Are you searching for other ways to increase your art sales? Are you tired of wasting your time on strategies that are not working? In this article discover an overlooked art marketing strategy, how art blogs increase sales.
Art Marketing Strategy – How Art Blogs Increase Sales
Disclaimer: Please note that some of the links on this post are affiliate links and will be clearly marked as so. I will earn a small commission when you purchase a product or service from an affiliate link at no extra cost to you which helps with the costs of operating Nevue Fine Art Marketing. I will only recommend products I have used, found helpful to my business and are companies I trust.
What is art marketing?
Marketing fine art is a process of developing different strategies and tactics that will build brand awareness for an artist’s artwork. An art marketing plan can be implemented online and offline. The goal is to convert a potential buyer into an art collector.
“The truth of the matter is that the people who succeed in the arts most often are the people who get up again after getting knocked down. Persistence is critical.”
~ Scott Turow
Marketing is based on thinking about the business in terms of customer needs and their satisfaction. (Source Business Dictionary)
A good marketing strategy should be drawn from market research and focus on the right product mix in order to achieve the maximum profit potential and sustain the business. The marketing strategy is the foundation of a marketing plan. (Source Business Dictionary)
- How can you build brand awareness online and offline?
- What are your customer’s needs?
- What can you do to guarantee customer satisfaction?
- What can you do to ensure that your customers will return to your artist website over your competition?
You will be asking yourself these questions over and over throughout your career.
Online Art Marketing
In this post, I am going to talk about online art marketing ideas you can start implementing right away.
The internet has made it possible for businesses of all sizes to have an opportunity to reach potential customers around the world with little to no cost at all.
This is good news for artists like you and me or any person trying to generate some extra income selling products or services online.
You no longer have to spend thousands of dollars for paid advertising like television ads, magazine ads, radio ads etc.
In fact, those marketing strategies are producing fewer results every year.
- When was the last time you watched a full commercial?
- When was the last time you dialed into a radio commercial?
It amazes me on how many businesses are still spending thousands of dollars on advertisements people do not see or hear.
I do not know about you but if I spent 10,000 dollars on a running ad, I would expect the ad to reach a large group of people and get something in return.
Common Online Marketing Strategies
Johana Reyes explains these common online marketing strategies in a post she published:
- Social Media
- Images, videos, and blogs
- Smartphones, tablets and other gadgets
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
You can read Johana’s post by visiting The Most Common Digital Marketing Strategies.
Let’s take a look at the cost of these common online marketing strategies.
Social media – Free with the option of purchasing ads.
Images and videos – Free with a smartphone or tablet.
Blog – The cost of a domain name and hosting. Bluehost (affiliate link) and BlueHost (affiliate link) offer domain names and hosting at a very reasonable price.
Build a Beautiful Artist Website – Weebly – Get Started With this Special 10% Off Affiliate Link for Nevue Fine Art Marketing Fans.
Email Marketing – Cost of an email service. AWeber (affiliate link) provides everything you will need for your email marketing strategy and used by many bloggers and businesses at affordable prices.
Smartphones, tablets – The cost of the product and services. Most people already own one or both of these items.
SEO – Free
Content Marketing
Have you heard the phrase “content marketing?”
Oxford Dictionaries Defines Content Marketing as:
A type of marketing that involves the creation and sharing of online material (such as videos, blogs, and social media posts) that does not explicitly promote a brand but is intended to stimulate interest in its products or services.
“social media is an integral part of content marketing”
Your content marketing strategy will be the foundation of your online art marketing strategy.
The content you write and produce whether it is blogs, videos, social media posts or emails will be the fuel that drives traffic to your artist website. In order for you to sell art online, you need people to visit your site.
You might be asking yourself, “How can I write content for all of those mediums?”
You do not have to.
All you have to do is write great blog posts and then refurbish with all of the other mediums you are marketing in.
Here is an example of how I refurbish my content on Twitter and Facebook:
The look is similar to each platform I promote my art business on. Doing so makes it easy for people to recognize my brand.
I also highlight sections of the blog posts I have written and post it on Twitter and Facebook. Always include a link back to the original post. If a reader is interested in learning more they can simply click on the link and be redirected to your blog.
Before I go into how to make your blog more successful, I want to share with you three eye-opening statistics that many artists don’t know.
- A business that blogs make more than 13 times more money than those that do not.
- A business that blogs receives 97% more links inbound to their website.
- 61% of the US customers have made purchases through blogs.
These statistics show you that your art marketing strategy should include a content marketing strategy.
How To Run A Successful Art Blog
I am going to talk about some tips I have learned over the years that have helped me to grow my artist blog.
