15 Minute Craft Website Tips  

When most artists think about making money with their art, they mainly think about direct sales....you make a piece of art and you sell it to a customer. But there are number of different ways to make money in addition to selling your artwork. And these alternate streams of income can help supplement your bottom line. In this episode, I'm going to talk about 5 alternate ways to make money without directly selling your art.

If you're an artist trying to promote your artwork or sell your artwork online, you've probably heard of social networking sites like Facebook, Myspace, and Twitter. Perhaps you've already dipped your toe into the social networking waters. But is it working the way you're expecting? Is it getting you results or does it feel like a waste of time? Social networking can greatly benefit your marketing efforts IF you take the right approach. On this episode, I'll give you some tips that you can use right away that can help you successfully marketing your art through social networking.

Simply building your art website is only the beginning of marketing yourself online. You also need to promote your website if you want it to work as an effective marketing tool. But, if you're a working artist or an artist that also holds down another job, how are you going to keep with the marketing part of your website AND creating your art? In this episode, I'll discuss ways you can keep up with both creating your art and marketing it on your website.

1. Understand that promoting your website is a long term task
• traffic doesn't arrive by magic
• you have to market and promote regularly and often to keep a steady flow of traffic

2. Make marketing your website a part of your overall marketing plan
• remember, your website and online marketing is a tool in your marketing arsenal, not a • separate part of your marketing plan
• combine your offline marketing efforts with your online marketing whenever possible

3. Plan ahead
• create a marketing schedule
• make sure your plans covers slow periods as well as holidays
• build scheduled times during the day to market online and scheduled times to be in your studio

4. Don't try too many things at once
• pick a couple techniques at a time and master them
• don't chase after the shiny new "thing"
• constantly test and measure your results, modify or drop the things that don't work
• add new techniques after you have your current ones set

5. Don't let your computer become a time sink
• group related tasks together and get them done at the same time
• use tools to help you accomplish things faster
• have a plan or a task list before you sit down at the computer
• stick to your schedule

6. Get help if you need it
• outsource the tasks that you aren't good at or don't like
• enlist the help of tech savvy friends, family members
• hire professional help when needed

If you need more information on how to hire and work with a great web designer, as well as information on how to interview a web designer, how to avoid a bad designer, and how save money and time managing your web project, you get more information at www.howtohireawebdesigner.com

Simply building your art website is only the beginning of marketing yourself online. You also need to promote your website if you want it to work as an effective marketing tool. But, if you're a working artist or an artist that also holds down another job, how are you going to keep with the marketing part of your website AND creating your art? In this episode, I'll discuss ways you can keep up with both creating your art and marketing it on your website.

Having fantastic images of your artwork on your art website is an absolute must if you want to successfully promote and sell your artwork. So how do you ensure that photos of your handmade items are actually encouraging sales? Here are some tips on how you can create great images of your artwork that makes your customers reach for their credit cards.

1. Get the lighting right

• use natural light when possible (early morning and late afternoon is best)
• avoid directing lighting...this creates shadows and glare
• use a light tent when shooting objects to eliminate glare

2. Know the difference between "jury" images and "advertising" imagery

• jury images focus on the technical aspects of the work and you as the artist
• advertising images focuses on the customers wants, desires, and needs
• magazines like O Magazine, Dwell, Martha Stewart are masters at depicting "lifestyle" in with their product shots.

3. Style up your images

• check out websites like Artfire and Etsy. Look at the top sellers. They typically have fabulously styled photos.
• if your art is wearable, use dress forms or live models
• use props to emphasize your work...but don't let them distract from it

4. Get a variety of angles

• shoot wide angles and closeup images
• show your artwork in action if possible

5. Make sure you have the essential equipment

• digital camera (be sure to read the manual thoroughly!)
• tripod
• light tent
• lights (desk lamps and other home lights will do the trick)
• props (backgrounds, cloths,)
• image editing software (Photoshop, Photoshop Elements, GIMP)

6. Consider hiring help if you need it

• find someone familiar with advertising photography or someone familiar with photographing artwork
• explain what you want to accomplish. Remember, you want "advertising" photos...not "jury" photos

Having fantastic images of your artwork on your art website is an absolute must if you want to successfully promote and sell your artwork. So how do you ensure that photos of your handmade items are actually encouraging sales? Here are some tips on how you can create great images of your artwork that makes your customers reach for their credit cards.