Did you know that art bloggers have more success than artists who do not blog?
Blogging is a great way to increase your exposure, drive traffic to your website, and gain new customers.
In this blog post, we will discuss why art blogs are so successful and how you can start one of your own.
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Do Art Bloggers Make Money?
Artists who generate a decent income selling art have learned the importance of creating different revenue streams, and blogging is one of them.
Art bloggers can make money in several ways, including advertising and affiliate marketing. Some art blogs may be more focused on monetization than others, but the point is that it’s possible to generate income from blogging about your artwork.
Ways Art Blogs Generate Income:
- Sell original art
- Sell reproductions of original paintings
- Commission work
- Affiliate links
- Advertising
- Subscriptions for services like tutorials
- Sell eBooks
- Sell digital downloads
The main benefit of starting a blog is to reach a larger audience online.
Companies who blog get 97% more links to their websites. (Source: OptinMonster)
Is Blogging Good For Artists
You are excited to start an art blog to begin to sell art online and grow an online audience.
Maybe you want to start a blog because you are frustrated that nobody is visiting your artist’s website. Or perhaps you heard that there is a way to supplement your income blogging.
But the question that has you stumped is, how do you get started?
With so much information on the web and everyone telling you to do different things, it is no wonder why starting a blog can feel intimidating.
Where can you find advice?
Where should you start?
Can you do it alone?
How much money does it cost to start a blog?
What is the best blogging platform?
All of these questions might have you thinking that maybe it will be easier to put an art blog on the back-burner and focus on Facebook marketing.
Unfortunately, building a following on Facebook is not as easy as it was just a few years ago.
How many people see your Facebook posts?
Related Post: How Many People See Your Facebook Posts?
6 Reasons you will want to start your art blog today:
- Blogs generate traffic
- Blogs generate leads which turn into sales
- Blogs build authority
- Blogs generate long-term traffic (unlike Facebook)
- Blogs help to grow email lists
- Blog posts build brand awareness with social shares
You can read more by visiting 6 Blogging Benefits You Can’t Ignore
It is easy to see why starting a blog is so crucial for businesses. It has been said that companies who blog regularly generate 6x more money than companies that do not have a blog.
Here is a quick video of one of our favorite content marketing success stories.
How To Start An Art Blog
- Choose a name for your blog
- Choose a blogging platform
- Choose a web hosting service
- Set up an art blog with your unique domain
- Design your new artist blog
- Write blog posts that will drive potential buyers to your online art gallery
- Write call-to-action
- Monetize your blog
Choose a name for your blog
The first step is to pick a name for your art blog.
The best strategy for creating a name for your art blog is to pick a short, memorable name and starts with your name.
Some examples are:
- Linda’s Art Blog
- Molly Moo Art Blog
- Steve’s Watercolor Blog
The best way to choose what domain you want for your blog is by using Google AdWords Keyword Planner.
This will help guide you in determining which words or phrases people use when searching online for art blogs.
For example, if someone types ‘art bloggers’ into a search engine, it would be smart to buy lindasartblogger.com rather than mymammothpanda.com.
The goal is to keep it short, rememberable, and brand you as an artist.
Choose A Blogging Platform
What is a blogging platform?
A blogging platform is a service that allows you to create, publish and manage content on your website.
The most popular two are WordPress and Blogger.
Some other options include Tumblr, Squarespace, Weebly, Wix, and more!
There’s no right or wrong answer for which one you should choose. It comes down to what works best for you individually as an artist.
Think of a blogging platform like Facebook.
Facebook is a platform that allows you to post various types of content like text, video, and images on your newsfeed.
People can visit your Facebook newsfeed and view the content you have posted.
A blogging platform is similar to your Facebook page.
You will be able to add various types of content on a platform where people can visit and enjoy what you are sharing and selling.
You might be asking why can’t I use Facebook to build my business if it is so similar?
That is a great question.
The most significant difference is that you will own your blog.
You will have total control over what you can do with the look and feel of your site.
Facebook has complete power over who sees your posts and what you can publish on your newsfeed.
Do you want to rely on Facebook to share your content with people so you can build your business?
So what is the best blogging platform for online businesses?
In our opinion, WordPress outshines them all.
WordPress was launched in 2003 and is the most popular blogging platform in the world, with over 82 million active users.
Businesses of all sizes, professional bloggers, and blogging hobbyists have trusted WordPress for many years.
Other popular blogging platforms:
Best Free Blog Sites
Owning a WordPress site is not free. You will have to pay for a domain name (Domain name is the part of a network address that identifies it as belonging to a particular domain.) and web hosting (Web Hosting is the activity or business of providing storage space and access for websites.)
Depending on your needs, a WordPress website can range from $100 to $500 to $3000, to even as high as $30,000 or more. It’s important to know what type of website you are building and what you’ll need because that will directly affect your cost. (Source: WPBegginer)
Starting a WordPress site is relatively inexpensive, as your business grows, you might be interested in purchasing premium themes and plugins, but to start, all you will need is a domain name and web hosting, which will cost you around 10 dollars a month (depending on what service you use).
Even though we highly recommend starting with WordPress as your blogging platform, we also want to provide you with some free alternatives to decide on the best solution for your art business.
Related Post: Art Blog Hosted vs. Self-Hosted Site
Here are the top three most popular free blogging platforms:
You might be asking why I should pay for a domain name and web hosting to use a free blogging platform?
What are the benefits of owning a WordPress website over a free blogging platform?
