As most of you know, besides managing EmptyEasel I also help run an art website service at foliotwist.com—in a nutshell, we provide simple, very effective websites for artists who don’t want the hassle of programming their own.
We also try to add a few new features each month, and THIS month we’ve got something that I think many of you will be interested in.
But first, let’s see a show of hands. . . :) How many of you currently use sites like Imagekind, RedBubble, FineArtAmerica, Zazzle, etc?
All of those sites make it possible for you sell prints and reproductions of your artwork—and of course, the great thing is that there are no up-front costs. Prints are created only when someone purchases them, and you get a cut of the sale.
The problem for many artists is that there’s no way to sell your original art alongside your prints. Also, it can be tough to get people to FIND your artwork on those sites.
As of today, foliotwist can help solve both of those problems.
How it works:
Foliotwist already offers a simple way to sell original art on your own website. You just fill in a few fields, press publish, and your art is immediately online—with a “Buy Now” button right next to it.
What we’ve added today is the ability to link to your prints, wherever they’re located. All you need to do is copy and paste the location of that print, choose what you want the link to say (like, “Buy this print at Imagekind”) and add the price range, if you want.
When you’re done, that “Buy this print at Imagekind” link will appear prominently next to your artwork.
If you don’t want your original art to be for sale, or if it’s already been sold, no problem.
Just mark it as “Not for Sale” and the only thing your visitors will see is a link to your prints.
Our system works with any print-on-demand service, big or small. Plus, with foliotwist’s built-in blogging system and newsletter tool, it’s easier than ever to promote all of your art—originals and prints—online.
If you have any questions about this feature, or about foliotwist in general, don’t hesitate to let me know. Or, drop by foliotwist.com and sign up for our free 10-day trial to try it out for yourself. :)