Want the whole world to know about your latest project or prize-winning piece? We just put up an article to help you maximize your exposure: Write a Press Release in 16 Easy Steps.

Michael Chesley Johnson takes the pain out of writing an eye-catching, concise press release with these tips. I couldn't agree more with some of them—like #4, "Give a precise location." You wouldn't believe how many press releases I get here at The Artist's Magazine that neglect to say what city and state the event is happening in.

The 11th tip is also important—keep it short! You've only got a few seconds to catch the interest of the editor or writer. No. 15 is a good one—make sure you're sending the release to the right person. Don't send a news release about your pastel workshop to a magazine or blog that only writes about digital art. And sending a release about an event happening in two weeks won't be of any use to a magazine that comes out quarterly.

Have any of you had particular success or spectacular blunders relating to press releases? Post a comment about it!

If you're trying to promote yourself as an artist, you gotta have a website. Or if you don't have a website, set up a blog you regularly update. But if you can't commit to posting frequently and HTML makes you dizzy, there is another option: the photo-sharing site Flickr.

The site is great for casual photographers—uploading party pics or snapshots of family members has never been easier—but it also can work as a networking tool for artists and other creative types.

As long as you have digital images and internet access you can make use of Flickr. You create a username and homepage for yourself on your site (your "photostream") that displays your most recent pictures. (Or not—you can make pictures you want to keep to yourself private, or share them only with users you allow.)

Having a photostream is a great way to show your latest work, or even your works in progress. Some artists like to share pictures of their palettes, or of their studios.

When you upload a picture, Flickr automatically resizes it, and you can add "tags" to it—words to describe the image and its content. For example, the artist has tagged this painting with terms such as "daily painting," "acrylic," "dinosaur" and "wood." You can also add your photos to groups, which is great way to get more traffic on your photostream.

I also like using Flickr as an image host—by linking to the resized image in my photostream, I don't have to worry about having the actual files on the computer I'm using to post images on my blogs. (Including this one!) You can also think of it as an external hard drive—when you upload images, you're creating a backup file. Very good in case of computer meltdown!

A basic account on Flickr is free, or you can pay $24.95 a year for a pro account that ups your storage limits and removes ads from the website. I've had a pro account for about three years now, and it's been well worth it.

Wise advice from Robert Bruce, including:

18. If you wouldn’t do it without an audience, don’t do it all.

Click here to see all 27 truisms.

Via Drawn

Dear blog readers,

In just a little more than a week I will be leaving the Queen City behind for a week's vacation in Portland, Oregon, and San Francisco. I have a few favorite spots in Portland from my last visit, but this will be my first time in SFO. If you have any suggestions (for either city) of museums, galleries and other oddities that I must see, please post them in the comments!

When I get back, you can bet there'll be boatloads of photos.

xo Grace

I know a lot of you blog readers are Web-savvy types, but if you're thinking of building a website to promote your work, check out this excerpt from our March 2008 article "Top of the Web." We outline seven things you need to think about before you start uploading.

For example:

Take a field trip. Spend some time online and make notes about what sites you like and what sites you don't. Make sure to note what it is you like about each site. Do you like the color palette of a particular site? The way the navigation is structured on another? Does it annoy you how long it takes a certain site to load? All this information will help your Web designer create a design you love.

Click here to read the article!