Putting Your Ink on Display
Marketing Seattle Tattoo Artists
Talent can only take you so far; what good is being talented if nobody knows who you are? This is why marketing a tattoo artist is so important. Word of mouth is good, but you need a little more in today's market if you plan to utilize your talents to their full potential. The job of marketing a tattoo artist is more than just posting an ad in the local newspaper or putting up big signs along the highway. Ensuring you have exposure on multiple social media platforms plays a significant role in your direction. You will also need content to show the world your individuality and to be able to tell the story of who you are. Finally, you will need to know the costs associated with building your brand.
Platforms — Social Media/Marketing Plan
Marketing your talent is key to your success at anything these days. There are many ways to showcase your work. For example, social media marketing has many advantages over traditional methods. Also, it gives your tattooing services a more significant exposure rate and more customers.
Blue Fountain Media references studies showing a 100% higher lead-to-close rate through social media than outbound marketing. On top of that, social media marketing is reasonably cost-effective, which appeals to everyone’s budget. Some social media platforms are more popular than others, but several stand out above the rest.
Instagram is one of the top 5 most popular social media platforms out. With over 1 billion active users per month, you can see the potential to reach an extensive array of potential customers. To get started, all you need to do is create a free account on the Instagram app through your mobile phone. The process is relatively quick and intuitive. Inside the app, you can begin structuring your account around your business model; in our case, that’d be you, the tattoo artist. The goal of Instagram is to create your brand, spread photos of yourself and your work to allow people to get to know you. You want to connect with people to build a brand that people love.
Another key social media platform is TikTok. This app allows you to post 15-second videos that you can combine for a total of 1 minute of content. One of the most significant benefits of TikTok is the amount of time the average user spends on the app per day. Neil Patel states the average user spends roughly 45 minutes a day on TikTok. That is huge, and we can utilize this app to generate exposure to your brand and your work. We can use these videos to showcase you tattooing your customers, prepping your workstation, and allow customers to showcase reactions from loved ones when they show off your work.
The last social media platform I would suggest we utilize is YouTube. YouTube is the second most popular social media platform, and the amount of traffic that goes through their website is in the billions. YouTube is another video-based platform that allows the user to upload videos of almost any length they desire. YouTube also offers the ability to live stream, allowing you to interact with your customers in real-time. Another considerable benefit is collaborating with prominent social media influencers, which we will now discuss.
Content
Content marketing is going to help us deliver your image and work to the world. Part of content marketing is cross-promotion. The problem most people have when first starting out their own business is not having enough exposure. To aid in generating exposure for tattoo artists, we will connect you with influencers to do collaboration events with them. Their following will get your face and work recognized and will be an excellent opportunity for you to showcase your talents. Your personality will be on display, and you will have a great chance at generating interest in your work through your likability to the audience.
In addition to the collaboration efforts, it is essential to understand how to promote yourself to your customers. What makes you unique, and what skills do you possess that nobody else has? Our goal will be to bring out the best version of yourself in the public eye. We will need to show the world how relatable you are. Give the people a glimpse into your day-to-day life while you go for a walk, what animals you may have, or just what your favorite foods are. People love someone they can relate with, and showing the people you are another human being like themselves will significantly increase your following.
Together with the cross-promotion and personal life marketing, we also need to promote your bread and butter, your tattoos/artwork. All of the years you spent perfecting your craft will need to be displayed and showcased to the world. We will work with you to build your portfolio and highlight the most important aspects of your abilities. Whether it be traditional, realistic, or even a Japanese style, your style will need to be put on display.
A key feature to not leave out when constructing your portfolio is healed photos of your tattoos. This is where actual skill is displayed. Being able to tattoo all skin types is something novice tattoo artists are rarely capable of. Displaying healed tattoos shows your audience what to expect after the healing process, which is different for all skin pigment colors. Men’s Health states darker skin tones do not work well with lighter colors, and you will need to display your knowledge on which colors work best with which skin tones. Your portfolio will stand out above the rest when we emphasize this point.
A Tattoo Artists Website
When social media platforms have been generated, and the content has been established, the next step will be to build a website. There are plenty of tattoo websites to visit to grasp how one wants their website designed. Viewing the top tattoo websites will help get an understanding of what makes a successful website. Your target audience is vital and understanding their wants and needs is crucial when constructing your website. One of the last focus areas to point out would be using a good CTA or Call to Action. All of these points are key in building a professional website.
Creating a website can be a daunting challenge for someone to take on alone. One of the first things you need to consider is what you want your website to look like. Most people have little experience building websites, so you’ll want to hire a web developer to aid you. Visiting the top 10 tattoo websites can help you get a feel for what you’d like for your website. Here is the current list of the top 10 tattoo websites courtesy of Ranker.
1. G Tattoo Design
2. Best tattoo ideas and meaning
3. BME: Body Modification Ezine
4. Find Tattoo Design
5. FYeah Tattoos.com
6. Tattoodo
7. Inkbe.com
8. Iron Buzz Tattoos, India
9. Tattoos By Design
10. MtInkedSpace.com
Visiting a few of the listed websites is an excellent start to understanding your target audience’s wants/needs. Being able to market correctly to your target audience should be a top priority. Keeping up with the trends and learning what the demographic is in your region will be highly beneficial. Combine that with what you gathered from the tattoo websites listed, and you have a recipe for success.
A Seattle Tattoo Artist website is a great reference to better understand local target audiences in Seattle, WA.
Something to help even more with your website will be the use of a good CTA. According to AdEspresso, a CTA is like guiding your visitor towards what steps to take next. Sometimes a trendy website targeted at the key audience isn’t enough. CTAs allow you to drive a website visitor to support your business further strategically. Whether it be a “Book an appointment now” button, or an email subscription button, a CTA can boost revenue for your business.
Costs
Everything mentioned above does not come free of charge. There are costs associated with marketing, and one of them is the price of content ads. Costs of advertising online can add up. CPC or cost-per-click is a method in which you pay a company only if your ad is clicked. CPM or cost-per-thousand-impressions is where you pay for the number of views your ad gets. Lastly, CPA is a cost-per-acquisition pricing model that charges you when your ad sparks a conversation. CPM is big on Instagram, and since you’ll be promoting on that platform, it only makes sense to take out ads on IG as well. IG charges $6.70 per 1000 impressions, according to wordstream.com. Impressions are the likes/comments/shares an ad generates, so this can add up quite fast, but if your business is booming, the cost will be offset by the inflow of customers.
Print marketing will help begin spreading the word about your business locally. The cost associated with this is typically associated with printing flyers, banners, business cards, etc. We will use these methods to get your name out in your hometown and the neighboring cities. We can also take out ads in the local newspaper and local magazines to reach as many people as possible. The prices of billboards vary from city to city. The same goes for magazine ads. Flyers are on the lower end in cost and range from $.03 to $.10 per flyer.
Website costs can vary in range and have a few more factors to consider than most people think. A professional website will require a web developer, which can run around $75/hour. You will also need a hosting service to put your website on, which can range from $3-$15/month. Finally, you are going to need someone to maintain your website. An average cost for website maintenance is $35–100/month and can go up as your business grows.
Lastly, you will need the help of SEO services, which stands for search engine optimization. An SEO company or professional's importance will help make your online content appear at the top of search engine inquiries. Search Engine Journal states the costs for SEO will be roughly $500 per month when you first begin. Once we start advertising outside of your local region, the price will increase. Ensuring you have a good SEO team is vital because your online content can get flagged by Google. This can severely hamper what shows up in Google searches and your exposure and cost you thousands of dollars to repair.
There are many factors to consider when you decide to take your tattooing skills to the next level. Choosing the right platform, building content, and establishing your website are the steps needed to grow successfully. There are a few expenses to consider with all of this, and you will need to budget accordingly. The roadmap has been laid out for you, and I wish you luck on your journey.
