Web Designs for Small Business

For many artists, creating art comes easy. The hard work begins when an artist tries to sell products online. Although claims abound that all an artist has to do is create a website and sales will start to roll in overnight, this is rarely the case.

For most types of arts and crafts, the artist must choose one of several sales strategies, or, more likely, come up with their unique mix of promotional practices.

A popular strategy is to simply promote an overall brand, and not focus on individual works. The strategy is usually implemented when an artist works with traditional media such as paintings, drawings, sculptures, carvings, etc.

Some artists use networking skills to find a suitable gallery and then hand off the actual sales process to someone else.

A third second strategy focuses on specialized interests. This form of selling revolves around understanding potential buyers. After learning how to recognize a niche audience, the seller must find a way to reach those people.

In other words, there are artists and (potential) buyers. These two groups are often separated by distance, cultures, or the sheer expanse of civilization.

The key to niche sales is to find a way to connect producers of a product with consumers that are seeking these items.

Fortunately internet search engines are indispensible for helping connect users that share a niche interest.

The challenge starts with learning how to present information online in such a way that search engines recognize information as being relevant to a given search term.

Although this task is often done in house, it is often worthwhile for artists to explore options such as having a specialized copywriter create niche content.

The following links give a few examples of online articles or blog posts which target a very specific increment of interest in arts and crafts:

Brown Trout Art

Regional Fish and Seafood Logos

Waterfowl T Shirts – Art

Birdwatching Gifts

Virginia Saltwater Fishing is a news portal which provides the latest in fisheries issues, regulations, safety and other news of importance to the Virginia fishing community.

Our goals include the eventual expansion of the site to include guest posts and reports from area fishermen, guides and charter boat operators.

The site is located at: http://www.virginia-saltwater-fishing.com/.

The Federal Trade Commission has released its revised guidelines concerning the use of endorsements and testimonials in advertising. The revisions include a focus on “bloggers” and social media users, requiring them to properly disclose when they have received payment in the form of either money or product from a company or organization and produce content regarding said company or organization. According to reports, bloggers can be fined up to $11,000 per post for not disclosing. Critics of the new regulations consider this just another suppression tactic by government thugs.

Footnote:

No payment in the form of either money or product from a company or organization is associated with this post!

Update:

An interesting development has occurred in the story of the controversial FTC guidelines for sponsored blogging/social media. The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) has called upon the FTC to rescind the blogger rules, and has questioned the constitutionality of them.

See:

http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2009/10/16/key-perspectives-on-the-ftc-blogger-guidelines

This following is Part II of Creating an Arts and Crafts Website

Once the business owner has a clear set of goals for attracting customers via the internet, a good idea is to create a list of features that are needed for the website. A blueprint of the site may include only a single page or a menu which includes several pages. Essential to any arts and crafts website is the home page, which may feature a few photos and a brief description of products and services. Larger sites will have a full menu on the home page, listing all the important sections that clients may need to access.

Many crafters and artists will need a photo gallery which accurately depicts the products they offer. For some artists, this section may include descriptions, pricing and in some pricing even and a buy now link.

Many artists will include sections on their experience, influences, sales policies, upcoming events and other important information. These sections can eliminate mix-ups and provide customers with a clear understanding of the products and services available from the artist.

Some arts and crafts venders include a blog on their website. Blogs, news pages and events sections are extremely popular among audiences and can be a vital tool for building a portfolio of repeat customers. Most blogging tools combine artist’s entries, photos and guests comments to create an interactive experience that attracts a loyal following of readers throughout the season.

Once the website is launched, a specialist can show you cost effective ways to improve your search engine ranks, target specific search terms and bring more readers to your site. The end result of these steps should put more paying customers aboard your boat.

For help with setting up an art or crafts website, improving your search engine rankings or online advertising, visit Daybreak Web Designs.

Back to Creating an Arts and Crafts Website – Part I

These sites are resources for promoting your business blog. In addition to attracting a human audience, creating a profile page on these sites can help your site get indexed by Google and other search engines

The list:

http://www.technorati.com/

http://www.mybloglog.com/

http://www.blogcatalog.com/

http://www.blogged.com/

http://www.networkedblogs.com/