-
Start selling art online without feeling gross
Often I hear from artists that they don’t want to be pushy, they don’t want to bother people and they don’t want to sell. Even though they seriously would love to make a living from selling art. So let’s talk about how to start selling art without feeling bad about it. REMEMBER THE VALUE YOU PROVIDE It’s a fair trade. When you focus only on what they’re giving up (money) and not on what you’re giving up (valuable art) then it’ll feel bad. Remember it’s an even exchange. If the other person didn’t think it was an even exchange, they wouldn’t buy it. That’s why it’s so important to take…
-
Secrets for gaining a repeat collector
The repeat collector is someone who buys more than one piece of art from you. They love your artwork enough to start and grow a collection of it. Repeat collectors aren’t made overnight, however — there are a few key secrets to making someone who has bought your work before become interested in buying it again. Let’s go over the best ways to motivate that second, third, or fourth sale. ART STYLE At the most basic level, people buy art to look at it. They buy it to decorate their home, so that their home looks a certain way. Having a consistent art style means when they collect more than…
-
Artist interview prep: guide to publicity
Artists thrive on press. Half the work is creating, and the other half is marketing. That’s why so many folks try to pay artists in exposure – it IS valuable (just not as valuable as money). But when a genuine opportunity comes around for publicity, press, exposure, or free advertising, you’ve got to accept it. But what happens after that? You land an interview. Great! Now how to prepare? This could be a written interview, a podcast interview, or maybe a journalist will interview you and pick out the good bits to publish. In any case, there are a few necessary prep steps for any type of artist interview. Get…
-
5 tips to tackle the artist’s busy season — the holidays
GIVE YOURSELF THE BUSIEST SEASON YET Colder weather might signal a slow season for some professions and trades, but not for artists. Right now is our busy season. Let’s do what we can to make the best of it. Here are five supreme guidelines to follow for making your busy season the best few months of the year in your art business. 1. Focus on one special thing that you offer during this time I know as a creative, you probably have all types of different paintings, ideas, sales and schemes in mind. If you’re like me, you’re already plotting your new year’s resolutions. But right now the name of…
-
Compiling a body of work and repurposing content
NEW LIFE FOR OLD WORK Today we’re gonna talk about accumulating artwork into an official body of work and repurposing content to market this work. Making art is what being an artist is all about — obviously. But what you create isn’t always equal in quality, and it can serve different purposes. Some art is fit for your “body of work.” Others fit better into “promotional content” or scrap content. It gets deeper. Let’s dive in. Preparing to compile a body of work A lot of artists have a vague goal of building up a large body or collection of works. A body of work can define you as an artist,…
-
SELL ART COMMISSIONS (THE RIGHT WAY)
The other day I was reading a blog post I wrote when I was just beginning to sell custom art commissions in my business. It was a venting article — one that got quite a bit of attention from artists who could relate with my inner turmoil about the stress of custom artwork. However, while reading it back to myself, I realized that I could no longer relate to it. Now, I know better. Now, I know how to reduce the stress by using systems, taking only jobs I like and following a set process. Read this article and you can know better too 🙂 ONLY CREATE CUSTOM WORK IF…
-
Before an online art shop, sell at shows (5 reasons why)
DON’T SKIP THIS STEP The first thing every new artistpreneur wants to do is sell from an online art shop, sell through social media, and sit at home while they make passive income. Me too. But there are a few key steps you can take BEFORE you create your online art shop that’ll speed up your success. First, sell at art shows. Before you click out of this post, hear me out. It sounds like the harder way to the top of the artist success ladder, but I promise it’s a shortcut! These 5 reasons will explain how: 1. You’ll learn who buys your art. And who doesn’t. Knowing your…
-
Pre-sale orders: a tool for profitable artmaking
REAP BEFORE YOU SOW Ever tried to sell a piece of art without showing someone what it looked like? Sounds crazy right? Well… that’s exactly what I just did. Let me explain. These past few weeks I tried my hand at hosting a pre-sale for the first time ever — with my new 2020 calendars. For those who might not know, a pre-sale is basically selling something to people before you’ve even made the thing. This concept is scary (or at least it was for me) because I have always leaned on showing off my artwork as a way to market it. I had my doubts: I doubted that it…
-
Marketing tactics: Generate hype to sell more art
WHY NO ONE IS BUYING Artists often feel like the way to sell more art is to make better art. While honing your skills certainly helps, it ultimately doesn’t make sales for you. Have you ever seen a successful artist that you genuinely thought was bad at art? Me too. That’s because for one: all art is subjective. I’m sure their fans didn’t think it was bad. And for two: they marketed well so they could find those people who thought it was good! Don’t put ALL of your energy into honing your artistic skills. There are people who love your art as it is right now. You just have…
-
Finding your target market: Online, offline tips
YOUR PEOPLE ARE OUT THERE Everyone says that to sell anything, you’ve got to start finding your target market. Once you identify that group, you can aim your sales at them and selling artwork becomes loads easier. But how do you find them? WHAT IS A TARGET MARKET Let’s define this clearly first. A target market is a group of people who need your product, want your product, or are very likely to be interested in it. They share a common problem. They share common interests, hobbies or attitudes. Your market could be specific to certain demographics: gender, age, location, etc. The more narrowed-down your market, the better off you’ll…
