Hi everyone, today I’m talking about how artists can use copywriting on their websites to sell more of their art and become more successful in the art-as-a-business world. 

Because let me just say, I’m just sick of this “starving artist” mentality.

I live in a city with a thriving art scene, and though there’s plenty of successful artists, the vast majority seem to have the mindset that art is only a fun hobby that you might be able to make $20 on here or there if you’re lucky.

But I’m a six-figure freelance writer, for goodness sake, and if any career besides teaching is notorious for its low wages, it’s freelance writing. (Or just being an artist in general.)

It’s completely false that you have to suffer financially or otherwise for the sake of your art. So in today’s video I’m going to help you actually sell your art—whether it’s pre-made or commissioned—to make actual MONEY from it.

I’m going to walk you through three websites of your fellow artists showing you how they can improve their on-site copywriting for more purchases and conversions to give you ideas on how you can do this for yourself.

Specifically, we’ll talk about:

• Spelling out the usefulness of your art.
• Getting rid of jargon.
• Attaching your higher-end & custom offers to your customer’s emotions.

[page 1] http://www.ugallery.com/commissions/ <- something about what they’ll use the painting for – in their homes, as a gift – get them attached to the emotion of it

The first site we’ll look at is UGallery where you can commission a painting.

The hook and the description on this page reads: [read it]

Nothing wrong with that, is there?

But if this is all the copy they’re using to SELL me on the value of commissioning a painting instead of buying a $30 print off Amazon, this isn’t going to cut it.

Not for me, anyway. And I am in the market to put more artwork on my walls.

They could sell me, though, on what kind of difference a commissioned, personalized painting makes, and how I’d use it in my home.

If they got me attached the the emotion of really expressing the deepest seat of my soul on canvas to make my new apartment feel more like a home and where I belong, I’d be filling out their form right now.

Because that’s what art—especially the kind of art it looks like these guys are selling—does for us.

It’s not necessary to have pretty paintings on our walls, but we put them there to express ourselves and show who we ARE to the people who come into our homes.

I’m going to cut back to my face to show you what I mean.

[cut back to my face]

Okay, so I’m going to show you the artwork I’ve got in my living room.

This big painting is a print, this is a printed mini-scroll with a quote, (not custom), and this is a print of a sunset with a mandala painted over it.

I LOVE these pieces and I get a lot of compliments on them.

But the pieces I love the MOST and the ones I get the MOST compliments on are these two.

You can’t see this one very well, but it’s string art of a lotus flower my brother made for me, it’s three different colors, looks really great, and I get a TON of compliments on it.

This other one is a drawing a few of my friends made. If you’re having a hard time seeing it, it’s just a girl in an orange bikini sitting with her back to us with a couple tattoos and some really funky hair.

It’s gorgeous, it’s beautiful, and it completely captures the soul of the flat this drawing was created in. So when my friends moved out of the flat, I took it (I asked, don’t worry), brought it back to the US with me, framed it, and have taken it to my new place of residence.

You wouldn’t believe the kind of compliments I get on this and how many people are captivated by it and walk up to it, tripping over that chair, to get a closer look.

THAT is the kind of thing commissioning a painting can do, and THAT is its usefulness.

[cut back to screen]

So now you can see why I think this messaging, though not terrible, falls a little flat, can’t you?

So what if we changed this text to talk about the USEFULNESS of commissioning a painting.

[open a text file]

And actually, we could keep this first line and sub-line, because I like the command written in it “Commission a Painting-personalized art, created specifically for you.”

But we could DEFINITELY play with this bottom bit to really get the emotions going and get more people to get in touch.

So what if we wrote something like this:

THE perfect piece of art.

The one people will trip over your furniture trying to get a closer look at.

The one that simply exudes the soul of you and your home, in the most delicious way.

Get in touch to work with us one-on-one to create the artwork of your dreams.

[type it into the text file]

Now imagine this text sitting here.

You’d be much more likely to get in touch now that they’re talking about the quote-unquote “usefulness” of their artwork, wouldn’t you?

[page 2] https://www.gigmasters.com/search/violin-asheville-nc <- searched for a violinist in my city

So with this page, we’ll give some ideas to our musician friends.

This actually isn’t a single musician’s website, but is a site a lot of musicians use to advertise themselves to help get more gigs.

