Juried OnLine Arts Festival
Frequently Asked Questions
WHAT IS JOLAF.com?
The Juried OnLine Arts Festival is a leading WWW showcase for professional fine artists and craftspeople who want more visibility on the Internet for the presentation and/or selling of their original handcreated work.
JOLAF was established in 1996 by artists who had been exhibiting together at art & craft shows for a number of years, and who recognized the emerging digital technology as a viable marketing opportunity with tremendous longterm potential. We remain open to all professional artists/craftspeople doing exceptional art and craft, and who have their own independent websites.
WHAT IS JOLAF's MISSION?
Our singular purpose is to directly connect JOLAF exhibitors with customers interested in original art/handmade craft, collectors, gallery/shop owners, and show directors in as prompt & efficient a manner as possible.
HOW VISIBLE IS JOLAF ON THE WWW?
Because we have been active since 1996, we are one of the best positioned online art galleries on the entire World Wide Web. At this point, there are thousands of supporters of the arts around the WWW who have included links on their own sites which are pointing to JOLAF.com.
HOW ARE NEW EXHIBITOR LISTINGS PRESENTED?
We present you in the same way as all other JOLAF exhibitors. When someone clicks on your name, they are taken directly to your website from:
- [Artists Gallery] ... Alphabetical listing of your name (hyperlinked to your URL), city, state and a description of your artwork (about 15-20 words);
- [Select by Medium] ... You are also cross-indexed with the same information in your medium category so customers can discover your studio even if they are not looking for you specifically, but simply want to view the work of artists in your field.
- [Random Tour] ... Some visitors just like to enjoy a tour through various sites chosen at random, so this is an easy place for them to get started.
- [JOLAF Search Engine] ... You can give us 10 keywords which we will add to our database to help you get picked up when visitors use our intra-site search engine.
- Preview:
You will also have the option of including a "preview work" feature at your listing for no additional charge (see instructions). Anyone clicking the "star" next to your name will see an example of your work, which is referenced from your own hosting directory. You can see examples of this in [Photo Gallery 2].
WHY IS THERE A MEMBERSHIP FEE?
The $30 is only due when an artist is accepted as an exhibitor at JOLAF -- it is NOT a "non refundable jury fee", as some of the other online galleries charge.
JOLAF is much like an artist cooperative, therefore this annual membership goes to cover the ongoing costs of Internet promotion, which attracts traffic for the benefit of all exhibitors. Most of this promotion is directed to buying top positions on major search engines. This kind of targeted promotion can get rather expensive for a single studio, however by spreading these costs over the entire group, no individual artist is saddled with a big advertising bill.
Because JOLAF purchases a considerable number of top-ten positions for search terms relevant to every art/craft medium that we present, we continually bring new visitors to our cyber gallery who are interested in original fine art & fine craft. These visitors are potential customers who can then easily choose to visit you or any of the other exhibitors in the community.
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WHAT IS THE PROCESS FOR JOINING THE JURIED ONLINE ARTS FESTIVAL?
It is really very simple:
- First, read the [criteria]. If you feel your work and website are within the established standards, then...
- Please fill out and send the submission forms.
- We will then visit your site to view your work, and if everything checks out, will send you a "Welcome to JOLAF" email with a printable invoice;
- Immediately after we receive your membership payment, we will list you in 3 locations throughout the Juried OnLine Arts Festival, and will add your keywords to our internal search engine.
WHO SHOULD JOIN JOLAF?
We are mostly looking to list more contemporary upscale work (and first-rate traditional work) by artists & craftspeople who have well designed web pages, and who are serious about presenting and/or selling their work on the WWW.
Having your website included in a number of the top art/craft portals is a proven technique for directing traffic to your site. If you have not yet taken a tour of the [Juried OnLine Arts Festival], we invite you to do so.
HOW DOES JOLAF MAKE SALES?
JOLAF is not in any way involved with your sales -- potential customers contact you directly, and all transactions are between you and them. With no "middleman", there is NO percentage for you to pay.
Therefore, if you do not yet have an online secure shopping cart, consider adding one for the convenience of your customers. While it is by no means a requirement that you have a cart to be included at JOLAF, you'll find that adding a cart capability is not terribly difficult, and in so doing you'll make it much easier for your visitors to buy from you.
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If you do not want to offer a shopping cart at this point, you might want to consider a toll free number for the convenience of your customers, as they are surprisingly inexpensive. Contact ATT or any other major carrier -- you should not need to pay more than about $8 per month for the account.
HOW MUCH TRAFFIC CAN EACH EXHIBITOR EXPECT?
There is no honest way to answer this because when a customer comes to the JOLAF homepage, they can choose to go to any exhibitor they want, depending on what they are specifically looking for. Even though we attract many thousands of new visitors every month, and list all exhibitors equally, the fact is that some people have written descriptions that are more "inviting" than others, or sell work that is simply more in demand.
However, to be successful in online marketing it is essential for you to know which sites are sending you traffic -- be it us, or a search engine, or anyone else. To do that effectively, you need to utilize "visitor tracking" -- that will tell you exactly how your site is doing on the WWW. If you do not yet have this capability for your site, click the button below to review some popular 3rd party choices.
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HOW DOES JOLAF ATTRACT VISITORS TO THIS ARTS PORTAL?
- By purchasing daily targeted positioning at the major search services;
- through our high rankings in regular search engine indexing;
- by press & e-zine stories; and
- by our considerable linkage on other sites.
HOW DO JOLAF'S VISITORS FIND A PARTICULAR ARTIST?:
When a potential customer arrives at JOLAF's home page they can easily find you in a number of ways -- by your NAME, by MEDIUM, or by KEYWORDS (using our search feature). Then, when they click on your hyperlinked name they are immediately taken from JOLAF to your website via a "new window" that opens onscreen.
Essentially, we direct customers who are seriously looking for works of original handmade art & craft to the exhibitors who may have what they want.
ARE THERE ANY ADDITIONAL COSTS?
No -- the only cost for having your existing website prominently listed in 3 locations at this popular online arts portal is the single annual membership fee -- we take no percentage of any sales. If your work meets the [criteria], we promptly add your listings after receiving your annual membership payment.
WHAT DOES "Juried" REFER TO?
There are some online art/craft sites that will list anyone that comes along. However that is not our approach, as we prefer to present to our many visitors a wide variety of work that is at a reasonable level of consistent quality.
While there is inevitably going to be varying degrees of achievement from exhibitor to exhibitor, it will always remain true that everyone at JOLAF has met the published [criteria].
We carefully view every single listing request that we receive, then make the decision about the work based on our experience of over 25 years in the arts field, and our history of active participation in over 400 realworld juried shows -- some considered to be among the best in this country.
If you have any questions about the meaning of any of the criteria that we use when considering a submission for inclusion at JOLAF.com, please do not hesitate to for clarification.
WHAT IS THE REASON FOR ADDING THE LOGO?
The logo is to help confirm for your visitors that your studio has been accepted into an established juried online gallery. 
This will enhance your credibility and professionalism -- both of which are absolutely essential if you expect to be successful on the WWW, where you are mostly selling to complete strangers who need to be assured of your reliability.
Please feel welcome to join us if you are you ready to include your studio with the other professional artists and craftspeople at the Juried OnLine Arts Festival!
Go to: Artist's
[Application to Exhibit] submission form...
IMPORTANT! If for any reason your browser does not connect with the application form above, please and we will send an alternative address... thanks.
STILL HAVE QUESTIONS?
We hope this explanation has been clear, however if you still have any questions about what we do, or the annual membership fee, or anything else, you might want to [read additional information] about our online arts community before sending your submission.
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