Get Your Website and Promote it For Free! by Cianna Oliver

Artists, are you looking to sell your art online, but your pocketbook can't take a lot of pressure, you came to the right place! The internet is a wonderful place, and the good news is that there are a lot of free online marketing resources available.

But first, you need to think about exactly what kind of computer skills you have, or are willing to learn. This will determine what type of sites you will be needing, to be able to market your work. There are certain things you will need no matter what online help there is.

1. You will need to be able to at least take digital photos, and put then online for others to see, Or have someone else do this. Now, a scanner is a great way to do this, and much cheaper than a digital camera.

2. Do you know the basics of web site development? If not, then you will need to find either an online store in which to market your work, or at least a photo album or portfolio in which to show your work.

Guess what? I found a turnkey solution to opening a store. Best of all, it is completely free! They offer free merchant set up, they use the oscommerce shopping cart. Guess what? I found a turnkey solution to opening a store. Best of all, it is completely free! They offer free merchant set up, they use the oscommerce shopping cart.It's called: http:www.vstore.ca

If you want to build a web site, here are some free ones to get you started. Some of these,like geocities, and bravenet, also have a web site building wizard to guide you in setting up your web site.

1. www.bravenet.com 2. www.zerocatch.com 3. www.ecomplanet.com 4. www.ivillage.com 5. www.geocities.com

If you want a little more services for your web site, these are good and low cost Web Hosting Companies:

1. www.ocatch.com- besides offering a free site, it offers low cost hosting, starting at $6.95 per month. If you do have a problem, they are prompt in rectifying it.

2. www.hostorange.com- this is the hosting company that I currently use. They offer a lot for the money. You get subdomains, and you can host more that one domain at the same price, and a lot more extras. They are also prompt in ansering your problems, but they have no phone, and everything is online. Now that you have your site up and running, you need to start promoting it. Learn how to optimize your site for online marketing for free.

Learn how to optimize and promote your site for free.

1. www.selfpromotion.com can give you lots of help, and freebies for your new site.

2. If you would like to find more freebies. www.thefreesite.com - lots of free info

The internet is a wonderful resource, but the fact is that you need to generate a lot of traffic to make any significant amount of sales. One way to increase exposure is to take advantage of free links, and link exchanging on sites that are relevant to yours. Most of these sites are undoubtedly larger than yours, (especially if you are beginning), and generate traffic. At least your work will be seen by a larger audience. Your site will also start to gain some recognition with the search engines. If you choose your sites wisely, the type of people who will be seeing your work will be your target audience. Those who are most interested in your work! A great way to link exchange is by creating articles, and linking inside a relevant article. This gives people a lot of extra knowledge and information relevant to their interests, and the search engines are more friendly to these type of links.

Another good way to get some increased exposure is to belong and post your work in some online galleries. There are many free ones that allow you to post 4 or 5 photos of your art work. Here are some galleries to get you started:

1. www.wire-sculpture.com- has a free gallery for jewelry makers 2. www.electroniccottage.com 3. www.artquest.com 4. www.artdepot.com 5. www.espectro.com 6. www.artzee.net

So, try these out, there is nothing to lose, everything to gain:) Start your home business today!