Website Check-up

Greetings:
Recently I featured Alyson Stanfield and her book "I'd Rather Be In The Studio" on the blog. Alyson was doing a blog tour and I volunteered to be one of the stops. I have had people ask me about that because Alyson's book is for Artist and that isn't really my target market. Very true, it isn't. However Alyson's book isn't just for artiest (although I know that is Alyson's target market). It is for anyone that wants to market themselves and their business. Besides if you only read books from your industry you are going to get the same information over and over. Dan Kennedy, the marketing guru, recommends reading books, articles and networking with people outside of your industry to get a fresh viewpoint and new ideas. I am not an artist, but I am on my second read of Alyson's book. The first time I read it was to get the big overview. Now I am reading it for the fine points and I am making a list of things to do.
Alyson publishes one of the best E-zine's on the Internet, in my humble opinion, and today's was really great. It is a fine example of the type of information she shares in her book that can relate to anyone in business. I recently did a major revamping of my website www.coachlee.com. As Alyson suggested in her e-zine I have been so busy doing everything else that coachlee.com got ignored. Using Alyson's suggestions I went through the website and made sure that everything that needs to be there is.
Below is a copy of Alyson's e-zine. I hope you will consider subscribing to it as well as getting a copy of her book, which is a Number One Best Seller on Amazon.com. You might already know everything Alyson talks about, but hearing it in a different way from a different perspective might get your creativity and action muscle in gear to actually do something. Now that would be great wouldn't it!
Perform a Web Site Checkup
Your poor Web site. You got so caught up in blogging, newsletters, and the latest technology, that your Web site has been neglected. Or maybe you're so happy you finally got it online that you forgot about it for the last two years. When is the last time it was updated?
Spend some time this week making sure everything is working on your site. Here's a list to get you started.
►Is your name prominent on every page?
►Are there titles, media, dimensions, and photo credits below each of your images? This isn't necessary for thumbnails, but is critical for enlarged photos. And if your photos open in a new window, is your name there as well?
►Is your News page current? And does your About or Bio page reflect your latest accomplishments?
►Is there a privacy policy next to any sign-up form you have for guests? See page 195 of I'd Rather Be in the Studio! for a sample.
►Is there more than one way to get a hold of you? Remember that email is not 100% reliable.
►Is there enough content? Not Flash content (which is an image), but searchable text so that the search engines can find you?
►Do you have any dead links?
►Do you have a photo of yourself? See this newsletter:
http://artbizcoach.com/dothis/2008/actionshots.html
►Is it easy for people to purchase from you? I recently discovered that people were having a hard time finding some of my products. A new Products page is in the works!
►Do you have a major link to your blog so that people don't have to search for it? Speaking of blogs, check back next week when I give you a checkup for your blog.
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Know This . . .
Your Web site needs some lovin'.
Think About This . . .
When is the last time you took a good look around your Web site?
Do This . . .
Perform a Web site checkup. Use the list above as a starting point. Enlist friends to help you. Friends that don't know about art can give you one set of advice, while those "in the know" can bring their expertise to the table. There are a number of resources on ArtBizCoach.com for your Web site.
Don't have a site? No worries! Patricia J. Velte will get you started with "Web Site Basics: How to Get Your Art Online without Spending a Fortune." See:
ArtBizCoach.com
"Become an Online Media Magnet" with these two CDs from Clint Watson:
http://artbizcoach.com/resources/watson2cd.html
I also offer Web site evaluations: http://artbizcoach.com/consulting/websites.html
There's more about photos for your Web site on the Art Biz Blog. Take a look at the category "Web Sites, Blogs, and Technology for Artists": http://tinyurl.com/59dr8z
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Copyright 2008 Alyson B. Stanfield. Alyson takes the mystery out of marketing your art and making more money as an artist. Visit http://www.ArtBizCoach.com to get articles just like this one delivered to your inbox.