Each of the content marketing strategies I outline will help you to generate more traffic to your artist blog over time. The bottom line is that you will increase the odds of landing more art sales.
I do want to disclose that even though the strategies outlined below have shown positive results for me and other artists selling art online, there is no guarantee you will see the same results.
Understand Who Your Audience Is
Dan S. Kennedy explains in you do not have a business until you understand your audience in his book The Ultimate Marketing Plan. (affiliate link)
Instead of wasting time writing content your audience is not interested in, take the time to learn how you can help your audience.
How can you learn more about your audience?
The easiest way is to ask them.
Send out a newsletter and ask them what type of content would be valuable for them.
Your art collectors might need help on how to hang paintings or how to take care of paintings.
If you enjoy sharing your art techniques, young artists might enjoy some information on the tools you use or where is the best place to purchase art supplies.
You will not know what your audience is interested in unless you ask them.
You can also post a survey on your social media sites like Facebook and Twitter.
Another way you can learn more about your audience is by visiting Google Analytics.
Log into your Google Analytics.
On the left-hand sidebar click Demographic.
Click Overview to find out the average age and gender your audience is.
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
Next, you will want to click Interestes>Overview To find out what your readers are interested in.
The information you gather will help you to write content your readers will enjoy.
Revise Your Art Marketing Strategy
Your content marketing strategy and art marketing strategy will be constantly changing.
The information you gather from the first tip will help you to make better decisions for the future.
Instead of spinning your wheels on tactics that are not producing tangible results, revise your plan.
Create an Editorial Calendar
An editorial content calendar will help you to stay focused on your art marketing goals.
After you have gathered all the information you needed about your audience, start writing a list of tops you would like to be covering over the next three months.
I like to have an idea of what I will be posting for three months in advance. This allows me to analyze my audience halfway through and decide if I have to make any adjustments as well as give me an idea of what I should be covering in the future.
Create Easy to Read Posts
Most people who read online only skim through the content.
The reason is that people who are searching for information are trying to find a solution to a problem they have.
Here are some tips on how to make your posts easy to digest:
- Stick to the point and make it actionable.
- Write Great Headlines.
- Write content that supports the Title.
- Use short sentences and paragraphs.
- Use plenty of white space.
- Insert images throughout your post.
- Use easy to understand verbiage.
- Use Header tags.
- Use bullet points or numbers.
- Highlight important words or phrases.
Persistence
Persistence is defined as a firm or obstinate continuance in a course of action in spite of difficulty or opposition.
You already know that operating an art business has many challenges. Many artists might ask themselves “is this worth it?” The artists that are successful never have that question enter their mind. The question they keep revisiting is “how can I make that better?”
Persistence is an ingredient that all entrepreneurs have.
Persistence is the main ingredient that will increase your sales. You already know that blogging is important for your art marketing from the statistics that I shared with you earlier.
The question is how you capitalize on this powerful tool.
The answer is P.P.P.
Persistence – You need to be persistent and consistent to turn your blog into a money-making the machine. Your blog will tell the story of you and your art business. Your business story is what people are searching for on the net. Making your story available will allow you to be noticed over your competition.
Planning – Great things come from planning. You will need to design a blogging strategy that will provide content that your followers are interested in reading. Keep in mind that they are reading your content because they are reading what interests them. If you don’t give them what they want, they will find it elsewhere.
Patience – Your blog will not generate income immediately. Your blog is the long-term goal. You will be building your audience every day with people who are interested in what you have to offer. Remember that the tortoise wins the race.
Conclusion:
Marketing is entirely different today than it was ten, fifteen or even twenty years ago.
Anyone can start a business with little or no money invested.
Businesses do not have to invest in advertisement strategies that produce little or no returns.
Fine art blogs artist is the fuel that drives traffic to art websites.
Overlooked Art Marketing Strategy that Increases Art Sales Overview:
- Online Art Marketing
- Common Online Marketing Strategies
- Content Marketing
- Art Blog Tips
- Understanding Who Your Audience Is
- Revise Your Art Marketing Strategy
- Create an Editorial Calendar
- Create Easy to Read Posts
- Persistence
Do you have an artist blog?
How is your blog performing?
I would love to hear from you in the comment section below.
You might also be interested in:
- How to Start an Art Business in 9 Steps
- How to Sell Art Online and Make Money
- 5 Reasons Artists Should Blog
- Why Artists Should Create a Pinterest Business Account
- 7 Effective Social Media Tips for Growing Your Artist Brand
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By Dave Nevue
The Productive Artist How to Live Your Dreams
The right mindset and time management skills are essential for any business. These topics are often not talked about but are key elements for your success. You will learn how to have a winning mindset and time management skills necessary for operating a successful art business.
