The weirdest ace-est thing happened when I was in Hobart. I got up QUITE early because it was such a lovely day in our little apartment in Battery Point. I put on the telly and went straight to ABC24, partly because I have a crush on Virginia Trioli and partly because it is the only channel I know how to find on digital televisions. I was expecting to see the wild eyes of Wall Street Brokers. I was expecting to see rugby players with band aids on their noses.
Lo and behold there was something else. Lo and behold they were talking about Simon Crean and the new National Cultural Policy. Interesting. Apparently this is our first National Cultural Policy in 20 years! And even though the burly Mr Crean would be not out of place shoving sausages into saucey rolls after Auskick on Saturday morning, he’s an adaptable fella and is also our Minister for the Arts. Mr Crean is encouraging YOU to have your say about putting this policy together. And I think you should. I am going to. But you only have until tomorrow to fill out the survey or make your own comment or submission. Go now. Come back here later.
OOh you are back! Okay. Back to Ms Trioli. She was chatting about a program she had hosted, which was to be aired a couple of nights later. And then they crossed to a snippet of said program, featuring Clare Bowditch. In this snippet she was talking about blogging. OMG. And she was mentioning one of Australia’s favourite blogs, The Design Files. OMG squared. So of course I made a mental note to watch Artscape a few nights later.
The program featured a bunch of creative types talking about how they felt about the Australian Arts scene (Too much money for opera! Not enough money for emerging artists! No support for mid-career creatives!) Amongst the panel was Marcus Westbury and the aforementioned Clare. They had very good things to say. Watch here because there was a ton of good discussion that I will completely trivialize if I try to give you an overview.
Now, during Artscape, there was a bit of talk about the changing face of The Arts, not just in Australia, but worldwide. There was chatter about the contribution of the internet and digital content. About how important that is. Clare even went so far as to say ‘Let’s FUND young bloggers to produce the content they are making!’ or something very similar to that. I thought that was an awesome and revolutionary idea and wished I was a young blogger and that it were true. That was when she mentioned The Design Files as a prime example, which I think is well deserved and pretty rad of her. Go Clare! Go Lucy!
As an about to be full-time blogger this is close to my heart. I know that I either have to make products to sell on my blog (and hope that my much loved readers don’t freak out, and indeed buy them), or put ads on my blog or just eat beans for the rest of my life in order to keep my bills paid. I have been sitting on the fence with my blog, kind of fearful of committing to how great it really can be, because I need to feed my kids and it seems a bit self-centred to make them eat beans too, just because I love blogging and have a lot to say. The thing is, I want to write every day for most of the day, I want to package up awesome content that inspires, I want to teach people how to do stuff online for free, I want to show them the good work other creatives are doing, I want to help people be happier and more creative. And I want to do it full time. Because I am really good at that. This is how I am planning to do it right now. One night beans and one night Creans, I mean sausages. Perhaps the odd Spag Bog. And hope for the best that the rent gets paid. And that’s okay for me, for now.
What I would like to know is what YOU think about all this. What are your thoughts on the importance of bloggers and internet content when it comes to The Arts. I mean you can tell Simon Crean, and for sure you should, but I am much less laconic and I have nicer hair. Granted we both like sausages.
So tell me this :: Do you think that the federal government should fund bloggers who promote The Arts, as part of the National Cultural Policy? Do you think that we need to address the fact that bloggers are providing the content we are hungry for, that they have their finger on the pulse, and that they are scraping out a living, just as artists often do? Do you think that we need to acknowledge the fact that for many people like us, art/craft/design blogs are part of our daily reading habits and are where we gather our inspiration and information? And would it be a good idea to talk about slinging funding in the blog direction? What do YOU think?
Tell me. Or tell Simon.
x Pip
Dear Pip,
Firstly I was very pleased to hear you say "Because I am really good at that" though I think you need a much better word than good!
Secondly I strongly agree with the person who talked about you being a strong brand as this is where I see you being able to best capitalise on what you have built up via your blog. By this I mean things such as a) the speaking circuit (Any old washed-up sportsperson seems to be able to make $$ on the speaking circuit! A different demographic would flock to hear you speak, and often this demographic is the one holding the household purse-strings. Plus your expertise in the field of online networking and marketing is huge and very valuable to a corporate audience who so often get that stuff horribly wrong, so the whole conference scene) and b) very carefully chosen endorsements (anyone holding an advertising contract for beans should make you an offer to do a very cool, funny ad immediately!)
