Wednesday 27 June 2012

A Day in the Life of ...Sam Miller

Hi, Really pleased Joanne Dewberry has published an article about me on her great blog. It's a great place for info and advice about being a Business Woman / Mummy so do take a look and have a peek at my article too!


See the article here a-day-in-the-life-of-sam-miller
Let me know what you think. SamX

Friday 22 June 2012

Portfolio-oomph!

Hi, I've been feeling a bit unfocused and uncreative today after a very hectic and productive few weeks. However I just read my lovely friend Julie's great blog post and it's totally motivated me to get going again. Take a look, theres some good comments about mentoring and I get a mention and my portrait of Julie and her family is in there too.

Thanks JulieX

Take a look at this post and at portfolio-oomph it's got great help for people who are thinking of studying art and some advice and ideas about art that are really useful and interesting for anyone!

portfolio-oomph mentoring blog
http://www.portfolio-oomph.com - website


 My Custom Family Portraits

© Copyright  Sam Miller 2012
All the artwork and text on this blog are original and belong to SamMillerUK. They must not be copied, used or reproduced without the permission of the artist. Thank you.

Wednesday 20 June 2012

Marketing yourself! (Part 2 - Networking)

Hi, everything has been a bit busy at the moment so I'm sorry I've been away from blogging for a while. I did manage to fit in a networking event last week and this and a few other incidents have made me keep thinking  about self-promotion. I mentioned in my last marketing blog about how I had it drummed in to me that YOU are the best marketing tool for YOUR business.

Having been to a few networking events now I realise how very true this is. I don't find it an easy thing to do, and have to put myself in my positive confident frame of mind. I also tell myself that everyone else must feel a tiny bit anxious about talking about their stuff but I would be interested to hear what they have to say so hopefully it would be the same for them.

At times in different situations I do cringe when people ask me what I do. I still haven't quite defined my role and how to describe myself and my business. I think the problem is that basically I am just an artist doing what I love! But I do think going out to networking events is a great way to tell others what you do and to help define it for yourself. I've also found that it really is a great way to meet people too.

However, I have realised that although most people are generally interested and even excited when I explain what I do,  some people do have a completely different impression. I received a very derogatory comment about a particular product last week, this was without the person seeing it. I think it was a misunderstanding but it did make me realise first impressions really do count and if you don't sell yourself and your products straight away you could have blown it with that person!

This did make me very aware that I should always be promoting my goods in a way that represents them professionally and adequately.  I am very proud of the quality and uniqueness of all my products and this comment actually helped me realise this, the freshness and individuality of my work is what makes it very special and it is this that I should be getting across every time my work is being assessed.

I am still not sure exactly how best to describe my work but I am definitely going to work on my elevator pitch for both written and verbal communications so the next time I get a "Really?" comment it will be, "Really? They sound great!!!"

I would love to hear how you have managed to talk about yourself and your work effectively, and any tips you have.

best wishes,
SamX


My wee man!

© Copyright  Sam Miller 2012
All the artwork and text on this blog are original and belong to SamMillerUK. They must not be copied, used or reproduced without the permission of the artist. Thank you.

Saturday 2 June 2012

Celebrating the Jubilee!

Hi Everyone, Hope you are having a jolly weekend. I had a lovely afternoon at Colinton Market-Place today. It was nice to have a bit of a Jubilee theme with people dressed in red, white and blue, lovely stalls and flag making for the kids. It was a great atmosphere and just felt like a really pleasant afternoon.

However I would now like to make a complaint as I found out today that Edinburgh is the only place in Scotland (Probably in Britain) that is making our kids go to school on Monday and not be allowed to enjoy the whole long Jubilee weekend.

I have put this picture below of me with my little excited monkey to let whoever made this decision see that the Jubilee is not an evil thing but could actually be a lot of fun! So Edinburgh Council please do put a couple of flags on your head, enjoy a few cakes and just enjoy this festive British event!




© Copyright  Sam Miller 2012
All the artwork and text on this blog are original and belong to SamMillerUK. They must not be copied, used or reproduced without the permission of the artist. Thank you.

Friday 1 June 2012

Marketing Yourself! (Part 1)

Hi, I have been thinking a lot about marketing and have put some of my thoughts here.

I did actually go to a brief marketing course a couple of days ago at Business Gateway A lot of it was common sense and things I was doing anyway, but it did make me think about how I am promoting my own business and how to do this in a more strategic and effective way.

The main thing that I got from the course was to think about YOU being your own most effective marketing tool. YOU are the one that is going to be the most passionate about what you do and therefore YOU are the one who can promote yourself the best!

This is something I had been realising and I have been trying to promote myself more, I do feel I am having some success. In the past few weeks I have been thrilled that my work has been noticed in quite a few places. (I have raved about these in previous posts! - Please do note that this is sheer delight and hopefully not viewed as showing off).

I do totally believe from my own experiences of trying to promote and sell my work that this is totally true that YOU are your best weapon to sell your lovely things. When I have been face-to-face with people I have had a really good success rate BUT if I just send things out, or leave things at places I have almost always got a No.

The quality and style of my work is no different, but the way it is presented to someone is what seems to really matter. I now know, after following things up, that on a number of occasions my work has simply been put aside and never even considered, or at times lost completely.  I have now vowed never to leave things with people again but will always make an appointment to see the right person at a convenient time. This is obviously not a guarantee of success but it does mean that at least your work will be seen and considered.

I realise it is not always possible to meet people so this leads me onto social media. I was really not a fan of Facebook, tweeting and blogging (and all that nonsense!) until I felt an obligation to join in or get brushed aside...so I made a big effort to join in.

I am now a total convert and a complete fan. I could not rave enough about getting your work out there and letting it be seen by people. I find it such a wonderful feeling knowing people have found me and my images, and like them and want to show them to others. I haven't actually done the tweeting thing yet but now love doing this blog and find it a good way to get my thoughts out as well as a great outlet for people to see what I am working on. I also love looking at other blogs and have joined a number of groups which makes it feel like I am part of a great group of wonderful folk running their businesses, sharing ideas and thoughts all over the World whilst still sitting in my cosy little home!

I also think it is a great feeling to get a LIKE for something too. Similiar to getting a star at school and/or a nice comment from the teacher!

I know these things have their drawbacks too and I will start to think differently if my work is copied by someone or I am stalked online but at the moment I am enjoying the friendly online world I have entered and would invite you to join me.



© Copyright  Sam Miller 2012
All the artwork and text on this blog are original and belong to SamMillerUK. They must not be copied, used or reproduced without the permission of the artist. Thank you.

Jubilee Madness continued...

Hi,

I am feeling (extra-specially) excited as I have been featured on a really really great blog. I got an email a couple of days ago from a lovely lady called Liz asking if they could use my Jubilee babygro and it is now on Joanne Dewberrys site. So as you can see to your left I am now the proud owner of a Featured-on JoanneDewberry badge! Please take a look at this and other articles on there.
 http://joannedewberry.co.uk/jubilee-inspired.


© Copyright  Sam Miller 2012
All the artwork and text on this blog are original and belong to SamMillerUK. They must not be copied, used or reproduced without the permission of the artist. Thank you.