The Business
Wesley Bates is a self-employed artist with nearly 50 years of experience as a printmaker, painter, and illustrator. Bates has illustrated for major publishers in Canada, England, and the United States. His wood engraved prints have been exhibited widely and are held in public and private collections all over the world. After relocating from Hamilton, Bates now creates out of his studio in Clifford, Ontario, which is divided into a storefront gallery and a fully equipped letterpress print studio.
The Challenge
The art world has changed considerably since Bates began his career. “When I started out 45 years ago, galleries […] would help artists develop clientele,” he says. If an artist was represented by a gallery, they would be equipped with a team working to sell their pieces. Bates notes the old gallery model has drifted away and been largely replaced with e-commerce solutions where artists can leverage social media and websites to market and sell pieces themselves.
With the digital reinvention of the art world, Bates recognized the need to find new ways to expand his work’s audience . Since walk-by traffic is “quite an event” in the in small town where his main street gallery and studio is located, Bates began working on cultivating an online presence. Unfortunately, his first attempt at creating a website didn’t go as planned. The platform his developer used wasn’t very user-friendly and only someone with coding skills would be able to make any updates to the pages, leaving Bates with very little control over his online presence.
The Solution
Stuck with a website he couldn’t use to sell his art, Bates was thrilled when Belinda Wick-Graham, Director of Economic and Community Development at the Town of Minto, told him about Digital Main Street’s Digital Transformation Grant (DTG) Program. The DTG initiative provides brick-and-mortar small businesses with a digital assessment, online training, and a $2,500 grant to implement their Digital Transformation Plan. Once approved for the DTG, Bates engaged a web designer to build a more user-friendly website that he would be able to update regularly with new pieces for sale.
Key Deliverables
- Applied for and received a Digital Main Street DTG grant in March 2023
- Website designer was hired to create a site with a cohesive brand look and feel
- Photographer was retained to capture photography of Bates, his studio, and his work to be featured on the website
- Copy was written to help digital audience learn more about Bates and his various mediums
- Square e-commerce platform was connected to website to enable online sales
The Impact
The newly developed website has impacted Bates’ business in a number of positive ways.
- Increase in commission inquiries., Bates says he has seen an increase in commission requests for book plates from all over the world since launching his website. He’s currently working on a piece for a book collector located in Brazil.
- Improved website capabilities. From adding new items to the e-commerce page to uploading blog posts on topics like the history of wood engraving, Bates’ new website allows him to take a more active role in the curation of his online presence.
- Boost in repeat customer requests. Customers who have previously worked with Bates are returning to ask for help with additional projects. He says his time is booked up almost six weeks in advance with illustration requests.
Next Steps
With more control over his online presence, Bates is now focused on executing a number of digital marketing initiatives to promote his art and drive more visitors to his website. Bates announced that he recently received a second Digital Main Street DTG and has since re-engaged with his website designer, as well as his videographer, to work on an educational video series to be deployed on his website and on Instagram. He’s also working on building an email marketing list and developing a monthly newsletter where he can share updates on his business.
At 70, Bates says he’s learned an incredible amount about social media, marketing, and branding through his experience with Digital Main Street and, as a result, his business is reaping the rewards – proving that you’re never too old to dive into the world of digital transformation.