Thirdly I live with someone who constantly does arts funding applications because he works in the arts. It can be a soul-destroying, excruciating and hugely time-consuming process. I could see it working for you on well-defined projects within which you are still able to be completely honest with your opinions, such as reviewing a certain sector of the craft/art scene, but anything more general could really limit you. I think your impartiality is vital to your success. I'm not saying don't go for it, just that arts funding certainly isn't the no-strings-attached honeypot that some people seem to think it is.
Finally my 2c worth on ads on your blog. If you do do it, please, PLEASE just make them sit still. I loathe the horrid jumpy, moving ads littering so many blogs these days. To me they are the online equivalent of having a bunch of ADHD children throwing things at each other in my peripheral vision. I can't believe I'm the only person to have completely given up on some blogs because I found the moving ads so intrusive, or maybe I just have early-onset grumpy old woman syndrome!
Whichever route you choose I'm picking you'll do a top quality job of it. All the best. Deidre
I'm Ok with ad's, I love to have choices presented to me on how to spend my money, or not. Some of my fave blogs have ad's, good ones to good shops, with great wares. I thinks that as long as the ad's are inline with your plans and directions, sell products you love etc, roll on the bean money!
🙂
Love your blog Pip and read it all time. It helps me feel connected to the art world.
I spend huge amounts of time working in my studio alone, sometimes for weeks without seeing anyone. Most days I go check out art/craft blogs and work on my own blogs.
Im sorry this is a bit long but I have to have a say …Firstly I started my blog a few years back so I could market and promote my art and do the job of the failing gallery system here in Australia, but now it is turning into something else for me.
I’m seeing the blogging space as something else. Along with sharing ideas, practical skills and works in progress my blog is morphing into something else for me as an artist.
I’m about to use my blogging space as my artwork and installation space. I also may apply for funding in the future from the Australian Arts council to create in this space.
I,ve had a gallery I created in Second Life too, where I sold my art from and funding is given to artists who create in Second Life.. Lets go crafting in SL…
Why shouldn’t artists get funding to set up blogs for promoting and marketing, theirs and others work? Why shouldn’t artists get funding for the information and time put into creating posts etc… We are providing a service for the public, other creative’s, cultural industry and government.
I feel as an artist blogging, is sometimes more than just promoting our or others, arts craft business, it can be an artform .
Go for the advertising and funding Pip you deserve it… ?
(Try NAVA they do small grants for artists blogs)
OOh yes Anon I HAVE created an online magazine! It's due out November 7th! Hot diggity, great minds!
AND thanks for all your thoughts on this. Really super interesting discussion!
Yes Yes double Yes! I think funding for bloggers would be of fantastic benefit to the on-line arts/crafts world. Sharing of information online is such a huge part of our world these days. I know I have only discovered the creative benefits of it over the past 3 years having left the corporate design world to have kids and now have a bit of headspace and energy to be motivated to pursue some design/craft of my own liking.
Problem is it doesn't pay much so I am constantly torn between spending time doing real paid work part-time or doing what I am passionate about. Imagine if there was more govt support for this type of creativity we might just have more people doing and sharing what they are really passionate about- mmm well wouldn't that be nice !?
Surprise, surprise – I did just talk about blogs and other informal work already going on such as workshops and collectives in my submission, following your advice and going straight to the site before reading on….Excellent, excellent!
As (about to be) teeny gallery/shop owner I was very interested in this. I filled out the survey a few weeks ago with much enthusiasm as we are given very few opportunities to have our say as artists. I am going to have to be a better blogger and yes I am going to have to have ads to make ends meet as I would like to eat more than beans. I also so think we need to clone Clare Bowditch as she is such an inspirational woman.
You gotta eat Pip. If the shop is closing then you have to find a new way of earning. Earning is vital and with kids you have a responsibility. creating space for advertising is vital. I know many companies who now only spend their ad budgets online. Magazines are no longer viable and don't have the reach. You can still be commercial and have integrity. The Design Files is a great example of this. Sell some ad space, create an online magazine go for it. I think you will be surprised.
If the Arts Grants come through for bloggers, then great but meanwhile be enterprising. Go for it.
Hi Pip,
I love reading your blog and a whole lot of other blogs on craft, design, motherhood and current affairs. I don't however think that taxpayers money should be spent supporting bloggers. I think blogs are a way to promote yourself and your books and any products you make to sell are your source of income. I read plenty of blogs where the author promotes their books and etsy shop down the side and it doesn't reduce their appeal. I don't see blogs as an art form, they are a medium for discussing and promoting art.
By the way, I was in Hobart last weekend and loved it, the Reading Room was a really cool installation and I saw some beautiful local crafts at the market.
There is a can of worms sitting next to this question about whether or not to fund bloggers of the arts/crafts, but let's open up the can and have the discussion. Personally, I would rather see funds going direct to artists and craftspeople – but I warmly welcome the discussion and debate to better understand the reasons why it might be valuable to fund blogs in this way.
