My first arts website

Putting together a solid website is key for artists and arts organizations who want to promote themselves effectively and affordably. But not every artist knows where to even begin, much less create a website that’s compelling or that helps to build their audience. The Virtual Arts Incubator (a project of the Fine Arts Fund of Cincinnati) has put together a straight-forward checklist of how to build an arts website that works as a marketing tool.

I don’t think that the list is comprehensive (what, no mention of MySpace or other social networks?) and some of the advice is pretty basic. But for artists and collectives that are just getting started, the article can serve as a good jumping off point. Some of the tips that stick out are:

• Define goals: What is the purpose of the website? What do we want people to do when they are there?
• Use the website to build an e-mail list: Generate leads for e-mail marketing by placing a prominent link to join your newsletter list.
• Keep navigation simple and intuitive: Use labels, such as “calendar,” “buy tickets,” “children’s concert series.” Avoid acronyms.
• Include a “call to action” with e-mail marketing. Ask e-mail recipients to click on a link to do something (”click here to purchase tickets online”).

Read the full article here.

Are there other tips that members have about how to build a website? Share any success stories (or failure nuggets) in the comments below.

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