Art Marketing Secrets » Artist Websites

Art Marketing: Our Top 5 Articles Of All Time

Daniel — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 18:25:44 +0000

Want to know what Artists read most on our site? We have our own favorites but here we summarize a list of our top 5 Art Marketing articles of all time as ranked by popularity. All of them are just as relevant as when they were written so please read, re-read, and enjoy! (Click on the titles to read the articles)

Vincent Van Gogh ~ Vase With Twelve Sunflowers ~ 1889

#1: International Art Scammers Want You

By Tanya Mikaela

I was approached this past week with something that looked great at first but turned out to be a major scam with the potential to take advantage of many artists. Thankfully my brother who is a photographer knew all about this and warned me before things progressed too far – but other artists need to be aware. This great article by Los Angeles area artist Tanya Mikaela has been widely read and has helped a number of artists avoid this now well known scam – don’t miss it!

#2: 18 Tips To Bring Visitors To Your Artist Website

By Daniel

Suffering from low-traffic blues on your artist website? Your number of visitors is only limited by you! If you have a big enough imagination, are willing to think outside the box, and don’t mind applying some serious old-fashioned elbow-grease to your art marketing, you can bring in a nice consistent stream of art-hungry visitors.

#3: 5 Big Artist Website Mistakes That Don’t Sell Art

By Daniel

You might think you have an awesome artist website – but there’s a good chance it suffers from at least one major problem that could seriously limit your career success. Avoid these 5 major art marketing mistakes that could keep collectors from your door!

#4: A Sample Letter To A Gallery Director

By Daniel

This is a sample of a fairly standard letter to a gallery director inviting them to review your work. You will note that it is low-key and respectful in its approach – this is a good safe strategy especially if you don’t know much about the director.

#5: 5 Essential Twitter Tips To Sell Art Online

By Daniel

As we prepared the copy for our featured artist column it came as a blinding flash that in finding and choosing Kazuki Takizawi a classic social marketing sales process for art had been revealed to us. Common sense important art marketing advice!

Note: Full disclosure! Our real #1 most popular article is actually, “Would We Recognize Jasper Johns At A Sidewalk Art Sale”. So why didn’t we include that? Because the reason for its popularity is that the Jasper Johns painting image in the article ranks very highly in Google Image searches for Jasper Johns. So, while the traffic is real, we don’t believe that it is a true measure of the popularity of the article. How about that for editorial discretion! Good tip for SEO by the way – be sure to optimize your image names for search engines.

These are great weekend reading so please enjoy!

Artist Websites: A Beautiful Example by Latifah Shay

Daniel — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 02:35:14 +0000

Latifah Shay Website Homepage

Many of you may know that we started our sister Business, Beautiful Artist Websites, back in 2005 because we were tired of seeing so many really badly designed artist websites.

Times have changed and there are more good-looking artist websites online than there were back then, but the reality is that many are still poorly presented and don’t do their job well at all. One of the reasons for this is that artists often believe that because they are an artist that also qualifies them as a designer too. Not so!

However sometimes the artist IS also a designer and when that happens the results can be amazing. We came across such a site recently and wanted to use it as an example of what really works. Welcome then to the world and website of Latifah Shay!

First impressions are extremely important and when you visit Latifah’s website you will feel how that works. I can only describe my feelings so here we go with my subjective assessment…

First Impressions

As soon as I arrive at Latifah’s home page I realize that something special has happened – I’ve stumbled across a whole world of experience and I feel excited. I want to explore and find out more.

A number of things contributed to that – first is the fact that Latifah is a true artist. When I look at her art I feel so much more than the media or the colors or the technical skill – I feel life experience and beauty and purpose and a story. There is a whole holographic world with each one of her artworks.

The next thing is that the design of the website is so harmonious with the art – and this contributes to the feeling that I am traveling through a whole world of experience. The art births this feeling, but the website magnifies it. Having large images of the art on the homepage has impact and allows the work to have the greatest influence on the visitor.

