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the most up-to-date marketing strategies
that actually work
Finally Learn Why Art is Not
Selling on Your Website
(Even though you think it should be...)
Finally Learn Why Art is Not Selling on Your Website
(Even though you think it should be...)
You've got a website.
Your art is on it.
It's easy enough to buy it.
So where are the sales? Why isn't this working like it should?
If your lack of consistent success has you asking similar questions, brace yourself because we're about to drop the truth on you:
You're fighting with one arm tied behind your back.
You have a clear goal in mind, but you've been trying to reach it with one huge metaphorical handicap: your website isn't actually designed to sell art.
Generic ecommerce websites like those offered by Squarespace haven't been optimized for the business of selling art.
They offer the same functionality whether you sell art, or funny t-shirts, or barbecue sauce, or toilet paper.
Art buyers have a lot of questions that a site like this simply won't answer:
- How will this actually look on my wall?
- What size is going to look best for my specific location?
- A metal print sounds cool, but what is it? Where can I see an example of one?
- What does "gallery wrapped canvas" mean?
- What will this piece look like framed?
None of these questions will be answered using a one-size-fits-all website.
This is the rope tying your arm behind your back.
The problem is compounded when considering we live in the age of customer experience.
Do you think art buyers (the ones you hope will pay higher and higher prices for your art) are going to feel comfortable and confident with shopping on a website that isn't up to art industry standards?
If your goal is to build a valuable art business that you can earn a consistent living from, this approach makes no sense.
On the flip side, when you approach selling art with the right tool for the job, everything suddenly becomes much easier:
When you offer a customer experience that isn't just "good enough" but actually delights, you sell more art.
When you offer interior designers the tools they need to make fast, informed decisions, you sell more art.
And if you have a website that properly builds confidence with collectors that have real money, you sell – yep, a lot more art.
As long as you continue to compromise the customer experience, that arm remains behind your back and your problems will persist.
More precious traffic will be wasted, and more money will be left on the table.
So - what makes a proper art gallery website so much more effective?
A proper art gallery website is interactive, allowing site visitors to properly visualize their potential art purchase.
It's personable, giving shoppers a chance to get to know the artist behind the work they’re considering buying.
It has been logically optimized for the user experience, providing the customer with all the information they need to be confident in their purchase. Answering questions before they ask them.
In other words, a proper art gallery website has to be built from the ground up specifically to sell art.
And that's just the starting point. It then needs to adapt to the shifting ecommerce landscape.
As new technologies become popular, your website must offer them, or the buying experience will suffer and you'll begin to lose more and more sales.
If you’re an artist or photographer with your own website and you've become disappointed with the lack of sales being generated from it, there is a very good chance that is the result of a lack of features.
Your site just doesn’t compete with the experience others are offering.
What features really matter? What’re the top priorities? Let's take a look at what an Art Storefronts website offers as compared to a generic ecommerce website like the ones you can get from Squarespace:
BASIC WEBSITE FEATURES ▼
ART SELLING FEATURES ▼
ART FAIR & SHOW SELLING TOOLS ▼
ART BUSINESS MANAGEMENT TOOLS ▼
ART MARKETING EDUCATION AND COACHING ▼
ARTIST COMMUNITY ▼
BASIC WEBSITE FEATURES ▼
ART SELLING FEATURES ▼
ART FAIR & SHOW SELLING TOOLS ▼
ART BUSINESS MANAGEMENT TOOLS ▼
ART MARKETING EDUCATION AND COACHING ▼
ARTIST COMMUNITY ▼
17%
17%. The artist on Squarespace has only 17% of the art-selling features available to Art Storefronts members.
Think that large of a discrepancy is going to affect sales? Look what happened to fine art photographer John Lechner:
And Allison, who was finally able to turn her small audience into buyers:
And Jim, who's professional, feature-rich website made him the trusted choice for a large commercial order:
And it's not just Squarespace. If you look at other direct comparisons of Shopify and other website-providers to Art Storefronts, you'll see similarly low numbers across the board.
Art Storefronts features enable you to earn every possible sale, while our commitment to constant innovation will keep you up to date when others are left behind.
Here's a good question: When was the last time Shopify or Squarespace released a feature specifically for artists?
We've released 150+ in the last 3 years.
For example, our Wall Preview Tool is already 6+ years old -- and has been helping photographers and artists close more sales this entire time.
This is a feature you still can't get on generic websites.
Furthermore, we released Live Preview with Augmented Reality back in June 2018, which allows art buyers to try your art on their walls, using the camera on their phone. This was an absolute game changer:
Our latest cutting-edge release? Art Buyer Artificial Intelligence - a tool that identifies likely art collectors that have visited your website so that you can reach out to them directly and make an introduction.
Overall, while the other website providers are not even paying attention to the needs of artists and photographers and their art buyers -- we're releasing feature after feature to constantly improve results.
This never-ending improvement of the product is part of what makes Art Storefronts an unparalleled investment for our members.
If you are planning to make a living from your art -- does it make sense to operate with one arm tied behind your back?
Doing so will only delay your success, increase your frustration, force you to work harder, and take more time away from creating.
Or, will you equip yourself with the right tools for job?
The tools that give your customers -- the art buyers -- the finest experience possible?
Tools that keep getting better and better every month, without you even having to ask.
Tools that makes running your business continually easier, allowing you to spend the maximum amount of time doing what you love - creating art.
Request a Demo and learn more about how we can help you build a reliable art business »
