If you are an emerging artist, you should think of creating a personal website along with profiles on social media platforms. This is very important as online presence is highly recommended if not obligatory for business, art, and sports. To present your art website to the masses, you have to promote and optimize it for search engines. This article explains how you can boost your website ranking and provides more details on backlinks as the most powerful method to achieve that.
Art website: first steps
Before bringing the website to the top of searches, you should create a stable base for it. It is necessary to select a reliable site builder and assign a suitable domain name to your art online platform. This sets up a decent base for future optimization of the website.
Select website builder
While there are many website builders these days, you should rely on the most convenient and credible ones. It is not enough to proceed with the one that appears high on the search results. You should take into consideration the pieces of advice of those people who have also used website builders for creating their art websites. The website building platform should guarantee that your website loads fast, you can select the preferred domain name, and apply search optimization activities without any constraints.
As a rule, most website-building platforms offer a set of predefined templates for art websites. You could select the preferred one and adjust it to your needs at any time.
Select domain name
To reinforce the optimization efforts for your website, set a clear and recognizable domain name. There are lots of services like GoDaddy and Namecheap where you can verify whether the preferred domain name is available. Also, you can buy the domain you like and reserve a place for it on the hosting platform.
The introduction of the .ART domains in 2016 was an ingenious way for artists to differentiate their websites, from the average website domain, and to emphasize their artistry. To search .ART domains, click HERE.
Art website advancement
As your art website is designed, created, and tuned up, it is the right time to apply SEO techniques to it. In particular, you should consider investing much time and enough resources in link building.
Gain backlinks
The fastest way to make your website highly visible on the web is to gain backlinks from other online resources. Various techniques allow you to do that in different modes, though the objective remains always the same.
One of the primary methods for link building is outreach to other websites via email or other communication tools. That might not always be easy, though you establish cooperation with different instances that way.
Another popular backlink-gaining procedure is by using an automated link building service on the web. Find a credible provider that has a large database of various online platforms and websites that would gladly link back to your website.
If you are keen on writing an article, you can also gain links via guest posting. This is a reliable approach to gain traffic to your art website as well as to increase awareness of your art brand.
Control on-page SEO
Besides link-building practices, it is also crucial to guarantee that your website functions properly. Use dedicated tools for controlling the page load speed on your website, cleaning up your website code, and checking other technical characteristics. This will help to make sure that users stay on the website for long after they find it on search results and follow it.
Analyze website performance
Your website ranking progress can’t be properly estimated in case you do not use proper analytic tools. One of the most popular and effective ones is Google Analytics, which is free to use. There you will be able to see all the characteristics and user behavior statistics on your website, Based on that data, you would be able to derive what could be done better on your website to boost its ranking further.
Create e-shop
Even though the art website optimization is crucially important, you should also consider creating your small representation instance on world-known platforms for selling art objects. These could be Etsy and Artspan - the art marketplaces offering creative people the possibility to set up their online storefronts.
Art platforms for creators have embedded optimization mechanisms that allow your art products to be visible on the web by embedding certain keywords. Also, you can insert backlinks to your website from there, thus linking back from credible resources and improving your website ranking.
Mary Hunter is a successful American freelance lifestyle blogger with advanced writing skills. She is currently working for linksmanagement.com. Mary has experience in editing, marketing, and her works appear in different publications and website articles.
Read more helpful art career and marketing articles in our archives HERE.
As an artist, you want people to see your work. After all, the more people get to appreciate your art, the more you can advance your career as an artist and ideally sell more art. One way to do this is by marketing yourself online, either on your own or with someone’s help. Read on to find out the top 10 marketing tips and trends you can use to increase your art website traffic.
#1 Master SEO Basics
Start by learning all the SEO basics. You need to know how to perform keyword research and how to use these keywords in your content. Learn about on-site optimization to further improve your website (e.g. proper navigation, creating a sitemap, etc.)
#2 Optimize Visual Content
Pay special attention to all the visual content you publish because it is crucial for you as an artist. Your images and videos need to be of high quality, but you should also add all the right details to them for SEO (e.g. alt tags for images, descriptions and keywords for videos). Don’t forget to add social sharing buttons to let your audience share your artwork elsewhere.
