Art Marketing Secrets » Sell Art

Sell Art With SEO For Artists: Tara Reed Interview

Daniel — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 19:02:49 +0000

Back in February I was interviewed by the lovely Tara Reed for her monthly Ask Teleclass. The topic was Ask About SEO For Artists and it was a valuable call (if I do say so myself!). Tara has a real talent for bringing out the golden threads in these classes and the result was some very straightforward guidance for artists to improve their search engine rankings.

If you weren’t on the call and haven’t listened to the replay I highly recommend you do so. If you think I’m kidding about how valuable this is, here are a couple of testimonials from that call…

From Shawna Erback…

Thanks to your tele-seminar with Tara Reed, I am now in first place and first page when I search for “licensing studio”, “art licensing studio”, “artist licensing” and “artist licensing studio”. Before I listened to your ask call my website looked pretty on the outside but was a mess on the inside and thanks to you I now have seo optimization! I listened to that call more than once taking notes and will listen to it again and again to keep things fresh. Thank you Thank you!!

From Sue Allemand…

SUPER SUPER SUPER! That’s all I can say! I never expected to get this much out of Daniel’s call! I understood EVERY WORD! He makes it so simple to understand! And to think — I spent hundreds on supposed “promotion” companies who claimed to submit you to X amount of search engines – numerous times over a certain amount of time, fix your meta tags, get you X amount of reciprocal links, etc… and NONE of what they CLAIMED I needed (and what I paid for) was in Daniel’s top 3 for SEO!! Unbelievable!

I confess that I’m not normally one to self-promote as outrageously as I have above! I’m an Aussie by birth and we are trained to be somewhat self-effacing. When I landed in California 15 years ago I had to learn self-promotion 101 very fast otherwise I would have been eaten alive!

But seriously, the reason I am pushing this whole SEO topic strongly is because it is SO IMPORTANT for you as an artist and there isn’t a lot of comprehensive SEO guidance available focused on the art community. This interview with Tara was exactly that – SEO For Artists.

So, why is SEO so important? Many artists and even some art coaches think it’s not relevant to art because art is somehow “different”. Nothing could be further from the truth. When you sell art that is business – and SEO is a major force for business success online. Let me give a hypothetical example of how it might work for an artist…

How Search Engines Help Artists – An Example

Susan is an oil painter who lives in Northern New Mexico and paints landscapes, many of which are focused close to the town of Abiquiu. (Note: If you haven’t had the opportunity to visit this town you should mark it on your list of places to go – it is right near Ghost Ranch and Georgia O’keeffe’s desert home – just gorgeous landscape!)

Susan has a website which she has optimized for search engines. During that process she discovered that many people google “Abiquiu Paintings” and “Ghost Ranch Paintings” and so she optimized her artist website to rank highly for those phrases.

Susan has opened the door to several big potential opportunities:

A gallery director scouting for new work of Susan’s style and subject matter may very likely google “Abiquiu Paintings” and “Ghost Ranch Paintings” as part of their search strategy. When Susan’s website ranks on Page 1, it means they can find her and look at her work. This is priceless attraction-marketing for free!
Similarly, an art licensing company may be looking for work similar to Susan’s for a new line of home decorations at Target Stores. Search engines would be part of their strategy.
Finally, tourists who have visited the area and fallen in love with it often get home and realize that they really want a piece of art to remind them of their experience at Ghost Ranch. What do you think might be one strategy they might use? Search engines – of course!

Now, in all honesty, search engines are only one method used by businesses and individuals to find what they want. But they are very powerful – so why would you want to miss out on the potential business with a website that doesn’t rank highly for the phrases that are heavily searched? Why would you risk missing out on possibly 50% or more of your potential new visitors?

You wouldn’t right? That would be plain crazy! But that is exactly what MOST artists are doing with their websites! And the most insane part of this is that SEO is not really that difficult to master, IF you know what to do.

A lot of powerful people think that search engines are important for your business. Here is what Qi Lu, President of Microsoft’s Online Services Division said recently…

Search Engine Advertising is the most powerful economic force on the internet.

