Artspan Removes Sales Commission from Member Websites

ArtspanLogoArtspan is both a provider of easy-to-maintain artist websites and an online destination for buyers of contemporary art. Founded in 1999 by painter and entrepreneur Eric Sparre, the Artspan portal enables visitors to view 4,000 artist websites in 18 different categories, including painting, photography, jewelry, and sculpture.

Artspan recently announced that they will not be charging commissions for sales made directly through members’ sites.

“We will not charge any commission on purchases made by buyers going directly to the artists’ websites. These are their buyers, not ours,” says Sparre. “There will continue to be a minimal commission on sales where the buyers use our searches and shops to find artwork. We will use the proceeds to promote the artists’ work and the ease of the shopping experience on Artspan.com and Jewelspan.com.”

Jewelspan.com is a new boutique collection of artist websites specifically targeted to buyers looking for handcrafted jewelry. Its websites also appear on Artspan.com.

Autonomous Website with Community Benefits

As an Artspan or Jewelspan member, you get a multi-featured, customizable individual website with its own domain name. No technical background is required to manage your Artspan website; you can upload new work and blog posts whenever you are ready. You can customize the layout, fonts, and colors as desired.

If buyers meet you an art show or read about you through your own publicity efforts, they can access your website directly by entering your domain name in the browser search window. (You won’t pay Artspan commissions on any sales you make this way.)

But if you want your work to be viewed by a much larger pool of buyers who are searching for contemporary art online, you can rely on the experts at Artspan.com to help generate additional traffic and exposure for your site. This relieves you from having to master the intricacies of SEO (search-engine optimization).

It can be a best-of-both-world scenario. While maintaining the autonomy of your own website, you will be part of Artspan’s searchable, high-traffic community that is consistently top-ranked for the term “Contemporary Art” by Google and Yahoo.

Artspan also provides you with a wealth of marketing information and easy access to their Help Desk, which can be reached by phone or email.

LINKS

About Artspan

Jewelspan

Artspan Blog Post: Pinning with a Purpose—How Artists Use Pinterest