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Bradford Martin

8 Years Ago

Checklist For Success In Print Sales.

A checklist for successful online print sales.
Do I…?

1. Upload only my best work? But upload all of it. Make sure it is of the highest technical quality, scanned or photographed properly, sharp at 100% view. and free of cropping errors.Be sure the signature is not cropped off, is not in a plain block font and is in proportion to the image. Do not use a business name or website name. There is a market for everything but you have to ask yourself if someone is going to want to display this proudly in a home or place of business.

2. Have an avatar that is representative of me or my work? It should not offend or put off any potential customers, but rather project a positive image to most or all. A smile is always in style.

3. Have a bio that describes who you are as an artist and the type of art you make? It should avoid mentions of childhood love of art and other statements that are fairly universal. It should explain what is special or unique about you and your art.

4. Have titles that are relevant to the work? Descriptive is best for searches and people looking for specific things and is traditional. Poetic titles work at shows but not so much online. A bit of both in one is best.

5. Make descriptions that include the subject and location if it applies? Some buyers need verbal assurance of what the subject is. Remember they are often buying for others. Internet search engines use description for indexing the image and page. The main keywords should be used in a sentence here. Use more than one sentence. Research your subject. But don’t copy from Wikis. Be an expert on your subject and location if there is one.

6. Add all tags that a searcher might use to find the image? This includes subject, location and style. Include secondary subjects. Add your name so the image will show up in a search that includes both your name and another tag. Don’t add words that are not relevant but don’t eliminate yourself from any searches either. Research and use all synonyms. Be specific and general. For plants and animals use all common names and scientific names that apply. But don’t use ones that don’t apply. Remember that people use different words in other regions. Learn the slang and the jargon.

7. Keep my images organized? Set up galleries. Set the default view to galleries if you have a lot of images. Keep the image view in order also. Don’t assume viewers will start at the home page and find your galleries. Order is basic to all presentation and selling. Keep in mind the first few images are shown on every page so choose carefully which they are.

8. Sponsor the word searches? Because being on the third line in a search some of the time beats never being on the first page.

9. Buy your own work and show it off? Know your product. Let people you know see your prints. Display your work in your home. Take prints everywhere. Display some framed work in the community.

10. Use social media? Use more than one but be consistent with at least one. I use Twitter, FB, Pinterest, G+ and Youtube. But there are many more.

11. Network online with potential customers or clients? Participate in non-art forums.

12. Develop contact lists and email lists? Stay in touch and let people know when you have something new.

13. Have a web site? If you use the AW here get your own domain name for it.

14. Post links to your home page, galleries and images from sites other than FAA?

15. Set daily, weekly, monthly and yearly task lists and goals? Both for creating and uploading and for organizing and marketing.

16. Look for other opinions, help and advice? Artists are an independent bunch, but sometimes another opinion can help. Especially when going in new directions in art or marketing. If you are new to showing and selling you should have your work critiqued by those more experienced, before it is even uploaded. Search the forums for answers to basic questions.

17. Have a checklist just for yourself?

18. If sales are lacking look at your list and make an honest assessment?

Reply Order

Post Reply
 

JC Findley

8 Years Ago

You mean I can't just upload and the sales flow in?

Thanks for the post Bradford.

 

Kathy K McClellan

8 Years Ago

Great list Bradford. Time consuming but probably spot on. :)

Kathy K. McClellan
http://keppenart.com

 

Jessica Jenney

8 Years Ago

Thanks, Bradford!

 

Marlene Burns

8 Years Ago

very good list, Bradford!

 

Adam Jewell

8 Years Ago

Maybe #1 should be upload only work that is sharp when viewed at 100%. There is nothing wrong with only uploading only your "best" work or something "you would hang on your own wall" which is often said, however if I followed that advice, I'd lose 50% of my sales.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and while an artist may only want a certain look to represent them or may only want to list things for sale they would hang on their walls, chances are they will sell more online if they don't let their tastes get in the way.

If gallery space is a limitation then it makes more sense to be more picky, but online an ego can get in the way of sales.

We probably all look at the recently sold page from time to time and go, THAT thing sold? Really?

