For Artists – Choosing an Online Gallery

The economy has affected sales of your artwork and so you are now open to at least exploring the possibility of working with an online art website.  On the other hand, you may already be working with several online art e-commerce websites with the hope that sooner or later someone will stumble upon your page and buy your artwork.

Whatever your situation, knowing what to look for when considering the many “art” websites that exist is extremely important for one very important reason.  How you sell your artwork online says a lot about the type of artist you are. I’m going to share with you what I feel are the most important things you should know before making your decision, and I don’t think it should solely be the website’s monthly traffic number as some believe.

I say this is not because of the way that a website’s traffic number is derived, but because that number by itself tells you nothing.  Let me explain why.

Keeping in mind the kind of artist you want to be, the larger of these websites (those with the highest monthly traffic numbers) just don’t sell fine art.  They are into selling clothes and other things for the home.  Others will sell anything they can stick an image on to sell like t-shirts, mugs and bumper stickers.  Then there is another group of “art websites” that is made up essentially of printing companies.  These companies sell prints for artists, and are looking for as many artists (customers) as possible.

When you get right down to it, very few companies that have monthly visitor numbers in the tens of thousands sell original artwork.  Fine artists know this, but until recently they have not had much of a choice.  In my opinion, most of these websites try to sell art as if it were a commodity with no regard for what is good or bad.  They accept any artist that wants to open an account because their business models are designed to allow them to make money based upon any kind of website traffic, be that artists or people looking to purchase art.  While they may have other charges or take a commission, a large share of their total revenue comes from the sale of advertising or artist charges.

That brings me to my point, and the greatest issue I have with using website traffic as the sole consideration when making your selection of the art website you want to work with.  Traffic can be driven to any website, but is it the right kind of traffic?  Is the traffic largely made up of participating artists, aspiring artists, window shoppers, or people who are sincerely interested in purchasing a piece of fine art?  This largely, and maybe obviously, depends upon the company’s business and marketing plan.

The bottom line is that what is missing by just looking at the monthly traffic volume a website has is the quality or relevancy of that traffic.  Additionally, not being able to determine a website’s bounce and conversion rates which would help you determine the relevancy of a website’s traffic, how can an artist make an educated decision?

You can’t just ask for these numbers because doing so is paramount to asking someone how much money they make. It is just not cool.  You can however, learn a lot about a company by reading the “About” section of their website. Other things you can do to increase your chance of choosing the right online sales partner is to talk to some of their people or other artists who have worked with them for a while.  Learn about the backgrounds of their founders, investors, or executives, and most importantly make sure you have a clear understanding of their goals.  Once that is done, ask yourself the following questions:

1. Does their marketing plan make sense to you?  Are they just doing the basics? Are they casting a wide net to attract large numbers of visitors (traffic), or do they truly know who their customers are and do they have a plan to reach them?
2. Would you be proud to tell your friends and colleagues of your association with the company?
3. Is the website open to all artists, or are they selective about the type of art and artist they are willing to work with?
4. What do they do to ensure that you and your artwork will be found, or will you simply become lost in a sea of other artists?
5. Do you find the website easy to navigate and does it have the features you would like and appreciate if you were shopping for fine art?
6. Since the website says a lot about you as an artist, do you see the website as an e-commerce art website or as a fine art gallery with e-commerce capability?  This is an important distinction.
7. Will that company represent you and your artwork in a way that you would like to be represented?
8. Is what they are doing relevant and will they reach the audience you want to reach?
9. What is their motivation?  Are they in this just to make money or do they have a vested interest in ensuring the success of their artists?
10. Do you want to sell prints, or original artwork?
11. Are there any costs or charges for things like additional space, features or services?

In a future post I will talk about the specific website features that we believe are important.  In the meantime, we would love to know what you think.