#3 Start Guest Blogging
Guest blogging is one of the best ways to get more backlinks to your website. If you don’t have time to do it yourself, there are professional writing services you can reach out to for assistance. When you publish your content on someone else’s website or blog, you can include a link to your own site which will guide their audience to you.
#4 Develop Your Link Profile
In addition to getting more backlinks, you should also develop your link profile by using both external and internal links in your website content. Internal links will help you keep users on your website longer while external links (especially to the sources of the facts or statistics you used) will help you look more reputable in the eyes of your audience.
#5 Utilize Social Media
Social media is essential for marketing you and your art. Create your profiles on different social media platforms and regularly remind your followers about your website. Don’t forget to use social media marketing techniques to successfully promote your content on those platforms (e.g. hashtags, tagging, locations, commenting, live streaming).
#6 Promote Word-of-Mouth
Word-of-mouth can easily spread the word about you, but instead of waiting for someone to start talking about you, you can promote word-of-mouth yourself. Reach out to your fans, followers and collectors of your work and ask them to provide a review or testimonial of your work. Then, you can post these on your website and share on your social platforms to get people interested in your art.
#7 Connect with Other Artists
Instead of relying solely on your own efforts and being a lone wolf, it’s a good idea to reach out to other artists like yourself and promote each other. You can partner with other artists to create unique art, host giveaways, and promote each other in different ways. Having these connections will also play a role in helping you advance your career.
#8 Engage with Your Audience
Engagement is important not just for your metrics but also for connecting with your fans. Encourage discussions in the comment section on your website and social media profiles, reply to comments, and so on. All of this shows that you are a friendly person who is happy to engage and connect with their audience.
#9 Make A Posting Schedule
To stay consistent, you will need to create a posting schedule for all the content you publish on your website or social media profiles. This way, you will always have a steady stream of content for your audience to discover and consume.
#10 Measure Performance and Improve
Last but not least, don’t forget to measure the performance of your web content and your website itself to improve your future digital marketing activities. Your updated strategy needs to have the necessary changes that will improve your metrics. Take into account everything – traffic, average session time, conversion rate, comments, social shares, and so on.
Wrapping Up
There are quite a few ways you can successfully reach a wider audience, but the most important thing is to be consistent with your marketing activities. Use the tactics in this article to help you generate more traffic on your website and find new fans and, ideally, buyers of your art.
Anna Medina is a specialist in different types of writing. She graduated from the Interpreters Department, but creative writing became her favorite type of work. Now she improves her skills while working for the writing services review websites like Best Writers Online with content of any type, but, mainly, assisting students all over the world.
By Diana Nadim, Guest Blogger - A blog is a great way for all you creatives out there to show your talent to the world. You have an opportunity to show off your artwork, make your art available to a wider audience, share interesting information, and engage with your readers.
With these tips, you can approach the blogging process like a real pro. So, let’s get started!
Keep the topics relevant
The reader who comes across an art blog will expect exactly that – topics about art. Make the topics enjoyable by choosing different topics that revolve around the world of art. Giving readers different insights and keeping the topics relevant is what you should aim for.
Think about writing about your art, explaining your techniques, informing readers of important news in the world of art. Don’t forget to mention credible resources where you found all the info.
Use eye-catching titles
Blog titles are the ones that need to attract the readers and present your blog as worthy of their time. The best titles are relevant to the content and evoke curiosity. Just think about what you would click on if you were browsing for some interesting blog posts.
You can use headline generators by Sumo or Hubspot if you can't think of anything catchy. By providing you some choices, headline generators will help you get inspired.
Be consistent
Consistency is the key to success! That is applicable for any type of project and your art blog is no exception.
Publish your posts regularly. You don’t want your readers to forget about you after one post.
“Regular posts keep the flow of your blog. It shows passion, dedication, and true interest in what you are doing. It’s as simple as that,” says Marie Fincher, the head of the content department at Trust My Paper.
Add some depth
Plain and generic content won't be entertaining for the mass audience. You need to give life to your writing. The key is to provide some variety and be as authentic as you can be.
What you can do is to include some examples whenever they can help readers to understand what you are trying to explain. You can also engage in some storytelling and include fun and interesting personal stories in your journey as a writer. Let’s say that one of your pieces was inspired by your trip to Cuba; share that story with your readers!