Those are important words and as an artist I would certainly want the most powerful economic force on the internet working for my art career! So, if your website doesn’t already rank highly for search terms that actually bring customers here is what I would suggest:

Start by listening to the recording of Tara’s SEO For Artists Teleclass. It’s free, and as you can see from the testimonials above you could actually learn some useful info. This is really required knowledge for any serious art marketer.

If you are really serious about selling more art via high search engine rankings on your artist website, consider buying our Artist SEO Success System. It is a complete 21 day program to comprehensively optimize your website for search engines – and it is 100% focused on artists. At $97, it is not cheap but it is tremendous value when you think of the potential market you can open your website to (learn more). And yes – we have many great testimonials about this product too! Here is one that just came in this week…

I’m going through the workbook and doing a lot of the exercises which are really great. As an creater of educational materials and online courses (in my day job, I have a Masters in Instructional Design) I am totally impressed with the guide and workbook. It is so well written and thought out and CLEAR! I can tell you guys did a ton of work… Bravo! …. Kristen Hoard

As art marketers and artist website developers, our job is to give you the tools to create business success with your art. I’m handing you this one on a silver platter – so please make use of it and go sell some art. I can’t wait to open the champagne and toast your success!

Note: This article was originally published as a guest post on Tara Reed’s Art Licensing Blog

To Sell Art Think Big and Small!

Daniel — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 21:20:32 +0000

Being a professional artist means a number of things, a most important one being that you are able to make at least part of your living from the sales of your art. So how is that working out for you at this time on Planet Earth? Is the art market rewarding you with abundance in Summer 2010? (Apologies to our Southern Hemisphere readers – we know that you’re shivering right now!)

We’ve seen lots of commentary lately on the state of the art market and it varies all over the map – from super-optimistic tweets and posts on twitter and facebook that sales are up or even better than before, to art industry news reporting a variety of successes and failures, to calls we’ve had ourselves from artists reporting patchy results.

So how is the art market really – for you??

Our experience with the artists we connect with has been that well established pros are doing OK and in some cases are really prospering. While some are report flat or slightly declining sales the business is still there.

The artists who appear to be having more difficulty are those who are entering the market, particularly if they are selling original works with substantial price-tags. Establishing your presence and success in a new market is always a challenge in any sphere of business, but the way is always made easier when that market has expendable income – and that is not so much the case today compared with 10 years ago.

The path of the artist is a unique one though. Many businesses look first to the market to find a problem to solve and then develop and deliver a product to solve that problem. However artists, by their nature, tend to look inward, bring out something original, and then look for a market that will support and appreciate their vision. It’s a risky business but when it works it’s a beautiful thing and a beautiful life for the artist and their patrons. A wonderful counter-balance to the anarchy of just “letting market forces rule”.

To sell art in the current economy you have to put a system in place and work it even harder than you might normally. You can’t just do things on a wing and a prayer – you need a plan and a system as well. So “on a wing and a prayer and a plan and a system” you might say! We have written frequently on using systems to market art. If you’re interested in this you can research our articles or check out our “7 Steps To Sell Your Art Online” report over at Espresso Artist Websites.

A couple of practical suggestions though to build into your system:

Think Small – If you normally create large pieces that sell for $thousands, try adding some very small pieces to your body of work that sell for hundreds. You don’t have to sell out your artistic vision – just put that vision on a smaller canvas! This is important in a challenged economy because you want to create low-risk entry points for new collectors.

Think BIG – There is always a luxury market segment that has significant expendable income. There are still swags of people spending $5,000 or more per night to stay in luxury hotels and villas all over the world – and those are the cheap rooms! Those folks have available cash flow to buy art – so how could you find a place selling your work there? First, you will definitely need a great plan! What if you decided that you were absolutely going to do this and that failure was not an option. What would you do?

Think on that!

Art Calendar recently ran a series on the Luxury market – you might want to check into that too.

Art Marketing Video: What Works For You?

Daniel — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 19:17:47 +0000

How does web-video art-marketing impact you? What actually motivates you to take action? This is important to understand because it affects how you should pitch yourself when YOU create videos to promote your art.

On a side note, Tara Reed recently wrote a great article for us on the subject of YouTube Marketing Videos For Artists. This is a must-read if you are thinking of creating video to promote your work. Now, lets compare a few video styles and get your reactions to them. All are focused on the topic of Search Engine Optimization to give a good basis for comparison.

