Are You Ready for the Holidays?

Is your Artist Website Ready for Holiday Sales?

Halloween is over, and thoughts have turned to Thanksgiving and Christmas.

With news of shortages on the rise, holiday shoppers will reportedly get started earlier than usual this year. So make sure your artist website is ready. Here are some things you can do to make the most of the 2021 holiday shopping season smooth rather than chaotic.

 

First, Get Your Web Pages Ready

Update your How to Purchase page. If you don’t have one, devote a page to holiday shopping providing information such as cutoff dates for sales. Alert your customers trying to receive their order on or before December 24th of important dates for that to happen. Make sure you keep in mind shipping carrier deadlines. December 15th is a pretty good bet if shipping within the US, but make sure you research your particular situation. You could format this page in a Frequently Asked Questions format.

Make sure all of your work is listed on your site and up to date. And, if you are using a shopping cart, make sure the buttons are working.

Consider offering gift cards, which can be done through providers such as Square, or you can create your own.

Then, Prepare Your Blog Posts

Your artist blog is a perfect place to promote your products and services this holiday season. Here are some examples of the kinds of posts you can share to help your readers and maximize holiday sales.

Share new work to stay top-of-mind as people are browsing the internet for gift ideas.

If applicable, highlight different price points that might accommodate different pricing levels.

If there is any way to draw upon seasonal elements, do it. For example, if you create functional pottery, show images in holiday settings. For jewelry artists, highlight your creations paired with festive outfits.

Don’t forget customary campaigns like Black Friday and Cyber Monday and write some blog posts around these themes.

Share pertinent shipping dates in a blog post.

If you have a large local or regional following – consider highlighting local events that your followers may be interested in attending.

Don’t forget a plan for thanks and seasons greetings. At Thanksgiving, post a blog thanking your customers, followers, and fans. You might even want to send cards or offer a small token of appreciation for larger clients, but even a blog post will do. Just do it. You can do the same for Christmas and the New Year.

Get Ready for Art Sales

For all of these ideas, prepare them in advance! You will likely be too busy to focus on them when the time comes for them to post.

Share Your Ideas

Do you have an excellent idea for a holiday blog post? Share it by sending it to becky@artisan-advantage.com.

 

 

 

Photo by Artboard Studio on Unsplash

Monday Morning Marketing Ideas

Here are some art marketing ideas for your Monday Morning.

Five Art Marketing Ideas

1 – Do you welcome commission work? If so,  it would help if you announced to your audience that you are actively taking new clients in 2021. Then, give them some details on the process and share some past work. Explain that there are limited spots. Get on top of mind with your clients in the new year.  

2 – Subscribe and participate with the platform Talenthouse.  

3 – Do a year-end review. Google “year-end marketing review,” and you will find plenty of information on how to do one. You mainly want to cover what went well, what not so well, what you want to do better next year.

4 –  Consider 2021 holiday marketing NOW.  Take a final look around at what other artists did this year.   Are there any ideas you can use for next year? Please make a note now and then plan it out in advance. It would help if you started planning for holiday marketing in July. 

5 – Consider an artist residency. While many are paused now, it’s still a good time to research if there are any that interest you.  Residencies are a great way to expand your practice and make new contacts.  

Get More Art Marketing Help

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Monday Morning Marketing Ideas

Here are some marketing ideas for your Monday morning.

Ten Art Marketing Ideas

1 – Make a promotion plan for 2021.  Identify different holidays and events that you can market around.  Consider planning out blog posts,  flash sales and other ideas to promote your work around these events.

2 – Instagram has recently become more search-friendly.  Make sure you are using relevant keywords in your posts.

3 – Make sure you are collecting contact information from ALL of your customers so that you can stay in touch.

4 – Do you have an elevator pitch?    Work on a quick statement to keep in your back pocket for when you need it.  You might not be presently riding elevators, but there are other ways to use it, such as in email introductions and your social media profile.  You will be surprised how often you can use it.

5-  Do you have testimonials from clients about your work?  Add them to your website.  Feature them in a blog post.

6 – Don’t underestimate the importance of your bio.  Make sure you add it to all of your social media profiles and your website.  Consider that 50-word statement mentioned above.

7  – Come up with a list of seasonal keywords to weave into your blog posts to stay relevant and current with what’s going on in your clients’ lives.

8Do you create work that you can offer together as bundles for a small discount?  Grouping multiple items together can encourage sales.

9 – Are you serious about selling to interior designers?  Consider setting up a profile on Houzz.

10 – Always remember to follow-up.  Have you answered all their questions?  Was the client happy with the results? Can you stay in touch?

Would you like weekly updates with information like this to help your art business?  Sign up for my mailing list here.  

If you’re signed up for my email newsletter and NOT receiving my weekly updates, please check your spam folder.

Artists’ Book Club: The War of Art by Steven Pressfield

Next up for the Artisan Advantage Book Club is The War of Art by Steven Pressfield.  This is not a new book, but it’s been on my reading list forever.
Support Independent Bookstores - Visit IndieBound.org

Here is an overview of the book taken from Goodreads.

Internationally bestselling author of Last of the Amazons, Gates of Fire, and Tides of War, Steven Pressfield delivers a guide to inspire and support those who struggle to express their creativity. Pressfield believes that “resistance” is the greatest enemy, and he offers many unique and helpful ways to overcome it.

 

Join the Club!

It’s easy.  All you have to do is get your copy and start reading!  Stay connected to the Artisan Advantage blog for posts about how you might apply principles from the book to your visual art business, and for opportunities to share your comments about the book with others.

Click here to read more about the Club.

Sign up for my email newsletter here.

Disclosure:  Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” If you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers.

Artist Blogging 101: Start Posting

With your artist blog pages complete and a basic understanding of the structure of a blog post, its time to start posting.

Just Do It.

Don’t stress too much about getting your blog posts started.  If this is a new habit for you, the best thing to do is to start writing.  Keeping your vision and goals in mind, begin crafting posts for your blog.

Here is a list of ideas on what to post. 

Tips to Get Started Posting on Your Artist Blog

Just write.  Then write some more.  The more you write, the easier it will become for you to generate content.

Be authentic.  Write in the same way that you would speak to your live audience.

Set a goal of ten posts before you start sharing your blog with others via email or social media.  Most platforms will allow you to set your blog so that it does not show up in search engines until you are ready for it to be public.

Give Yourself a Goal

Set a realistic goal of writing a specific number of posts this week. Set some time on your calendar and get writing.

Stay tuned to Artist Blogging 101.  As you develop a writing habit for your blog, future posts here are going to help you with the writing process and developing a strategy for your blog.

 

 

 

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