If you spend any time at all online managing your email, you WILL receive emails containing various kinds of clickable links that you will have to handle. The most common of these is the confirmation email. This type of email is sent automatically to confirm whether you actually subscribed to a mailing list or newsletter. It contains information, such as your unique IP address, that confirms your identity as well as gives your approval for the sender to contact you. This protects you from receiving unwanted email, and gives the sender some hard data that a person actually opted in to his list to protect him from spam complaints.  Here is a typical email containing a confirmation link (please do NOT click the live link in this email): click on the link above to watch a video  to see step by step how to sign up for, and confirm your subscription to the Art Marketing Journal newsletter.

—–Original Message—–
From: verifications@aweber.com [mailto:verifications@aweber.com] On Behalf Of Art Marketing Journal
Sent: Thursday, August 20, 2009 11:41 PM
To: Susan Critelli
Subject: Response Required: Please confirm your request for information

Dear Susan,

We received your request for our special free report, “7 Mistakes Artists Make When Marketing Their Work” (and how to turn them into

exposure, recognition and sales!). Before we can send you that report we need to be certain we have your permission.

———————————————————–

CONFIRM BY VISITING THE LINK BELOW:

http://www.aweber.com/z/c/?nycys3czqbpupj2lgupk6v2damty036mg==6201

Click the link above to give us permission to send you information.  It’s fast and easy!  If you cannot click the

full URL above, please copy and paste it into your web browser.

———————————————————–

If you do not want to confirm, simply ignore this message.

Thank you!

Warm Regards,

Teresa Freed and Susan Critelli

http://www.ArtMarketingJournal.com

1163 S. Main St., #209, Chelsea, MI 48118, USA

Request generated by:

IP: 173.61.51.32

Date: August 20, 2009 23:40 EDT

URL: http://artmarketingjournal.com/category/how-to/internet-skills-for-artists/

We usually recommend beginning with either Facebook or Twitter. Facebook is hugely popular and you’re sure to find an audience there of people who want to stay in touch and follow your work. Twitter is growing by leaps and bounds and provides a more informal venue for connecting with other artists and art collectors.

Which one to begin with depends on you and your goals. If you have a blog or frequently updated website to display new work on, and want to build quickly, then Twitter may be the first choice for you. If you don’t yet have a website or blog, Facebook’s fan page option can give you a beginning ‘place’ on the Internet to showcase your work. Twitter is simple and can be quick to build. Facebook is complex and can be much slower to build.

But, what can you expect from either of them? When approached with a specific goal in mind, and by building a core group of followers first, Twitter can pay big dividends quickly. For example, during my first couple of months on Twitter I was approached to:

• write an article for an artists showcase site

• invited to be a featured artist on another artists showcase site

• had several inquiries about website projects from fellow artists

• had the opportunity to participate in a national touring exhibit

• received inquiries about painting commissions

• and made a lot of great contacts with artists all over the country (and world!).

If anyone knows where the art opportunities are, it’s artists, and it has paid off nicely to build my Twitter follower base with fellow artists.

Facebook has been a much slower process, but seems more pemanent somehow. I really appreciate the fan page I was able to build there:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Teresa-Freed/112810001004?v=wall&viewas=0&ref=s

However, my 145 friends and 70 some fans are a far cry from the 1040 followers I collected on Twitter during the same timeframe. On Facebook I’ve been spending my time setting things up rather than seeking new friends. However, I do expect that to even out over time.

Which one is the place to begin for you? Think about what your goals are and then jump in! In the end you’ll probably decide you want to do both.

Most artists will begin defining their relationship with their prospective collectors before they ever meet. This relationship begins when someone reads your brochure, your email, your printed stationery (letterhead, business cards) or visits your website or blog.

Take a look at your marketing materials. Are they professional-quality with an attractive logo that is used consistently across all your materials for branding purposes?

Are they clear and easy to read?

Can your potential collector look at them and understand quickly what media you work in, what your unique vision is, how to see more of your work, and how to get in touch with you?

