Are you finding it difficult to build an online presence? In this post, you will discover some of the best online art marketing strategies you can start using today.

 

Best Online Art Marketing Strategies

 

When you are new to selling art online it can be difficult to build an audience. It is hard to know where to start and what you should focus on to achieve your online art marketing goals.

At this point, you have probably read and heard about social media marketing, content marketing, email marketing, search engine optimization call-to-action strategies organic and paid traffic strategies.

All of the information you have consumed to this point could easily make you feel overwhelmed and confused on what you should focus on.

When you start to feel like you are spinning like a top, step back, take a deep breath and write an online art marketing plan.

In this post, we are going to focus on how to promote your art, so you can learn how to sell your paintings, drawings, and crafts online more effectively.

Before we get started I would like to go over what marketing your art means.

 

BusinessDictionary defines Marketing as:

The management process through which goods and services move from concept to the customer. It includes the coordination of four elements called the 4 P’s of marketing:

Identification, selection, and development of a product

Determination of its price

Selection of a distribution channel to reach the customer’s place

Development and implementation of a promotional strategy

 

BusinessDictionary defines product promotion as:

An action taken by a company’s marketing staff with the intention of encouraging the sale of a good or service to their target market. For example, product promotion performed by a typical business might take the form of advertising the product in question via print or Internet ads, direct mail or e-mail letters, trade shows, telephone and personal sales calls, TV and radio ads, billboards, posters and flyers.

 

Marketing Your Art Online

Marketing your art online might be easier than you think.

There are only the areas you will need to focus on.

• Goals
• Marketing Strategy
• Tactics

Many artists come to me frustrated because they are finding it difficult to build an audience online.

Let’s be honest, if no one sees your art, your art will not sell. I don’t care how beautiful your art is, if no one knows it exists, it will become a beautiful centerpiece for your home.

Most of the artists struggling have one thing in common.

They do not focus on what is important, setting goals, developing a marketing strategy and implementing tactics.

You need to work on all three of these areas if you want to have any chance at all selling your paintings and drawings online.

They must also be in order.

You have to start with your art marketing goals, followed by developing an art marketing strategy, then implementing a plan.

What Are Art Marketing Goals, Online Art Marketing Strategies, and Tactics

Art marketing goals are what you want to achieve.

This is the first step and often overlooked.

Matt McKay shares his view on setting goals for businesses.

“Successful companies set goals. Without them, they have no defined purpose and nothing to strive for; consequently, they stagnate and struggle for meaningful accomplishments. Goals are steppingstones to an end result. They must be present in every business plan and become a regular part of ongoing business operations.”

You can read more by visiting The Importance of Setting Goals for a Business.

Everyone will have different goals and the goals will change over time.

Your goal might be to sell 5 paintings a month.

Art marketing strategies cannot be created without a goal.

If you are serious about selling art online, start by writing your goals.

 

An art marketing strategy is a plan or plans that will help you to achieve your goals.

So in this example your art marketing strategy to increase your artist blog traffic and guide them through a conversion sequence that will end up with a sale.

Tactics are actions you take to achieve your strategy. They are daily to-do lists.

As of now, you have probably read a lot of blog posts that have been vague and only focused on the tactic rather than the goals and strategies.

Following the advice of this type of information will only make you frustrated with the results you will receive.

For example, a post that talks about how you can get more engagement from your Facebook posts do not always deliver a strategy on how you can sell 5 paintings a month.

Following the tips will have you scratching your head and wondering why you have more people engaging with your Facebook posts but your sales are flat.

When you are developing your art marketing strategy based off of the information you gather, it is important to identify and separate tactics, strategies, and goals.

When you can do this, you will be more productive writing out the steps you will need to take to achieve your art goals.

 

Changing your Art Marketing Tactics

Success will come by being able to identify what tactics are working and what are not giving you the results you are hoping for.

The ability to notice what is not working and the will to change the plan will produce remarkable success.

For example, if you are spending hours a day responding to people engaging in your Facebook posts, but no one is making a purchase, change to a different social media site or revise your call-to-action.

By doing this you are not changing your art goals. The action and steps you are taking to achieve your goals are changing. This produces a successful online art marketing strategy that will help you to reach your target audience and potentially grow your group of loyal art collectors.

Here is a great is an inspiring quote from Seth Godin:

“Where would we be without failure?

Failure (and the fear of failure) gives you a chance to have a voice….

Because failure frightens people who care less than you do.”

 

Who Are Your Art Collectors

Before you can start marketing your art you need to have a clear vision of you your target audience is.

There are so many artists selling art on the internet, it is crucial for you find a way to separate you from the crowd and get your art marketing strategies to the right group of people.

You can only do this by understanding who your art collectors are.

Once you can identify your target audience, you will be able to customize your tactics which will produce better results.

I cover everything you will need to know about identifying your target audience in my course Developing a Niche Marketing Strategy Course.

Developing a Niche Marketing Strategy Course includes:

8 Modules 

• Defining Niche Marketing
• What is your Specialty?
• Identify your Ideal Customer
• How to Find Your Target Audience
• Google Analytics
• What is Your Target Audience Searching For?
• Understanding Keywords
• Niche Marketing Strategy

Each module will contain a PDF that you can download and videos that will help you develop a niche marketing strategy.

Worksheets and logs will be available for download.

 

Types of Online Art Marketing

Now that you have your goals written down let’s take a look at the different mediums you can use to promote your artwork online.