Adding a personal story from time to time can add that special spark your content.
What to do when writing is not your strongest side?
Even though the focus of your blog and posts will be about the artwork, how you write about it is very important. The way you describe your art can either draw readers in or push them away.
When you focus on composing high-quality content, you will present yourself as a true expert.
It is understandable if writing may not be one of your talents. In that case, you can turn to these writing and editing tools to perfect your posts.
Promote your blog
What is the point of investing your time and effort into creating something beautiful if no one can find it? If you don’t actively promote your blog and invite readers to join your community. The easiest way is to use social media accounts. Share the word about your blog and let others share your blog.
Get to work!
Reading about useful tips for your art blog isn’t enough. You need to put these tips to work as soon as possible if you want to see results. Besides everything that we mentioned, keep in mind that a blog is your place to express yourself and build a relationship with your readers.
Diana Nadim is a writer and editor who has a Master’s degree in Marketing. She combines her passion for writing with her interest in research and creates thought-provoking content in various fields. In addition to running her own 3to5Marketing blog, Diana works as a contributor writer for IsAccurate and provides editing services for BestEssayEducation and WoWGrade. What inspires her the most in her writing is traveling and meeting new people. Follow her on Twitter.
By Nick Colakovic, firstsiteguide - In the digital era, it is very important for artists to establish a digital presence. There are many reliable methods to achieve this and have a regularly updated blog is one of them. But, since there are thousands of regularly updated blogs that offer valuable content to the audience, a young artist, or blogger, has to put more effort in order to get recognized.
This can be achieved by promoting the blog and here are some actionable tips that will help you do so.
Search Engine Optimization
Search engine optimization will set your blog promotion on healthy legs. This is the crucial step towards getting your blog known in the modern digital world. Taking care of SEO right from the start will make things a lot easier for you in the future. At the start, make sure to pay attention to SEO essentials and post on regular basis. The content has to have value for the readers, but for future reference, make sure to fully optimize your blog.
Join Some Social Network for Artists
Social Networks designed for artists are an excellent place to meet a lot of colleagues and to promote your art and your blog. For instance, DeviantArt is a social network for artists with more than 60 million unique visitors per month. Their primary goal is to provide exposure for artists and an environment where artists can express themselves and meet other artists. Engagement in the art community can result in many benefits, especially if you focus on promoting your blog.
Make the Content Sharable
Social media buttons on your blog are a must. This is important because people don’t have the time to copy the links and share them on their social media, especially if they are mobile. People like to have an instant option that will allow them to share blog posts. You can check the material design recommendations to make sure that social media buttons are designed by the latest trends. Also, make sure to place them where website users are expecting to see them.
Become Active on Facebook and Twitter
Becoming active on these social media platforms is more than just a promotion. Your goal should be to find and develop genuine relationships with people. These people will not only help you by encouraging you as an artist, but they will also provide valuable feedback on your blog posts which you can use to improve your content and make it attract more people.
In order to develop an active community on Facebook and Twitter, you will have to invest time into visiting their profiles, commenting on their posts, replying to their comments. If you use social media to actually engage with people, don’t worry, the promotion will follow as a side effect.
Connect with Influencers in the Field
Using influencers for promotion is one of the leading marketing trends in 2017. Using one for promoting your blog would be a smart decision. You should save this option as a wild card once you get your blog up and running with at least some traffic on it. In other words, make sure that your blog is ready for promotion. You don’t want to catch the attention of large audiences with a blog that has little to offer.
When you are picking an influencer to promote your blog, make sure to go with one that’s in your niche in order to get the best effect.
Consider a Website for Your Art
Why not promote your art while you are also promoting your blog? You can start by making a website with your art and just add a blog section on it. Don’t worry about blog exposure, since you can always promote the latest and the most read blog entries on the homepage of your website. This way, by promoting your blog, you will promote your art and vice versa.
If you decide to follow this road, make sure to optimize the images on your website.
Start Guest Posting
By devoting some time to guest posting, you will be able to promote yourself and your blog at the same time. Just make sure that the blog where are you posting attracts the same type of audience you are planning to attract to your blog website.
These are some blog promotion tips that can get you started at this very moment. Once you have done all of them, you can continue to look online for new methods that will help you promote your blog.