Have you made it easy for someone to contact you by offering both your phone number and email address?

Do you offer an easy way to obtain more information, such as an opt-in box on your website allowing them to subscribe to a blog or newsletter?

Is there a photo of you on your brochure or website, and something about your personal life that will help them decide if they want to know you better?

The things that potential collectors hear and see about you, before even buying something, can provide fertile soil for the after-sale cultivation of that relationship, or they can create a barrier that has to be overcome before a sale can even be made.

You only get one chance to make a first impression. Make sure that your branding is in place and that your marketing materials and website are polished and professional.

Wherever you want to create an active link when composing an email, simply include http:// before the www, then hit “Enter”. For example:

http://www.artmarketingjournal.com

When you press ‘Enter’ at the end of the link you should see it turn color and become underlined – indicating it’s an active link.

In some email clients, such as Microsoft Outlook, your link will also be active if you enter it like this and press ‘Enter’ at the end of the link:

www.artmarketingjournal.com

Keep in mind that the link isn’t likely to be active for you, no matter what you do, while you’re writing your email, especially if you are using web based email.  But, the http:// version should be active once the email is sent and opened by the receiver.

It’s important to test your links to make sure they’re correct, especially in newsletters and exhibit announcements.  The easiest way to do this is to send a copy of the email to yourself before you send it to the intended recipient(s).  When the email arrives, click on the links.  Do they go where you want them to go?  If so, your email is ready to send. Just copy and paste the entire message into a new outgoing email and address it for your recipient.

Get in the habit now of testing EVERYTHING when working with email.  Your effort is wasted if your emails arrive and the links don’t work!

Let’s say you have a word processor document  and need to copy a section of your document and paste it into an e-mail. Here’s how:

1. Select the text you want to copy. You do this by putting your mouse cursor just before the first character you want to copy and, holding down the left mouse button, dragging the cursor to just after the last character you want to copy. As you drag, you’ll notice that the text you are dragging your mouse over becomes highlighted – ’selected’.

2. Next, right-click on the selected area. Choose ‘Copy’ from the menu that pops up. Or:

• press Ctrl and C at the same time (Ctrl-C) – a very handy keypad shortcut.

• go to the top left corner of the document’s window and click on ‘Edit’, then on ‘Copy’.

3. Finally, put your cursor on the spot in the email where you want the copied text to be pasted. Right-click and choose ‘Paste’ from the menu that pops up. Or, left-click to ’set’ your cursor and:

• press Ctrl and V at the same time (Ctrl-V).

• go to the top left corner of the email’s window and click on ‘Edit’, then on ‘Paste’.

That’s it! The steps are basically the same for any ‘copy and paste’ procedure you need to do.

Be aware that in addition to ‘copy and paste’ you can also ‘cut and paste’. When you ‘copy’, the original text will not be affected. When you ‘cut’, the original text will be deleted. Paste that text where you want it using the ‘paste’ technique outlined above. You’ll find the ‘Cut’ command in the same menus as the ‘Copy’ command. The keyboard shortcut for ‘Cut’ is Ctrl-X.

One decision you’ll want to make early on is whether or not a do-it-yourself website program will give you what you need (and produce a professional quality website) or if you need special features that are best handled by a website designer.

Typically, artist ‘brochure’ websites contain 4 or 5 pages – a page about the artist (which may or may not include a resume), where to view the artist’s work, a gallery of thumbnail images of the artist’s work and contact information. However, if you want to go a step further and sell work directly from your site you’ll need a way to do that.

Over the years we have reviewed many starter do-it-yourself website building programs. What most lack, and a feature that is crucial to artists, is the ability to configure a gallery of thumbnails that expand to a larger view, with the piece’s title, size and medium listed under each image. Some website builder programs that are specific to visual artists do include this option, so review programs carefully before choosing one.

If you’re serious about using the Internet to market your work you’ll want an email opt-in box on your website that feeds visitor contact information into your preferred list-building tool. This is often an ‘extra’, and some website building programs don’t allow for this at all.

