15 Minute Craft Website Tips  

Building your art website is only the beginning step in using the Internet to market your artwork. A great website is nothing without a steady flow of potential customer and collectors. While building traffic to your art website is an ongoing task, it doesn't have to be a difficult task. Here are 7 things you can do TODAY to get more visitors to your website.

1. Comment on blogs

• Figure out which blogs your customers are likely to read
• Follow those blogs and leave comments where appropriate
• Make sure that you leave useful comments. Avoid leaving self promotional comment spam

2. Write a blog post

• The less you blog, the less traffic you get. Writing often and consistently gets you more traffic
• Remember who you're writing for and write something compelling.
• Don't have a blog? Start one! If you're thinking about starting a blog or if you already have a blog and you want to be more effective, sign up for my FREE e-course "50 Blogging Tips for Artists". Get a free tip in your email every day that will help make your blogging life easier.

3. Make new contacts using Twitter, Facebook, etc

• Social networking are great places to meet people that would be interested in your work
• Don't make friends with everyone and anyone, find like minded people through groups and directories
• Remember to make a presence and be social
• Give your contacts an incentive to visit your website

4. Beef up your mailing list

• A list of people that's interested in your work is guaranteed traffic to you website
• Make sure there are multiple places to sign up for your list (your website, blog, Facebook, Twitter, offline)
• Give an incentive to sign up for your list
• If you don't have a email list but would like to learn how to build one, you can get a FREE copy of my article series "How to Plan and Start a Great Email Newsletter ".

5. Offer a contest or giveaway

• Find something of value to your customers and offer it as a giveaway or create a contest
• Tie the contest to your mailing list or some kind of sign up
• Announce your contest everywhere (blog, website, social networking sites, mailing list)

6. Use offline tactics to promote your website

• Put your website address everywhere (business cards, product packaging, phone messages)
• Give people a reason to go to their computers and visit your website

7. Create an ongoing promotion plan

• Getting traffic to your website is an ongoing process. Don't expect to do one or two things and call it done.
• Use a variety of tactics, mailing list, social networking, blogging etc.
• Concentrate on the things that work for you
• Make promotion a daily routine