It’s no secret that, despite what some artists seem to think lately, that you need a website to be taken seriously and to have a home base for your art, a place for collectors to sign up for a newsletter, a place where you can showcase things for sale and collect payments.
You can see on our framework “Website” right there in the “Audience” circle, but it also is represented by that black band between “True Fans” and “Products” – it is an online interface where people trade their hard earned money for the products you sell.
There are many ways to set up an art website. There are big generic website builders, such as Squarespace and, with a bit of work, you can even set those generic site builders up to collect money. Though, to be honest, most artist websites I see built on such builders lack a whole lot of features that collectors actually love. Does your website have a unique page for each artwork? Does it have a close-up zoom of each piece? Do you show framed and unframed views? Do you offer the price with and without the frame? Can I view the piece in a room? Can I whip out my iphone and view the piece on the wall in MY room? Do you have your latest work on the site because it’s so easy to add a piece? Can I sign up for your newsletter on your site? Can I order a fine art print of a piece in a custom size that works for me?
All of the things I mentioned above, you get out of the box with FASO Artist Websites. I dare say, you will have a heck of a time implementing most of those on Squarespace and, even if you do, it will be a huge pain and you won’t keep it up to date as you add new art. You might not care about that, but your customers do.
Regardless, there is one other thing many artists need to turn their art into a real, selling business – and that is knowledge. If you don’t know how to market your art properly, where do you turn to learn? You won’t get any help from most tech companies – you’re lucky if most of them even provide good support.
If you don’t know how to market your art, you’ll probably buy a book, ask a friend, or, if you are truly serious, work with a coach of some kind who will provide videos, written information, courses, webinars and perhaps one-on-one guidance. This will range from hundreds to thousands of dollars. And there certainly are several good options out there! It’s just that they are expensive.
But, there is an easy way to get access to marketing knowledge in the form of posts, playbooks, videos and live sessions. In addition, this won’t cost you any more than you pay for a website. And best of all, you can get access to a whole community of artists and marketing experts – again – all included with your website.
If you move your art website to FASO Artist websites, you get access to the FASO Marketing Center and all our resources and experts. This community is worth as much, and in some cases more, than other options you will pay hundreds or thousands of dollars for.
Here’s an example of what our community looks like, accessible right inside every paying FASO Member’s account:
