Marketing 101 – Don’t Put The Horse In Front Of The Cart

I was listening to the radio today. The DJ was talking about a great artist he microphone had found, and absolutely loved her work. He linked to her website from his home page, and contacted her to do an interview for his show. So that’s how I found out about this artist, and of course was intrigued. So I wrote down her web address, and looked it up when I got home.

During her interview, she revealed that business was slow a few months ago, so she decided to try gaining some exposure in the press. She did a great job – and landed on a major talk show. The DJ found her by seeing her on this major talk show. So for her, business has been pretty good the past couple of months.

But when I went to her site, I noticed that business could be even better for her if she implemented just a few things. She went after the press and the national exposure without having the marketing behind it to truly capture the attention of her visitors, and turn them into sales.

Here are 7 things she should be doing to grow her business even further.

Photographs
If you’re an artist, you need to showcase what you do. And not just with quick snapshots, with beautiful photographs. The true talent of an artist is in their art. But if you take pictures yourself, and you get flashback or washed out images, you’re not going to have good representation on your site. Invest in great photographs – it will make a difference.

Gallery
Having great photographs is necessary. So is having a wide selection of photographs to showcase your work. As an artist, your visitors want to see what you do before they invest in your artwork.

Stories
Art is personal. Tell stories of why you created each piece, what meaning it has, and how the buyer views it. If you land on a major talk show, showcase the whole thing with copy, photographs and video. People like stories, and they’re easily sold if they build up a relationship with you.

Copy
When I visited her site, she had her information on a blog. Which is fine as a platform. But it really doesn’t matter if you use a blog or a website, you have to have it filled with enough information to keep your readers active and wanting more. Three posts with just a few sentences each isn’t enough. We need details.

Structure
How easy is it to move around and gain more information? Obviously if you have just a handful of pages and text, its easy to move around. But it can also showcase what you don’t have on your site more than what you do. The goal of your site is to be a salesperson for your business. Make sure the structure of your site supports that goal.

Look and Feel
Do you have to spend a ton of money building a dynamic web presence? Definitely not. But you do have to make it professional. If you’re in business, you have to act like a business. It has to be professional, and give the impression you’re in business for a while. Otherwise why would I trust you with my business?

Completeness
In this day and age, having an “under construction” page should never happen. It’s easy to get content on to your site. Don’t release the page until you have it ready to go. Don’t be a perfectionist about it either – release the page and tweak it down the road.

Especially if you are gaining a ton of exposure, its important that you have the marketing materials to support the attention you are gaining. A customized blog is an easy way to grow your site quickly, and have access to building it along the way. Above all, think about your presentation before you move forward. Is it dynamic? Is it a good representation of your business? Are you proud to have people visit it?

Comments

One Response to “Marketing 101 – Don’t Put The Horse In Front Of The Cart”

Rebecca on May 27th, 2009 12:55 am

Another good article here! Thanks!!

My website is new and I have spent a long time getting it ready. It will be dynamic and evolve as my business grows, I think that’s very important. There’s nothing much more off-putting than visiting a website that was last updated 3 years ago! Well, apart from visiting a website to see an ‘under construction’ message!!

Very good points here, thanks again,
Rebecca, rtphotographics.co.uk

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