Many artists like to spend their spare time creating their art, rather than tweeting.  I understand that, because I am an artist too. But, computer savvy artists know that Twitter is the quickest way to build brand recognition for their art business, and I know this from my own personal experience.

Simply put, Twitter is one of the best online resources (if not the best) for self-promotion, connecting with your audience and marketing your art.

In this challenging economy, being a successful artist not only consists of creating great art, but it is also about creating a strong business. Twitter will help you do just that!  So, please let me take a moment and persuade you with 12 reasons why you should give Twitter a try!

1. Networking: There are literally millions and millions of people using Twitter. This is your big art marketing and branding opportunity, because many of those people enjoy learning about art, art collecting and other cultural activities.

Also, Twitter has a very large network of artists for you to meet. I have made valuable connections and friendships (like Meylah!) from my two years on Twitter.

2. Promote Your Blog, Storefront, or Website: Drive traffic to your blog, Meylah storefront or website using Twitter.  Tweet your latest blog post or website announcement. It's amazing to see how one little tweet can drive so many people to your blog. That is the power of Twitter that cannot be ignored.

Add a Twitter share button on your blog or website so your readers can easily share your blog posts.

3. Gain Newsletter and Blog Subscribers: With all that tweeting and sharing of your latest blog posts, your subscribers will automatically grow! From time to time you can even ask your followers to sign up for your newsletter or to join your blog.

4. Promote Your Facebook Fan Page, YouTube channel and other social media sites: Be sure and use Twitter to ask people to sign up for your Facebook Fan Page and watch it grow. Each week I ask my Twitter followers to share, “What’s on Your Easel”. I attach a link to my Fine Art Tips fan page  and gain new followers this way.

5. Special Announcements: Use Twitter to send out special announcements like gallery openings and exhibitions, artist gatherings, art promotions and new available art announcements.

Keep your followers informed of interesting highlights in your career and life. Twitter is an effective last minute marketing tool!  

6. Art Auctions, Commissions, Contests and Giveaways: Hold your own Twitter art auction or join an interactive online art auction like 140 Hours Art Auction. I have had success selling my art through this auction house that uses Twitter.

Generate commissions and custom art requests via Twitter and sell to your collectors directly. Grab attention and try contests and/or giveaways. For instance, offer a free print, painting, mug or t-shirt to your top 'retweeters' or loyal followers. Be sure and add a link to your website or Facebook fan page!

7. Share Your Art: Share images of your latest painting or get feedback on your work in progress using easy Twitter tools and applications such as TwitPic, yfrog, or your own Flickr or Picassa album.

8. Share Yourself: As I mentioned above, Twitter is a great networking tool. Being an artist is a solitary profession. Twitter helps open up meaningful business relationships and the lines of communication with your audience as well as galleries, art magazines, art promoters and more.

Use Twitter to share more than just your art. Share your story, personality and inspirations with others.

9. Target Your Niche: Twitter enables users to easily find and connect with other like-minded individuals.  One way of doing this is by using the # symbol, called a ‘hashtag’. Use this hashtag in front of keywords search for and to attract people to your tweet.

For example: When you tweet and use the hashtag, #art or #arttip, your tweet will attract people interested in that topic. You can use hashtags  to search for interesting topics and trends.

10. Reach Outside Your Niche: Not only can you attract your own niche following, but also you can appeal to multiple audience profiles. Once again you can use relevant hashtags to distribute your tweets and target different audiences.

11. Keep Your Finger on the Pulse: Twitter is a quick way to stay informed and on the cutting edge of new trends. Artists are the mover and shakers of the world and we should be aware of all the new trends in design, decorating, fashion, color and technology and understand how it influences our art and sales

12. Give Back and Pay it Forward: Most importantly, use Twitter as a way to help and inspire others. Yes, we all use Twitter as a hub for self-promotion. However, Twitter is about sharing and caring. If you only tweet about yourself, your following will grow slowly and people will lose interest in your tweets.

Reach out to your fellow tweeter. Share their interesting tweets and thank them when they share yours.

Have fun and I hope to see you on Twitter!!!

Lori McNee is an internationally recognized professional artist who specializes in still life and landscape oil paintings. Lori shares valuable fine art tips, art business tips and social media advice on her blog, FineArtTips.com. She writes for North Light Books, the Artist’s Magazine and blogs for the Artists Network,  Currently, Lori ranks as one of the Top 100 Most Powerful Women on Twitter & was named a Twitter Powerhouses by The Huffington Post. Follow Lori on Twitter!

Main image courtesy of JoshSemans