I suppose that to have true independence – and confidence from readers about that – then funding may be the way to go. I see value in that.
I think there are a number of advertisers very keen to see their products advertised on blogs – and I have no problem with that, but I do have a problem with 'ad-style' creeping into blog content. I've stopped reading a couple of blogs because of this. Notwithstanding the fact that it's a delicate balance, I believe the two can work together well. I read blogs because of the writers' perspectives and insights, and I click on the ads that are of interest. I don't think the two should mix. This is where comments and feedback are critical – in terms of providing bloggers with feedback (as long as it's respectful, engaging, debate and discussion).
Pip, if you keep your voice and independence, absolutely go for it (advertising)! It's wrong for anyone to expect free content when it means the person providing it is eating baked beans. You deserve to earn a living from your work/contribution, which is really valued and appreciated by many. I support an earlier reader's comments about "getting over it" – just do it. But, I do thank you and appreciate your effort to engage your readers about this dilemma/question.
I read a lot of blogs, including yours. I also sell things from my etsy shops. I initally started the blog as a way of promoting my shops but now it is so much more than that. I have made so many great friends from blogging but I also think it does contribute in some way to Australian culture… I am unsure if we would feel so intercomnnected in the craft movement without blogs, particularly those of us who live in the forest not the city ( like me)I think it is part of Austrlai now, it is a valid contribution and I think not only shoudl it be noted it should also be some how archived? Blogs are such a representation of where we are now.
Best wishes to all, such a pleasure to read all your stuff/musings/recipes/patterns and be inspired in my own day to day life and it trickles down to my girls, my girlfriends, even my dog benefits!
Hi Im, Joanna and I live in the UK, yes your blog travels well, I understand the idea that being creative is self indulgent, I have the same struggle. I completed an MA whilst pregnant with my daughter. I could never put my daughter in day care, or expect my mum to care for her in order for me to persue my own creative ventures. I know other women who do. I think it is of selfesteem, mine is pretty low, to be honist. What is keeping me going at the moment is the likes of you Pip, when things are tough I alow myself some time in your world, and dottie angels and lola nova and I pull myself together enought to get on with life. Never underestimate the value of what you do, you are truely inpirational, if you have to have adverts on your blog in order to make it work financial then so be it. The likes of you keeps the world of women sain. Thank you
I am of the belief that if bloggers wish to remain providers of independant, first person content (i.e personally biased) then they should not be politically funded. Bloggers would have to be prepared to subject themselves to the same industry standards and censorship that traditional media are subjected to and that would all but destroy what the public have come to rely on blogs for, which is a personally biased opinion. Blogs are usually INDEPENDENT, single person content sources, if the government funds them then they lose their independence and with it what makes them attractive. In this, I believe that the bloggers of the world need to make their own way.
Pip, I appreciate that to write full time you are going to need to make money, I also understand your reluctance to have ads on your blog BUT it's basically time you got over it. People come to your blog because of YOU and that makes you a 'brand' and far from being a dirty word it is a good thing that will FEED YOUR FAMILY! It is high time you stopped undervaluing your(self)/brand and put some bloody ad's up on your blog.
Go kick some arse Martha, sorry Pip 🙂
Pip – I think investing in yourself through things like coaches (for business / arts) is really important. They can take you to places you never dreamed of (and help you give yourself permission to do so).
(ps – I think you're amazing and am in awe of all you do as I juggle my little family and my full time job)
Wow. I'm really appreciating all these thoughtful comments. Thank you guys. It's really important to talk about this stuff, and it's important for ME to learn more about it. So thanks. x
Hi Pip. I have watched you struggle a bit I think with the idea of 'commercialising' your blog and I think that what it comes down to is our own ideals about authenticity. That is, the idea that by selling ads on a blog or doing sponsored posts means that we've 'sold out' and are no longer being the authentic voice we wanted to be.
I've had a similar conversation recently with my friend whose husband is a photographer. He is so talented and passionate about his work, but hates doing things to bring in business like selling himself and promoting his services – because he feels like he's being materialistic or something (when he cares mostly about his art).
I think that doing this stuff (self promotion / commercialising blogs) doesn't mean you're no longer authentic – because your authenticity is something that is special and unique (about both you and my friend's husband), and it is exactly that authenticity that draws people / customers / readers to you. Your true motivation and heart will always shine through.
I'm rambling a little here, but I do believe that you can take a step towards making money from your blog in a way that is comfortable for you and acceptable to your readers. Do it your way. Don't apologise when you sell ad space or sell patterns for ace projects. This is all balanced out by things like Softies for Mirabel and all the free advice and tutorials you give us.