Nick Colakovic works for firstsiteguide.com. He’s passionate about helping other bloggers take their craft to the next level and likes to help newbies understand the joy of being online.
In my opinion, the easiest and quickest way to attract art blog readers and to develop an audience for an art blog is through the use of Social Media. Through the continuous and proper use of social networking, an artist can create a following that will not only help drive traffic to their art website but over time, will also help the artist to establish, develop and maintain their brand.
If targeted properly, social networks such as Facebook, Google+, Linkedin, Twitter, StumbleUpon, and Pinterest can provide the art blogger with the exposure to help increase the chance and the opportunity to attract new viewers to their art blog.
Here are 5 ways an artist can attract readers to their art blog through the use of social media;
1. Create a blog through WordPress.org: Create and develop an art blog by using the WordPress.org platform. Why is this? WordPress allows the blog writer to optimize their posts for search engines (SEO). Without this ability for SEO, there is little chance of having any blog posts found and read by anyone.
SEO is achieved through the descriptive use of titles, meta tags, permalinks, and keywords when creating posts with art industry keywords. These are keywords which interested people use when searching the internet in order to find art related information. Also, did I mention that WordPress is free? With WordPress, the only other thing that will be needed is a company to host the blog. To a non-technical person this may seem intimidating, but with WordPress, there are help sections and help forums which provide you with instructions on setup, installation, maintenance and troubleshooting a WordPress blog.
2. Create a Facebook and Google+ Pages for your Art Blog: Both social networks make it very easy now to set up and create business or fan pages through and as a part of your personal social network page. Create the most attractive, complete and personalized blog page that you can. Any blog articles, art activity or art events that the artist is associated with can be posted on these pages. In addition, the artist can also share this content back through the personal page of this social media to their connections, friends, and networks too.
3. Link Your Blog, Website and All Social Media Networks Together: The art blogger now has the ability to connect the various social networks together when posting their updates and posts. While posting an article on Facebook, the post can be automatically shared with Twitter, which in turn then shares it with Linkedin and so on.
Feeds can be created to and from other blogs and websites which the artist owns and operates, along with any other social media sites, whereby any blog article is automatically updated as well. The ability to interconnect websites and social networks makes it very easy to distribute content and to create an immediate “buzz” with any of your art blog activity.
4. Have a Share Feature for Each Post and Page: The ability to share any post or page that is created in your art blog is absolutely necessary for success in finding new readers. If someone reads and likes your post, they can immediately share this with their networks and connections, thus expanding the reach and exposure of that article. WordPress provides free plugins that make installing this “share” feature very easy. The same holds true of having “Like”, “+Share” or “inShare” buttons on your posts and pages as well. Make it easy for readers to share your content with their networks by having these share features and buttons on each post and page.
5. Create a Triberr Group to Maximize the Power of Sharing: Triberr is a social media platform that allows groups of people and professionals, who have related interests and goals the ability to share their content to a large group. The idea and goal of the group are to have the members share each member’s article posts and content with their own social networks. A group of 10 art bloggers could easily have 50,000+ followers (collectively) on Twitter and by sharing the group’s blog content, a Triberr Group Member has a reach far beyond what they could ever hope to achieve on their own. Besides sharing on Twitter, Triberr also provides for Facebook Likes, StumbleUpon Submits, Google+ Share and Linkedin Sharing.
Today, an artist has the ability to share their art content, art articles, art activity and art events across social networks and between related websites. If properly set up, this ability to share can be an automatic event, which will not take away from an artist’s time to create and market their art. To me, this is the quickest and easiest way for an art blog to be exposed to a broad group of interested readers, who in turn will also be introduced to the artist’s website and their art.
If you are unhappy with the amount of traffic to your art website and the amount of sales that you have been making, there is something that an artist can do about it and that is to start an art blog. A blog is a vehicle by which an artist can help to gain more exposure on the internet, help market their art and help in developing their brand. There are numerous other benefits to an artist for having an art blog, but to me, the following are the top 3 reasons why an artist needs an art blog:
1. Traffic to Your Art Website – Many artists have successfully started and maintained art blogs in order to create and generate more interest in their art. And it is through their art blog that they are ultimately able to direct those visitors and readers to their art website.