Finally, the picture of Latifah on the right hand side of the website is always with me on every page – so I feel as though she is actually escorting me through the site just as if I was at an open studio. It creates a very personal experience which deepens my appreciation of the work.

A few practical but important observations too:

The website loads quickly in my browser so I don’t get impatient
The nav-bar (menu) is consistent on every page so I never feel lost
The naming of the pages and the URL structure are very search-engine-friendly

The Gallery

Latifah Shay Website Gallery Page

When I click through to the gallery sections of the site I’m presented with a visually compelling array of thumbnails. I feel like I’m in an expensive candy store and I’m not sure which image to pick!

But I do click through to each one and the lightbox enlargements present the work well. Personally I’m not a huge fan of the white-borders that lightbox displays typically add – but it is not a show stopper for me.

Again, having the image of Latifah with me on the gallery pages makes this more than just my own journey. The artist is with me and is guiding me along. We often say that an artist website with the right presentation and design can help you build relationships with buyers and this site is a great example of how this principle can work.

The About The Artist Sections

Latifah’s Bio and Artist Statement are crafted in a format we expect – which is good. The thing that stands out as I read them is that her experience and artistic consciousness are very much aligned with her art. Listen to her Artist Statement:

I feel such joy and freedom when I create. When I paint I am present with the
truth of who I am. I move through life enjoying, exploring and expressing this
exciting part of my being.

I listen to my heart as I create, moving with what feels right. My artwork
captures but a moment of my experience of the Divine.

My current work is bold and expressive, tender inside and very real. Marriage
and motherhood have fostered strength and conviction in my art.

This is actually what I feel when I look at the art. This “alignment” is a very powerful thing for any human and suggests a person who has matured into a full sense of self. You can read more on this theme in our article, “Sell Art With Authenticity”.

So again, part of what makes this website great is that the artist is ready for it!

Some practical points:

I do like the signature on the artist statement page. It adds to the experience.
Working with a professional writer is a great idea for these sections. A pro who understands you can often create something more authentic than you could.

The Shows Page

This page is straightforward but I want to comment on it for one reason. Latifah did a very simple but very neat thing on this page – can you see it??

Here it is: At the end of each show description she has a link to “photos”. Clicking on that link takes you through to a blog post describing that show and showing photos of the works on display. This makes the one-line show description SO MUCH MORE REAL!!

The Blog Section

I like Latifah’s blog because it is interesting, but I like it more because it shows me that she is successful! Many of her posts are about shows and commissions with nice visual imagery of the work on display. Check out Retreat Center Commission: Installation Photos and New Art: The DaSilva Commission Installed.

Why is this important? Because as a prospective buyer I get really interested when (1) I like your work, and (2) I see that other people also like it and buy it.

There is an old saying that “Much gathers more…. and loss leads to greater loss”, so sharing successful moments is important to build your career and Latifah’s blog does this well.

Conclusion

The things that make Latifah’s website work so well for me are great art, good design and presentation, a positive upbeat successful vibe, and authenticity. As a visitor, after spending a few minutes on her website I am thinking:

I really want to go to a showing of her work
I’d love to talk with Latifah and find out more about her work and artistic vision
I’m really thinking I will want to buy something – maybe I could commission a piece for my home?

I can tell you from experience – if your artist website can do that for you, it just doesn’t get any better!

Latifah is a designer and an artist – and it shines through in her website. Not every artist is a designer though – so if you’re ready for a new site please check out our new Art Marketing Machines at Espresso Artist Websites. Payment plans are available!

12 Tips To Grab Galleries With Your Artist Website

Daniel — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 19:43:27 +0000

Serious about winning the attention of a good art gallery or dealer? If so, you need to understand the core common elements that successful art gallery directors and art sales people look for when they visit and review your artist website.

In our experience Galleries, Art Dealers, and Art Buyers have as many views of how work should be showcased online as there are stars in the sky. The wonderful thing is that these skills and preferences have been developed through the process of actually buying and selling art. Don’t ever under-estimate the experience and skill required to do this consistently – at Art Marketing Secrets we take our hats off to good art salespeople – and you can learn a lot from them.

