websites

Jessica Burko

The Art Biz ep. 174: Presenting Yourself Professionally on Your Artist Website with Jessica Burko

Your artist website is your portfolio these days. It’s usually the first place people go to get a full picture of you and your art.

Your website is the 1 piece of virtual real estate that you have 100% control over. You select what people see and define how they will navigate the experience. Are you ready for them?

This is a focused conversation with Jessica Burko about artist websites.

The Art Biz ep. 174: Presenting Yourself Professionally on Your Artist Website with Jessica Burko Read

Must-Have Website Info That Should Be at Your Fingertips

Your website is a home base for your art business. It’s where you send people to see your work, sign up for your email list, or even buy your art.

In short, you need for it to be up and functioning at its best. All. The. Time.

What would happen if it crashed?

And … Who would you turn to if you needed a quick update to your site because you found out you were being featured in an article? Is that person always available for you?

You may have a great relationship with your web designer and hosting service right now, but you can’t predict what might happen in the future.

I’ve witnessed so many artists get stuck because they were abandoned by their webmasters and have no idea how to access their sites.

Don’t let this happen to you!

Maybe you have a DIY site, but it’s been awhile since you have worked on the backend of it. How do you get there?

You are a savvy artist-entrepreneur, so make sure you have complete control over your Internet presence–even if you are lucky enough to have someone helping you.

You don’t want to leave this to chance. You don’t want to learn later that your life could have been so much easier if only you had a few answers at your fingertips.

What follows is a list with all of the information you need from the people who maintain your sites, even if “the people” is only you.

Must-Have Website Info That Should Be at Your Fingertips Read

Why Your Website Isn’t Generating Sales

Your website is for generating sales and opportunities – even if you don’t sell directly from your site. You’re using your site as a digital portfolio to sell galleries and other venues on the idea of your art.

There are numerous factors as to why some art sells better online than others. Perhaps the work is more “popular” or more affordable. Or maybe the artists use their lists and social media more effectively.

Without taking those things into account, there are four errors you should correct immediately if you would like more sales and opportunities. Each is a step toward making it easier for people to buy.

1. You make people click multiple times to see the art.

If your website hasn’t been updated in years, you might have an old template that makes people click numerous links to see your art. It’s time for a major overhaul.

Can you imagine walking into a gallery and not knowing what they sell? If you’re sending people to your site to see, appreciate and, perhaps, purchase your art, you’d better show it to them on every page.

That’s right: every page. Your website has acres of virtual real estate that needs your art to make it attractive to visitors. Use it!

You never know where people will land on your site, so see that the art is the main feature.

2. You don’t make it clear what you’re selling.

Would you install your art in a space without a label next to it? No!

Would you want anyone else to install your art without acknowledging you as the maker? Absolutely not! You’d probably get miffed (and rightly so) if someone did.

And, yet, many artists are showing their art online without giving themselves proper credit. A credit line looks like this.

©Your Name, Title of Artwork. Medium (be specific), size (H x W x D inches/cm). Photo credit if necessary.

You can see the above format in use under the featured images on this post. Yours doesn’t have to follow this exact configuration. You can vary the sequence and punctuation as long as the credit line includes each of those elements and as long as you are consistent.

Potential buyers more easily imagine the art in their space and lives when they know specifics. You not only need to be clear about medium and size, but also about matting, framing, and anything else that would be included.

Take photos of the art in situ, or installed in an office or home environment to help people

Why Your Website Isn’t Generating Sales Read

The Art Biz Coach home page from January of 2005 looks dated with the small images, dense text, and out-of-control menu.

Trends In Website Design

Is your website overdue for an overhaul? It used to be cool to have a white website with a light gray font. It was even cooler if the font required a magnifying glass to read it. This was the rage, oh, about 12 years ago. Then we realized how hard it is to read tiny

Trends In Website Design Read

ArtBizCoach navigation menu

If Your Blog And Website Are Separate

If your blog is very separate from your website, you might want to model what I just did on the new ArtBizCoach.com and ArtBizBlog.com sites. It was a last-minute decision, but a big Duh moment. . . . We used the same navigation menu for each site. The only difference is the logo. Otherwise, visitors feel like they’re on the same site. This is a game changer for me. It’s a solution for something that’s been bugging me for years.

If Your Blog And Website Are Separate Read

The Art Biz Coach home page has become too busy and needs a major makeover

Whip Your Website Into Submission

Our websites are often the first place that people experience our work. We don’t want to be apologizing for them! And we want to make sure that people have a meaningful experience when they drop in. Below is my timeline for whipping Art Biz Coach back into shape, with suggestions for doing it for your site.

Whip Your Website Into Submission Read

Sara Drescher Braswell coordinates her marketing efforts across platforms.

Coordinating Your Marketing Efforts

Artists everywhere are throwing their arms up in frustration. Sure, it’s great to have free self-promotion tools on the Internet, but . . . Dang! . . . enough already! Website, blog, newsletter, email, Facebook, Twitter, G+, LinkedIn, YouTube, Pinterest. The list just keeps exploding. How do you keep up with it all? The answer is: You can’t!

Coordinating Your Marketing Efforts Read

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Your Artist Mailing List: Rethinking + Assessing

Get a transcript of episode 182 of The Art Biz (Rethinking Mailing Lists for Artists) followed by a 3-page worksheet to evaluate the overall health and usage of the 3 types of artist lists.

Where can we send it? 

To ensure delivery, please triple check your email address.

You’ll also receive my regular news for your art business.

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