WordPress is an excellent platform for blogging because it has many functions that you do not get with free platforms. It can be used to host your website, as well as your blog. There are also plugins and themes available in the WordPress store that will allow you to customize your site according to what type of art blog you want!
The cons of using a free blogging platform like Blogger for a business are that they are limited to what features they offer. You can’t customize your layout or logo. Free blogging platforms tend to not rank as high in Google’s search, making it difficult to reach new people.
Choose A Web Hosting Service
At this point, you will have to decide if you would like to start a blog using a free blogging platform like Blogger or start with WordPress.
If you would like to get started with a free blogging platform, go back up and look into the three platforms, we suggested earlier.
But if you would like to own your site and use WordPress, you will need to purchase a domain name and web hosting.
A domain name is the URL of your website. It is the address that links directly to the home page of your site.
For example, our domain name is www.nevuefineartmarketing.com. If you click on the link or type in the address into your search bar, you will be directed to the home page of Nevue Fine Art Marketing.
You will want to take some time to think about what will be the best domain name for your business. A domain name should be accessible for people to remember as well as something that will describe what your site will offer.
Related Post: How to Choose a Perfect Artist Domain Name
Hosting is storage for your site and all of the content that is upload on it. Think of it as a hard drive to your computer. The only difference is the hosting service puts it on the internet so everyone can see it.
Popular hosting services for WordPress sites:
There are more hosting providers available but they are more costly.
Set Up An Art Blog With Your Unique Domain
Launching a WordPress site with either BlueHost or HostGator is easier than you think.
After you have decided on a domain name just follow the steps below.
Enter Your Account Info – The next step is to put in your account info. Make sure you are using a working email because this is where you receive important information including login information.
Hosting Package – The next step will be to choose which hosting package you will be using.
Billing Information – After deciding on what hosting package you will be using you will have to fill in your billing information.
Create A Password – Once you have finished entering your billing information you will be asked to create a password. You will have the option to use the password generator or you can create a unique password.
WordPress Quick Install – You are now signed up and ready to get started installing your WordPress site. Locate the WordPress quick install and follow the easy instructions. This process will only take a few minutes.
How To Start A WordPress Site with BlueHost
Related Resource:
WordPress Dashboard Guide eBook
Design Your New Artist Blog
Now that you have your artist blog live it will be time to make your blog look exactly how you want it to look.
The first impression of your site should let people know that you sell art online. Make it clear to everyone who lands on your site what you have to offer. You might not get a second chance.
How do you change the look of a WordPress site?
Themes allow you to change the look and flow of a WordPress site.
There are thousands of free and premium themes available for WordPress that will allow you to build your dream site.
To choose a new theme, log into your WordPress dashboard go to Appearance> Themes and install a free WordPress theme.
If you are interested in a premium theme like we use visit StudioPress Themes for WordPress.
Blog Design Tips:
- Reflect your business brand
- Reflect on you as an artist
- Compliment your artwork
- Easy to navigate
- Clean
- Provide call-to-actions
Write Blog Posts
It is now time to start writing blog posts that will drive traffic to your online art gallery. Before you start writing, it is important to know what blog posts generate more traffic for art blogs. Generally speaking, the content that interests people most are how-to and list articles.
It is effortless to write about a topic like this if you have learned something new recently or think up an original idea on your own. To find topics ideas related specifically to art blogging or other types of artists, take some time each day browsing through relevant Google searches (such as “artists,” “artist groups near me,” etc.), Facebook pages, and Twitter feeds by searching their hashtags (#painting #acrylics), going through online magazines/blogs with a similar focus and talking with friends who share your artistic interest.
Here are some blogging related articles to get you started:
- How To Write Art Blog Posts That Sell Art
- When Is The Best Time To Publish Art Blog Posts
- How Long Should Your Artist Blog Posts Be For Best Results
Write A Call-To-Action
Every post you write should have a call to action.
The objective of an artist blog is to make it easy for people searching for art online to discover you. At the end of the post, you will want to tell the reader what they should do next.
Example of call to action for art blogs?
- A link to your blog post, art pieces for sale, or gallery event
- An image of the painting and call out, “Don’t forget to check out my art for sale!”
- A quick blurb about why you should follow them on social media: “Thank you so much! Follow me on Instagram @yourblogusername and see new work in real-time.”
For more information visit, Sell More Art Online – Call-to-Action Strategy that Generates Sales.
Monetize Your Blog
You started an art business to make money. Yes, selling your original paintings and limited-edition prints will make you money, but what do you do when sales are down? The best option is to generate money from your art blog.
Here are some ways a blog can generate money:
- Paid advertisement on the blog
- Affiliate links to art supply stores or products you like (from Etsy, Amazon, Art.com)
- Sponsored posts from brands that would be a good fit for your audience and content types
- Paywall where readers need to pay before reading some of your articles with high production costs (like videos)
As long as you have enough information about these topics in advance, it should not take more than an hour per week to write one post. In this way, any time is money! The benefits are worth the effort. You can make money when sales are down if you monetize your blog correctly.
Final Thoughts On Art Blogging For Beginners
We’ve covered all of the basics in this blog post, so make sure to check out our other posts for more tips and tricks on how you can get started blogging as an artist! From choosing a website platform to designing your site template, we have it all. And don’t forget that if there’s anything else you need help with – from marketing strategies to get artists’ work seen by galleries or museums – ask us. Our team is always happy to chat about new ways to help creatives succeed online.
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