In the last five years we’ve talked to a lot of galleries and dealers and we’ve found there are common elements which most agree on regarding what they like to see when they visit artist websites. Here is a snapshot for you to focus on:

You might only have a few seconds to make an impression! Art dealers are business people who need to sell to survive and prosper. While they may love art, their primary focus is the business of art. If the first impression from your website doesn’t get their attention you’ve lost them.
A simple, minimalist, and elegant style. Not busy!
Complete focus on the art itself with neutral complimentary website background colors.
Beautifully lit and photographed images. This is probably the single most important visual factor in an artist website. Where possible we recommend using a professional photographer experienced in shooting fine art.
Don’t overpower the look of the art with a site that looks too busy
No “Designer-ish” effects like flash movies. In the time it takes to play your exotic flash-based entry page, the gallery will have already moved on to look at the next artist website.
Clear Navigation – Don’t let visitors get lost in your website because when they get lost they will LEAVE! Clear, consistent navigation on every page is vital.
Include everything you would have in a hard-copy portfolio – bios, artist statements, resumes, etc.
Consistency in style and quality is extremely important to art business people. There are two ways you can help this: (i) Only put your very best work on the artist website – you have to be 125% proud of it. (ii) Structure the gallery sections of your artist website into separate sub-gallery sections each of which should show consistency in style and theme. Think of how commercial galleries and museums use separate spaces to focus attention and realize that is what they want to see in your website.
The about the artist section needs to be designed to engage and interest – too often it’s thrown in as an afterthought. This is very important because buyers and galleries are interested in (1) your art and (2) You the artist and (3) You the business person. Your “about” section is a subtle sales pitch so do it well and if you don’t like to write consider hiring a professional.
It should be very easy to contact you. A very clearly-labeled contact page should include an email address or contact form AND a phone number. I am amazed at how many artist websites I visit that don’t list a phone number on the contact page. Big Mistake! In my experience, the most serious business people often prefer to call you – so don’t make it difficult for them. A studio address or PO box is also good to include because it gives a sense of physical reality to your business. As a side note, its best to avoid using your home phone as your business phone. It can be off-putting to a buyer to see your stunning work beautifully showcased on your website gallery only to call you and hear a voicemail message like: “Hello. This is the Adams family. Please leave a message for Amy, Jeff, and Twinky after the tone!” Get a second line and put a professional message on the voicemail. Keep your image and your message coherent.
Be aware of the potential positive or negative reaction you might experience from selling reproductions of your work online if your target sales channel strategy is galleries. Some galleries will be impressed that you are obviously business-savvy enough to be able to sell your work in this way. Others might consider it a threat to any potential sales relationship they might have with you. Just be aware of who you are dealing with and how they might see this.

Follow these steps and your website will be on its way to impressing galleries, art dealers, and collectors.

Speaking of impressing art buyers – we are just a few days away from the launch of our new artist showcase websites at Espresso Artist Websites To Go! If you’re serious about online art sales success please visit, sign up for our free report, and learn about our 21st Century Art Marketing machines.

Find A Museum For Your Flash Artist Website!

Daniel — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 18:21:42 +0000

Cincinnati Art Museum

No – that wasn’t meant in a complimentary tone! For a long time now we’ve been voicing our concerns about flash-based artist websites. You can check out our thoughts on this topic in our previous article, Are Flash Websites Good For Artists.

But guess what? – we aren’t the only online art marketing advisors voicing our concerns about Flash. In recent months, Robin at Artist Career Training, Dan at Empty Easel, and Clint over at Fine Art Views have all been very clear about their concerns with Flash as an artist website technology.

To top it all off, this week the very influential design site Smashing Magazine published “The Gradual Disappearance Of Flash Websites”.

So – what are you waiting for? And why are so many artists and photographers being seduced by flash artist websites offered by big commercial portfolio companies?