Successful art blogs will contain art related articles and posts, have guest art bloggers provide art related content, have experts contribute articles about specialties in the art field, allow and encourage comments from visitors and have art related links and websites that may be interesting to their blog readers.
A good and effective art blog will be a destination and a source to many, that will answer art questions, provide related news about art and be able to inform and teach a reader with new and timely information on art related subjects.
If an art blog is not providing the kind of information described above, then the art blog will probably not generate much traffic and will become an exercise in wasting time for the artist/blogger. Just as a press release is not a commercial but rather it is “news”, a blog should be a source of information to its readers, not a “look at me, buy my art” type publication.
2. Marketing Your Art – Through an effective and well-written art blog, artists are able to create an atmosphere, whereby their readers feel like they are “insiders” and that they are receiving exclusive information, just for them! To create this tone, an artist can show how their art is created, demonstrate how they conceptualize their subject matter, display technical methods when creating their art etc. Overall, the artist, through their art blog can demonstrate their expertise and mastery in their profession. This can be shown through posts, articles, videos, and podcasts all presented or embedded within the blog.
An art blog is a subtle and low-key way of pointing your visitors to your art website for further information on your art! Artists should encourage visitors to subscribe to their email list and RSS Feed for use in the future for additional announcements, event notices and information too.
3. Branding Yourself as an Expert – Through an art blog, over a period of time, you are able to show and demonstrate who you are as an artist and as a person. Through the art blog, you are setting forth and demonstrating that you are an expert, that you are well connected professionally and that you are a successful artist.
One of the more successful artist/bloggers in the business is Lori McNee, an artist from Idaho. Lori started her art blog “Fine Art Tips” 3 years ago as a way to give back to the art community. As Lori explains, “as a working artist, blogging was the perfect opportunity for me to share my artistic knowledge, and my art. Little did I know how many wonderful opportunities I would quickly gain from blogging. Lori continues with her thoughts on blogging, “I have discovered the benefits of social media, and how to use this free marketing medium to drive traffic back to my website and blog. From my blog and social networking, I have made many real connections, like my friendship with John R. Math, and many others. I have overcome my fear of public speaking, and I now even get paid to give webinars and keynote addresses. Blogging has been a relatively free branding and marketing tool for me. My paintings have steadily sold during this challenging economy, and I have expanded my gallery representation too.”
Through her blog, she has been published in the Artist’s Magazine, Southwest Art, and Plein Air Magazine. Also, Lori was featured in the Huffington Post, which named her a "Twitter Powerhouse". Lori states, “because of my blogging, I now write for books including Zero to 100,000: Social Media Tips and Tricks for Small Businesses, the 2012 and 2013 Artist’s & Graphic Designer’s Market, and the Photographer’s Market – all because of blogging!”
Finally, Lori says, “I mention all of this not to be boastful, but rather to be inspirational. As the art market continues to grow more competitive, it is important for artists to take charge of their art careers. Blogging is the perfect opportunity to bring the world to your art – without a blog, you are invisible. Yes, you might have a Facebook account. But, it is risky business to solely rely on third-party social networks for your exposure. The benefits of blogging cannot be ignored.”
Lori McNee demonstrates the power and benefits of blogging, as it has provided her with more exposure, opportunities and of course, more sales of her art. Her blog website is http://www.finearttips.com
An art blog is not a commercial “to sell your art” but rather an art blog is a way in which an artist can draw attention and interest to their art. Artists who are unhappy with their marketing efforts should consider starting an art blog to take their art marketing to the next level. As Lori McNee has shown, the benefits to an artist are great, when an artist, commits to starting and maintaining an art blog.
Another fantastic reference for artists who are planning on launching or upgrading their art blog is the website https://firstsiteguide.com. They can help an artist to establish a successful art blog without wasting time researching, experimenting and implementing blogging strategies. Here is an infographic created by them with a comparison chart detailing the Top 10 Blogging Platforms.
An additional source of information and a great help to an artist for setting up an art blog is the article by Robert Mening titled "How to Create a Blog". Robert is the Web Developer & Designer behind WebsiteSetup.org. He offers clear and simple instructions on how anyone can set-up a blog. Robert has helped more than 25,000 people to set up their own blog or website.
