Nevue Fine Art Marketing

You are here: Home / Art Marketing / 4 Ways to Expand Your Online Presence – Art Marketing

By

4 Ways to Expand Your Online Presence – Art Marketing

Increase Art Sales By Expanding Your Online Presence

Are you becoming frustrated because your artist website is receiving no traffic?

One major challenge that artists face selling artwork online is exposure.

It is not easy to build an online presence. It will take a lot of work.

But you will see great results if you are willing to put in the time and learn how other artists and businesses are building an online presence. 

online marketing plan

Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase by clicking on an affiliate link, Nevue Fine Art Marketing may earn an affiliate commission at no additional cost to you. Affiliate relationships include, but are not limited to, Bluehost, Tailwind, Skimlinks, SareASale and StudioPress. To learn more visit Affiliate Link Disclosure Policy

Table Of Contents
  1. Increase Art Sales By Expanding Your Online Presence
  2. Expand Your Online Presence
  3. Expand Your Online Presence With A Website
  4. Other Online Art Gallery Options
  5. Social Networking Sites
  6. Be Professional
  7. Master SEO
  8. Start An Art Blog To Expand Your Online Presence
  9. Final Thoughts On How To Expand Your Online Presence

Expand Your Online Presence

Today, artists can showcase their artwork to people from around the world.

This was not possible not too long ago. Artists would have to rely on selling their art in galleries (if accepted), artist agents, resale dealers, and craft shows.

Trying to make money in those days as an artist was very difficult.

It seems like the people who benefited the most were the people selling the art, not the people creating it. 

Today artists can make more money selling their art than ever before. This is how it should be, the artist making most of the profits, not art agencies.

It is easy for artists to start an art business online with little to no cost.  But to sell art online, your art has to be seen by art collectors searching for original art online.

With millions of people surfing the web every day, you want to ensure that you can optimize your exposure and drive traffic to your online art gallery.

After all, you cannot make money if nobody is visiting your website.

Besides creating art, your job will also be promoting your art if you are interested in selling your art online.

Instead of relying on someone to tell your story, you can do that yourself.

You have the opportunity to make all of the profits instead of sharing the profits with art agencies.

All you have to do is learn how to build an online presence.

Expand Your Online Presence With A Website

If you are hoping to expand your online presence, the first step is to build an artist website.

You want to have a place where people can see your art and have a way to buy it.

You can purchase hosting, a domain name, and have a WordPress Site running in just a few minutes with BlueHost.

Art Websites should be easy to navigate and pleasing to the eyes.

When Designing Your Website, Avoid Using:

  • Too many add-ons such as Flash, will only make the downloading time longer and drive customers from your site instead of to it.
  • Colors that will take away from your artwork. The colors of your website should complement your art, not take away from it.
  • Hard to read fonts. Make it easy to read with easy-to-read fonts. Yes, some nice fancy fonts are available, but if it is hard for the reader to read, they will just click off your site. Your goal is to keep them interested in what you are saying so you can potentially land a sale.
  • Non-Responsive themes. More people are shopping online with mobile devices. You want to have a responsive website. That means that your website will look great on any device.

According to Dave Chaffey, mobile digital media time in the US is now significantly higher at 51% compared to the desktop (42%). (2015)

This statistic tells online business owners that a responsive website is important for the business’s success.

We use and recommend StudioPress.com themes for my artist website.

StudioPress themes are responsive, SEO friendly, and have extra security.

If you are building an artist website with WordPress, you might consider looking into StudioPress.com.

Related WordPress Resources:

You will have a few different options when developing an online art gallery if you are not ready to build your own yet.

The first option is to use a company that provides ready-to-use templates for artists. These are known as Third-Party Websites.

That means you pay to use their services.  

There are limits to what you will be able to do with a Third-Party website, so if you are interested in a particular look and feel, I would recommend building a WordPress site.

These are a few of the most popular third-party sites for artists.

You might also want to consider starting an Etsy shop if you are just starting.

It is free to open an Etsy shop, and the listing and selling fees are very reasonable.

Starting an Etsy shop is easy with my How to Open An Etsy Shop video Tutorial. You can have your shop up and running with art listings in just minutes.

Are you selling prints online for extra income?

Printful makes it easy to sell prints of your original artwork on Etsy and WordPress websites.

Related Post - How To Sell Art Prints On Etsy With Printful

Social Networking Sites

Now that you have a platform where people can view and purchase your artwork, it is time to talk about how you can expand your online presence so people know you have a website.

Social media platforms are a great way to expand your online presence; best of all, social media is free.

There is no better way to get your name out there and known than to interact with other artists and potential customers on social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

With so many different social media networks available, deciding on what one to use could be challenging.

Ultimately you want to focus on just a couple that gives you the best results.

When I talk about results, I talk about ROI (Return on Investment).

You want to spend time on sites making you the most money.

Having more "likes" might benefit the ego, but they will not pay the bills.