 

Bradford Martin

8 Years Ago

Thanks. When I upload an image I try and treat it as the most important one. I take my time rather then finding shortcuts. I try not to leave the descriptions and tags for another time. It's a loss of opportunity of marketing to upload an incomplete image. I like to make a big splash.

 

Bradford Martin

8 Years Ago

Adam maybe you didn't read all of number one. I said "all of it". I said there is a market for "everything." I never, ever would say only put up work you would hang on "your own wall." If all your work is good enough to hang, then upload all of it. But point taken.

 

Adam Jewell

8 Years Ago

It says only the best work and other threads almost always say stuff an artist would hang on their own wall.

As one example, this sold

Art Prints

Best, great, even "good"? In someone's eyes, yes but not in mine. If that was put out for critique on here it would probably get trashed.

This is the same spot on the same day, I think.

Photography Prints

Good, great, national award winner, maybe, maybe and yes.

It took much longer to eventually sell.

 

All great points that I try to live by. I don't arrange my images though and you make a good point as to why we should arrange them, being that the first few are shown on every page!! .... off to organize now :-)

Thanks!

 

Joy McKenzie

8 Years Ago

You wrote: "When I upload an image I try and treat it as the most important one" ....very good advice, Bradford!

 

Patricia Strand

8 Years Ago

Excellent checklist, thank you! Do keywords and tags mean the same thing here?

 

Bradford Martin

8 Years Ago

Patricia. While we use keywords and tags interchangeably here,it is important to understand that a keyword can be used anywhere on a page. However the FAA search only reads our keywords when placed in the "tags" section, while internet search engines will read them anywhere. Think of a keyword or phrase as something that someone would type into a search, and a tag as as a keyword typed into a specific field for the search engines to see. If you want to get full play out of your keywords then use them in your titles, descriptions, tags and also on your blogs and in social media. Google looks in all those places to see what your image is. But the FAA search engine only looks to the tags fields in a "keyword search"

 

Patricia Strand

8 Years Ago

Thanks, Bradford. I did a little test with one of my images. I typed "Bench with Hydrangeas Sepia" into Google and my image came right up. However, no matter where I clicked, it did not take me directly to my FAA image but to a main page on FAA that shows other members' sepia hydrangeas. Hmmm.

 

Terry DeLuco

8 Years Ago

Thank you Bradford!

 

Edward Fielding

8 Years Ago

Good except I'd remove the question marks. Such as "have a web site?" probably should be - Have a web site. "Use social media?" should be - Use social media.

 

Kelly Mills

8 Years Ago

Fantastic List to follow! On my way to check my list now! Thanks

 

Karen Zuk Rosenblatt

8 Years Ago

...4. Have titles that are relevant to the work? Descriptive is best for searches and people looking for specific things and is traditional. Poetic titles work at shows but not so much online. A bit of both in one is best...

i have mostly clever, humorous titles that probably would never help the pieces be found in a search . They are great for hanging in shows where the title cards are seen or listed. Do the descriptions and keywords suffice? Is it wise to add a subtitle that is more descriptive?

 

Mike Savad

8 Years Ago

the title is for the customer. the keywords are for the search here. and the keywords and description are for google. a dry title may not get you a sale, so its better to be creative when you can. a description describing the piece and giving a bit of history will do better in google.

---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

 

Val Arie

8 Years Ago

What a great list Bradford...I will save it for reference. Wish I could put a check mark next to all of those things!

 

Todd Martin

8 Years Ago

Thanks Bradford. I just joined yesterday so this Is very timely. I am going back to do some rearranging and work on my descriptions.

 

James McCormack

8 Years Ago

Excellent checklist, Bradford ! I'll be referring to it regularly.

thank you :-)

 

Karen Zuk Rosenblatt

8 Years Ago

Thanks Mike. Glad to hear that. I do have fun with the titles. Also, I seem to recall someone saying if you change a title it could cause problems with the server finding the image. Is that true?

 

Barbie Corbett-Newmin

8 Years Ago

You so rightly say "avoid mentions of childhood love of art". If I had a dollar for every time I saw that, it would be more than I have made on FAA so far this year!!!!