I am sure there's a way for you to do this – just know what you are worth (ie, more than beans for dinner!), and own your choices. There's nothing wrong with making money from doing the things you love.
I'm not sure if I have an opinion yet about the Government funding bloggers, but I do agree that there should be an overhaul of cultural policy and the way we cultivate the arts in all forms in this country. Unfortunately, working in Government, I do see the reality which is a future where State budgets in particular will be consumed by spending on health services as our population grows and ages.
I agree with everything that GourmetGirlfriend just said. I too am stuck at home (in the best possible way) with my many young children and at first didn't enjoy it so much. Then I began to read blogs and became so much more inspired about everything in my life- mothering, home making, creativity, making, cooking. Quite simply put, this is because I was looking to be inspired and that inspiration was/ is so readily available and generously provided by bloggers from all over the world. So yes! I do think that there should be a discussion about funding blogs relating to the arts. It just makes sense!
i used to buy
loads of magazines
before i got hooked
on blogs and blogging
independant bloggers are free
to say it as they see it
without in house policy pressure
and without massive financial risk
and yet we all need to eat
the eternal creative dilemma
your voice is pure
as are your motives
and your readers
can feel your honesty
the next step
will be as it will be
and feasts will follow
i believe
…
***
Pip, I think you're spot on but I can hear the departmental nay-sayers carping on about measurability and so on. How to determine where/how monies would be distributed. So, sadly, we shouldn't hold our breath.
And as far as you blogging full time, go for it. You are a talented writer! Only so long as you can find a clone of yourself to keep everything tickety boo on the retail front. 😉
Good luck. Whatever you decide will be right.
This might sound completely disconnected but bear with me. A while back on ABC radio I heard some interviews with some East Berlin artists post the fall of the wall. They were talking of it as a bittersweet experience. While they relished some of the freedom they gained, they also lost the ability to produce art outside of a commercially driven system. They could no longer simply be artists and produce their art. They either had to be 'successful' artists or part time artists who also had day jobs.
Its made me aware of what an uncomfortable and unresolved position artists (and I mean artists in the broadest sense – people with creative output) have in Western democratic market driven societies. From my own experience, there just don't seem to be enough patrons about! I'm looking forward to checking out the links you sent through.
As if this comment wasn't long enough already, I also just wanted to say it's kind of nice to hear (sorry but it is) that you struggle with this stuff too. I've often wondered how the hell you do it all and make it work what appears to be effortlessly with kids and books to write and all. I for one would completely understand if there were ads on your blog, many of my favourite blogs have gone down that path and they're still my favourites. As long as you don't start doing Oral B sponsored posts…there's a line. All the best.
Crafty/arty blogs make me feel in touch with the craft world and if it wasn't for them I wouldn't be at all. I live in a small town that I haven't seen a lot of 'handmade' in and blogs are where I get my inspiration (and my sanity breaks from being a stay at home mum to a toddler and a newborn).
Oh gosh. a cultural blogger fund would be great and YOU SHOULD get a grant if there were one. You're the perfect type of blog for that. You don;t do ads and stuff and your content is always striving for inclusiveness and is quintessentially Aussie
I'll go tell Simon Crean!!
Hey Pip I think that its great that you are raising these and other topics and that someone who understands blogging is trying to be part of the voice that guides where policy direction heads.
Perhaps another option is that you are paid to consult to government on policy to foster and support the amazing Australian online creative world which is mostly self funded, and which is world class.
As the button at the end of the survey said "Done".
Thank you for bringing this to my attention Pip.
You have enriched my life in so many ways through the content that you share in this glorious space and it brings a great big sparkly smile to my dial to know that you are going to take your blogging to the next level.
I definitely agree with you and Clare that bloggers make a major contribution to the nurturing, dissemination and celebration of The Arts, creativity and general education of many.
It truly is a laudible idea for 'the powers that be' to consider funding those who create blog spaces that do these things because there is generally a ripple effect that follows that is positive and very enriching.
I'm scooting off now to watch Virginia and ponder some more on this excellent topic.
Happy day Lovely and thank you.
What i LOVE most about blogging is that the Arts have never ever been so accessible to so many.
It is ace.
I love – as a mum who is pretty stuck at home (i mean that in a good way as I am happy with that!) cause I have lots of kids; and kids and arty stuff don't always mix- that I can read about & see & have contact with peeps in the arty community that I would probably miss out on otherwise.
that's what i like about it.
And it keeps the creative, clever side of my brain churning, both from reading other blogs but aslo from writing my own.
I totally understand the tug you feel at ads and feeding the kids……
You are a clever gal Pip- you will find a way that feels right to you. xxx