The problem is, when you are first starting, you do not know what site will work best for you.

Trying different sites and assessing the outcome will be the only way to determine which ones will be your main focus and which ones you spend less time on.

Your goal for making an online presence for your art business with social media is to figure out where your target audience is spending their time.

You might want to consider starting with the top social media sites. These networks have the most traffic, so it is safe to say that some of your audience will be on them.

Top Social Media Networks:

Facebook

You might want to start with Facebook, with over one billion active users.

You can easily showcase your art and build brand awareness on Facebook by creating a Facebook fan page.

If you plan to sell your art on Facebook, you will need a Facebook Business Page.

It is against Facebook's policies to sell products on a personal page, and you could have your page shut down.

These articles will help you to start and get the most from your Facebook Page.

Instagram

Instagram is becoming more popular, and marketers are taking advantage of the traffic Instagram is generating.

You will need to develop a different art marketing strategy using Instagram. Instagram has limited text, and you can not include links in the posts.

Even though it is different, you can still build a large following using Instagram correctly.

Here are some articles that will help get you started.

Are you interested in learning how to make the most of your Instagram Marketing? 

Pinterest

Pinterest is different from most other social networks because it is more like a search engine.
I have seen great results using Pinterest for my business.

Pinterest drives more traffic to my site than any other social media network, including Facebook.

Here are some articles that will help you get started with Pinterest.

Social media networks allow people to engage and interact with others, not shop.

Do not make the same mistakes many other artists make by always focusing on selling your products.

Provide valuable information your followers will love and engage with and focus on building a following.

You want your followers to know what is new in your company, but you also want them to get to know you as a person.

If you become personal, you will build your buyer's trust, and they will feel comfortable purchasing your art.

To sell art online, you need to have a plan that works. This includes marketing on social media sites the right way.

Be Professional

Keep all online presence clean and professional.

It is okay to joke with others and form bonds; however, you represent your company in these networks, and everything you do online reflects your business.

If you come across as rude or insulting, peers will not likely recommend you.

Keep your correspondence and status updates clean and professional.

Do not share too much of your personal life, either.

Everything that you do online that relates to your business should complement your mission and bran

Master SEO

Search engine optimization is one of the best strategies to build your online presence and drive an abundance of free organic traffic to your artist's website,

There are two categories associated with SEO and they are on-site SEO and off-site SEO.

On-site SEO refers to the content on your website, including pages and posts.

Keyword research is an essential part of on-page SEO and is something you should learn more about if you want people to discover you online.

Start An Art Blog To Expand Your Online Presence

If you are an expert in your industry or even if you simply have a lot of knowledge and experience, put this to use for your company. Yes, selling your art is business.

You have learned a lot about art throughout the years. You are an expert. Most artists feel uncomfortable saying that they have something of value to share with people. The truth is you do.

Many artists would love to learn from you, just like you did from other artists.

Many people struggle with picking out the best accents for their homes.

You are an artist. You can teach them how to pick the best accents that would complement their home decor.

If you want to sell paintings or drawings online, you must make people aware you are out there.

Writing blog posts will help you do just that.

Here are some articles about blogging you will not want to miss.

Because blogging is so important and has helped my business, I wrote an ebook that will help you make the most of your time blogging.

Blogging is for the long term.

The more you blog, the more traffic you will generate every year.

You will not see instant results like you will on social media, but those are short-lived.

A post you write today will generate traffic years from now.

Blogging is the best way for you to expand your online presence.

Final Thoughts On How To Expand Your Online Presence

I will be the first to tell you that building an online presence is not easy and takes a lot of work. I will also tell you that challenging work pays off. The people who work the hardest will be on top.

I have learned to stop spinning my wheels with over fifteen years of experience selling and marketing online. What I mean is to only focus on what is working for you.

You will have to try different ideas to see what will give you the best results, but once you notice something working, hold on to it and do not let go.

Another thing I have learned is to stick with the basics and build a solid foundation.

Blogging works. Do it.

Social media works. Use it.

Everything you do should be to compliment your brand.

Everything you do online should drive traffic to your online art gallery, where people can see your art and buy it.

You Might Also Be Interested In:

About Dave Nevue

Dave Nevue is a Professional Pastel Wildlife Artist and the founder and CEO of Nevue Fine Art Marketing. He also authored the eBook The Productive Artist How to Live Your Dreams, and provides courses on art marketing at Nevue Fine Art Marketing Courses.

Disclosure:

Disclaimer: Some links in this post are affiliate links, which means I receive a commission if you make a purchase. Affiliate relationships include, but are not limited to, Bluehost, Tailwind, and StudioPress. To learn more visit Affiliate Link Disclosure Policy

Not every link on this site is an affiliate link.

Related Resources:

Affiliate Link Disclosure Policy.

Privacy Policy

Cookie Policy

 

Where To Start

Art Marketing - Complete Guide For Marketing Art Online

Sell Art Online Startup

Free Drawing Tutorials