Example 1

In the first example, the fabulous Tara Reed recently acted a command performance in her video, How SEO for Artists is Like making a Google Field Goal:

Example 2

This next example is one I put together as a selling video on our Artist SEO Success System Landing page.

Example 3

Finally another example of SEO handled in an even more comedic tone. This one is really funny – you have to watch it!

The question I have for you is: What works for you in a marketing sense? What I mean by that is what would actually cause you to buy something? Does the entertainment factor make a difference to you? Or will you just enjoy the entertainment and then go on to find the lowest price wherever you can?

Please share and leave your comments below!

The Accessible Artist Sells More Art!

Daniel — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 22:21:39 +0000

Back in the early part of this century (so long ago!) I spent a lot of time visiting major art fairs all over the United States. Some were major recognized art events like the Sausalito Art Festival and King’s Mountain Art Fair in California, while others were more modest events with a focus on local artists and craftspeople.

One thing which was always interesting to me was to see how visitors to these fairs were often drawn to the booths of a few specific artists. Sometimes it was because they were well-known local or national identities, and other times it was because the art was really great. But often the booths containing some of the very best art (IMHO) were quiet and without traffic. Why was that?

Another data point was that the busiest booths at the shows were often those of photographers and jewelers. The popularity of jewelry was obvious – while it may be art, it’s also associated with how we look and feel – and that gets to one of the “big 3″ buying motivations – in this case, relationships. But why photography?

Over time I developed a theory that photography is popular with most people because it is more accessible than other art forms. Meaning what? Meaning that a normal person without an elaborate art education feels comfortable relating to photography without having to be told why it’s “important” or a great work of art. There is something about the fact that we have all used a camera and that the images look mostly real (even if incredibly artistic) that allows us to relate to photography in a natural and un-stressed way.

On the other hand, I often noticed situations where visitors to a booth containing some really excellent oil paintings or pastels were obviously less comfortable knowing how to respond to the work. Their gut feeling may have been that they loved or hated it, but in many cases this true response was buried beneath a hesitation of whether they should like it – as if an art expert was needed to interpret for them. This created more of a distance in how they responded to the art.

In the years since then, I’ve noticed similar behavior at many at events from small open studios to high-brow art events. Without question, making your work accessible to the hearts and minds of your visitors will help you sell your art. But how do you do that? How do you do that if your work is different or unusual? Of course their will always be a few people who really “get” your work from the beginning, but there may not be enough of them to sell your art to and build a prosperous commercial career on.

There are many answers to this question, but one which is most important in my mind is simply – communication. You have to find ways to bridge to a wider audience and help them understand you and your art. That can be very simple and here are just a few examples:

At an open studio or show, be sure to make time to engage with each visitor and listen to them. Ask them how they feel about a particular piece and give them some details about the technique you used or your motivation when you created the artwork or ….. This make you much more accessible.
On your artist website be sure to have a bio and artist statement that people can relate to. You want them to feel that you are real, and you also want to “bring visitors in to your inner circle” where they will feel comfortable enough to get really excited about you and your art.
Go way way beyond the concept that “my art speaks for itself”. It will to a few people for sure – but this is an age where few people trust their hearts and minds to make a purchase without some collateral support. So, be very 21st century in all your marketing plans and materials.
Create some champions! In an ideal world, the best sales and marketing person for your art is you the artist. But you can also get some great results by enlisting existing collectors and friends who love your work and can speak about it and explain it to other potential buyers. Sometimes you’ll find an existing patron whose greatest passion is to help you get more of your work into the world. Recognize and engage these wonderful people to help to build relationships and sell!

Good sales in any field mostly come down to a mix of excellent product and great relationships. To sell your art you need to follow that same formula. You have a wonderful product (your art!) so make it accessible by connecting with your audience and explaining why it (and you!) are important and wonderful!

Stealing From Your Artist Website: Does It Matter?

Daniel — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 23:42:36 +0000

Etoile Trees - Josse Ford 2002

We’ve been having another big discussion at Art Marketing Secrets recently – this time about the whole issue of stealing images from artist websites. While we all know that it’s true that this is a fact of life, the big question is: Does it really matter? Will it significantly change your art career if someone downloads and re-uses an image from your website?

