Are you ready to get your art online and don't know where to start? It's more than building a website. Once you build it, you have to learn how to amplify your voice and attract your client. 

As an artist, I know how you feel. I also know the steps it takes to launch and market your art online.  

Sitting at a show and NOT Selling!

Four years ago I was sitting at another outdoor art fair wondering why I was there and not selling. 

For 30 years I have been traveling and selling at high end juried outdoor art festivals, connecting with private collectors. 

In addition, I've sold with the help of art consultants and galleries to private and corporate clients. I have had HGTV highlight my work on the show Pure Design which is still in reruns, as well as being published in several publications that promotes art. 

In total I have sold just under 3 million dollars of art during my career. 

Then, all of a sudden, the market seemed to change. 

Even with my experience of three decades selling art plus my two degrees in Mass Communications and in Fine Arts;  I hit a wall. 

Online Selling Was Growing Fast!

I realized that online buying of art was growing at a phenomenal speed. After 30 years of being a self supporting artist, the online platforms were undermining the normal ways of selling. 

Despite my connections and experience I felt that I was missing the opportunity of capitalizing on the online buying that was slowly gaining speed. 

Galleries have been struggling, outdoor art fairs have been challenging- it was time to look at learning the online way of marketing. To see if it was possible to find my client in the online world. 

I imagine that you are feeling the same way. 

The challenge was for me, as I know it is for many artists, was learning the technical process of website design, plus the marketing strategies to push this online storefront into another sphere.

Although I had a portfolio website which had been active since 2003, my e-commerce was not happening. I was selling with referrals to my website but no one was actually buying from the site. 

Times have changed. Buying habits have shifted enormously. 

I was confused as to where to begin  in how to transform to an e-commerce platform and how to promote and build my following to this online format. 

How to Begin?

What should I post on Social Media? How can I build my email list? What was my message online? How do I know that my message is getting to the online buyer?

I'm sure you have encountered these thoughts, and I am certain that you want to find the answers. 

For me, it's been a long journey. I have studied many hours, spent thousands on courses, and been part of several groups to learn the e-commerce way. Through this all I have designed a system that is actionable and scaleable to other artists and arts organizations. 

I began by buying into a Shopify site. After a couple of months I realized that there was no training once the site was up and running. So I then bought into www.artstorefronts.com; a website platform that is the premier of platforms. Their platform, support and training began my journey in learning how to sell art online. 

After realizing that there were other areas to learn I began to research how digital marketing was done within the e-commerce dimension.  I wanted to learn how other businesses could survive online so I began a few years of training in different areas of digital marketing. 

After acquiring a  Digital Marketing Certificate at The Brain Station in Toronto and Facebook Ad Training through DigitalDistillery.com, I have created a plan that is efficient and affordable. 

What is VDH Digital?

The development of VDH Digital Marketing is my desire to bring to artists a clear process to launch and market your artwork into the digital.

Each Chapter delves into the specific areas that need to be addressed; website design, optimizing e-commerce, organic social media growth and paid ads.

The test of this system happened in April 2020 as the Pandemic moved into high gear. I had all my art fairs canceled. So I created a plan to build to a Mother's Day Sale that ran online April 22- May 15. I have an email list of 2000 subscribers which I have built since 2017. The result? I sold over 15,000$ in Art.  All online.  

So where do you begin? How do you get to a point where you have an email list and a platform that markets an event to sell art? 

Step 1 is you are here. You are looking for answers and guidance. 

The best part is that you are looking in the right direction, to digitally market your work.

Doors are opening that you never knew it existed. Now is the time to activate and begin your journey. 

It's time to show off your creativity, amplify your voice and magnify your vision.