Hello Alyson! Thank you for a great post and it was certainly helpful to read the comments and ideas. I have been publishing an art newsletter for about a decade now. I generally sell an artwork after each newsletter distribution … after I began adding a proper sized image (not as small as a thumbnail, but not huge… generally 500 pixels for the long dimension). I will note that the artwork(s) that sell after publishing are not often the featured artwork!
I had dial-up where I lived in Texas up until last year (now I live in Italy with wireless), so I was one who designed for slow connectors because I was FULLY aware of this problem. Some people make the assumption that BUYERS have money and thus would not put up with a slow connection. However, my experience is that some people in all financial situations just do not enjoy or know how to use computers and it is not important to them. I still design for slow systems. My collectors are not always tech savvy.
I also wanted to say that I am not particularly consistent with the timing of my newsletters and as pointed out earlier, most readers are busy and time flies for them too. I write when I have a new artwork to share, sometimes showing a work-in-progress if I have an event coming up, but have not yet finished something new. I have rarely received a complaint because of too few newsletters, but then, my readers know (I hope!) that I post more frequently on my blog and I use Facebook quite a bit.
I do try to make my newsletter interesting. I often write about something that is not directly about me, but is somehow related to art or my own work. I feel a bit inbred with myself if my newsletter is ME ME ME ME ME ME ME. It is even too much for ME. Also, I keep my newsletters online on my site with a Table of Contents that summarizes the prime article. The older newsletters still find new readers and buyers for me.
I believe a lot in asking for the sale. However, I do not always do it in my mailing. I may post pricing info. in the online version of my newsletter, but sometimes I am even more subtle than that… partly because I do not want prices floating around the Web on too many pages. Things change and I cannot always keep up. I do not want to confuse anyone if they see conflicting information. [On a side note, this is why you should not write info. such as “I have been painting for ten years.” and instead DO write, “I have been painting since 2002.”]
In closing, I want to encourage all artists to try not to become discouraged if you do not get as much or as glorious feedback as you dream of. I have written newsletters for myself and also for a sculpture organization I ran many years ago. I often felt as if I had spent a lot of time for small results only to have people tell me, sometimes years later, that they feel bad they never respond, but they read everything and even pass it on! So just remember that most people do not take time for feedback of any kind. It just means you should express appreciation more for those who do. And perseverance is a must!
Here is my latest newsletter, in case you are curious.
http://www.borsheimarts.com/news/2012_05-OldFlameArt.htm