Wide-eyed on absinthe with a painted friend in the Czech Republic, 1998. Apparently I’d just used some eastern European shoeblack hair dye

If you follow this blog, you’ll remember I recently sold a blueprint at the 140 hours auction. I’m too busy writing my book and painting to enter another auction, but passed on some advice today to artists participating in the next round, which starts on Black Friday. These points are applicable to any creative industry that uses social media.

Eight Artists’ Lessons from 140 Hours, the First-Ever Twitter Art Auction

1. Gary Brant [the director] is your coach, your PR go-to guy, your inspiration, and most of all, the entire cheerleading squad. Ask him questions, share your concerns directly, and give him the props he deserves.

2. Success depends on your promotion efforts. Individually. You are taking your art career into your own hands by doing this. Congratulations! Along with consistent daily tweets, here’s what I did for the first @140hours auction: sent out a special newsletter, spread the word to my Facebook fans and arts groups on LinkedIn, and sent personal messages to collectors and blog subscribers.

3. Submit your best work. This will inspire you – and others – to make it go viral.

4. Most people in the world don’t use Twitter. It’s intimidating. How to reach them? Traditional media is a good place to start. Gary has provided great copy for press releases. Due to tight deadlines with the auction, local daily newspapers are the best bet. Make your release relevant and emphasize the Black Friday angle.

5. Be imaginative when you tweet about 140hours. [You risk @140hours overkill if tweeting the same message repeatedly to followers.] Put up links to your bio and image. Write posts on your blogs or guest posts for others. Write the story behind your image in 120 characters or less. Why did you make it? Where? Is it part of a series? Has it been shown anywhere else?

6. Make your bio lively, concise, and easy-to-read. Include anything that relates to the work you’ve got on the auction block. Send it to a good writer you know and they’ll tighten it up for you.

7. Hashtags are your friend. Use the #140hours hashtag to make it easy for everyone to follow the 140hours conversation thread.

8. You’ll hook up with some incredibly motivated artists on Twitter. Retweet them, follow them, learn from them, begin the conversation, and bring your art career to the next level.