 

Mike Savad

8 Years Ago

the server will find it just fine (provided they work at all), every place else the link will break and it will orphan. its not the end of the world and google picks up on it again. but pins and such would break.

---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

 

Karen Zuk Rosenblatt

8 Years Ago

I think i will leave well enough alone. Thx.

 

Bill Swartwout

8 Years Ago

Nicely done, Bradford. Thank you.

I've been working with Internet Marketing (mostly travel and a few hard products) since 1999. You have pretty much hit the nail on the head. Newbies and some "old timers" in the business would do well to follow your lead. But, then again, "You can lead a horse to water but.........."



---------------
~ Bill
~ US Pictures .com

 

Bradford Martin

8 Years Ago

"Is it wise to add a subtitle that is more descriptive? "
Absolutely! Keep your original title and add some words before or after to help Google index the image. Ideally you would do this when uploading.

 

Adam Jewell

8 Years Ago

A descriptive title can put you in the top spot in Google via FAA, sometime for whatever the title is an often for "title + prints". This is especially true for landmarks or locations for which there is not much inventory on the site.

If it's not a very competitive thing on FAA then the title becomes the most important thing for being found on Google assuming there is a description and to a lesser extent keywords to match.

 

Michael Geraghty

8 Years Ago

Your comment about the signature is a very valid one Bradford, all too often in this day and age people come out with the comment that a signature puts the client off which I believe is not the case. Ask yourself this question, if you purchased a painting or print would you want the signature on and personally I would say yes because it gives an identity to source similar in the future, it also gives a pointer to the person that created the work which is also a part of the value of the work.

For artists and photographers especially, I think it would also be good to have the GPS co-ordinates of the scene for future reference as it then holds historical information that can be used in the future long after the scene/building etc no longer exists.

 

J L Meadows

8 Years Ago

I don't think I understand what you guys mean by "subtitle"...where does that go when you upload your art here?

 

Scott Brindle

8 Years Ago

Bradford, this is a very helpful list. I bookmarked it. Thank you!!

 

Bradford Martin

8 Years Ago

"I don't think I understand what you guys mean by "subtitle"...where does that go when you upload your art here?"

No there is no spot for it. But you can keep the poetic title you had in mind for your art and still let Google index the subject by adding in words to the title. You can separate them with a hyphen. As mentioned earlier, changing the title will break any links you have made.
So "Unicorn in the garden-White Rose." I sometimes do this for a series where a unique descriptive title would be hard to come up with. So I add a poetic one.
Sell Art Online
Anyone online for the somewhat famous landmark "The Cocoa Beach Glass Bank" will surely find my image. But as I have many other photos of it I needed another name also. Click through and you will see I added "shining" to the title.
Photography Prints

 

John Clarke

8 Years Ago

Thanks for this. As a new member it answers a lot of questions

Cheers

John

 

Karen Zuk Rosenblatt

8 Years Ago

"Keep your original title and add some words before or after to help Google index the image. Ideally you would do this when uploading."

I am working on a painting that shows cats playing Mahjong. My working title is "Meowjong". Do you suggest making it "Meowjong-Cats playing Mahjong"?

 

Mike Savad

8 Years Ago

maybe, because meowjong - won't translate into another language.

---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

 

Bradford Martin

8 Years Ago

I am working on a painting that shows cats playing Mahjong. My working title is "Meowjong". Do you suggest making it "Meowjong-Cats playing Mahjong"?

Yes that would get it indexed in Google for things like 'Cats playing" or just "Mahjong" as well as "cats playing Mahjong", which is likely if people have seen your work and are trying to re-find it. In the long run it can only help.

 

Karen Zuk Rosenblatt

8 Years Ago

I think I will use subtitles going forward. I have another painting "Kinship" that doesn't appear in the search at all if I search for "Kinship" but if I search for cat+ koi it shows on the first page. I never thought of putting the title in the keywords. Maybe I should. I also have one titled "Mooeow" that doesn't show up at all but if I search for cat + cow I find it on page 5, I think. But in that case putting the title in the keywords probably wouldn't help since nobody would search for that. It really is annoying when lots of images appear in the search results that don't have a cat or a cow.

