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ART
FACTS
E-Shopping
for Art: Marketing your art and promoting your gallery
By
Paul Joseph Walkowski
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Mr. Walkowski is an author and a avid art collector from Dorchester Massachusetts with an eye for traditional realism and impressionistic styles in the Boston tradition.. “I collect art because it speaks to me. It’s that simple and that profound”, states Mr. Walkowski. |
On promotion: Flashing banners, blinking lights, synthesized music and
complicated directions add nothing to a site. Here’s a good rule of thumb:
if you wouldn’t use it either in or outside your gallery to attract and hold
customers, don’t use it on a web page.
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Who would have thought, a mere five years ago, that the Internet would become such an important and useful tool for showing and buying art? Whatever reluctance or doubt that may have existed at
first, seems to be a thing of the past now as leading galleries
throughout the world and major art publications wade deep into the
“dot com” pool to compete for the attention of the much sought after
buyer. In
a world where exposure is so important to both aspiring and established
artists, as well as for galleries that have to weigh carefully how and
where they spend precious and limited advertising dollars, the Internet
is proving to be the proverbial gift that keeps on giving ― if
utilized effectively. A
review of the October issue of American
Art Review demonstrates just how popular the Internet has become. In
a random count of 111 advertisements contained in the first half of the
October issue, 20 advertisements contained no Internet information, 9
contained only an e-mail address, while 80 contained both an Internet
and e-mail address. And this count reflected only a share of the
advertising contained in that edition. A full count would have reflected
about the same breakdown. The
message is loud and clear: those galleries that advertise, at least in
this sample, by 72%, see an aftermarket for their magazine investment:
namely, the invitation to browse their web page as well ¾
and for good reason. Those web pages sell art. But magazine advertising by major galleries is not the only benefit the Internet offers. Individual artists with a little web savvy are finding the Internet fertile grounds to attract buyers and establish themselves as bona fide contenders in the world of selling art. In a word: they can compete, where once they could only hope. Individual
artists with web pages, for example, routinely list their name, their
web page, the medium they specialize in, and a preference for subject
matter ― all in a single line, thus alerting the discriminating
buyer whether the art they are interest in viewing is available from
that particular artist. How
big of a market is it? Yahoo,
for example, lists 2,777 personal exhibits by artists in various mediums
and subjects. It lists 1,163 individual artists who specialize in
photography. Lycos, lists 23
galleries, 7,038 visual artists, and 1,738 visual artists who paint in
various mediums. The latter is neatly broken down by medium and subject
matter. AltaVista does things a little differently, though not as thoroughly. It lists
artists alphabetically by last name, but provides less information “up
front” than either Yahoo or Lycos
about specifics ― until you reach an artist’s page. While
artists seem to have caught on fairly quickly to the value of the
Internet, Galleries, appear to be underrepresented on search engine
sites visited for this article. AltaVista,
for example, lists only 16 galleries in Massachusetts, 21 galleries in
Colorado, 3 in Maine, and in New York, which seems a little more
aggressive, 75. Lycos, lists
only 23 galleries. These number of listings, however, may be deceiving
since galleries are sometimes included in other categories as well.
Moreover, a gallery listing means only that that particular gallery
listed its name specifically with the search engine provider. It
doesn’t mean you can’t find the gallery simply by typing in its
name. Few people outside a small geographic area, however, know of
galleries miles away. The search for them may, indeed, be generic. So
why not be there? The
small number of specific gallery listings with search engines would
suggest an obvious open window and fertile advertising ground for
galleries who want to avoid the clutter that is clearly out there.
Indeed,
while magazine advertisements point an interested buyer to specific
galleries, specific Internet listings with various search engines (being
a fertile area as noted above) can offer an opportunity to be viewed by
those who don’t buy art magazines, and who might be planning on
visiting a state and looking for galleries in the area. Having
made purchases through the Internet, as well as having purchased art by
viewing it over the Internet then visiting the gallery to see it “up
close and personal” I can attest that each method has produced
satisfactory results, and in the highly competitive world of advertising
and selling art, the Internet, being free, but requiring some work,
shouldn’t be ignored. At
a glance, then, the edge goes to those artists and galleries who
advertise regularly in widely read publications, and who list their
Internet address to show more of their work. Promoting yourself or your
gallery that way, not only gives you the exclusivity of your own ad, but
offers a convenient and free pointer to your Internet site for repeat
visits, giving you the opportunity to separate yourself from the
thousands of competitors and maybe even end up on a buyer’s
“favorites” listing for years to come. A
couple words to those who follow this advice: First, keep your page
updated regularly and don’t allow the art to become stale. Rotate! A
gallery that displays the same paintings month after month runs the risk
of being viewed the same way as a gallery that never changes its
artwork. If a piece of work is sold, don’t be afraid to say so.
Indeed, it enhances your credibility as a source of art, and establishes
the artist as someone whose work commands the selling price. Second, and
equally important, keep the page simple. Flashing banners, blinking
lights, synthesized music and complicated directions add nothing to a
site. Here’s a good rule of thumb: if you wouldn’t use it in or
outside your gallery to attract and hold customers, don’t use it on a
web page. The
bottom line is this: if you take the time to spend the money on
advertising, make sure your investment is maximized through care and
attention to simple the details. |
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