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Artist web site - Need help getting out of the weeds!

by neetiece
4 replies
Hello all!

I've agreed to help a family member put their art online. She is a talented but new and unknown artist. The two of us have envisioned a very basic division between high-volume commercial and low- or no-volume fine art, both of which are important for her to publish.

Commercial pieces would be in the $5-100 range, average probably around $20. Fine art would be considerably more, but matters less, in terms of sales.

I'm coming to this project as a capable designer and developer, but parts of the big picture are eluding me, here:
  1. Would we be better off registering two domains and optimizing the content independently on both sites? (Presumably with some cross linking?) She wants her real name associated with her fine art, obviously, but is OK with using a more focused name for the commercial side.
  2. What would the traffic flow look like? E.g., would we use blogs and new art on the fine art side to funnel traffic to the commercial side?
  3. As much as she wants to be an artist as opposed to an IM'er, would the better short run be to focus on Adsense/affiliate/etc. income first, and slowly build her art sales in the background?
I am new here, and for all the "read this firsts" I could find, hopefully I'm not asking too much, here. Contrary to what it might look like, I'm not asking for an entire marketing strategy, just a strategic kick in the right direction.
#artist #site #strategy #traffic #web #weeds
  • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
    Banned
    Originally Posted by neetiece View Post

    She wants her real name associated with her fine art, obviously, but is OK with using a more focused name for the commercial side.
    What does "a more focused name" mean? :confused:

    I don't really see the advantage of having two sites rather than one, myself ... but I see that there might(?) be reasons you haven't mentioned.

    Originally Posted by neetiece View Post

    What would the traffic flow look like? E.g., would we use blogs and new art on the fine art side to funnel traffic to the commercial side?
    That would appear to be one option, but there are many others?

    Originally Posted by neetiece View Post

    would the better short run be to focus on Adsense/affiliate/etc. income first, and slowly build her art sales in the background?
    It depends on her objectives. (I have to say, as a full-time internet marketer, myself, it would never occur to me in 100 years to want AdSense on my art site - that just gives people additional ways to leave).

    Originally Posted by neetiece View Post

    Contrary to what it might look like, I'm not asking for an entire marketing strategy, just a strategic kick in the right direction.
    Understood ... but it's still very difficult for people to reply constructively without knowing a lot more about your relative's aims and aspirations with this.

    I have my art work on a separate site with absolutely no marketing at all, but my situation is totally different in that the work isn't for sale. If I were selling my paintings, I'd want to list them on all the already-well-known "online art gallery" sites where people who buy art online go to look. I think this sort of marketing is about taking your wares to the places where the customers are already looking, much more than it's about putting up your own website and trying to attract potential customers to it. I think having a small part of an existing "artist platform" is far more realistic and worthwhile than trying to develop your own. (Doing this doesn't exclude having your own site as well, of course, but - given what's available elsewhere - that would never be my primary approach, if wanting to sell my work).
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  • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
    Banned
    I wouldn't do it with two domain names. I would sell all under one branded domain name. I wouldn't put any adsense on it at all. Adsense pays pennies and lures your traffic away. Why give away traffic to Google for pennies? Same with affiliate ads. Does she want to sell her art or be an affiliate marketer?
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    • Profile picture of the author neetiece
      Thank you both. I appreciate the follow-up questions. I'll do my best to provide as much info as I can.

      What does "a more focused name" mean?
      A domain name with relevant researched keyword phrase like "cuteanimalsculptures.com", rather than "janesmith.com".

      I don't really see the advantage of having two sites rather than one, myself ... but I see that there might(?) be reasons you haven't mentioned.
      Simply that the fine art really does appeal to a different market; more the fine art connoisseur or corporate client needing nice looking art for their boardrooms, whereas the commercial side would appeal to more casual collectors and people looking for something specific (the aforementioned purple cartoon doilies). But, no, there is no hidden reason to divide them per se, if people like you and sbucciarel don't see a benefit to optimizing the content between the two sides.

      I get what you are both saying about not driving away with Adsense et. al. I didn't really like the idea of sending people away. Her goal is certainly to sell her art full-time, and we want to use IM as a means to that end, rather than as the thing itself.

      So, if I understand the suggestions thus far (with a couple of my own interpretations thrown in), would it look something like this?
      1. Most importantly, establish accounts on sites that already reach her market and list her artwork there.
      2. Secondarily, establish her own site (probably just one), as a way to potentially drive a few more sales.
      3. Continue to optimize, track, add related content, and make art over time.
      Am I close? Of course if I can fill in any more details, I'd be happy to.
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      • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
        Banned
        Originally Posted by neetiece View Post

        A domain name with relevant researched keyword phrase like "cuteanimalsculptures.com", rather than "janesmith.com".
        Ah, right - got it, thanks! Yes, a keyword-related one, I see what you mean.

        Originally Posted by neetiece View Post

        Her goal is certainly to sell her art full-time,
        There are many sites where she can list/display/offer her art work. Some are free (for a limited number of items) and don't charge a commission either. Some charge listing-fees. Some charge no listing-fees but do charge a commission. Some have different "sizes"/"types" of sites/pages available of which there's a free "entry-level" one. She should probably put her work on as many of those sites as she possibly can? Those are where the relevant traffic is.
        Originally Posted by neetiece View Post

        1. Most importantly, establish accounts on sites that already reach her market and list her artwork there.
        2. Secondarily, establish her own site (probably just one), as a way to potentially drive a few more sales.
        3. Continue to optimize, track, add related content, and make art over time.
        I agree with all of this, anyway. And good luck!
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