Your Profile Page is a Powerful Selling Tool:
Your Vendor Profile acts as your Virtual Booth Front. It gives Artists an opportunity to build trust with customers and soon-to-be-customers. Artists with stronger profiles see more product exposure. Here's some ideas to help you build a profile that increase sales and exposure.
Let Your Customers Know Your Policies Up-Front
When buyers scour Google or Bing for your masterpieces and stumble upon your product listing, they want the lowdown on who they’re dealing with. Sure, they can peek at the standard OAF policies, but they’re also curious about your personal booth rules.
In the rare event of a dispute, we’ll review your posted policies and, when possible, back you up. So, let’s make sure those policies are as clear as a bright summer day before anything happens. Here’s what to cover:
- Returns, Refunds, and Exchanges: Yay or nay?
- Damaged Shipments: What’s the game plan?
- Custom Work: Can they commission something unique?
- FAQs: Got answers to common queries?
Show your customers who you are:
Your customers love your story. Even in a virtual world, they want to know you-your story, your inspirations, and what sparked the creative process for the pieces they’re eyeing. Here’s how to connect:
- Add an Artist Biography: Let them peek into your world.
- Gallery Images or Videos: Showcase your finest works.
- Works-in-Progress: Share behind-the-scenes magic.
Drive Customers to Your In-Person Shows
That new customer who found your product online might want to stop by your booth when you’re near their town. Make it easy for them:
- Publish Your Show Calendar: Let them know where to find you.
- Favorite Show Stories: Share the highlights and fun moments.
- Booth Images: Give them a preview of your setup
Increase Your Catalog Exposure to Shoppers:
At OAF, we are always working to build our relationships with search engines. Building a strong profile on OAF lets you take advantage of all the work we do behind the scenes to get your art in front of shoppers. Here are some tips to take advantage of this:
- Be sure to use your name and business name throughout your story.
- Be sure your profile talks about what you do and the techniques you use.
- If someone searches Google for "Artist who does custom oil portraits," and your biography includes the phrase, "I am an Artist who does custom oil portraits," there's a great chance your profile will be one of the top search results.
- Check everything you've written and see what kind of phrases pop out as "someone could put this into a search engine, and my work should appear." You should have several of those.
- You might make jewelry, but if you explain the metals or materials you use and your specific technique, you'll show up to customers searching for exactly what you offer.
- Keep adding content! The internet loves new information, and as your business is growing, changing & maturing, your profile has lots of opportunities to grow. Repeat customers love to learn more about you, your events, and your art - keep them coming back with fresh updates.
- Some easy ways include keeping a current events calendar, posting customer testimonials (with permission), keeping a gallery of customers' photos of your work, or even adding a few thoughts for the community at the end of each show season.