Is your Art Marketing campaign in the drawer? Many of us have that drawer, you know the drawer that everything goes in! When we are in doubt of where to put it in our filing system it just goes in the drawer.
Filing system? Oh yeah, you don't have a filing system either? As Artists we often have a difficult time keeping track of various receipts or bills around our studio.
Being organized is one of the essential elements of being a successful Artist or achieving success in any walk of life.
In order to get your business running smoothly and increase your Art Marketing campaigns and results and off course to keep the taxman happy, you need to begin organizing your paperwork in such a manner that allows you easy access to the important documents, phone numbers and contact information that are needed in our daily lives There are numerous benefits to being organized with the main ones being: 1) saving TIME by finding the information you need quickly 2) saving MONEY by being able to claim all your expenses in your tax return and by getting a better idea of your profit or loss position so you can price your art work correctly 3) appearing PROFESSIONAL to potential customers and business partners and instilling trust in dealing with you.
4) Increasing your DATABASE of customers by being able to keep a track of all your contacts and communication with them fostering long term relationships.
Thankfully, the computer has significantly increased our ability to stay organized.
Here are some ideas to help you stay more organized and focused more on Art Marketing rather than chasing paper.

• Create a file system that is easy to use and understand.
  
• Create folders for each and every type of paper you expect to receive these may include phone bills, electric bills, projects, Art Marketing bills, etc.
  
• Avoid printing e-mails or other electronic documents.
  Create files on your computer to store the same information.
  
• Create a miscellaneous file that's exclusively designed to keep papers that cannot be filed anywhere else.
  
• Use a daily planner to track your daily events, but you should keep specific items such as phone numbers or contact information in a separate book.
  Also consider purchasing software specifically designed for maintaining your contact list.
  
• Dedicate a certain amount of time every day for filing your paperwork.
  
• Clean your mailbox and your e-mail box up by unsubscribing from any distribution lists that don't benefit you on a regular basis.
  
• Create a special folder or file location to store documents that are used on a regular basis.
  
• Regularly review your stored documents and throw out those that are no longer needed

As an artist trying to maximize your Art Marketing campaigns, you need to be as organized as absolutely possible.
Record keeping can be a difficult and painful task if you do not take the time to set yourself up to succeed from the beginning.
Do yourself and your Art Business a favor and get organized today.
Once you are organized, you should be able to find more time to spend doing the things you love rather than the things you dread doing.