A well-designed and creatively informative website is your best marketing tool, but it's only one piece of your marketing puzzle. You need to use the website as a jumping off point for other cross promotional marketing efforts.
Whenever possible, employ multiple cross promotional marketing strategies at the same time. A website should direct people to every possible way they can get their hands on your products. Event listings, retail locations and an online store should all be easy to access from your website. In addition, all of those avenues should direct customers to ways they can shop in the future.
Take craft fairs as an example -- a well-designed booth will make people stop, intriguing products will keep them there, and strong marketing will have them back for more. Every product you sell needs to have a tag with the website or come packaged with a business card. This way, in sea of different vendors, customers can remember where they bought their new favorite earrings and buy another pair in the future.
Your cross promotional marketing efforts should give your customers a clear way to distinguish you from other vendors. Keep an unlimited supply of business cards on your table. Give people a way to remember you -- use a photo of your crafts or a snappy catch phrase when promoting art. Postcards are another way to do this and give you a bit more space to get creative.
Always keep a paper e-mail list for customers to sign up for future updates. Use the list to remind your customers of upcoming events or promotions. E-mail with discretion -- remind people that you exist, but do not make them wish you didn’t.
And finally, you should be your company’s strongest advocate whenever you're promoting art. Whether in line at the grocery store or pumping gas at the gas station, try to find an opportunity to talk to people about what you do. You never know who could be a potential customer or who might have some insider tips on a craft fair. Carry your business cards everywhere so you can give people a link to your website and a clear way to find you and your products again. Join networking groups or look for indie business conferences like Indie Business 2.0, an online course which provides ongoing networking opportunities.
No matter how excited these folks seem while networking, they will likely forget you if your exchange was simply verbal. Don’t give them the chance to forget. If you have them in person, make sure your cross promotional marketing materials provide a clear way for them to continue to follow your business.
How To Build an Artist Website
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