Answer:  Neither!

Like Aletta says in her tip this week, what comes first is deciding on what your promotional identity will be, the purpose of your promotions, and what promotional pieces you will need.

Okay, so I was being a bit tricky with the question "Which comes first..." 

But let's say you ARE clear about your promotional identity and what you want to do to market your work.  Which do you work on first, your printed materials or your website?  The answer is still neither!

What comes first now is gathering together the graphics, information and images you'll need for both.

Don't tune out on me! I know, I know, getting organized and thinking ahead can feel like a chore. But trust me, whether you're going to do-it-yourself or hire someone to help you, you'll save lots of money (and time) down the road if you do a few things first. Seriously.

Here's a list to get you started, and during this series about promotional tools I'll go through them all in more detail as we go along. You'll need:

• Images of your work. Good ones, professional quality. High resolution. Digital.
• The print and online colors you use, and their print/web ID numbers.
• The names of the fonts you use.
• Graphics, like your logo, photos of shows/events, etc, high resolution.
• Your artist bio, artist statement and resume.
• A complete inventory of your work (no sweat, not as hard as you think). 
• Copies of reviews, articles, any media mentions of you and your art.
• Your mailing list of buyers/potential buyers.
• Your mailing list of galleries, press, media (stop rolling your eyes, again, not as hard as you think).

Also, write to me if you have questions and I'll cover them in upcoming tips (robin@artistcareertraining.com).

All my best to you and yours,

Robin Sagara
Web Marketing Mentor