At first it’s tempting to go for the obvious answer – OF COURSE it matters! It’s just plain wrong to steal work from a website and to re-use it without permission – especially for commercial purposes. And those images could be used to make prints and art-cards, and could be licensed out to make all manner of things like coffee mugs and tea pot stands.

But is there a real risk of that?

On the other side of the fence one could argue: What can anyone seriously do with a small 72 dpi image? It’s not print quality so it’s not like it is going to be published as an expensive giclee image for example. And in some cases it misses an important point:

What if in making your images completely safe you make it more difficult for galleries and collectors to use your website? That would be like shooting yourself in the foot – right?

One example of this is the popular mouse-over image galleries where you can’t actually see an enlargement of a thumbnail image unless your mouse is hovering over the thumbnail. It probably protects your art but anyone seriously interested in your work is going to have their patience extremely tested – and that’s not really worth considering if you hope to sell some art or “be found”!

You can also add digital watermarks to your images, but in our experience they tend to look unsightly and take away from the quality of the viewing experience. This might be OK if you are focused in a very low-cost art-print market space, but if you’re into promoting your high-end originals we have yet to see a site that looks good with watermarked images.

Some of the do-it-yourself online portfolio services offer image protection as part of their service, but it is far from foolproof. Want to know why? I just tested two of them and was impressed at first that I was not able to right-click and download the image on the screen. But then I remembered the “Grab” application on my Mac – and in a few moments I had successfully copied images from both services – glad that I wasn’t paying them for that feature!

So, there you have it. We haven’t yet seen a fool-proof solution for protecting art online and at 72 dpi, we’re not sure that it actually does matter. There’s an age-old concept that wherever you put your attention, there you go…. Based on that, our honest feeling as we write today is that you should probably spend more time thinking about and planning how to get the RIGHT people to see your website than worrying about how to keep the wrong people away!

That’s our view and it’s always subject to change if we learn something new. What do YOU think about this? Please comment below – we really want to hear what you have to say!

International Art Scammers Want You!

Tanya Mikaela — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 23:36:06 +0000

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.Â It goes like this:

A man emailed me, (the letters always seem to open with “Good Day” and then they introduce themselves) and said he had seen my art and was interested in purchasing a particular piece, if it isÂ still available.Â He said he is relocating to the UK for business immediately (creating a sense of urgency for speedy service), and that he has his own shipper ready to take care of that end of things for him includingÂ insurance.

I initially assumed this was legitimate, and wrote back to tell him that the piece was available either as an original or a giclee, and described pricing and all other pertinant info.Â He informed me that he would like the giclee, to consider it purchased, and that he would be sending out a cashiers check immediately with an overdraftÂ that would cover my piece as well as the shipper.

I was instructed to deposit the check, and then pay the shipper for him at that time.Â I wrote back to say that I preferred that he send two checks, and IÂ would be happy to give one to the shipper upon pickup, and that I would need a receipt for the shipping so I know the total and the company info.Â He replied that he was sending only one check as this was easier for him and that IÂ shouldÂ just payÂ the shipper out of that.

Red flags for me:

With each email I asked politely for his contact info and address so I could keep it for my records, and also I inquired how he found my site.Â He never gave me this info.Â Finally he gave me an address in North Carolina (hm…he is instantly relocating to the UK so this is useless).

Also, who would tell a business person how to conduct their business?Â If I ask for two checks that should be no big deal,Â as it is still only one trip to the bank.Â Also, why can’t his own shipper just bill him?

I asked him if his shipper would be handling the packing, and said that I assume he is familiar with handling artwork, that I would not be responsible for the safe delivery of my piece once it left my studio, and to please confirm that he understood this. He never responded to this.

Well…thank God my brother warned me about this as he had seen the scam before. Here is how it works:

The assumption is that you will receive the check, deposit it and send out the goods and pay from your account to the “shipper” who will leave with your money and art.Â The check will ultimately never clear, or bounce or something and you are out the money and art.Â (I have shipped art from LAÂ to DC andÂ it was $500. for one largeÂ canvas…imagine the cost to the UK!)