There are many other issues to consider when choosing either a do-it-yourself website design program or a professional website designer for your art web site. You’ll find many of them discussed, plus an Artist Website Checklist, at:

www.FineArtistWebsites.com

It’s important to think through exactly what you want your website to do for you, and define what features you’ll need, before starting out. It’s easy to jump in and then get stuck with a website program or designer that isn’t the right fit for your needs. Remember: A half-baked website can be worse for you and your image than no website at all, so determine what your needs are before you jump in!

Artists face many challenges in marketing their work. A big one is getting stuck because of not knowing how to proceed with any given marketing or website project.

We know how frustrating it can be to find yourself unable to move forward because you don’t quite have all the pieces. Chances are, we’ve already encountered the same issue and have a solution for you – or know where to find one.

What’s on your mind? Leave a comment below and tell us what you’d like to know more about. We can’t answer every request directly, but we’ll make every effort to address your comments in future posts on this blog.

http://homepage.mac.com/terry.artist/

Or:

http://terryartist.blogspot.com

How do you turn URLs like those into a professional address like: www.TerryArtist.com?

Simple – just redirect a domain name. Here’s how:

1. Register a domain name at www.FineWebsitesRegistry.com

It’s important to give some thought to your domain name before you choose one. Click here for guidelines about how to choose a domain name.

(If you’ve already registered a domain name somewhere else, the following instructions will be similar to the process you’ll need to go through in your domain registry account.)

2. Once you have your domain name, log into your www.FineWebsitesRegistry.com account (click on ‘My Account’ from the ‘Home’ page).

3. Click on ‘Domains’ in the left menu.

4. Click on the box to the left of the domain name that you want to redirect to your website.  Then click on ‘Forward’ in the menu above where your domain name appears.

5. A box will open up with the tab set to ‘Forwarding’. Click on the box to the left of ‘Enable Forwarding’. In the box under ‘Foward to:’ paste in the link to the front page of your website. In this example that would be:  http://homepage.mac.com/terry.artist/

We suggest that you copy and paste that link so there’s no possibility of error. If you must type it, make sure to get it EXACTLY right.

6. Click on the round circle to the left of ‘301 Moved Permanently’.

7. Click on ‘OK’.

The page should refresh, giving you a message saying that your change has been submitted and will take effect shortly. It can take up to 48 hours for your new domain name to go to the page your redirected it to.

Go to your domain name to test it. Once it has resolved and takes you to the front page of your site, you’re done. You now can send people to your site using your domain name instead of the link giving to you by your site builder program.

If, after a couple of days, your domain name is not taking you to your site, log back into your domain registery account and repeat this process. If that doesn’t work, locate the ‘Product and Technical Support’ phone number near the top of the page when you log in, and call for help in getting your domain name forwarded. It’s very unlikely you’ll need to do that.

In marketing, image is everything. A polished presentation gives credibility to the company, product and service.

Artists who are actively showing their work understand this principle, and pay attention to framing and other aspects of good presentation. Artists also tend to recognize that what their work hangs next to is important to how their work is perceived. Accomplished artists are likely to be discriminating about what shows they enter, choosing venues where their work will be displayed with pieces that are as good as, or better, than theirs. These artist grasps that context is just as important as presentation.

Yet, many artists seem to have a blindspot when it comes to their website. You’d be amazed by how many truly bad artist websites are on the Internet – websites owned by artists who do very nice work. By bad, I mean amateurish websites that devalue the work that appears on them. In those cases, the context (the website) spreads the perception of “amateur” to the art itself. Even the best work is devalued by a poorly designed and constructed website.  In fact, a bad website can do more harm than good for an artist.

So, what makes a site scream amateur?

