Category Archives: Artist websites

Artist websites, Common artists website mistakes

(T̶e̶n̶) Thirteen biggest website mistakes artists make – Part V

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social_media_share_buttonsAllow me to continue this blog series by describing yet another common artist website mistake many artists make. If you are new to this blog topic please see Part I, Part II, Part III, and Part IV where I discussed the first eight common website mistakes I see many artists make.

I’ll continue where I had left off with the next common website mistake:

9) No social media share buttons

Social media buttons broadly fall into two categories. The first category is the ‘Hey come check out my Facebook page’ one. This type actually takes visitors off your website and brings them to your Facebook page which is not nearly as valuable as the second type; which is what I call the ‘Share’ type. The ‘Share’ type buttons are those social media buttons helping your site’s visitors share your site with their network be it on Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, or Twitter. Done right it helps visitors share a link to your website along with a description of your artwork and possibly an image or two simply by clicking a button. And, it does all that while leaving visitors on your website! You can pre-define what gets shared when setting your social media buttons. It’s a great way to help spread the word!

Looking to gain more insights into how to become a successful artist? Learn what you need to know and be guided through the process, step by step. This is what my Art of profiting from your Art workshop is all about. And the best part is it’s now available online for you to study at your convenience. Click to learn the secrets only successful artists know and see your income grow! This workshop will more than pay for itself in no time!

Have you implemented any website changes that resulted in higher subscriptions and/or increased sales? I would love to hear from you what they were and what were the outcomes!

Copyright 2014, Liron Sissman, ArtistAdvisory.com. All rights reserved.

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If so, all you need to do is include the following with it:

Liron Sissman is a professional artist and an MBA. She coaches artists at ArtistAdvisory.com. This article was originally published in her ArtistAdvisory Blog: The Art of profiting from your Art, which is sent to thousands of artists who are elevating their businesses. Start your subscription today and read more articles like this at http://artistadvisory.com

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Artist websites, Common artists website mistakes

(T̶e̶n̶) Thirteen biggest website mistakes artists make – Part IV

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So far in this blog series (Part I, II, and III) I have addressed six common website mistakes I see many artists make. Are you one of them? I’ll continue in this post where I left off.

7) Not using your website email

Most artists that email me are using an email provider such as: gmail, yahoo, hotmail, mac, and optonline rather than their own website domain email. As a result their email address typically varies from something as cryptic as: xw3evei69@gmail.com to at best something like: jmartist@gmail.com. While the latter is better than the former neither is as good as it ought to be. If you have a website you should be using your own website email for your art correspondence. That would be something like: Joe@JoeArt.com, or in my case: Liron@Liron.com. Using your own domain email will put your website in front of everyone you email with. Why advertise gmail when you can advertise your own art? Using your own domain email will also help in other ways. I talk about it in my workshop: The Art of profiting from your Art which is downloadable here.

If you are already paying for your website hosting, chances are you are already paying for your own domain email as well. Some template websites do not include it. However, there is still an easy way to set it up.

Use YOUR brand! Let people know what you are about!

8) No email address

Some artists’ Contact pages do not include an email address, just a Contact form. Are you one of them?

If so, I realize you may be worried about getting spam emails but there are other, better, ways to fight spam. While a contact form gives visitors a way to reach out to you, some people expect and prefer to use email. Unlike contact forms, an email retains a copy of the correspondence in the outgoing box of the sender thus making it easier to follow up on, or refer to, later.

Also, an email is more likely to offer a larger screen area to craft, review, and edit one’s message. I sometimes open a Word document just to conveniently write and edit my message before I copy and paste it into someone’s contact form. Why make people take extra steps to reach you?

Additionally, having your email, like having your phone number, clearly listed on your website will help visitors, and prospective clients, feel they know how to find you if they need to. It will let them contact you without the need to pull up your website and fill out forms.

Lastly, a contact form runs the risk of the person filling it misspelling their email address which could prevent further communication.

If your website offers a contact form, consider adding your email to it as well.

Have you recently made any website, or email, modifications that you found helpful? Please share your experience!

