Self taught artist needs help with her site!!

nkoli · #1 (**permalink**) 07-19-2008, 04:29 PM

Hi people,pls could you help me with some advice on how to go about launching my personal site. I'm a painter and would like to set up a site. I've got a domain name but would love to know How I could build good content to attract adsence adverts? How can i make it catchy, informative but not boring.

alpha7 · #2 (**permalink**) 07-19-2008, 08:18 PM

Hi Nkoli

There are several things to consider when building your content to attract visitors to your site. The rules of the internet are still evolving, so you can consider most of use as "practicing" search engine optimization (SEO).

Lisa and several others are very good at it, but I thought I would get the ball rolling until they can give their input.

I'll start by asking what your domain name is. The reason being is that your domain name is a key word also. Key words are words and phrases that search engine visitors type in to find what they want on the web. How well you optimize and advertise your site determines how high in the list you are in the search engine results. So your key words and your content go hand in hand.

Will you be selling your art or just displaying it on your site?

You could also make a site about art in general. I believe this would be ideal for placing ads on your site. You could also advertise your own art in the form of pc wallpaper, web site themes, etc.

That's just a few ideas off the top of my head.

I hope it helps.

lisa · #3 (**permalink**) 07-19-2008, 08:35 PM

Good advice, alpha7.

Another thing you should consider when building your site is to think about the overall goal. You said you want to make money with AdSense ads so that means that you are also going to need a good deal of informative content. But you don't just want to put up any content. Think about the type of person you want to target. Are you trying to target people who admire a certain type of painting? Are you giving any painting tips to people who want to learn how to paint? Is there any problem you can help people solve? Is there something specific about painting you want to teach?

The reason I'm asking these questions is the more focused your site is, the more you'll know about your visitor and you can write compelling content that will keep them coming back for more. So in addition to displaying your artwork, think about a specific audience you'd like to attract, then build content that will help, inform, entertain, etc. It's key that you define your audience first and that will help you decide what kind of content is best.

nkoli · #4 (**permalink**) 07-20-2008, 10:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alpha7

There are several things to consider when building your content to attract visitors to your site. The rules of the internet are still evolving, so you can consider most of use as "practicing" search engine optimization (SEO).

I'll start by asking what your domain name is. The reason being is that your domain name is a key word also. Key words are words and phrases that search engine visitors type in to find what they want on the web. How well you optimize and advertise your site determines how high in the list you are in the search engine results. So your key words and your content go hand in hand.

Will you be selling your art or just displaying it on your site?

You could also make a site about art in general. I believe this would be ideal for placing ads on your site. You could also advertise your own art in the form of pc wallpaper, web site themes, etc.

That's just a few ideas off the top of my head.

I hope it helps.

Hiya Alpha7,

thanks alot for your advice. My domain name's art-devine-slasher (I'm sure you're wondering why I didn't use my name..........I'm popularly known as slasher, but yet again I'm wondering if it would have been better to use my name

).

Yeah I will both be displaying and selling................don't know if it'll be better to start off with displaying first then selling later

Could you elaborate more on how I could advertise my art in form of pc wallpaper and website themes.

All the best.

nkoli · #5 (**permalink**) 07-20-2008, 10:42 AM

[quote=lisa;17318]

Think about the type of person you want to target. Are you trying to target people who admire a certain type of painting? Are you giving any painting tips to people who want to learn how to paint? Is there any problem you can help people solve? Is there something specific about painting you want to teach?[/QUOTE]

Hiya Lisa,

I've actually thought about putting in the above sections you talked about but I keep thinking it'll make my site look less professional cos I feel it's not the "common way" artists' sites look..........yet again I don't know if it's ok to break out from the norm!!!

What do you think?

All the Best

lisa · #6 (**permalink**) 07-20-2008, 11:58 AM

I understand. I don't think it would look unprofessional if done right and you explain who the section/information is for. I wouldn't put it in a prominent spot on your homepage, you could just have a few sections in your navigation that link to this info for those who are interested.

alpha7 · #7 (**permalink**) 07-20-2008, 12:47 PM

Hi again,

From the video, if that is you, it looks like you do mostly drawings or paintings of people. However, if you do landscapes or abstract art, I was just saying that you could use them as desktop wallpaper. As far as the web site theme goes, people sometimes use art work or landscapes in the header of a web site template.

Now about your nickname "slasher". You have to ask yourself if someone looking for art is going to type the word "slasher" into the search engine. You also have to ask how many people know you by that name. You will probably need a name like "professional-artwork.com" or "art-pro.com". These are just examples. I don't know if they will work for you or not. You want to try to use words that you can also build your content around.

Here are a few other ideas to help you in the thought process.

people-art.com
abstract-art.com
amazing-artwork.com
art-for-sale.com
animal-art.com

I hope I didn't give too much information.

nkoli · #8 (**permalink**) 07-20-2008, 03:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lisa

I understand. I don't think it would look unprofessional if done right and you explain who the section/information is for. I wouldn't put it in a prominent spot on your homepage, you could just have a few sections in your navigation that link to this info for those who are interested.

Thanks a lot

nkoli · #9 (**permalink**) 07-20-2008, 03:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alpha7

Hi again,

From the video, if that is you, it looks like you do mostly drawings or paintings of people. However, if you do landscapes or abstract art, I was just saying that you could use them as desktop wallpaper. As far as the web site theme goes, people sometimes use art work or landscapes in the header of a web site template.

Now about your nickname "slasher". You have to ask yourself if someone looking for art is going to type the word "slasher" into the search engine. You also have to ask how many people know you by that name. You will probably need a name like "professional-artwork.com" or "art-pro.com". These are just examples. I don't know if they will work for you or not. You want to try to use words that you can also build your content around.

Here are a few other ideas to help you in the thought process.

people-art.com
abstract-art.com
amazing-artwork.com
art-for-sale.com
animal-art.com

I hope I didn't give too much information.

Thanks Alpha7,

I heard once a domain name's picked it can't be changed?If so what do I do? Is it wise opening two sites at the same time or using the name for the time being and changing it later

All the best

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