 

Bradford Martin

8 Years Ago

Karen, words in the title do not affect the search results on FAA. Just for internet search engines like Google. That's what we were discussing. So you could use the title "Kinship-Koi and cat" to be in more Google searches.
It is often helpful to put the whole title in the keywords though. But only do it if the words in the title are relevant keywords on there own. Be careful not to spam. However if the word kinship applies, then add it in to the tag section.

 

Mike Savad

8 Years Ago

you can add the meow part in the description though

Sell Art Online
for example, i call this one - the order (which is a play on words on its own). but then describe it as such:

Little is know about this cult, They are known as "The hooded ones" by the community. A mysterious group of sheep that are known to control other sheep. Normally sheep do what they are told to do. These sheep however make their own rules. They are known as the Wooluminati.

if i called the title by what they are, which would probably get more attention by people looking, its a nonsense word and people typing it in, in google would miss it.

usually i put the subtitle in first, i used it to sort them out on another site. so it might be City - New Jersey - this locations name. or - Animal - Sheep - title just so they group, but they may help in other areas too. however this will make your title very long. and if its too long - strangers won't be able to tweet you out because it will run out characters.

---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

 

Kathy Symonds

8 Years Ago

Thanks Bradford for the post and also the awesome feedback from everyone!

 

Audrey Jeanne Roberts

8 Years Ago

Great post. Great Monday morning read as I prepare to go to work for another week of making (and marketing) great art :-)
Audrey

 

Bradford Martin

8 Years Ago

I guess you could add "enter contests and groups". I think I got a sale from a contest once. Its hard to tell. But I doubt visitors are wandering into those areas much. Some artists use them as a way to get likes and comments or favorites. Those are supposed to move you up in the search rank a bit. But its a real tiny bit. And not likely to be cumulative, so don't think a thousand likes is going to propel you to the top of the search. Get someone to buy a print from you. That will do more to get you in the searches.

Same with those promotional threads. Those could get indexed by Google if done right. Hey its fun. But to get sales concentrate efforts off this site.

 

Edward Fielding

8 Years Ago

Fellow members also purchase, so a contest might bring some awareness of your work.
...

Having quality work created at a professional level and having interesting subjects is number one.

It's also important to create work that looks good and has impact in thumbnail size. Its not like the real world where you can knock people over with a four foot print.

 

Shana Rowe Jackson

8 Years Ago

Book marking this so I can read when I'm at home on my PC. Looks like a lot of great tips.

 

Shana Rowe Jackson

8 Years Ago

Glitch

 

Marti Magna

8 Years Ago

Awesome List Thanks!
Being a total rookie to FAA I have a question - what do you mean by sponsor in question #8
Marti

 

Bradford Martin

8 Years Ago

Marti see number #16. ;-)

When you sponsor a search your work with the sponsored keyword will appear on the third line of the search for that word, in rotation with work of other artists that have sponsored the word.
The way you do it is to place a link to the search on a website, but not on Facebook or twitter. More specific instructions are in the search results for the word you are sponsoring. Also see the instructions Abbie made in this recent thread.

http://fineartamerica.com/showmessages.php?messageid=2566976

Obviously you don't want all your followers to go look at a search with other work, so post accordingly.

 

Marti Magna

8 Years Ago

Thanks !!
Marti

 

Sherry Harradence

8 Years Ago

Great stuff and thank you.

Sherry

 

Prajakta P

8 Years Ago

Very helpful! Thanks for sharing!

 

Linda King

8 Years Ago

Bradford, Thank you for this helpful list!

 

Bradford Martin

8 Years Ago

You are welcome! I wish I could go back and edit this. I made it real quick one morning, but besides some spelling and grammar mistakes it touches on just about everything. There are plenty of discussions that expand on these points. Like I said this is my checklist. Most of this should work for anyone.

 

Mario Carta

8 Years Ago

Thanks for the tips Bradford!

