Finding Places to Show Your Work Online
Artist Nicholas Petrucci said something important in last week's Featured Artist interview, "My business direction is to find avenues that can showcase my work for those who can appreciate what I have attempted to achieve."
Are you doing enough research so you can find the best online websites to showcase your work to people who will appreciate it? It's critical that you know ahead of time, before you invest a lot of time and money, if it's a good match for you. Make sure you understand the Agreement and what rights to your work you are giving them.
Ask yourself:
- Does the website attract the right audience for my type of work?
- What kind of marketing will they do to make people aware of my art?
- What will it cost, in time and money?
- What do I have to provide?
- How will it help support my other marketing efforts?
- How am I notified of inquiries? Will they send me reports of sales and revenue collected?
- How is their reputation in the arts community and with the Better Business Bureau?
- Does the link they provide for my use go directly to my own work on their website, and not just a general page with lots of artists?
- By participating, am I jeopardizing the rights to my work*?
Remember, any website, including Facebook, is not a replacement for your own website. The information on your website is the core of your online marketing, your blog is the backstory, and other websites support your marketing efforts.
Also important: Keep a record of which websites show your art, which pieces are included, what sold, and for how much. Don't count on them to do this for you. It's super easy to lose track of it all and end up with missed sales opportunities and missed revenue.
All my best to you and yours!
* FYI, Aletta de Wal does a lot of reviewing of contracts and website agreements, so if you have concerns about any contract/agreement you're thinking of signing, it's worth it to have an experienced set of eyes review it for you.
Got question about this Tip? You can have a complimentary 15-minute conversation (if you haven't already had one with me). This isn't a replacement for coaching or a longer consultation, but perhaps I can help point you in the right direction or figure out what it is that you need to help build your art business.
Robin Sagara
Reader Comments (1)
Emily emailed me to ask: "If a site offers a free page (with bio info, contact info and links as well as cropped photos of one's work) to a fine artist doing only original work and everything is on the up-and-up, but the downside is that the host puts ads for local businesses on one side of your information/photos and lists of local events on the other side, which makes the whole thing look very commercial and cheesy, is it worth doing or does the presentation minimize the quality of the artist's work?
Emily, I think you answered your own question. You said: "makes the whole thing look very commercial and cheesy." If a website is commercial and cheesy and you're there, well, guilty by association as they say.
I wouldn't want my work to appear next to ads and event listings, I don't do it on my own website and I wouldn't want to participate in a website that didn't give me dedicated space done tastefully.
Did you ask yourself all the questions I listed above in the Tip? Is this website really interested in showcasing your work? Or is it just a way to get people to stick around and click on ads? If it feels cheesy, well, it probably is.