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