Here are 7 Online art marketing tools available for you to build an online presence.

• Blog
• Social media networks
• Email
• Video
• Podcasts
• Banner advertisements
• Pay per click (PPC)

 

Online Art Marketing Essentials

3 online art marketing essentials every artist must have:

• Website
• Blog
• Social Media Sites

This is how your artist website, artist blog and social media accounts will compliment each other.

• Social media sites will generate traffic to your blog and website.
• Your blog will gain your followers trust and generate traffic to your website.
• Your website will be the final stop for your fans to purchase your artwork.

 

Website:

Your website needs to be clean, easy to navigate, fast to load, and mobile friendly.

This will be your online store where people can view and purchase your artwork.

Many artists become discouraged because they are not generating any sales from their artist website.

A website does not generate traffic on its own. It is a platform where people can visit and make a purchase.

The hard work starts after you have built your website.

Developing a digital art marketing strategy that builds brand awareness and drives your target audience to your website is imperative for you to reach your artist goals.

 

Artist Blog:

 

Your artist blog will be your money-maker and should always be a part of your tactics.

You have two options when it comes to your artist blog and website.

You can have a separate website and blog or you can incorporate your artist blog on your website.

Bluehost offers hosting at an affordable price and a one-click easy WordPress installation that will have your artist website and blog live in minutes.

The content you create will attract your target audience.

When you produce enough content, your site will start to rank in the search results. At this point, you will see your traffic increase dramatically.

Once you have your target audience on your site you will have an opportunity to sell your artwork. The benefit of having a blog incorporated on your website is that the visitor will not have to go from one site to another. If the content you produce is valuable to the reader, they will more than likely browse through your site and notice your artwork for sale.

Your artist blog should be the one thing you should always include into your tactics. Over time your website will receive the majority of its traffic from search engines. Many websites receive up to 80% of their traffic from the search engines. Best of all, a post you have published a year ago or even five years ago will still generate traffic.

I am sure I do not have to say this but I will. The more blog posts you produce the more traffic your site will receive.

 

Online marketing is simple.

 

Create a product, have a place where people can purchase your artwork. Drive traffic to your landing pages. That is how you sell art. It is realy that simple.

 

Social Media Sites:

Social media sites are the platforms you will use to engage with your followers.

The ability to learn valuable information about your followers is priceless.

Creating content your audience is searching for will be easy with the information that you gather.

 

Pick One Social Media Platform

It is important to keep things simple when you are first starting your online art marketing strategy.

The last thing you want is to spread yourself too thin.

A good idea is to pick only one social media platform to focus on at first.

After you have your feet wet and you have mastered social media marketing on the platform you are using, you can move on to another one.

Why should you only focus on one platform?

It takes time to learn about how to market your art on social media.

Every network is different, and you will want to know how to be productive on whichever ones you are on.

Failing to do so will produce negative effects. Basically, you will be wasting your time.

After you have decided on a network and you have set up your account, take some time to research how to best market on the site.

Once your site is running the way you would like, find some tools to help make your days easier.

For example, I use Tailwind to schedule Pinterest Pins.

This is one of my favorite tools and saves me a lot of time scheduling Pinterest Pins throughout the week.

There are many tools available that will help you to save time and be more productive.

Study Your Competitors

The best way to learn is by discovering what is working for others.

Studying your competitors will let you know what tactics are already working in your niche.

You can learn how they are branding their art business, how many times they post, what type of content they are producing and how they interact with their audience.

Discover ways you can use similar tactics for your social media sites.

Keep in mind, you are not copying your competitors, you are just discovering what has been working in the past.

If you want to know what type of content is being shared the most from your competition, visit Buzzsumo.

 

Type in some keywords you would like to rank for into Buzzsumo’s search bar and see what is being shared the most.

If there is a post that relates to your niche, visit the post and discover what people are interested in.

Ask yourself, “How can I make this post better and more valuable?”

 

Putting it All Together

After you are clear on your art business and marketing goals, who your target audience is and what social media platform you will be using, you will then need to decide on how you are going to sell your art.

Basically, you will want to develop a plan that will turn your readers into loyal art collectors.

Here is what Seth Godin says, “You can use social media to turn strangers into friends, friends into customers, and customers into salespeople.”

The way to do this is by putting it all together.

Build an online presence – Build authority and trust – Make an offer they cannot refuse.

You can build an online presence by developing a content marketing strategy and implement it on your artist blog and social media sites.

You can build authority and trust by producing accurate and valuable content your target audience is searching for.

You can make an offer your audience cannot refuse by creating beautiful artwork and pricing it at market value.

Try AWeber free for 30 days! – AWeber Communications

Conclusion:

A successful online art marketing strategy starts with a solid foundation.

• Business goals
• Online art marketing strategy
• Tactics

 

Do not be confused by the content that is available online. Have a clear understanding of what the difference is between a strategy and tactics that will help you to achieve your goals.

Learn from the best and see what is working.

Start developing your online art marketing strategy today so you can immediately implement your tactics.

What are some tips you would like to share that have worked for you? Let me know in the comment section below.

 

You might also be interested in:

• How to Turn Potential Art Buyers into Loyal Collectors
• Keyword Research Strategies for Artists Selling Art Online
• How to Be More Productive Marketing Art Online
• Where to Sell Art Online – How to Get Started
• 19 Productive Tips for the Selling Artist

 

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28 Day Blogging Challenge for Visual Artists

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Take the challenge and join all of the other artists selling their art online.

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.