Let’s state the obvious here – Instagram is an awesome tool for artists to market themselves online (and it’s free to boot, huzzah!).
But that doesn’t mean that it is without limitations.
Artists like you and I are complex beings – our paint-covered hands are always in too many projects, and we spread ourselves far and wide within the online universe. How the hell do they expect us to contend with only a single link in our Instagram profile?!
Say you wanted to direct viewers to your website or Etsy shop, your newest blog post about why a new pen is changing your life, or even where you are giving away super valuable free content (in exchange for email addresses – you should be doing this!).
Well tough luck, hope you like rotating links! If you’re an Instagram Champ and have over 10,000 followers then you can unlock the “Swipe Up” achievement that can essentially act like additional links, but otherwise you will have to get creative.
Thankfully there is a hack to get around this, so you can keep all of your links in one tidy little place.
You have two options: a free version and a paid version.
I use the paid version, but more on that in a bit.
Option One: Linktr.ee
Let me introduce you to Linktr.ee – a wonderful little site that allows you to create an account and build a basic front end page to compile your links. Then you post the link to that “page” on your Instagram profile and viola – your audience clicks on that link and explore your world.
Linktr.ee makes it incredibly easy to add new links too, even from your phone (if you’re like me and never stop moving).
If you’re just starting out and don’t want to invest into your business yet (you’ll get there!), then Linktr.ee is for you!
Why Linktr.ee Is Great:
1. Set-up is easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy
2. Very easy to modify, even on-the-go
3. Free (who doesn’t love free??)
The not-so-great things about Linktr.ee:
- Few customization options (in the free version), so you can hurt your branding efforts (a big deal considering this is often the first off-Instagram experience they will have with your site)
- Stuck with the linktr.ee/ website link (not a deal-breaker, but definitely not pretty)
- It can actually hurt your SEO efforts (every view on your website helps to contribute towards your SEO efforts, so you are essentially telling Google that you aren’t important)
Option Two: Your Website
If you are at the stage where you have a website for your work, I recommend you creating your own version of Linktr.ee. We’ll call it your “Link Tree”, because what’s life without a little extra confusion.
“But Linktr.ee is a free service, why not just use that?”
Yes, Linktr.ee is wonderful, but it is still an external site. And it has limited color schemes (unless you throw some money at them to upgrade), and it doesn’t play nicely with Google Analytics. You’re directing your precious views away from your site!
So if you have a website, create a page and using buttons or text, convert those into links. Yes, this essentially does the same job as Linktr.ee, however there are two massive benefits here:
1. You have full control over the customization and colour scheme, which means you can brand it to the nines
2. It plays nicely with Google Analytics as the page is on your website (which benefits you from an SEO perspective, which means Google will send more viewers your way!)
Not sure what this page should look like? Take a look at mine here to gain some inspiration.
Internal links help to give your website credibility and help Google to understand the site hierarchy (so it can learn what the “important” pages are, and send new people there). Since your “link tree” on your own website is a collection of internal links, it helps!
Google Analytics will also give you an insight as to where your viewers are clicking from your “link tree” which can provide valuable insight.
So what should you do?
If you have your own hosted website, then create your own page that houses your collection of important links.
And if you haven’t made the jump yet to have your own website, then Linktr.ee is a wonderful option for you.
Want to take an even bigger flying leap towards your (inevitable) success as an artist?
Watch my FREE masterclass training, Scale Your Art Sales.
It’s the online class for beginner artists that are filled with a fiery creative passion, and want to grow an audience online that actually want to BUY their artwork