18 Surprising Ways to Lure People to Your Website

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©Julie Gowing Hayes, Party Barge. Oil on linen panel, 20 x 30 inches. Used with permission. http://juliehayesart.com/

Just because you build it, doesn’t mean people will come.

That’s the darnedest thing about having a website.

Creating one is just the first step. Now, you have to get people to visit it, and driving traffic to your site is an ongoing task. It should always be top of mind.

See if you can add some of these ideas to your marketing mix to get more eyes on your art:

Best, Basic Practices

©Patti Vincent, Staged. Oil on panel, 6 x 6”. Used with permission.
©Patti Vincent, Staged. Oil on panel, 6 x 6”. Used with permission. Visit Patti Vincent

1. Write a e-newsletter article with a hook, which requires recipients to visit your site to read the end of the article.

2. Tell people why they should click. What’s in it for them?

3. Give something away to people who visit your site and sign up for your list.

4. Mention your website address on your voicemail.

5. Add your website address to the back or underside of your art. If you have a hangtag and it disappears, the website will still be with the piece.

6. Blog regularly.

Social Media Strategies

7. Ask a few bloggers you admire if you could write a guest post for them.

8. Make sure your website is a link and visible to the public on your personal and business profiles on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and LinkedIn. I’m surprised at how many artists don’t do this. (See more about this under One Final Lesson at the bottom of this blog post.)

9. Become an active member of a Facebook or LinkedIn group for your niche market.

10. When you pin your art to Pinterest, pin it directly from your site so that your URL shows up with the pin. If you upload images to Pinterest, type your URL into the image description.

11. Leave thoughtful comments on blogs with an avatar that is an image of your art. Get your universal avatar (for all WordPress blogs).

©John-Michael Korpal, Twig Balloons. Mixed media, 6 x 8 feet. Used with permission. http://johnmichaelkorpal.com/artwork/installations/
©John-Michael Korpal, Twig Balloons. Mixed media, 6 x 8 feet. Used with permission. Visit John-Michael Korpal
Stop Sending People to Your Home Page

Can we agree that almost every other page on your site is more interesting than your home page? If so, then why do you keep encouraging people to land on your home page? Instead …

12. Switch out the URL in your signature block to point to a specific page or piece of art on your site. Right now, my signature block advertises my Art Biz Makeover event and, after that, it will probably promote the new edition of I’d Rather Be in the Studio.

13. Send tweets that entice followers to explore the interior pages of your site and blog posts.

14. Use QR codes on exhibition labels that lead art viewers to a description of the piece they’re looking at.

Crazier Things Have Been Done

Let’s face it: The best way to get people to your site is with some kind of online communication because it’s easier for people to click than to remember to type a URL into their browser.

Still, you might consider ordering custom items with your website address printed on them, such as:

15. Bumper stickers

16. Tire covers

17. T-shirts

18. Baseball caps

One Final Lesson

The artists featured in this article (with their sites) appear here because they left a comment on my Facebook page, and I could find their websites quickly.

It took me at least an hour to find these three images when it should have taken about 15 minutes. I clicked on so many artists’ names that led nowhere. I wasn’t “friends” with them, so I couldn’t see their site (if they had it posted). Also, my requirement of “no watermarks” limited my choices.

If they commented as a business page, it would have made it even easier because I would have known that I could access their information.


Alyson Stanfield is an artist advocate and business mentor at ArtBizCoach.com. This article was originally published in her Art Biz Insider, which is sent weekly to thousands of artists who are elevating their businesses. Start your subscription now and get Alyson’s 6 free art-marketing video lessons by visiting her website.