Hi Bryan, and welcome to Artmetal. Just took a look at your site and it looks pretty good. I'm not an expert on websites, but I'm pretty good at selling my work and will add my two cents for you to do with what you want.

First I think you should combine the info on the "About Me" page with the "Welcome" page. Even combined it's still short and it's good information to get people intrigued to see what this ambitious high school student is all about.

Second, as opposed to having your products flip through on a slide show, it might be beneficial to post the images as thumbnails all on one page. That way they can compare, see the prices, and read the titles at their leisure. There is always an end to a slide show which can subconsciously hint to the observer that since the slide show is over it's time to go check out a different site.

Third, I'm not a big fan of Craig's List unless your trying to get rid of something. I think you will have better luck focusing your marketing closer to home and expanding outward from there. Think about who you envision buying your product, where is it going to end up? Inside, outside, home , office, etc. I'm from the midwest, so I see the products in the homes of people who like rustic decor, which there are a lot of around here, lol.

Finally, your stuff is VERY economical, not sure where the supplies come from, but make sure that your selling price figures in your time. That being said, it's perfectly priced for Home Shows, craft shows, farmers markets, etc. Around here there is a fella that makes critters and such out of pieces of old farm and garden equipment which he sells very well at our local farmers market. Your products have a distinct advantage in that it's priced low enough to be an impulse buy, which is great.

Anyway, really loved the products, very clever, and I admire your ambition. My favorites are the Armadillo and the Tired Cowboy Around the Campfire. Keep us updated as to how your new venture progresses and post picts of your work when you can.

Jake

Jake Balcom
Mettle Design
Lincoln, NE

I agree with everything Jake said. Don't worry too much abut how long people hang around at your site. If you had a booth somewhere you'd see a lot of people barely glancing at your work. Same thing. I agree that  thumbnails might work better for you. If they linked to separate pages for each item you might add a description or suggestion about the piece which may slow down traffic a bit. A blog format could also work well for you.

There's no doubt though that the best way to get sales is to have actual pieces out in front of people. Your prices aren't too high for impulse sales. Shows like Jake mentioned are good. You might also try to get pieces into local stores. If you can't get stores to purchase outright you might at least get them to take items on consignment. Being able to talk to a potential customer directly though would be your best means of getting custom orders -- which could amount to a large percentage of your sales.

While you're fine tuning your site you might also try a blog format and sites like Etsy.com to see what works best.

You might also pitch the "recycled" aspect of you pieces -- just don't over do it.

Hey there Bryan,

I'm not a big fan of Google Websites but your 'Artwork' is quite good and that is really the most important thing...
The only thing I would Add, is that there appears to be no way to 'make a purchase' online. Have I missed it ? I was expecting a "PayPal Button" or some kind of way to make to make an instant purchase. You'll need something like that if you want your site to be effective in it's ability to create 'momentum'.

Either way, I would say that "Jake" has given you some great advice regarding selling and you'd be wise to listen when it comes to selling at 'small venues'. Farmers Markets and Craft Shows will make you 'A LOT' of money ! Right now is a GREAT time to register for Christmas Craft Shows locally and abroad. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised at how well your work will sell...

Cheers and Good Luck,

/Joe...

Bryan,

Welcome to ArtMetal!

The previous comments are all on the money and there's great advice there.

The only thing I would add is that I think you might want to do some looking around at other people's work and the prices they charge. I think your prices are too low for the time you must have in them. It isn't good to under-price your work, as it is very hard to raise prices later. I'm not saying you should raise them a lot, but some of them are too cheap for what they are - like that cool armadillo. Check out the "competition" and adjust your prices reasonably.

Rich