by Becky Sciullo | Nov 3, 2021 | Artist Blogging 101, Artist Websites, Blogging
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
by Becky Sciullo | Aug 17, 2021 | Artist Websites
Major League Baseball’s Field of Dreams game has been talked about a lot lately. I didn’t watch, but I’ve read that it was a rating success. If you’ve attended Build a Dynamic Web Presence, you might remember my “field of dreams” slide. In the movie, Kevin Costner’s character Ray Kinsella hears a voice whispering, “If you build it, he will come.” I like to play with that phrase a little in reference to your artist website, asking, “If you build it, will they come?”.
Your website is not the Field of Dreams.
Yes, It can help you achieve your dream. But, you have to do something to get people to your site. Just building it and expecting it to do all the heavy lifting for you does not work.
The Good News
However, by taking a consistent, proactive approach to communicating your message to a target audience, you will find that they do come!
My Build a Dynamic Web Presence presentation explains how you can set up a system to do this. I’m currently scheduling groups for 2022. And, if I presented to your art group this year, you can attend a make-up session on September 8, 2021. More information will follow, via your art group. Or, contact me for registration information.
To get in touch either to schedule me for a presentation or for more information about the make-up session, please contact me at becky@artisan-advantage.com.
Photo by Waldemar Brandt on Unsplash
by Becky Sciullo | Jul 12, 2021 | Artist Websites, Resources, Social Media
Here are some marketing ideas for your Monday morning.
Seven Art Marketing Ideas
1 – If you offer an email newsletter sign-up on your website, make sure you send a welcome email when new subscribers join your list. Make an impression when they’ve just joined, and you and your work are top of mind.
2 – Consider Instagram live for artist talks, Q&A sessions, and other interactions with your fans.
3 – With all this marketing, don’t forget about your portfolio. A focused, organized, and up-to-date portfolio prepares you to present your work whenever asked. I love Artwork Archive for this purpose.
4 – Identify buying patterns with your customer base and organize your marketing efforts around these patterns.
5 – Are you looking for a way to create graphics or marketing materials with your art? Try Canva! I have zero graphic design skills and find it very easy to use:)
6 – Use these visual content marketing trends to your advantage.
7 – Finally, if you want to get started with email marketing, here is a great round-up of the top free services.
Learn More
Monday Morning Marketing Ideas is a regular blog post series to offer ideas that you might use in your business. Thoughts provided cover a wide variety of medium and marketing methods. Some may seem a little crazy. Others, you might say, now why didn’t I think of that? These are simply ideas that pop into my head or come across my desk as I work through the week. I don’t always have time to write an entire blog post on the subject, but I thought they might be worth sharing.
For even more ideas and information, join my weekly newsletter here.
by Becky Sciullo | Jun 28, 2021 | Artist Websites, Resources, Tools
Here are some marketing ideas for your Monday morning.
Five Art Marketing Ideas
1 – It’s never too soon to start your email list—many people who visit a website for the first time never return. It’s good when fans subscribe to social media profiles, but that doesn’t guarantee that they will see all of your content. One way to keep people coming back and ensure they don’t miss content is by asking them to subscribe to your blog or an email newsletter.
2 – Make sure your website is mobile-friendly using a tool like this.
3 – Make it easy for people to purchase from you. You can do this by having clear information on your website, such as a call to action or easy-to-find purchase buttons in your gallery. It also helps to have a dedicated page explaining how to purchase work.
4 – Print out your work as stickers using a service such as Sticker App. You could include them as thank-you for artwork purchases or offer them as a fun, low-cost item when displaying your work for sale.
5 – If you offer limited edition prints, rather than providing them as afterthoughts to your original work, give them the attention they deserve. Announce the release of each new edition through your email newsletter, blog, and social media.
Learn More
Monday Morning Marketing Ideas is a regular blog post series to offer ideas that you might use in your business. Thoughts provided cover a wide variety of medium and marketing methods. Some may seem a little crazy. Others, you might say, now why didn’t I think of that? These are simply ideas that pop into my head or come across my desk as I work through the week. I don’t always have time to write an entire blog post on the subject, but I thought they might be worth sharing.
For even more ideas and information, join my weekly newsletter here.
by Becky Sciullo | Jun 25, 2021 | Artist Websites, Blogging
Dorit Brauer is an award-winning author and artist. I had the pleasure of meeting her in early 2020 when presenting to a local art league. She recently emailed me news of her acceptance into a competitive art exhibition, along with this blog post. It’s worth sharing as a great example of how to blog about an event.
Sharing Her Story
Blogging is a great way to give followers a glimpse into your world, whether behind the scenes in your studio or sharing events such as Dorit does in this post. Some points to note:
1 – She provides background information about the show and the significance of being chosen for it.
2 – She offers good visuals in the way of images and video.
3 – The video allows people who can’t attend in person to get a view of the exhibit and the perspective of her art within the show. Also there is a fun twist encouraging viewers to take a close look at her work.
4 – She makes good use of hyperlinks, linking to the venue, the Hoyt Art Center, should readers want to visit, within the post and also provides links to related blog posts.
And, finally – a shameless plug – Dorit found this opportunity by reading my email newsletter🙂 (If you’re not already getting it, I’d love for you to join here).
A Dynamic Website
Please spend a few minutes on Dorit’s website, and learn that she is an energetic artist living out her creativity every day. Her site is a perfect example of a “dynamic website”!
Thank you, Dorit, for sharing your work and inspiration with the world!
by Becky Sciullo | May 24, 2021 | Artist Websites, Blogging
Here are some marketing ideas for your Monday morning.
Five art marketing ideas.
1 – If you have a live exhibition set up, you can also turn it into a virtual show. Photograph it and then make it available online for people who can’t visit in person.
2 – Take advantage of what others are saying about your work by adding a press page to your artist website. Provide links to articles, blog posts, and other media mentions that lend credibility to your work and give people more information about you as an artist.
3 – When referencing your website’s pages and other internal information in blog posts, make sure that you use hyperlinks to make them easy to access. Internal linking also helps with SEO.
4 – Demographics vary, sometimes widely, for social media usage. Make sure you are investing time in the platforms that make the most sense for reaching your target audience.
5 – When visiting with customers and fans in person, make sure you invite them to subscribe to email newsletters and social media profiles. You can encourage tagging while they are with you by offering a special gift as a thank you.
Learn More
Monday Morning Marketing Ideas is a weekly blog post series to offer ideas that you might use in your business. Thoughts provided cover a wide variety of medium and marketing methods. Some may seem a little crazy. Others, you might say, now why didn’t I think of that? These are simply ideas that pop into my head or come across my desk as I work through the week. I don’t always have time to write an entire blog post on the subject, but I thought they might be worth sharing.
For even more ideas and information, join my weekly newsletter here.