Well,Â I have run a business for too long, and was not planning to process any order or release any goods until the check cleared in my account, but I still felt that this might come back to bite me.

Finally, I emailed the man back, saying that I was not comfortable with the arrangement, and that he would need to send two checks or pay the shipper directly or I would not proceed.Â He wrote me back that it was too late…he had already sent the check and so we would need to proceed as planned.Â He also said (I guess because he knew I was suspicious) that he heard about me through “a friend”Â (hm…what friend?? This did not do the trick).

My final email stated that I would simply send the check back to the address he gave me in North Carolina when I received it, and that I was sorry for any inconvenience. I have not heard back.

It seems that there are many variations on this scam, but all have a similar phrasing and all involve an overdraft of some sort to be paid to a third party from the person targeted.

My brother now responds to these saying he does not do bookings by email, and to call his studio to make arrangements (which seems to end it right there).

So – be careful. There are many scams targeted at parting enthusiastic artists from their art and their cash. Don’t let your excitement over a potential sale overshadow your common sense!

Editor’s Note: Guest Author, Tanya Mikaela is an award-winning artist from Southern California. She was recently showcased in our Featured Artist section.

Is Your Artist Website Helping Buyers To Find You?

Daniel — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 02:03:24 +0000

Art Buyers want to find you – but your website probably isn’t helping!

If you’re like most artists with a website, you started out with a dream that collectors would actually find you through search engines. But the reality for most artists is:

Your website floats alone in cyberspace with almost no visitors.

That’s not good enough! Artist websites are not just great showcases – they should and can also attract a steady stream of potential art buyers for you to build relationships with and sell your art to. While search engines are just one method of attracting new visitors to your website, they are incredibly important because they:

Are a very low-cost form of promotion
Market your work 24/7
Market your art to a truly global audience

So, as much as we recommend that you also do all the other attraction marketing techniques like mailouts, personal networking, and social networking, ranking highly in search engine results on your style of work must be a serious part of your marketing strategy.

You can learn how to bring search engines, the most powerful economic force on the Internet*, to your artist website with the complete do-it-yourself SEO system, “21 Days To Bring Search Engine Traffic To Your Artist Website“

Created exclusively for artists by our sister business Beautiful Artist Websites, “21 Days” is based on 5 years of experience building premium artist websites, together with BAW’s own success in consistently ranking #1 in organic Google search results. It solves the big problems that confront artists with SEO and delivers powerful results.

It’s very well done, informative, and easy to understand. I’m determined to be successful with it. Donna Rossi, New York

I have spent a small fortune learning SEO from various experts. I wish I had found you first – it would have saved me thousands. Awesome value. Tim O’Neill, Nebraska

Make a commitment to a new level of seriousness and success in your art career by optimizing your artist website for search engines. Learn more about the SEO System.

Note: We very rarely post commercial offers on Art Marketing Secrets however we believe that poor website search engine results are a consistent and compelling problem for nearly all artists and that the problem requires a serious commercial solution. That’s why we took the time to spend 9 months of our lives creating this new product! For FTC compliance, please note that Art Marketing Secrets and Beautiful Artist Websites are sister businesses that will jointly benefit from any sales of the product discussed in this article.

* Quote from Qi Lu, President of Microsoft Online Services Division

Selling Original Art Is An Event!

Daniel — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 06:24:11 +0000

2009 was the year of gloom and doom – not just for the economy in general but for art galleries in particular. Everywhere I looked last year I saw stories about the impending death of the gallery system and the importance of selling art online.

Well – something has changed for me in 2010 – I’m tired of all the gloom! It may be that I’m feeling suddenly optimistic because I just scanned through “The Next 100 years” by George Friedman at Borders last week (and no – for FTC purposes – that is NOT an affiliate link!). Mr Friedman suggests that the U.S. is only in the very beginning of its global leadership and that our current strife is just an adolescent hiccup of sorts – something I really needed to hear.

But no – that’s not really the reason for my sudden enthusiasm for life. The reason is that it occurred to me that enjoying art and selling art is very much an event and that is not going to change. People may buy screen-savers online, and prints online, and occasional original works online, but experiencing and selling high-value original art is very much about selling a physically-based experience.

Has anyone noticed recently that the Met or the Guggenheim or the MOMA are short on visitors? I don’t think so – at least not when I last looked. People love art and it’s a much more rewarding experience in the flesh – even if it’s an electronic art form. Let me give you an example:

A few years ago I went to the PS1 show in New York. There was an amazing piece of electronic video art that explored the inner worlds of classical music – it was mind-blowing and breathtaking. Now I could have looked at that on my laptop screen or a big Plasma screen, but the live experience was much more powerful. Why? Because of the shared experience enjoyed with other humans. Even in today’s high-tech world humans still get high on being with other humans and sharing something amazing.

You’ll see the same thing at a gallery or art show opening – there is a buzz around certain art pieces that grows with the shared enjoyment. And the power of a nice wine and some excellent hors d’oeuvres to fan that buzz! And we haven’t even started to talk about the entrance and participation of the star-artist.

When these factors reach a resonance there is the potential for a room full of those happy little red-dots and the fulfillment of our creative and commercial dreams.

All of this can apply equally to any live art event – from an open studio to the opening night of a new exhibition at a major art Museum. All it takes is great art, excellent planning and promotion, and an enjoyment of people.

Will selling art online ever be able to approximate this? Uh – No!

Selling art online is extremely valuable when used for it’s rightful purpose, but when it comes to original art, the real value of your online presence and online marketing should be to attract live bodies to be in front of your work at an art event. Its that simple!

In the course of the next few weeks we’ll feature a series of articles on how to use your online marketing to bring people to your live art events. We’ll also look at how to get right many of the critical success elements in planning and staging a really successful art event. Please check back soon for more in this series. And make sure you go to a live art event every week – if you’re an artist that is an essential part of your market development – and fun too!

We Never Do This! Replay of SEO Success Tips For Artists: 48 Hours Only

Daniel — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 17:43:21 +0000

Did you miss last Wednesday’s Webinar “SEO Success Tips For Fine Artists”? No Problem! We’ve posted a full recording below for you to listed to at your leisure.

IMPORTANT! – This will only be available for 48 hours until 12 noon PST Monday 12/21. After that it will disappear into our digital archives. Watch the replay now – and take notes!

This webinar replay is now closed and archived. If you’d like more information about SEO for Artist Websites, please visit our SEO For Artist Websites Information Page or contact us!

Help Google Help You Sell Art: A Webinar Invite

Daniel — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 07:40:46 +0000

Art buyers want to find you – but your website isn’t helping very much!

If you’re like most artists with a website, you started out with a dream that collectors would actually find you through search engines. But the reality for most artists is:

Your website floats alone in cyberspace with almost no visitors.

Artist websites are great showcases and there are many strategies you can use to share your work with potential buyers – such as mailouts to galleries, email, personal networking, and social networking. All are very worthwhile, must be a part of your marketing plan, and require a big commitment of consistent effort.

But search engine traffic – the holy grail of online marketing that most of us dreamed of – eludes us still. Why is that when according to Qi Lu, President of Microsoft’s Online Services Division:

Search (engines) determine where users go online and search advertising is the most powerful economic force on the internet.

Are artists so radically different from other businesses that the most powerful economic force on the internet won’t work for them in some beneficial way?

We say no! While it’s true that search engines by themselves will not make your art career, they certainly can and should play a role in connecting you with some of the people who could help you make your career happen – people you could build relationships with and sell your art to.

Interested? Join us Wednesday December 16 at 6pm PST for a live webinar on Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Success Tips For Fine Artists and learn simple powerful techniques to help you bring more quality search engine visitors to your artist website.

Youâ€™ll learn:

The 4 stages of the online art marketing model and in which ones search engines can really show their marketing power.
The 3 essential elements that contribute to Search Engine marketing success and why you need all of them.
3 Simple Tips to quickly improve your search engine rankings

This presentation is limited to a small group so please register now in the form below or on our Events Page and be sure to join the webinar a few minutes before the scheduled starting time. Weâ€™re looking forward to seeing you there!

Note: If you can’t see the sign-in form below please refresh the page in your web browser.