This post is sponsored by IM Creator: Create gorgeous websites – for you, your business, your neighbor with our easy drag n’ drop HTML website builder.
Though there are some great social sites geared towards artists and photographers, like deviantART, Behance, 500px or Flickr, it still pays to have your own, professional-looking website. As the founder of My Modern Met, I can’t tell you enough how important it is for an artist to have a place of their own. Personally, I have countless stories about trying to contact an artist to have their work featured on My Modern Met only to reach a dead end.
With the internet, you now have a global reach. For an artist, it all comes down to finding and connecting with a specific, targeted audience. But with all the resources out there, what do you focus on? You start by building a professional website. Here are the top 5 reasons why you need one.
1. Develop Your Own Brand
With millions of artists and photographers out there, it’s hard to stand out from the crowd. How your website is designed and what you feature shows the public – which includes art galleries, publicists, news organizations and potential buyers – who you are and what you’re all about. In the About section, tell everyone about yourself, your background, how long you’ve been in your field and what drew you into the creative world. In this day and age, people don’t just want to know about your art, they want to know about you.
2. Show Off Your Best Work
In your portfolio section, show off the best series you’ve been working on. Give people a selection to choose from. Some people may connect with your older work while others are looking for something new and fresh. This is the spot where you can show off the years of hard work you’ve put into your portfolio.
3. Give People One Place to Find You Socially
One can hardly keep up with all the social media sites out there. As an artist or photographer, you probably have a Twitter and Instagram account as well as a Facebook page. Do you also have a Google+ page, a Pinterest account or even a LinkedIn? You don’t have to be in all these places but for the ones you spend a lot of time and energy on, give your fans one place to find them all.
4. Update Your Fans on Your Blog
Your website is the perfect place to link to your blog. Though you don’t have to post there every day, it’s the one spot people will go to to see what you’re currently working on or promoting. If you have an exhibition you’d like to tell your fans about, share it there and then spread the link via your social channels. The blog is also a great place to show some behind-the-scenes pics of your latest piece. People love reading about or seeing photos of your creative process. It leads to greater appreciation of your work and it’s an effective way to build excitement.
5. Tell People Where They Can Purchase Your Art
You may be an artist because you have a strong passion for art, but you also have to make a living. Give people an easy way to purchase your artwork directly from your website or lead them to an online store where they can easily and quickly purchase it themselves. If they’ve already visited your site and love what they see, they’ll want to support you and your work.
So now that you’ve decided you need one, what’s a quickest way to build your website and get it up and running? Our sponsored partner IM Creator is a website builder that works with designers to create an outstanding collection of templates. Here’s just a taste of what they can do. Make sure to check them out.
