Jane Appleby has been an artist on MyArtClub.Com since the spring of 2000. Jane's site has consistently attracted high numbers of visitors each month. So we sat down with Jane for an in-depth discussion on her approach to her website, and her thoughts generally about promoting her art successfully.

On websites and promotion by artists

MyArtClub: What ways do you get customers to come to your website?

Jane: By handing out my card to anyone that might be interested-even the milkman. (He actually came to one of our shows). When people ask what I do I say, "I paint..." Usually they want to know more because they are not sure what I paint so when they ask I explain briefly and mention "MyArtClub.Com" -and I offer my card. If I feel it appropriate to ask for their email I do but otherwise I leave it up to them.

When I invite people to my shows I include the web site address on the invite (in bold or some other colour to make it stand out). People that cannot make it might like at least to view some paintings over the web. Many like to preview some of the show and actually ask if they can see the painting before the show.

I find it easier to promote MyArtClub.Com as it is a site of many artists and I mention that often. I may say something like: "You know there are a number of wonderful artist on the site my work is on that you may enjoy". I expect not everyone will like what I do so I invite them to view others work. And I truly do like the work and calibre of artists that I "share the site with" so am happy to promote it.

Furthermore, I think it is important to provide opportunities for people to learn about art, and that it can be something fun to view or to take part in. And heck people love talking about the latest site to visit so why shouldn't it be MyArtClub.Com or ApplebyArt.Com? Part of really promoting is talking about what you do to as many people that are interested. And because I not only sell art but I also teach that opens up the discussion to almost anyone that may be interested in taking up a creative outlet. In that way I have been able to get many people visiting my site.

MyArtClub: Do you use other ways to promote your art?

Jane: Word of mouth has seemed to work the best for me so far. But I highly regard the galleries, offices, restaurants or any other location that an artist hangs their work at as one of the most important ways to promote work. Not to mention the people that work there. I always try to respect what they do and I am thankful for their support.

MyArtClub: If you had 2 or 3 suggestions for artists to raise their profile or visibility, or to increase website traffic, what would they be?

Jane: Hang your work to show!! It's a lot of work but worth it even without sales. What job doesn't have its brunt of grunt work?

Of course include your web site on the cards that describe the painting or have business cards available there for people that may want one. What an artist have a "Business card"? Absolutely!! And many of them!

MyArtClub: Time spent promoting takes away from time creating art, how do you balance this out?

Jane: I work fast so that helps. It has been interesting to find out about running a business and learning as I go. I do not have a business background (it's actually in Biology) however getting a degree prepared me for perseverance in completing tasks.

Much of my time creating inspires me to want to share my work with others and thus gets me to the computer to upload images and post updates. I have a digital camera that I like because I do not have to take a whole roll to developed them so when I finish a painting I feel it gets it's little showing right away as I put it on the web.

It may take much longer for me to actually frame it and get it to a gallery so I guess I like that initial landmark of at least getting my painting on the web. And it's important to pat yourself on the back once in awhile!

In Part 3 of the article, Jane discusses the benefits of having her site.

About Jane Appleby
Jane Appleby has been an artist on MyArtClub.Com since spring 2000. She is program coordinator and past president of the Burnaby Artist Guild, as well as active member of the Federation of Canadian Artists, Artfully Yours and the Burnaby Arts Council.

Our thanks to Jane Appleby for her valuable contribution with this article.

This article was first published in the My Art News Letter #9

Jane Appleby has been an artist on MyArtClub.Com since the spring of 2000. Jane's site has consistently attracted high numbers of visitors each month. So we sat down with Jane for an in-depth discussion on her approach to her website, and her thoughts generally about promoting her art successfully.

On websites and promotion by artists

MyArtClub: You have a lot of visits to your website. Do you feel you benefit from having this regular traffic? In what ways?

Jane: The regular traffic is a benefit not only to me but to other artists I figure. Having the site helps people know that I have been producing new work and am taking my art career seriously. Also anyone going to MyArtClub.Com may venture to find an artist they like and that's always a good thing.

If you don't have your own unique work to start with than I guess you may be worried about other artists taking customers away. I don't worry about that too much as art has more to do than just one painting that sells well. It has much more to do with how you connect to people and who you connect to.

I believe it's good to let past customers or people interested in your art be remembered at different times of the year like at Christmas Holidays, Summer, Spring Break and the like.

There is something special about an artist's connection with the people that admire their work. It's more personal than providing a necessary piece of home improvement. After all much of the time people connect to the artist as much as the artwork. I want to keep that connection going.

MyArtClub: What feedback do you get from your website visitors? What feedback do you get on the emails that you send out?

Jane: Actually I do not get many reply emails (less than 5% respond back) from my outbound emails from MyArtClub.Com. People are aware it's a group send out and even though I encourage feedback, I do not expect it. However I do not take this to mean that "my fans" so to speak do not like the piece or my work, or me as a person. The few emails I do get are mostly encouraging and kind. That keeps me sending more out. So thank you to those of you that have responded because art can be lonely without input.

The fact that you can get feedback at a click of the mouse is great. A little goes a long way. All you need is one person saying "Hey that's the best piece you've done yet!" and you have enough motivation to do another (whether it sells or not). Others point out spelling errors and offer words of advice and that is also helpful. I make sure I respond back to thank them. Misspelled words and other errors seems one of the surest ways to look unprofessional so I really try to avoid that now.

I keep the site updated with new images perhaps once a month or so. I try to keep the emails short, polite and informative with a personal little update or hello. I try not to send more than one or two [email] per month. It gets boring having to click to delete email too often. On top of that there is always an option to unsubscribe, so I do not worry that my emails are intrusive. Just the fact that people actually haven't opted to be deleted off the list of fans says quite a bit.

In Part 2 of the article, Jane discusses how she generates traffic to her site.

About Jane Appleby
Jane Appleby has been an artist on MyArtClub.Com since spring 2000. She is program coordinator and past president of the Burnaby Artist Guild, as well as active member of the Federation of Canadian Artists, Artfully Yours and the Burnaby Arts Council.

Our thanks to Jane Appleby for her valuable contribution with this article.

This article was first published in the My Art News Letter #9