Here is my honest opinion – and I’ve decided not to pull any punches with future articles. I think that artists choose flash artist websites because they don’t have a clue about art marketing. They think flash sites look sexy and breathtaking, but what they don’t realize is that while that might be true for showing off to friends and family, it isn’t the case when you are trying to promote professionally. (I do make one exception to this – see below later). My honest opinion is that flash artist websites are for amateurs who want to think of themselves as professionals.

There are a bunch of problems with Flash which you can read about in my earlier article mentioned above, “Are Flash Websites Good For Artists“. But here the reasons why I believe that a true professional (meaning someone who has to generate business not just look sexy) wouldn’t touch this admittedly great-looking technology:

Slow Loading – A typical flash artist website takes a long time to load and most of us are developing shorter attention spans not longer. As a professional assessing work online, I want to see the art quickly because I don’t have much time and my eye can detect the style of art I want to select very quickly. I don’t want to be slowed down by your website with its % counters ticking away while the page loads. Honestly – when I see that these days I am GONE and that is lost business to a pro.

Distraction – Flash artist websites are typically incredibly distracting. Those page loads, swipes, flutters, and moving images might impress your friends but they will just alienate a serious art professional. Think I’m kidding? Make a list of 20 flash-based artist sites and go visit them all one by one. I’ll bet you anything that you feel really aggro by the time you are at #10! Professionals searching the web are doing that regularly so imagine how they feel – and how much more attention they would pay to your website when it doesn’t distract them!

Search Engine Optimization – Flash artist websites typically suck when it comes to SEO – because the text is embedded in the flash, making it difficult for search engines to read. Now, Google recently announced that its crawlers can now read flash sites – and we believe them – but we haven’t seen the results yet. And a couple of other thoughts on this topic: What about Bing and Yahoo? Are they now flash-friendly as well? And the BIG question – If Flash is so SEO friendly then how come none of the big Flash Website Portfolio Companies rank highly in organic search engine results? Think we’re kidding? Try googling “Artist Websites” and see what you find. You will see the Flash portfolio sites there – but in the paid results. That means one of two things, neither of which is good omen for you the artist – either they know nothing about SEO, or Flash is still a less-than-perfect technology for search engine recognition.

So – what is the one exception I mentioned above where Flash might be a good idea? Confession – I LOVE flash-based Wedding Photographer websites! I imagine that a couple looking for a wedding photographer could get very swept-up in the sumptuous visual images and the romantic feelings that they evoke. That is my one exception to my opinion – so don’t say I’m not flexible.

When you choose an artist website you have to first put yourself in the shoes of a typical client and ask yourself what they are looking for in a good website. If you’re not sure, ask some professionals in your industry. You can also ask other artists – but only those who are making a serious income from their art – that is the ultimate proof of the pudding.

Beware Flash – seriously!

Can Your Artist Website Survive 2012?

Daniel — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 05:57:39 +0000

Frederic Church - "Cotopaxi" 1862

If you’ve been listening to pretty much anything lately you would realize that a big bunch of people think the world is going to end on December 21, 2012. That is what the Mayan calendar predicts (at least my understanding) and there are a big group of Christians who believe that the Rapture prophesized in the Bible is imminent as well.

What the heck does this have to do with my artist website you may ask? Has Art Marketing Secrets become a theology site? Well – no – just wanted to inject a little Hollywood drama into this article and couldn’t resist the 2012 opener! We are, after all, located just a few miles west of Hollywood. But it is relevant..

If 2012 really is true then it won’t matter how you built your artist website. It, like everything else will be gone. But lets say that instead of the end of the world we have a few upheavals and we all survive and have to get back to business as usual (or something similar) – where will you be then and will you be ready to sell your art and pay the gas bill? Come to think of it, that could happen any time right?

