Hi There,

Your artist website is the most important piece of your online art marketing strategy. At FASO, we specialize in creating beautiful, high-performing websites that, unlike what you get with most website providers, engage the art lovers that visit your website the features that they really want, that give you the peace of mind you need to spend more time focusing on your art.

In the article below, created by pulling out the best ideas from one of our recent AMP webinars, I will outline the 6 key elements to build an effective homepage on your website. These six elements will make your homepage stand out and continuously work for you.

By the way, for my latest thoughts on art marketing, posted daily, please follow me on Twitter. Or simply reply to this email. I'd love to hear what you thought of this article!

Enjoy,

Clint Watson

The homepage of your artist website is arguably one of the most critical components of your entire online presence.

It is not only the first place that users will land when visiting your site, but may also be where they will form their first opinion of you.

An ineffective website that is poorly designed, poorly written and lacks purpose/direction is less likely to get your visitors to complete an action, such as joining your mailing list or purchasing your artwork.

It's no longer enough to just have a website. A modern art website is an extension of you as an artist and needs to serve a purpose that resonates with your potential customers.

Your website is often the first connection between you and a buyer. So whether you're just getting started or have an existing website that needs a refresh, use these 6 key elements to build an effective artist homepage that sells your art.

1. Great Title Bar: The title bar is an important element on every page on your site because it's the first thing that people will notice when landing on your page.

Your title bar should be located in the upper left-hand, right-hand or center of your page to catch your reader's eye. Because you, as an artist, are your brand, the title bar should simply include your name in either written form or in the form of a logo that incorporates your name.

Unlike companies that sell products or services, your name is everything.

It isn't likely that people will be searching for a 30 x 22 oil painting, but they will be searching for your name. And that's what you want them to see as soon as they load your site.

2. Well designed Navigation Menu: Perhaps the most important element is how users are able to browse your website.

Make your navigation menu clear, concise and easy to access. A good navigation menu will provide your visitors with the right tool to easily access the information that they're most interested in viewing or reading.

Put your navigation menu in the upper left-hand, upper right-hand or top center of your site and include only the most important 5-6 menu items.

Don't over clutter and overwhelm your readers. And don't make your visitors guess where things are.

I had a conversation recently with an artist who was struggling to sell her art despite following the recommendations of FASO. She couldn't figure out why people were landing on her website but not visiting her artwork page so she asked me to take a look.

When I did, I noticed that in her menu she had a page called Musings and that was where her artwork was stored. Of course, her visitors were unaware of this and likely turned away when they didn't see Artwork in her menu.

Within just a few days of changing the menu item to Artwork, she sold several pieces of her art.

3. Homepage Slideshow: The homepage slider or slideshow offers you the opportunity to really capture your viewers attention. Choose 3-4 images that best represent you as an artist to feature in the slider. This offers the perfect balance to create visual interest while not overstimulating your visitors with too many images.

When setting up this feature, make sure that you're linking each image to that image's respective artwork page so that if a viewer is interested in what they see, they're able to click on that image and get more information.

Take a look at the example below from Echo Baker who utilizes the homepage slider to feature her artwork:

4. Welcome Video: Right below your homepage slider, include a short welcome video. Video marketing has become more and more popular in the last few years and is a great way to connect with your audience on a deeper level, without actually being face-to-face.

In fact, 70% of people prefer to consume information through videos.

Your welcome video should give your audience the flavor of who you are as an artist as well as direct them to 1-2 of your most important pages. Some examples include:

• Artwork that you want them to buy
• Artwork that you know collectors are interested in
• A workshop that you want them to sign up for
• You artist bio so they can learn more about you

Be intentional in your messaging and use it to guide your viewers through your website. When you determine the 1-2 most important pages that you want your visitors to view, use your video to set the framework to get them there.

In the example below, artist Poppy Balser does a great job telling her story through video.

5. Written Welcome Message: The written welcome message should be below or next to your welcome video and should contain the same information as your video, just in written form.

Within the written message, be sure that you're linking your wording to the 1-2 pages that you're referencing so your visitors can easily access these subpages.

For example, if you're referencing your artwork that you know collectors are interested in, then direct them to your artwork page.

Click here to read Poppy Balser's written welcome message that appears under her video.

6. Newsletter Signup Form or Link: This is the most valuable function of your website. I've talked a lot about the importance of using your website to funnel people to your email list. In fact, the main goal of your website is to entice people to subscribe to your email list.

Your newsletter signup form or link should be on your homepage as well as every other page on your site.

It shouldn't be intrusive or invasive to the viewer as they browse your site but be sure it's visible so your viewers can easily input their email to signup and be added to your email list.

Click here to read more about Newsletter Sign-up Form Best Practices and how to implement on your website.

Until next time, remember that Fortune Favors the Bold Brush.

Sincerely,

Clint Watson

BoldBrush/FASO Founder & Art Fanatic

PS - You're only one step away from AMPing up your art sales with FASO. Use our platform to easily build your own website and start selling your art. Click here to join for free today.