Tags Seem Worthless

Promote, promote, and then promote...

Most of my tags are only 5 to ten at most geared to Google. I was told here when I first joined that I better use all my tags because that is a must if I ever want to be found. I did it to half of my work and the other relevant to Google. Now things changed here and it seems the 500 thing was an oops. Glad I took that info with a grain of salt.

FAA does not promote your work. You have to bring in the customers. Tags? Good luck...there are millions of artists the world over trying to sell tens of millions of their art. So what do you think your chance is?

You should lay a good foundation by putting in all the tags that apply. If you have a rose make sure rose is a keyword by itself as well as in phrases. If you have a dog put what breed as a tag. Also broader things like pets. Fill out your descriptions. Then move on to marketing. With common subjects and abstracts you cannot rely on the search to be found. Use your keywords for the FAA search. Use outside marketing to draw attention to your work and raise your Google ranking. Onsite promotion will help somewhat get you moved up in the site search but don't rely on that for sales. You have to use the marketing tools to market yourself.

Thanks for those who replied. As far as the last poster goes, I don't know why you are getting upset and being cruel.

Nobody in this thread has been cruel. In fact the last poster was incredibly helpful


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Community Manager (and lovable Tech Support gal)
IMPORTANT AND HELPFUL LINKS BELOW
| DISCUSSION RULES
| TUTORIALS
| YOUR PRINT QUALTY
| CRITIQUE V PAT ON BACK
| WHY AM I NOT ON FRONT PAGE?
| CANNOT FIND MY IMAGES IN SEARCH
| A Few Reasons Y U May Not Be Selling

I think she was referring to Robert....but he wasn't cruel either, just frank.

I didn't think "frank" was in this discussion...guess I will see prev (snicker). Anyway, promoting art is not that much different than promoting any other business in the 2st Century. Google things like SEO, social network marketing, and so on...

Ah, Thomas, no not cruel, just frank, as you say

FAA do not promote individual artists. As artists it has always been, unfortunately, our job to market us. When we do that then we have FAA to print our work for us but, FAA does not market us.

Creating the work is the first part. Getting buyers is the second.

Here are some great posts on the forum about marketing your work

http://fineartamerica.com/showmessages.php?messageid=377664 Marketing Yourself
http://fineartamerica.com/showmessages.php?messageid=358080 Promoting Your Art
http://fineartamerica.com/showmessages.php?messageid=1601966
http://fineartamerica.com/showmessages.php?messageid=2040787 A Few Reasons Y U May Not Be Selling

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Community Manager (and lovable Tech Support gal)
IMPORTANT AND HELPFUL LINKS BELOW
| DISCUSSION RULES
| TUTORIALS
| YOUR PRINT QUALTY
| CRITIQUE V PAT ON BACK
| WHY AM I NOT ON FRONT PAGE?
| CANNOT FIND MY IMAGES IN SEARCH
| A Few Reasons Y U May Not Be Selling

if your only depending on tags, you won't be seen. you have to advertise yourself daily. if you waited for 2 years and only have that many views, it means you haven't done anything than post. and you only have 4 keywords, all of them phrases


---Mike Savad

I have to differ with you Abbie, it is my opinion that faa does promote individual artists. Every artist that is featured on the home page is promoted by faa. Every artist hand selected to be included in collections is promoted by faa. Every artist featured on faa's facebook page is promoted by faa. On occasion I receive emails concerning individual artists, these artists were promoted by faa.

I agree with Pamela's post above, regarding FAA promoting artists. I too, receive those emails about work from specific artists being on sale, which are directly promoting that artist.

Good point Pamela!

Cheers!

I agree with Mike.... 2 years with only 87 views, only 25 items listed and with no website link? How can you expect to been seen in a sea of millions without spreading the word? If you don't have a personal website, then pay the $30/year to FAA which will give you one at artistwebsites.com and allow you to put up more listings. Then promote, promote, promote yourself and your work :)

Some people have said they sold the first week here with less than 25 images and not a full membership without any promoting. How would you categorize those people Prints of Italy?

Some people smoke cigerettes, eat bacon, never work out and live to be 110. Some do, but that doesn't mean it works for everybody and for that matter won't likely work for most people.

There are always exceptions to the rules and there are always ways to get seen and sell without promoting as well. I almost never promoted early on yet I sold well. (See the Abilene Theory.)

So, unless you have excellent images in a category that is underserved, you will need to promote your work.

I have sold 5 prints. I have 20 items in my gallery ... I have the free membership ...

I wasn't trying to sell to the outside world when I signed up, I just wanted to try it as a "print on demand" service for myself.

I don't think I even checked my sales tab until PayPal emailed me to tell me there was a deposit in my account ... lol

After my first sale, I revamped my keywords and joined a self promotion group and ran my 20 images through the "You like and favorite my images and I will like and favorite yours" mill ... sold 4 more ... haven't done an ounce of promotions since .... I like to lurk on the forums during work and enjoy the debates and banter (and fights and such) ... Pass my day reading about how to be a better seller on here, feel motivated for 15 minutes, and then go home and sit on my patio and forget all about it ;)

Kevin,

I gathered from Jennifer that she would like to make a sale. What she's done up till now hasn't been working, so I suggested something different. As JC said, there are always exceptions to every rule, but I believe they are very few in this industry who will have many sales w/o a website, marketing or more than 25 listings. There's just too many fish in the pool and too many variables. Of course if one doesn't care if they make sales, then they don't need to try anything else and enjoy it when they do. :)

Apparently Jennifer has made her decision and closed her account.

Account is now closed.