If you find my blog helpful, please share it! And, subscribe for future updates!

Copyright 2014, Liron Sissman, ArtistAdvisory.com. All rights reserved.

Would you like to share this post on your blog or newsletter?
If so, all you need to do is include the following with it:
Liron Sissman is a professional artist and an MBA. She coaches artists at ArtistAdvisory.com. This post was originally published on her ArtistAdvisory Blog: The Art of profiting from your Art, which is sent to thousands of artists who are elevating their businesses. Start your subscription today and read more posts like this at www.artistadvisory.com

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Artist websites, Common artists website mistakes

(T̶e̶n̶) Thirteen biggest website mistakes artists make – Part II

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perfecting_your_journeyWhile I’m addressing common artists website mistakes in no particular order, you may wish to read this blog series starting with Part I. In it, I list the first three common wesite mistakes many artists make. I will continue from there highlighting some additional ‘opportunities’ technology gives us that many artists fail to take advantage of.

Are you one of these artists?

4) No good statistics on how people are finding YOU

If you are not getting any statistics, or if you are getting insufficient statistics, then yes, you too are falling into this category! Let me explain. Good statistics give you valuable feedback that can help you better attract your target audience. It is far easier when collectors, art consultants, galleries, or retail buyers are finding YOU through your website than when you have to go out there knocking on their doors, trying to introduce yourself. Getting good website statistics will help you do just that. Good statistics will tell you what phrases people are using when they are finding you.

Are you attracting your target audience?

Let me give you an example. I put up my first artist website in 1999. At the time, I was getting some statistics and knew my site got decent traffic. BUT, I didn’t know how people found me. What keywords they were searching on when they stumbled on my site. When I re-did my website in 2004 I upgraded my statistics to Google Analytics which for the first time showed me what keywords people where using when finding my website. I realized most were searching on ‘Artist Portfolios’ which happened to be an unintentional keyword carry over from my first website. Many were probably other artists looking for a physical portfolio, you know, the kind you’d buy at an art supply store. My site, wasn’t attracting the right traffic. Knowing it has allowed me to correct it.

Do you know how people are finding you? Are they your target audience?

If you are unsure, then you are not getting good enough statistics. Good statistics will help you answer questions such as:

  • How are people finding you?

– What keywords are they using? And

– What other sites are they coming from?

  • Are they finding what they are looking for?

– This is measured by actions they take having found you like: Making purchases, contacting you for opportunities, or signing for your newsletter. And by

– How much time they spend on your site

  • Do some of your artworks routinely attract more hits and more interest? If so, which ones?
  • Which social media site drives most traffic, or most serious traffic, to your website?
  • How engaged is your audience?

– This is often measured by how much repeated traffic vs. new traffic does your site generate. And by

– Actions your visitors take having found your site.

  • Is your audience, local, regional, national or international?
  • How many of those who found you searched for you by name vs. how many people have ‘discovered’ you online?

Would these be helpful to know? By knowing your statistics you can better tweak your keywords to attract your target market. Which brings me to the next common mistake many artists make.

5) No good keywords

Luckily Google provides some great tools that can help you with much of this. Not only does Google provide free statistics through Google Analytics and Google Webmaster Tools but it also provides a keyword utility to help you determine which keywords are most commonly used in searches by people looking for art like YOURS.

If these tools are unfamiliar to you, or if you are not sure how to apply them, you are not alone. That’s why in my workshop: The Art of profiting from your Art, I teach participants how to identify their best keywords and how and where to apply them to their websites.

Do you know how people are finding you? Are you attracting your target market? Please share your experience!

Copyright 2014, Liron Sissman, ArtistAdvisory.com. All rights reserved.

Would you like to share this post on your blog or newsletter? If so, all you need to do is include the following with it: Liron Sissman is a professional artist and an MBA. She coaches artists at ArtistAdvisory.com. This post was originally published on her ArtistAdvisory Blog: The Art of profiting from your Art, which is sent to thousands of artists who are elevating their businesses. Start your subscription today and read more posts like this at www.artistadvisory.com

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