Well, as an artist in the current age, you will already fully appreciate that your artist website is the foundation of ALL your art marketing – online and offline. Everyone goes to look at your website to review your work. So, what happens if a natural or man-made event wrecks the data center in which your website is hosted? That’s just one of many things that could happen. Here are a few others:

Your web host or web designer elopes to Patagonia never to be seen again, or they go out of business and hide in Iceland! (Businesses do fail you know)
Your hosted website portfolio provider decides that business sucks and they are closing their doors (this definitely HAS happened)
You or your web-designer has an “accident” during editing and messes up your website in a major way. (this also has happened on numerous occasions)

How long will it take you to recover? How many days, weeks, or months will the core of your art marketing be out of service? Remember that an effective website is not just the content, but also all the incoming links and site structure – all of that has to be recovered.

The simplest thing would be never to have to worry, and here are a few thoughts on how to make that so…

Be sure to own and control your own domain name. This is the single most important thing above all else. If anyone else controls it your art career can be swept away in the twinkle of an eye.
Ask your web host about their disaster-recovery strategy. Many will have have either real-time mirrored data sites or daily backups but you need to ask to make sure. Also, ideally, the alternate site should be in a geographically diverse location. That way, a natural disaster affecting one site will not affect the other.
Have a regular site backup of your individual artist website including site files and any databases. This is because a webhost will typically only perform a recovery when a whole location goes down – and this won’t help you if you messed up your own website. How often you do this depends on how often you update your site. If you are adding new content every day or every few days you should have a daily backup. Weekly or monthly backups are also fine if you update your site less frequently. Having a current backup of your artist website means that you can easily re-establish your site, even if you have to move it to a new webhost. In most cases you can simply upload the files and install the databases and you will be back in business pronto – literally in a few hours if necessary.
Be sure you feel confident about the business if you use a hosted portfolio service because if they fail you may not be able to recover easily. This is because most portfolio services use proprietary technology that won’t allow you to simply move your site to a new service. I’m not saying not to use portfolio services, but you should think through a plan for how you would handle a loss of your site.

Follow these few simple strategies and you will keep your art marketing out of harms way in the event of a physical or business disaster – you want to be able to sleep when the wind blows!

Artist Websites: More Visitors Needed!

Daniel — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 05:35:10 +0000

We recently conducted a survey of a select group of our readers asking a very simple question: What are your top concerns about artist websites?

We received about 70 responses from a broad spectrum of artists – some with existing websites and some without, some with a lot of marketing experience under their belts and others with little or none. Because we asked an open ended question, we had a wide range of answers, but they were fairly easy to group into major areas of concern.

What we found is shown below in the figure…

What we learned:

By far the biggest overall concern was a lack of website traffic and a desire to find ways to bring more qualified visitors to the artist websites
There was a tie for the second position shared by (1) The ability for the artist to update and maintain their own website and, (2) Great design values in the showcasing and superior technical performance (fast loading etc).
Next in line.was website cost, followed by automatic updates to social media (Twitter, Facebook, etc), and ecommerce capability.
Finally there were a multitude of smaller concerns which we lumped into “other”

So – what are the big takeaways from this?

Artists want to know that their artist websites will be seen and found – otherwise, why bother?
The importance of Showcasing and performance are recognized and in demand
The ability to maintain and update the website quickly and cost-effectively is very important. This makes sense because experienced online art marketers know that they need to keep their websites alive and interesting with fresh content.
The ability to interact with social media and to sell work online via ecommerce are gaining momentum in importance

Experience and data from real world market experience is priceless and we value this feedback from our readers. Does this reflect your experience with artist websites and online art marketing? If you are burning to add something new to the mix please do so in the comments below!

A few things to try to improve your website traffic:

Check out our recent article, “18 Tips To Bring Visitors To Your Artist Website“
Check out our Artist SEO Success System – It’s not free but it is worth every penny!

Artist Websites: 9 Questions Before You Start

Daniel — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 19:05:29 +0000

In our work developing artist websites at Beautiful Artist Websites we often notice that artists make mistakes with their sites because they don’t stand back and see the big picture of what is really needed to promote their work.

As an example, it is quite common to see artists fixate on intricate details of a logo or an image size or placement while at the same time missing the fact that their bio or resume or gallery is missing important information or essential features.

