CJ Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 I have a friend back in the UK who has a talent for drawing. As you can see from the samples below, she does pencil drawings that are probably classes as illustrations and much prefers to work in mono than with colour. She wants to try and earn a crust by doing this full time but has no idea on how, or who to, market this service - and neither do I. She has looked at setting up a web site and decided to get a domain name and thought of http://www.finepencildrawings.co.uk (which I think is a bit of a mouthful) as a starting point. So, what do you folks think? The name? How to promote? The idea itself? Please bare in mind some of the pic and scan quality is poor. http://img39.imageshack.us/img39/5672/44868296300319462259819.jpg http://img502.imageshack.us/img502/1953/17904549006776819462259.jpg http://img249.imageshack.us/img249/2301/44868295832819462259819.jpg http://img834.imageshack.us/img834/4608/44868295740319462259819.jpg http://img198.imageshack.us/img198/9198/44868295738819462259819.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevie_b Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 She's pretty handy with a pencil! I think the domain name is alright. Not ideal, but I imagine the really snappy ones have been purchased ages ago (e.g. pencildrawings.co.uk, illustrations.co.uk, etc). Websites of little-known companies probably live or die by how good their search engine rankings are, so I'd include some budget for someone to work on search engine optimisation (SEO) for her when the site's built. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DamanC Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 I think the domain name is good. Its relevant to what she does. Its many years off being a house hold name so the site with have to be SEO'ed. A quick look around in that market show me there is a moderate amount of competition for search engine rankings (SERP's). Set aside £500 - £2000 for SEO work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CJ Posted January 24, 2011 Author Share Posted January 24, 2011 Thanks guys. I am still wondering just who she should be aiming at in the market place. At the end of the day it doesn't matter if your marketing effort (and search ranking) is the best, if you haven't got an audience who wants the product then you are stuffed! I have suggested a pet portrait type scenario but she doesn't want to do colour. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Attero Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 How about something like rosepencils.com or something. That would stick out more. SEO is a must, but depends on how hard-driven you want the site. Are you wanting to create something dynamic (higher budget) or simple web pages (lower budget) which would need alterations by code. Try Google Ads for marketing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DamanC Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 Moderate Competition indicates there is a market. No Competition would indicate otherwise. http://www.jdhillberry.com/ http://www.dueysdrawings.com/ http://www.samithorpe.co.uk/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CJ Posted January 28, 2011 Author Share Posted January 28, 2011 Well, she has registered http://www.finepencildrawings.co.uk but now has the problem of lack of funds to do the site justice. As a single parent with 2 teenage children (albeit a talented one) money is never spare! I have suggested she start by putting some of her work on display in vest, and local galleries and to try and generate business that way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DamanC Posted January 28, 2011 Share Posted January 28, 2011 That is a Shame Colin, her work is pretty good! Has she thought about, dare I say it, Ebay? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CJ Posted January 28, 2011 Author Share Posted January 28, 2011 That is a Shame Colin, her work is pretty good! Has she thought about, dare I say it, Ebay? That's not a bad idea my friend. Advertising a "cheap" drawing (or a pencil ) to keep the cost down and showing off several of her drawings and also offering the service via contact too. Is that allowed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DamanC Posted January 28, 2011 Share Posted January 28, 2011 Yes, Im fairly sure you can do that/get away with it. The other option is to just advertise them as a one off at a price she wants or advertise commission drawings of photos etc...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CJ Posted January 28, 2011 Author Share Posted January 28, 2011 Good idea again my friend. Thank you very much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.