Blog

The next time you are tempted to invest your time and money in a "filler" show, take that travel time and your $$$ and invest instead in building a website or updating your beginner site. Think of it as building your retirement.

1. Buy a domain name. Choose a name that reflects your work, or identifies you. Try to think of a name that someone would use to search for your work. E.g., bigcypressswamp.com, bestrakuever.com, Amishphotography.com, bronzesculpturesbyjean.com, ShererSaddles.com, finestfeltedfiber.com -- or if you think you can get people to search for you, use your name: Bermanart.com, Herzogart.com, Schimmelart.com.
   
   Learn more about choosing a name here: http://www.domainsuperstar.com/how-to-choose-a-domain-name
   
   Godaddy.com is the definitive place to go to buy the name.
   
   
2. Choose a website building platform where you'll find a template to build your site. See this link for some of our members favorite sources for hosting artist websites: http://www.artfairinsiders.com/forum/topics/have-a-website-but-am-clueless-what-to-do-now
   
   Think about what you want the website to do for you. Will it be:
   

   a. strictly a gallery where you showcase your work and bring people to find you at art fairs, (a WordPress site) or
   b. a selling site where you sell directly from the site (think BigCommerce.com that has all the bells and whistles for handling ecommerce)

   Most specifically it should be easy for you to update.
3. Install some way for people to leave their email addresses, an email sign-up box so you can start collecting addresses for marketing. Here are the top choices for email marketing programs: http://email-marketing-service-review.toptenreviews.com/. I have five websites. They all have an email sign-up box in the upper right hand corner. I have built an online business as a result of being able to collect emails. It works.
4. Market your website. Put your URL on all of your marketing materials. Make it part of your signature file in your emails.
5. Download and listen to these podcasts while you are working in your studio or driving to that next show:
   
   
   • What Good is a Website for Artists? (strategic beginning info from an expert)
   • Online Marketing for Artists 101
   • Email Marketing Works! Top Tips for Success
   • Happy 4th Birthday AFI - 10 Tips for Selling Art (includes 5 tips for selling online)
   • Artists, Are You Homeless? (finding a home online to host your site)

Our podcast on January 17 was with Jennifer Rapp Peterson, an illustrator, greeting card entrepreneur, cartoonist, and oh yes, tech wiz! We talked about artist websites and her specific answer to "what to do", IndieMade.com, an inexpensive ($12 a month), technically unchallenging, beautiful place to host all of your website needs. 

During the podcast several people called in to say they had new sites up and running in less than 2 hours! My best advice to you this month: don't get in your van and drive 200 miles, sleep in a hotel, eat out and hope to break even, or a little ahead, at that art fair you are considering. Keep that booth fee and the other expenses in your bank account, give yourself a weekend off and build that site!

Jennifer offered a free ebook to our readers/listeners who sign up for their mailing list:

Building an Artist Website: a Place Called Home

Create more than just a website, build a website home.  A website home can provide the foundation of any art business online.  It's a place where visitors can find all of your information online.  It's an artist's best marketing tool.  Learn about what an artist needs from a website, why they need it and how they can make it happen.

Sign up for the IndieMade.com mailing list and receive the free ebook:  www.indiemade.com/newsletter

After you have your beautiful site up and running we'll come back and start talking about making money with this site. 

How did you like this podcast? Learn anything? Inspired?

Here is our latest podcast from August 14 where I spoke with author Scott Fox, my son, whose expertise is small business Internet marketing. Scott grew up in the art fair business, traveling to art fairs with us and knows a lot about artists and how they earn their living, so his information is very specific to our particular needs.

Listen to it here:

The show covers everything from choosing a domain name to capturing the sale online, including:

• keywords and how to determine the best ones
• choosing an url
• how google searches for sites
• why a free platform may not be the best choice for your site
• how to expand your market beyond the people you meet at shows
• what are the five things every artist's website should have
• his idea for an "artist retirement plan"

You'll also learn about his own lifestyle business coaching forum whose focus is on helping individuals build their Internet businesses.

In addition this fall Scott we'll be doing another podcast where he will be taking live calls from you.

Are you interested in this?

Check out the rest of our podcasts by clicking on the "Radio" button on the toolbar at the top of this page,

or visiting the Art Fair Radio Show page here.

I'd love feedback in the comments below about this podcast.