other YouTubers and Artists | Liron Yanconsky’s Podcast – Episode 32

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Hi there! In this episode I want to talk to you about my desire to make interview other artists, and build connections in the watercolor community.

Things I KNOW I Should Do

I got this idea after brainstorming. I felt like, at the back of my head, there are many things I know I should be doing, but don’t.

So I made a list and 2 main things popped:

  1. Do LIVE videos!
  2. Interview other artists and collaborate!

So I took the 2nd one to hear, and decided to do just that.

Steve Mitchell / The Mind of Watercolor

I already started applying this change. I recently contacted Steve Mitchell of The Mind of Watercolor channel.

He is an amazing artist and I really appreciate his work. I also learned a lot from his videos. He was the first person I wanted to interview.

Luckily he was so cool and friendly about it and immediately said yes. The interview should be out this Thursday on my YouTube channel, and next Tuesday on the podcast as well (:

Benefits of Interviews of Other Artists

I have all the reasons in the world to do this. First – I think this will create AMAZING content for mine and the interviewee’s audience. I want to ask the less obvious questions. I want to open a window into the PERSON I’m interviewing.

Another huge advantage is building a more personal connection with the watercolor community.

And lastly – this will really help our channels grow, by increasing exposures.

Other Artists I Want to Interview

I’ve been thinking about some of the “purer” watercolor artists on YouTube such as Patrick Ley-Grieves, Nitin Singh and Teoh. I hope to reach out to those soon.

But then the more I thought about it the more I realized it doesn’t matter. I can interview ANY artist I want! The content will still be relevant – especially with visual artists (the medium is of less importance).

This is it! Now onto the Artist Corner

Artist Corner

In this episode I mentioned Richard Bolton, a watercolor painter who lives in New-Zealand and has a name sounding like a Game of Thrones character =P

He is an incredible painter, and an author of several books such as Texture and Detail in Watercolor (affiliate link, you pay the same price and I make a small commission).

I highly recommend you check out his artworks. You can do that on his website: http://www.richardbolton.com/

And Here’s where you can find me (:

You can support me on Patreon

Check out my YouTube Channel – Liron Yanconsky

Or ask me questions on Instagram – @LironYanIL or Snapchat – @LironYan3

And this is it. I hope you enjoyed this episode, and I’ll talk to you again real soon!

– Liron