Managing the business of being an artist is one of the biggest challenges many creatives face when it comes to making a living. Enter Beth Moeller. As an advocate for the arts, she founded Arts Spark as a division of her website and digital marketing company IMC Interactive Media Consulting, which has been developing websites since 1996 and has evolved into social media, branding, print design and e-commerce services.
Jade Warrick spreads the joy that art can give
With Arts Spark, Moeller is using her business experience and professional resources to “help artists in the business of being artists.” As such, she works with artists who design individual websites, collaborate on art festivals, music and theater productions, and create craft e-commerce marketplaces.
Q: What made you take up art?
A: I’m not really an artist. I have an interest in art. I play in a community band. I started piano lessons in the second or third grade. When fifth grade rolled around and we all had to pick an instrument, I picked the flute. I loved playing all through high school. I was in a big band in college.
Q: How has art shaped your career?
A: Arts Spark is a digital platform to help artists with the business side of being an artist. We really focus on marketing and branding an artist, so we really help them understand how they can make their work and how they can get the word out.
Q: What challenges have you faced incorporating art into your work?
A: The challenge we see is when we talk about branding, they see it as too corporate. By changing the language we use with artists and instead of saying brand, we talk about the look, feel and image they want to portray. It’s basically branding, but without using the phrase branding.
Q: What advice would you give to upcoming artists starting out in their careers?
A: You need to brand yourself when you are starting your career. This means not only a Facebook page and an Instagram profile. You need your website. You should be able to sell your art online if you decide to do so.
Don’t underestimate yourself. One of the biggest things I hear all the time is people saying ‘you’re young artists, you’re doing this for free, for exposure, because you’re devaluing your work, your experience and your education.’ The work you create has value. Figure out how much it’s costing you in materials, figure out how much it’s costing you in time, what you think you need to do about it to make a living and price your products right.
