Classes
#1 The Overall Plan #2 Getting Organized #3 Using weebly #4 Getting Started #5 Building Your Pages #6 "About Me" Page #7 How to Buy a Painting" Page #8 "Events Page" #9 Creating Your Store #10 Creating Your Storefront #11 "Workshops" Page #12 Creating a Blog #13 Adding Videos to Your Site #14 Adding a Gallery #15 Creating a Form #16 Mobile Analytics #17 webinARTs Forum #18 Additional Elements #19 Finalizing the Home Page #20 Fine Tuning Your Website |
Creating a BlogRemember this diagram from our first session? Today we are going to discuss how you can use your blog to promote your new website.
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We have spent a lot of time working on our websites. Technically you have been building (or have just built) your store. Your store is online but who knows it even exists?
Imagine your website as a retail location down the street. As you update your website, you are adding inventory to your ficticous retail store every day. Even if you already had a website, I hope you have been giving your store a face lift by making it more user friendly and easier to shop. So now your store is ready for customers.
So, what happens if you "open your store" and nobody comes?
Having a great store on the web means little if nobody knows it's there. With one billion active sites on the web it is not likely a lot of people are going to stumble upon your website by chance. So now it's time we shift our focus to driving potential buyers and followers to your website.
And the first way to do that is to have a conversation about your art on your blog.
Imagine your website as a retail location down the street. As you update your website, you are adding inventory to your ficticous retail store every day. Even if you already had a website, I hope you have been giving your store a face lift by making it more user friendly and easier to shop. So now your store is ready for customers.
So, what happens if you "open your store" and nobody comes?
Having a great store on the web means little if nobody knows it's there. With one billion active sites on the web it is not likely a lot of people are going to stumble upon your website by chance. So now it's time we shift our focus to driving potential buyers and followers to your website.
And the first way to do that is to have a conversation about your art on your blog.
Here is a list of what every art blog needs.
- The most important thing you have to do when you start a blog is to be focused. Stop yourself and ask "Why would someone read my blog?". Use your blog to have a conversation about your art. Don't just post photos of your paintings. Share something and make it interesting. Give your readers a reason to want to come back. Offer more to your readers than your art.
- Make sure your blog has a great look and feel that is visual and appealing to your potential buyers.
- Is your blog on your website? If not does it "appear" that it is?
- Is it easy to navigate? Do not offer too many options to send your visitors away from your blog. It's easy to do this!
- Post often. Make your stories interesting. Keep it current.
- Is your blog visual? Photos should be clear and large.
- Make sure all of your paintings are priced and easy to purchase on your blog.
- Syndicate your blog with your Facebook page so that every time you publish a new post, it automatically feeds to your Facebook page.
- Ask visitors to sign up as a blog follower and also sign up for your newsletter.
- Use photo badges instead of text links (using Picmonkey).
- Consider Affiliate advertising. You can offer links (ads) on your website that earn you a commission if anyone makes a purchase from the link. Just be careful so your blog doesn't look tacky with the ads.
- Offer links for buyers to purchase prints of your art on your blog.
- Add you tube videos to your blog posts. This makes a huge difference with readers.
- Comment on other blogs.
Let's take a look first at my blog.
Watch the video as we review my blogs on my website. And yes, I have three!
Spruce up a Tired and Neglected Blog
If you have had a blog for quite some time it is probably ready for a face lift. Look at the widgets on your blog and delete the ones that aren't working for you. Add some new ones. Try creating a weekly recurring post so that your followers will look forward to this information. If you can get them to come to your blog looking for information, then you have succeeded.
I use to link my blog page in the header of my website to my blogger blog. In January of 2016 I created a new blog on my weebly site. I moved over all of my followers from blogger (using Mailchimp) and put a message on my old blog that there was a new website for my blog. It's one of the best things I have ever done with my art business! You should be thinking about doing the same.
If you have had a blog for quite some time it is probably ready for a face lift. Look at the widgets on your blog and delete the ones that aren't working for you. Add some new ones. Try creating a weekly recurring post so that your followers will look forward to this information. If you can get them to come to your blog looking for information, then you have succeeded.
I use to link my blog page in the header of my website to my blogger blog. In January of 2016 I created a new blog on my weebly site. I moved over all of my followers from blogger (using Mailchimp) and put a message on my old blog that there was a new website for my blog. It's one of the best things I have ever done with my art business! You should be thinking about doing the same.
Watch the video as I show you how to create your first blog post.