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More than 10 minutes of expert advice about your art career. If you’re an artist and are trying to get your name out there I have a few things that will help.
O.K. I’m going to try to keep this simple. I’ve had a website for more than 10 years and only used it as a portfolio. I was lucky to get 2000 hits a month and I really didn’t care. A friend of mine, who is a marketing expert, has been hammering me for years to optimize my site; it sounded like a lot of work with intangible returns, so I ignored him.
The website that I have now was built as a gift for me with hopes that I would be motivated to develop it. I just didn’t see anything out there that directly applied to art marketing online so I let things ride. It turns out that my buddy was right and everything he was saying was true. It took me 5 years to get the message. I finally got it Sept/2009.when he sent me a link to a site that was selling an online course called “Art and Money.” I was skeptical at very least but went for it and purchased the course. Now after only three months I’m averaging 100,000 hits a month. The thing is that art marketing online is something that eludes many artists. If you are like me I wasn’t very resourceful when it came to the Internet and I didn’t know what I should be looking for or where I could find it. I am still at the preliminary stages but what I’ve learned and how I’m applying it just keeps expanding and getting better. So my purpose today is to cast some light on this whole art career thing by hooking you up with some Ideas and resources I’ve come across. First you have to get your name online. Everyone is talking “Brands,” your name is a good Brand to use. You need a website!If you don’t have one, here are several ways to get your art online for free or for a nominal annual fee. All you have to do is register.
www.facebook.com (set up a fan page) http://www.google.com/intl/en/options/ (a must)
There are literally hundreds of sites dedicated to the arts and the best ones will start you out with a free account. What I would suggest is register for as many as you can then go back and start uploading your images and refining your bio. Once your name and other info are on these sites Google and other search engines will begin showing search results for your name. Social websites are great to get involved with because they connect you with people and they are at the top of the crawl list for search engines like Google.
Build your own or have a website built for you.
The big issue with your own site is having control over it. What I mean is; when you have some one build a site for you make sure you can update the content yourself and simply. Some developers will hold you at ransom to update the simplest things like adding images or descriptions. You can build your own site by using “open source” software. “Open source” is not all created equally. Most Open Source software is free but it isn’t for a novice. You can also have some one build a basic open source site from $200. - $300. When I build my next site I will be using Wordpress, as it seems to be the most straightforward, comprehensive.
Before you build you need a web host.
Simply put your “web host” makes your site visible. Web hosts will sponsor your Domain name and help you get your site up and running. The key to a good web host is 24/7 live support that should be included in the price of your hosting plan. Web hosts are competitive so you should be able to find a good one for under $10. a month. Some web hosts will give you a free domain name for a year. www.midphase.com has all the above attributes and it supports word press. The key elements for success: The first thing you need to do and I can’t emphasize this enough, visit www.emptyeasel.com. This site has a handle on what artists need to do to be a success online. This is a great resource and shouldn’t be overlooked.
Start Blogging! TWITTER will help you overcome your fear of writing.
In conclusion it is important to remember "Rome wasn't built in a day"; so take your time plan your online strategy and revise it regularly. The more content you have online the the more exposure you will have.
Here's some things to remember
Get your art online (websites, your personal site, media sites)
Look for art resources and follow through.
Start Blogging (social media)
Take your time and create a sound foundation for your art online (quality content)
3.25 Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved." |
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