Here are some things to watch out for:

• Gaudy, clashing colors
• Fussy, decorative page backgrounds
• All-black pages that make your eyes wiggle when you try to read them
• Visual clutter
• Huge text, or very tiny text
• Times New Roman font
• “Under Construction” signs
• Cutesy moving images
• Broken links and bad navigation
• Ads unrelated to you and your work - especially those put on your site by your free website service
• Bad spelling and grammar
• Fuzzy, distorted, pixilated, dark, or otherwise unclear pictures.
• A counter on the site that shows the number of visitors.
• An unprofessional website address like: www.members.aol.com/terryartist3/
  instead of www.TerryArtist.com

A good artist website is crisp and clean, serving as a neutral background that allows the art to predominate. Nicely sized, high-quality images that show the work to perfection are a must. Navigation needs to be obvious and fool-proof. The site’s ‘logo’ should be simple and polished.

Overall, you want your site to create a pleasing, professional impression and to nicely showcase your work without the site itself taking center stage. After all, your goal is to wow your visitors with your work, not distract them with your website (good OR bad!).

Savvy marketers know that “the money is in the list”. The same holds true for artists, making listing-building one of the most important things an artist can do to sell more work.

By collecting contact information from everyone who expresses an interest in your work (or who buys your work), you’re creating a database of people who already have an interest in buying from you. Over time, they are you best prospects for ongoing, additional sales.

Next to your art supplies and completed work, your mailing list can be your greatest asset. Why? Because your list gives you the opportunity to build ongoing relationships with people who are interested in your work.

Relationships are critical to building your sales. How many times have you sold a piece to someone you’ve never met and who knows nothing at all about you? Probably not nearly as many times as to people who do know you, even if marginally. In a world with lots of buying options, very often a piece is sold because of how the buyer feels about you, the artist. Ongoing communication via your mailing list lets people get to know you, and gives you the opportunity to nurture relationships.

Another advantage of building and nurturing a list is that it gives you the opportunity to sell additional pieces to people who have already bought from you. Savvy business owners know that it’s far less costly to make ongoing sales to the same people than to continually have to find new customers. You, of course, want to attract new buyers and collectors, but don’t overlook those birds in the hand! Your list allows you to stay in touch with them in a meaningful way.

Your mailing list allows you to prepare people to buy from you, as well as alerting them to buying opportunities. By educating them about you, your accomplishements, new techniques, new pieces, etc. you’re reminding them about your work and reinforcing why they were interested in the first place – and moving them closer to buying something.

When beginning your list, collect the name, email address and postal address of everyone who buys a piece from you.

Have a guestbook prominantly displayed during every exhibit, with a note at the top of each page asking people to write down their contact information so they can be notified of studio sales and future exhibits (everyone loves the idea of attending a studio sale!).

Encourage everyone new you talk with during shows and receptions to make sure to put their information in your guestbook before they leave. If need be, it’s easy to give people you’re talking with a little nudge: “Sally, you sound like you’re interested in my autumn landscapes. I have an exhibit coming up in a few months where several new pieces will appear. Would you like to receive a postcard informing you of the dates? Let’s get your information right now so I can be sure to send you one”.

Put a form on your website where people can submit their contact information, and have it prominently displayed on every page. Better yet, offer visitors something of value for free when they give you their contact information (how about a free report about a particular technique you use, more information about your medium, a postcard you mail to them with your most popular piece on the front, etc. – be creative!). If the signup box feeds into an autoresponder you can automate the entire list-building process and future mailings.

To fully maximize results from your list, you’ll want a list of postal addresses (so you can send postcards) and a list of email addresses (it’s helpful to have both from each person). Email is easiest for ongoing communication with your list.

Once people are on your list, you’ll want to mail something to them on a regular basis to continue developing relationships. Educate people about who you are, what motivates you to paint, what subjects interest you, your media, new pieces, new awards, new exhibits - whatever is interesting about what’s going on in your painting life. Keep your emails short so they’re read, and think of them like an ongoing newsletter.

Over time, your list will grow, relationships will develop with those on your list, and you’ll make more sales. List-building takes some effort, but is well worth it.