With that in mind, here are a few simple questions to get you focused on what you really need in your website.

What is the main purpose of your artist website? e.g. online brochure, sell art online, build community with artists/buyers, etc
What is the target audience you are trying to impress with your artist website? (e.g. art galleries, collectors, consumers, decorators, children, families, etc). You may have more than one.
Put yourself in the shoes of your target audience(s) for a moment. What would be the most important information and qualities THEY would want to find in your website? Think about content and presentation. (Remember to step outside your own thought process with this question)
Given the market(s) you have identified, what would be the ways that you would connect with them and tell them about your website and your work AND follow up with them? List the most likely strategies for your market. Some options might be: mail-outs (snail mail), advertising in specialty publications (online and offline), personal networking (visits to art events and phonecalls), open studios, Social Networking (Facebook, Twitter, etc), Email Marketing.
Artist websites need to fit into an overall art marketing plan. Do you have one (an art marketing plan) and how will your website fit?
Given the markets(s) you have identified for your art, how would they actually buy your art? e.g. Through galleries, art fairs, art representatives, gift stores, decorators, direct from your studio, over the phone, online sale using your website.
What is the price-range for your work? (Include originals and reproductions)
Is it important for your website to have online sales capability? (Bear in mind that buyers are fairly unlikely to buy online for sales over $500 – unless they are existing clients). Depending on your work and your market and your strategy you may prefer to sell work through specialist art-sales sites like Zazzle or Yessy while focusing your own site on information, presentation, and marketing.
What would be a good structure? Given your answers to all of the above questions and referencing our Artist Websites generic structure diagram below, sketch out a possible structure for your artist website.

There is still a lot more work to do before your artist website is live and selling. But starting first with these essential questions will get you moving in the right direction – because they are focusing on what the market is asking of you rather than your internal ideas alone.

We will have a follow-on set of questions for you soon focusing in on the more detailed design aspects of artist websites. Enjoy!

Artist Websites: A Conversation With A Successful Artist

Daniel — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 19:00:02 +0000

The Lincoln Gallery At The Smithsonian Museum

Just yesterday I had a call from a very successful and established professional artist – a man who has two studios in different parts of the country and exhibits in multiple galleries and prestige locations including the Smithsonian Museum. This artist embodies what most artists dream of when we think of becoming a successful professional artist.

The reason for the call? He was looking to extend his gallery representation and needed a website – because galleries were not wanting or willing to look at his package of slides. Websites are now ubiquitous in the art world – and if an artist this successful needs one – you need one!

One of the things I love about working with serious professionals is that they recognize that their most important time is that which they spend in the studio. While the artist in question above clearly earned a significant income from his art he also had a corresponding level of financial responsibilities – meaning that he didn’t have money lying on the floor just waiting to throw at a website.

But – he was not thinking of doing something on the cheap or trying to do it himself or have his daughter or neighbor or friend do it for him. Why? – two reasons:

He realized that any time he might spend designing or trying to design a website was time not spent in the studio – and that is where he delivers his greatest value. He understood the opportunity cost involved.
He understood that when a gallery or museum (that’s his sales model) looks at his website they will make a very fast go or no-go decision based on what they see and read – so it better look and sound impressive. He was therefore not willing to risk that by having an untrained person design his site.

Similarly, we just finished developing a website for a successful up and coming Southern California artist who also works primarily within the gallery system. He made a significant financial investment in his website because he realized that in terms of his career success his website was just as important as his house or car or studio. It really is that important.

Every artist knows or should know the importance of having a great website. An artist’s website is the foundation for all online and offline marketing activity, be it search engines, email, postcard mailouts, or personal networking.

But artists who are relatively new to online marketing (and even some pro’s) often focus on the wrong design features & marketing tools when they create a website, leading to poor results. Some typical problems include:

•   Poor presentation and showcasing
•   Confusing navigation
•   Ineffective marketing tools
•   Too much focus on website technology
•   The websites just don’t WOW visitors enough to take further action

What that means for the artist, is simple: Less visitors, fewer calls from arts professionals & potential customers, and an art career that isn’t growing as quickly as it should be.