 

Abbie Shores

8 Years Ago

I just added this to my list of great threads about selling your work

 

Diane Mintle

8 Years Ago

Great list, Bradford! Thanks for sharing! I'll be doing some revising on my images. :)

 

Nola Lee Kelsey

8 Years Ago

Thank you Bradford. I've been off my game for months and needed the reminder(s).



 

Carole Munshi

8 Years Ago

Soooo confusing to me.Great advise, Brad. One big issue for me that I do not understand. What exactly does # 13 in your list mean? How do I get a domain for htt://carole-munshi.artistwebsights.com?? If I receive an email from fine art America with this web address inside the email and I click on it inside the email..the web page comes up at once but if I type the web page into aol.com search then it does not come up at all but directs to just the fineartamerica page for me. I just do not understand this.??? Am I suppose to buy a domain for this web page from example. .Go Daddy?

 

David King

8 Years Ago

http://carole-munshi.artistwebsites.com/ is actually a separate website from your profile on FAA, it's what people refer to as your AW (Artist Website). When people go directly to your AW they don't see anything else on FAA, just you and your images. It's a good idea to get a domain with your name or brand to point directly to your AW. In your case you might want to register the domain "carolemunshi.com" since it's available and have it point to your AW. That way people will be able to just remember your name and know where to point their internet browser.

 

Debra Forand

8 Years Ago

Great list, thanks for sharing!

 

James McCormack

8 Years Ago

UP! - still worth keeping visible

 

Bradford Martin

8 Years Ago

I probably should have put in to have a blog. A blog is a lot of work and takes a bit of skill that some people like me don't have. But if your are going to do internet marketing right, you really should start one with the skills you have and build from there.

 

Abbie Shores

8 Years Ago

I'm going to pick a sticky a day.... This is today's :). Some great tips!

 

Abbie Shores

8 Years Ago

Lol stickie pickie!

 

Toby McGuire

8 Years Ago

Isabella would posting a link on your Facebook business page make you eligible for sponsorship? I've been wanting to try it out but my main site is the FAA artist website and I have no plans of starting up a blog. That leaves my FB and Twitter pages.

 

Floyd Snyder

8 Years Ago

You sure picked a winner for the first!

That is going to be very difficult to follow.

 

Valerie Beth

8 Years Ago

Thanks for reposting this! I've learned a lot from these discussions and found that I either had to redo or remove some of my images because of points mentioned. I greatly appreciate the advice.

 

Abbie Shores

8 Years Ago

Toby, no, you may not use social media

 

Toby McGuire

8 Years Ago

Thanks Abbie- do you know if there are any plans to offer pay-per-click sponsorship? I'd gladly pay a few cents per click. Could be good since it would be able to include those who don't have the time to run a separate website.

 

Abbie Shores

8 Years Ago

I don't know of any plans for that right now I'm afraid

 

Chuck Staley

8 Years Ago

What's very disturbing to me is if I do a Google search for My Name or My Name & Art, the search brings up FineArtAmerica many more times than it does my AWS.

I wonder if there is a solution for that?

And thanks for the tips, Bradford.

 

Sarabjit Singh

8 Years Ago

Great tips Bradford! Can anyone tell me why the comments everyone makes on the art are visible both on FAA and AWS but not the Group logo under the artwork when your art is being featured in a group. You see that only on FAA not on AWS. Any solutions on how it can be seen on both sites. As I advertise my AWS site more, it would help if the people can see where all the artwork is featured.
Thanks.

 

Patrick Dinneen

8 Years Ago

Hi,
Is there a way to update tags to multiple images in bulk/one go?
Thanks,
Patrick

 

Bradford Martin

8 Years Ago

Patrick there is no way to edit keywords in bulk. Do them one at a time. Use it as an opportunity to review all your images, update descriptions, and use the Social media buttons to promote them.
Sarabit, having group logos under your image would create links away from your AWS and to the FAA or Pixels website. so it is something most contributors do not want. If you really think it is important you can mention it in the description. That would be the only way. But lets not discuss it in this thread.

 

Sarabjit Singh

8 Years Ago

Thanks Bradford. I'm sorry to digress.

 

James McCormack

8 Years Ago

UP

 

This discussion is closed.