And on sites like this, standing out among the competition can be tough, but it’s definitely possible.

I’ve read through these descriptions before, and the one I want to look at is Stephanie Quinn.

[scroll down & click on “more”]

This is what she says about herself: [read her about]

This is really great, but I want to use one phrase that really stuck out to me the first time I read it to show you how identifying and getting rid of jargon can really make a huge different in your online descriptions and listings.

The phrase is “emotionally provocative” in the first line.

I’ve never heard Stephanie play, but I’ve definitely heard non-lyrical music from a single instrument before that’s moved me to tears, so I know exactly what she’s talking about.

So what if we just completely replaced this first sentence and wrote:

“Concert violinist Stephanie Quinn plays more than just beautiful music. She knows how to play the chords and play with the chords in a way that takes the listener—whether it’s in a darkened concert hall or in a lively social setting—on the kind of emotionally uplifting journey in a way only true feelings can. Feelings felt through music.”

Then we can still follow it with her credentials.

I don’t know if this is spot-on with her personality as a performer, but you can see how spelling out what a jargon phrase like “emotionally provocative” does to suddenly pique your interest in booking a musician like her, can’t you?

[page 3] https://www.etsy.com/shop/NailedItDesign?ref=l2-shopheader-name <- string art – was a really meaningful gift for me to receive – is SUCH a personal gift – can order a strong art that has specific symbolism for the person you want to give it to & it will rock their world

-improving the description

-talk about WHY they’d want something custom… in fact UPSELL them so something custom is really feels like their only option (this is something you can charge more for, so why the heck not???)

Here’s an Etsy seller who does string art.

They have their own designs they like to sell, but as you can see here with this announcement, they also offer custom string art.

I showed you my string art that I have hanging in my apartment.

It’s a custom-made piece just for me, and I love it and get a lot of compliments on it.

If someone has custom-made string art just for them, it means something really special. It’s special if the giver makes it for them, yes, but if you have zero artistic talent, you can hire it out and still create something just as meaningful.

So here, with this little announcement trying to sell custom-made string art, that’s exactly what their doing with their words: selling custom-made string art.

[read announcement]

But if you’ve been following Copy Power for any amount of time, you know that while yes, our monetary exchanges are for products, the products aren’t exactly the things we’re buying.

We’re buying the emotions that go along with them. We’re buying how the product makes us feel—and in the case of a gift, how we imagine it’ll make the recipient feel.

So if we want to sell more of something, this is what we have to sell… the emotions more so than the actual product.

So what if instead, we wrote:

String is a beautiful, unique gift in and of itself. It’s something not many people have hanging on their walls, and is always a great conversation piece.

And when someone’s thoughtful enough to give it to you, it’s something to brag about.

It’s something you feel proud to show off and tell your guests about.

So while we sell great pre-made string art pieces our customers and their loved ones love, we also offer custom-made string art to match the person’s exact interests and personality.

We can create custom shapes, color combinations, and painted-on sayings to capture someone’s unique interests and personality, an inside joke, or just the right combination of string art and inspirational quote for someone’s stage in life.

Get in touch with your ideas, and we’ll be happy to start creating them for you.

[leave bit about production time]

And so I’m also imagining that they’d charge a little more for their custom-made string art than they’re pre-made pieces.

So can you see how it’s a smart business move to attach your higher-end offers to more specific emotions?

You’ll sell more and with a higher profit margin, which is absolutely incredible and fantastic.

Takeaways

So as a review, artists, here’s the three things you need to do with your copywriting to sell more of your work and/or get booked more often:

• Spell out the usefulness of your art.
• Get rid of jargon.
• Attach your higher-end & custom offers to your customer’s emotions.

CTAs

If you liked this video, I have plenty more where it came from. If you’re watching on my blog, you can click the title at the top of my screen to get to my YouTube channel, where you’ll see all my past videos and subscribe to get in on the future ones.

I publish a brand new video every other week with ideas and examples of how to improve online copywriting to improve conversions and sales.

I’ve also pasted a link below to my ebook that has five easy-to-implement copywriting tips that’ll help you decrease your bounce rates and increase your conversions and profits for any page on your website. You’ll be able to read through it in 20 minutes, and it’s definitely worth the download.

Thanks for watching! Bye!