Chris Campbell on fri 29 dec 00
Gary's advice was very interesting and I have questions - for myself and any
others following this thread.
Do you think that a potter can do a site standing alone or is it still more
effective to be on a group site?
How would you rate and select a group site if you were looking for one?
Thanks in advance - Chris Campbell - in North Carolina
Marie Gibbons on fri 29 dec 00
> Do you think that a potter can do a site standing alone or is it still more
> effective to be on a group site?
>
I think that one must examine the reasons for the site, if you are wanting to
generate sales, and lots of them, then like any other business you probably
should look into 'paid advertising' to help promote your site, and get into
the 'shopping fields' on the net..... if you are (like me) just hoping for
exposure, feedback and to use your site as an online brochure type of thing,
then if you have the time you can do a pretty effective job on your own with
the freebie resources (there are many) available in here.
Personally, I thing that selling online is a tricky thing, now for functional
potters this maybe easier, considering the duplication of work, for me being
a sculptor of one of a kind work, it is hard enough for people to make a
decision in real life, in a real gallery when they can actually touch a
piece.... so I think that making a decision online is even harder. I have
sold a few pieces from internet interest.... but I don't count on that for a
regular income.
In order to 'list' in the right places you have to first decied what the
right places are.... in the reg. free search engines, you must first find the
section of the searches that would contain like work.... sites. For example,
Yahoo, you go to arts and humanities, then to artists, then to Ceramics, in
the Ceramics category you then get a listing of Ceramic Artists, at the
bottom of that page (way down at the very very bottom) you will see a link
for 'suggest a site' that is where you click to add in your url. Most of the
other search engines work the same way as this.
Another good thing to get into is 'rings' these are groups of artists in a
similar catagory that the site rotates thru a group of sites, by clicking
'next' in the ring you continue to go to other artists of the same media.....
usually if you see someone that belongs to a web ring, there is a link to
submit to join the ring.... one of my best pieces of advice is if you find a
site you like, always look at their link page and see what they have there,
that is where you would see the web ring link if they are in a ring, or you
may see other helpful links to go to, and you can always exchange recipricol
links with that artist / site, people tend to surf from one site to the next.
Another thing is to include you url address on your business cards....
brochure, any promotional information that you give out. When I do shows, I
also give out a specific 'web card' created as a postcard with the opening
page of my website as the image on the front of the card.... it also gives my
url, email and my artist statement.
You have to put the time in to promote your site..... just like real life...
whether your a stand alone, or in a group, the nice thing about groups is
more than just you will be steering people to the site, but you are still
expected to help boost the hits as well.
hope this has helped, and sorry for the length
marie gibbons
Marie Gibbons
Arvada, Colorado
sculpture in clay & mixed media
www.oooladies.com
please visit my work, and sign the guestbook!
Thanks!!!
Gary Elfring on sun 31 dec 00
>Gary's advice was very interesting and I have questions - for myself and any
>others following this thread.
>
>Do you think that a potter can do a site standing alone or is it still more
>effective to be on a group site?
>
>How would you rate and select a group site if you were looking for one?
I don't see any reason you can't do your own individual pottery site. Do
you sell
your own wares, or do you only sell through wholesalers? If you sell your
own stuff,
why can't you do the same thing on the web? Even if you don't sell your own
pottery, you can still sell it on the web. A web site lets you be anything
you want to be.
The advantage of the web is that you can look like anything you want. I see
no reason why any person who has the smarts to read this list and who can
also use Word or any other word processor, can't make their own web site.
It is not that hard. If you keep your costs down to hosting fees (less than
$20 a month) and perhaps paying for some digital photos (if you don't
already have them) plus a bit of software, why wouldn't you want your own
site? If you manage to sell enough stuff on the web to make a $20 a month
profit you are coming out ahead (except for your time). And consider the
time spent as learning a new skill.
Finally, why think that it's an either or situation about belonging to a
group site or doing your own- do both!
(And I don't have any advice on rating a group site- sorry.)
Elfring Fonts, Inc Bar Codes, MICR, and decorative fonts for Windows
http://www.elfring.com
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