Now, we would love to remedy that by designing and building artist websites for all artists – but many artists don’t have the budget for a professionally designed online presence, while many simply prefer to do it themselves anyway. We understand that marketing $$ can be a scarce resource and we also understand that regardless of what we think you might still want to build your own site anyway. So – we created a starter-guide to help you.

“How To Plan Your Artist Website To Get Attention & Sell Your Art” is a website planning guide to help you avoid the pitfalls and pain of a lack-luster artist website. Whether you plan to build your own site, use a template or portfolio system, or pay a designer, the guide will help you understand the important features and structure required for excellent online showcasing and marketing of your work. Just as important, it shows you what not to do.

It is NOT a programming, coding, or development guide – it focuses instead on all the important planning questions that you should tackle before even thinking about building a website – the questions that are often considered and realized after the fact when it’s too late.

Our guide was created primarily for artists new to online marketing and is based on our five-plus years of building premium artist websites – it answers the important questions that artists ask about websites and delivers the information needed to achieve great results.

So – if you happen to be in the early phase of a new artist website or if you’re planning a remake of your existing one, please check out The Guide! At $47 and with a bunch of really useful bonuses it could save you a bunch of headaches and possibly work some wonders for your art career. Learn More…

Regardless of how you build your artist website, how much you spend, or what technology choices you make please treat it with the importance and respect that it deserves. It is, after all, the foundation for all your art marketing!

12 Tips To Create An Artist Website: Part 2

Daniel — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 23:33:25 +0000

Les Demoiselles d'Avignon - Pablo Picasso (1907)

It seems like forever since we published the first part of this 12-Tips article! We’ve been in technology-land moving all our sites (including AMS) over to a great new webhost who will be helping us manage some of our traffic spikes. Its such a relief to be back to the business we love – art marketing!

Here then is part 2 of our famous 12-tips article. Just to recap, in part 1 we covered:

1. Decide if you need an artist website

2. Know who are you trying to impress

3. Your website must fit with your overall art marketing strategy

4. Know that there IS a real market for art on the internet

5. Have your own website AND use online-portfolio services

6. Know what collectors and art professionals look for in an artist website

Now for part 2….

7. Showcase your work beautifully
You need to have visual design skills to create a beautiful artist website. Here are some points to get you started:

Most Important: Use high-quality, professionally-photographed images. Excellence in, excellence out! (trust us – you don’t want the opposite)
Keep the website simple and elegant with the focus on the art.
Create multiple galleries to compliment the work – just as a good physical gallery would do.
Choose colors that compliment (not overpower) the work. Think of the colors you would use in a physical gallery to showcase your work – neutral colors like crème, white, gray, and good safe choices.
Think “minimalist” not “busy” for the layout.
Keep your copy (text) brief. Let the art speak for itself! The exception is on the bio page where you want to lavish a little text-attention on a great story

8. Bring collectors and galleries to your website
Its no use having that stunning website sitting in hyperspace. Make it work for you! Here are some ways to bring quality visitors:

Search Engines: If your website has been well optimized for search engines, a search on your name or your style of art should bring up your website in the first few pages of results.
Letters of Introduction: A letter of introduction sent to a gallery or dealer is a very effective way to bring a qualified visitor to your website. Better still is to include a brochure or postcard of your work with the letter.
Advertising online or in magazines: For example, if your art is minimalist and modern in style, a banner add on an interior design website focused on the same minimalist ethic could draw a lot of traffic to your site.

For a really comprehensive list of ideas check out our, 18 Tips To Bring Visitors To Your Artist Website article.

9. You need to be able to sell your work on the internet.
But there are many ways to do it! More important than anything is that you have clear and up-to-date contact information on your website. If a buyer likes your work enough to bring out their checkbook, they will normally be happy to call you to close the sale.

It’s also handy to be able to sell directly from your website, especially if you sell lower-cost reproductions. There are simple and cost-effective ways to do this.

