The Results:

67% of the artists I spoke to currently use a computer, and of the 33% that don't, 41% plan to get one.

45% of the artists currently have Internet access, and of the 55% that do not, more than half have plans to get connected.

82% reported having been approached about putting their work up on the Internet. This is not surprising, since Ann Contois and Steve Reynolds, stained glass mirror and window crafts person's, were handing out fliers promoting their web design and hosting service at the show. (You can check out their Juried Online Arts Festival at http://www.jolaf.com/).

Overall, 42% of the artists said they had plans to eventually sell their work on the Internet. More interestingly, 15 of the exhibitors I spoke with currently are showing work on the World Wide Web. Were they satisfied with the results? Well, no one was making much money. Most sites had sold some work directly through the Internet, sometimes just a single piece. But many mentioned other benefits, such as having people find them on the web and buy at a show in their area. Some have have old customers track them down, and order by phone.

What struck me as amazing was only three of the 15 could tell me what the address of their web page was! Most had done no promotion, or assumed the person who created the page for them had listed it with some search engines. None had anyway to track the traffic, or measure the number of hits on their page.

Room for Improvement:

The Internet is a increasingly competitive market place, and to not make a concerted effort to bring your clients to your web site is sure to limit your results. Simply including your site's URL on your business cards, letterhead, and on signs in your booth is a start. If you advertise, including your URL is a good way to make a small ad work as hard as a big display ad. Anyone interested in your work, especially galleries, are likely to follow the link to learn more about you and your work.

The Internet is a great way to contact your clients directly, one on one, through e-mail. Start collecting e-mail addresses from your customers now. Even if you don't plan to have a web site for sometime, ask each customer if they have Internet access, and would they like you to e-mail them when you have a show in their area. Unlike conventional mailings, it costs you nothing to send e-mail, in any quantity, to anywhere in the world. And e-mail is still novel enough that many people enjoy getting messages that way.

But are the Customers on Line?

According to George Verdier, Chairman of Sugarloaf Mountain Works, 30% - 35% of the people attending Sugarloaf Craft Shows indicate they use the Internet. (When the people come in, they are given a slip to fill out for a prize drawing. Name, Address, and Internet info...). This figure is sure to grow rapidly.

A Tale of Two Web sites:

Now, imagine two web sites produced by different artists. Both show work that is successful on the juried fair circuit. One artist relies on people just happening to find his site. The other has collected several hundred e-mail addresses of past customers, and sends out an electronic invitation when their site is launched. Every time new work is added everyone on the e-mail list is sent another friendly message from the artist. Who is going to make more sales?

For more details on this idea, check out my article Bringing Your Clients Directly to Your Site. (Editor: Please note that this link is on Chris' site, Selling Your Art Online).

The World Wide Web is very new. But marketing and promotion is still critical to making sales. In the last 6 months I've changed my focus from learning all the latest ways to add flash and impact to my web sites to really concentrating on how to promote them to my customers.