We all know that web sites and blogs live and die because of traffic. This puts Google, as the Internet's de facto start page, front and center in most artists minds as a traffic-driving strategy. However, Google should not be the only.....nor even the main focus of your online marketing efforts. We've written about this subject before in our articles "
What if Google Went Away?" and "
Google Alone is Not Marketing." This series is exploring specific ideas to drive traffic to your web site....some will work synergistically with search engines like Google....while others will not be dependent upon search engines at all. All of these strategies will work with or without search engines.
Today's strategy is
offline advertising.
No, offline advertising is not dead. In fact, offline advertising and word-of-mouth accounts (by some measures) for more than 2/3 of web traffic. We wrote about this in our post,
What REALLY Drives Web Traffic?
So where should you advertise? We can't give you a list of specific publications because the answer may be different for each artist. You need to consider the best way to reach your target audience. That may be an art magazine, that may be a niche publication, it probably is NOT your local newspaper (too broad).
We've covered our ideas on print advertising at length in our post,
How to Advertise in Art Magazines, and we suggest you read that post for in-depth ideas. For convenience we'll recap the steps we discussed here:
1. Identify the Right Publication
You need to reach YOUR target audience.
2. Design a compelling ad
Showcase your most appealing image
3. Include a compelling offer
Give ad viewers a reason to go to your web site and sign up for your mailing list - this is sometimes called the "ethical bribe." It might be a giveaway, perhaps a free download.
4. Refine and Repeat
Once you've figured out the ad and the offer that work, refine it and repeat it.
5. Nurture your "house" list
Don't neglect those names you've paid to acquire. Getting a new name on your mailing list is only the first step, now you have to convert those prospects into buyers.
Sincerely,
Clint Watson
Software Craftsman and Art Fanatic
PS - Today's Featured image is by
Barbara Bailey-Porter
Related Posts and Pages:
What if Google Went Away? (FineArtViews Blog/Clint Watson)
Google Alone is Not Marketing (FineArtViews Blog/Clint Watson)
What REALLY Drives Web Traffic? (FineArtViews Blog/Clint Watson)
How to Advertise in Art Magazines (FineArtViews Blog/Clint Watson)