10. Think again before designing your own website.
Have you really added up the total cost? Here are some questions to consider before you start designing:

Do you have visual design skills/training?
Can you wait several months for the site to be ready?
Can you afford to give up a month or more of your valuable artist time?
Do you have all the software and equipment needed to build a high-quality website?
Are you fully trained in your design software?

Can you answer “Yes” to all of the above? If so, you might think about doing it yourself. Otherwise, think seriously about hiring a professional designer. Artists love to do everything themselves, but you have to be careful of becoming a “jack of all trades, master of none” – seriously.

11. Choose your website-designer thoughtfully.
The most important thing here is to remember what you are trying to create – a beautiful online gallery space to elegantly show your beautiful work – this is very different from building a high-volume website selling printer ink cartridges and paper rolls!

Look for the ability to design a space to present your work. One way to do this is to find artist websites that you like and then contact the artist to get the name of their designer.

12. Know what you should pay.
Artist’s website development prices range from a few hundred to tens of thousands of dollars. Typically, bigger design firms have larger overheads and will be significantly more expensive. On the other hand, Joe down the street can probably build you a website for $200 – but you probably don’t want that website!

At the end of the day, most professional artists will find a great website solution in the $800 – $5,000 range. Follow the steps we’ve outlined above and you’ll have a much better chance of ending the process with a smile on your face!

12 Tips To Create An Artist Website: Part 1

Daniel — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:29:54 +0000

Still Life With Drapery - Paul Cezanne

Here’s the scoop on what you need to know when designing a website to showcase your art, impress galleries, and win over collectors. Learn how to avoid the mistakes most emerging artists make when creating their online portfolio.

1. Decide if you need an artist website

Any artist who is wanting to expand their market and sales will definitely benefit from having their own website to promote their work. It is important to be able to have a place where anyone in the world can easily access and view your work.

2. Know who are you trying to impress

Are you trying to engage a Soho gallery to sell your $20,000 paintings or sell $5 prints to children? That Soho gallery might not be impressed when they see your online-store selling prints and art cards â€“ but on the other hand, you could make a very handsome living if you really knew how to market those art cards.

3. Your website must fit with your overall art marketing strategy

A website is most effective when it is part of a larger overall marketing strategy for your art. This includes mailings, lots of in-person gallery visits and presentations, regular (physical) showings of your work, and developing relationships with the art world. An effectively planned website can greatly compliment and simplify your other marketing efforts.

4. Know that there IS a real market for art on the internet

The internet is quickly becoming an accepted place to showcase your art to collectors and arts professionals. They might still want to see your work in person before they buy, but the fact remains: they saw it first on your website! Having an online art presence is very important at this time.

5. Have your own website AND use online-portfolio services

A website portfolio service (e.g. www.absolutearts.com or www.art-exchange.com is like an online slide registry. For a fee you can upload images of your work together with bios, artist statements, resumes, etc. They have many visitors and are a convenient way to make your work accessible to potential clients. The down side is that they generally donâ€™t display your work very well, and there is little flexibility in how the art is showcased.

Your own website, on the other hand will require more work to promote, but youâ€™ll be able to present the work in the most beautiful way. Remember the times youâ€™ve been taken into the dimmer room in a commercial gallery? How that art which looked fairly good on the main gallery wall suddenly became something you had to take home? Thatâ€™s how a good artistâ€™s website should showcase your work.

We recommend both options â€“ they are a perfect compliment.

6. Know what collectors and art professionals look for in an artist website

Here are some common elements which most dealers and galleries would agree on for your website design:

Keep the site simple and elegant with the focus on the art itself and donâ€™t overpower the art with a site that looks too busy
Avoid advertising such as banner adds or sidebar adds. If you must have them, put them in a separate â€œresourceâ€ section
Avoid complex effects like flash movies. In the time it takes to play your exotic entry page, your visitor may have moved on.
Include your bio, artist statement, resume, contact information, gallery(s) of your work, contact information, and a pricelist.

Check back soon for Part 2!