Your website is up and running and you’re itching to find buyers, but where are they? Find your niche online first, then effectively focus your time and efforts on those who are most likely to buy your art.
* associations. If you haven’t already, join at least one arts association in your medium. Associations usually have online forums and will send you emails full of links and information about collectors, artists, galleries, resources and organizations in your arts community, most of which will be accessible electronically and will save you a lot of time. The Artspan portals list hundreds of art associations. Consult Painting, Photography, Ceramics or any of the more than 30 art portals.
* Forums. Then join forums specific to your art on Artspan and WetCanvas and anywhere else with a strong community. Do an online search to find them. Then join the forum conversations filled with thoughtful and interesting threads. Stay away from the vitriolic, incoherent or off topic. Read posts, visit website links, and review blogs, leaving comments where you can. In turn, talk about your art and post your website link in the forum and in the comments sections of the website.
* Social networks. Join general social networking sites (Facebook, Myspace, Bebo) and vertical (niche-specific) social networks (Ning). Include your website URL in your profile and post your website to ‘share a link’. Some Facebook groups, like Black and White Photography, have over 40,000 members, all potential readers of their website. All you have to do is leave some comments and post your URL. (Bonus tip: If you’re so niche that you can’t find it online, try starting your own social networking site at ning.com.)
* social bookmarking. Social bookmarking sites like del.icio.us and digg allow you to bookmark pages you think are relevant and see what other sites are getting comments. Find people who bookmark the same pages as you and strike up a conversation by sending a “thank you” for an interesting lead.