I get asked about ASF a lot, so I pulled together this handy list of FAQ's which I hope helps!

Do you like Art Storefronts?

Yes I do. That's most commonly asked question! When I discovered ASF, I was making a large pivot in my business to include a better platform for selling my art. I wanted to offer both wall art and merchandise in one place - AND hold the reins on all of it. 

Having been an entrepreneur most of my life, I knew I had to  get smart about e-commerce, auto-fulfillment, marketing and automation. ASF is one place I've found that makes all of that seamlessly possible. Making money as an artist is a ton of work, no matter which way you turn it. Hear me on this, my friends: there IS no magic bullet to success, including ASF! But having solid tools is a must. I've found some mighty fine ones here. 

Having a great website is definitely part of the "success equation". But a solid art business education is the other part, however you go about acquiring that. ASF offers business education if you need it; but if all you're looking for is a great website specifically designed to help you sell your art online, you've covered.

TRUE CONFESSION:

I work with two platforms. The other is Smugmug. Why? Because one of the other arms of my business involves quite a bit of client work and collaborations. Smugmug is hands-down the best for this, in my book. I've been with them for well over a decade and for this area of my business, it JUST WORKS. I simply got to the point where I needed to separate the two. Now, Smugmug handles my customized client work, ASF helps me sell my fine art prints and merch. So I always advise people to think hard about what their goals are and choose a platform that serves their needs best. Each one specializes a bit differently. By explaining a bit about my process, I hope it empowers you to make the best decision for yours. 

SUMMARY:

My top 3 reasons FOR USING THE ASF PLATFORM:

1. Ownership. I could list my work on  "Pay to Play" art sites all day long, but I've ever been a fan.  The problem? If I build my online fine art shop on  "Joe's Fine Art Store dot com". I put all this time time, energy + hard work into it... then I leap into the pool as one of thousands of other artists fighting for a scrap of attention in the gigantic pay-to-play ocean of Joe's Fine Art. What's worse: let's say someone manages to land on my art. #Winning! Well guess what? Also served up with my art is an entire section called: "You might also love...", which shows a slew of other art that isn't mine, inviting you to head off to other parts of their website. NO THANK YOU.

There's more, but you get my point. 

An ASF is yours. (So is Smugmug.) Your domain name, your site statistics. Your results in search engines. No random algorithm changes to blow up in your face. You run sales when you want to run sales. You set terms. You OWN your space on the web. 

3. Auto-fulfillment, for both Merchandise and Wall Art.  Being automatically linked to a print lab that receives, prints, packs, ships, tracks and emails ALL your orders - ditto Merch - all from one website - is #winning in my book. You can even add a signature to your wall art if you want to.

3. Augmented Reality. Augmented reality means that customers can preview your art on their own walls via their smartphone in real time. Yes, I do make custom mockups; they're an important tool for grabbing initial attention. Once you have, many prospective clients love to play with different sizes and styles on their own walls. We all want to "reduce the friction" on making that sale and great customer service is part of that. 

Isn't it cheaper for me to do my own fulfillment?

Nope. More importantly, it's not scalable. That latter is key for me, because I have multiple arms to my business, each demanding time + effort. An automated, scalable system backed up by a team whose specialty is fulfillment is key for me. Add up the cost + time it takes you to print, trim, package, ship, track and confirm every single order you receive. Ack!  Even if you suck at math, it's not hard to figure out that you actual losing money (and sanity) doing it all yourself.  At least for me that's true. You may be different, so you do you.

Can you customize the site design?

Yes. There is a drag and drop page-builder much like many of the other sites out there (wix, squarespace)... and it's simple to add custom pages. 

How much does it cost?

There are a few different tiers and plans available. To find out the most current pricing, click the link below. 

Is the print quality good?

Definitely. I use Bay Photo on my site, who is one of ASF's vendors. They've been my online fulfillment printer for a number of years. I've always loved paper and printing... and have been working with high end print labs for over 15 years. Hence, a great print lab was one of the most important things to me when creating my online fine art sales site. Fine art printers mean higher quality + art that lasts. I can offer archival-quality prints, with LOADS of options for substrates like canvas, wood, metal, acrylic, watercolor paper, plus framing. It's all built into my site and the quality is excellent. You choose your own markup. 

Is it hard to set up?

Let's face it. There's always a learning curve with tech. But ASF has the whole process laid out step-by-step. The time it takes will depend upon how big your art library is and how many product types you want to offer. 

Beyond that, the only part that can be complex for non-computer-savvy artists is sizing and preparing the photos of your art.  If you're a photographer - that part is MUCH easier. If you're an artist and aren’t comfortable with this process, I'd suggest working with a photographer to shoot your work and prep your files. It’s important to have very high-resolution photos to make the prints look sharp.

How (and when) do I get paid?

When someone purchases a piece of art through your site, the transaction is processed via Stripe. (There are a few other processor options as well.) Payment is quite fast. Also good to know: for each order, the print lab charges you for the printing/shipping costs  (it’s all automatic) and ASF charges you (also automatic) for their %. It’s all turnkey, very automatic and easy. 

Some of my favorite things: 

• Email capture pop-up. Such a simple, no-brainer way to grow your email list. Back in the day, I used to resist this... but frankly,  it's one of the most powerful tools out there to grow your subscribers in an effort-free manner. Once I tested and saw the difference - I became a believer. 

• The analytics and data are incredible. It’s all built in to the backend of your ASF site. You can see where customers are coming from, where they’re going, how sales change over time. It's helped me determine what types of ad campaigns and marketing tactics give the most bang for my buck. I'm still learning - but this tool is KEY for gathering exactly the info I need to tailor my efforts. 

• Every order and customer is saved, and orders are easily exported. It is incredibly easy to see who has bought what and when, and to pull customer info.

HOPE THIS HELPS!

If this was helpful and you're interested in learning more from ASF, the link below will get you started. Thank you!  

If you're looking for photography education... read on!

ONLINE PHOTOGRAPHY EDUCATION

Looking for fabulous online Photography Education? Currently, I offer my unique "Artist's Voice" approach through my classes at Kelbyone, which presents some of finest online Photography education in the world.