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Three areas every working artist must focus on – in order
You’re done being a hobby artist. If you decided today to officially put your ALL into your career as an artist, what would that look like? There are three phases every working artist masters. You’ll focus on these three things (in order): NOT THE ONLY, BUT THE BEST WAY Before we get into details about the phases, I want to mention that I used to have a different take on the process of becoming an artist. In this article, First four steps to take to become an artist, I talk about how the first things you should do are make it known, make a sale, sell at an art show,…
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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…
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Avoid these 6 mistakes in your online art shop
SELL MORE, SERVE MORE. Sell art online this year by avoiding a few simple errors – errors that are often overlooked. Artists have a lot to manage in their creative businesses and an online art shop is just one part of it. But to sell art online is to give your creative business a way to scale! So let’s tackle a few common mistakes you might be making so you can get to scaling instead. I recommend selling your artwork at in-person shows first before creating your website. Read this article here to learn why art shows move your art journey along faster. Paying too many fees Making a good…
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Selling art at events: types of art shows
EVENT MARKETING AND COMMUNITY Selling art at events is the fastest way to advance your art business. But there are many different types of events for artists and they all seem to blend together. For every different type of artist, there’s a different type of show. So let’s get into the details of art event categories, what happens and where they take place. EXHIBITIONS Selling art at events labeled as exhibitions means it’s in a gallery setting. A nice one, usually. Typically how exhibitions work is you will not set up a table here, but your artwork will be framed and hung on the wall by a curator, whose job…
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When to raise your prices: How do you know?
YOU’RE WORTH MORE Pricing your artwork as a new artistpreneur is one of the first challenges to hit you. It seems like this one factor will determine if people buy your work at all or if you’ll fall flat on your face. Frankly, this isn’t true. In fact, the beginning price doesn’t matter that much at all. As long as you begin selling in general — THAT really matters. But your prices will inevitably change over time. As you grow, your prices will grow. If you’re pricing your art for the first time, make sure to read this pricing article here. After you’ve been selling for a while, the next…
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Start your art business legally (a resource roundup)
AN ARTIST IS A BUSINESS OWNER To be a full time artist, you must know the world of business. You are a business. You have products that you make and sell. You buy materials to make the products. Money comes in when you sell them. You delve in marketing, finances, shipping, taxes, and more. An artist is a business owner. Of course you are a creative, and that’s probably where most or all of your expertise is. Me too. Maybe you hate strict schedules and get nauseous when you think about doing hard math problems (just me?). But running an art business isn’t like high school algebra. It’s much better.…
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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…
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After an art show: Do these to see results faster
BEHIND THE SCENES Yesterday I had an art show booth at the Detroit Festival of Books. I was excited to be there; the organizer asked me to show and I always am grateful when someone else does the reaching out. There were so many book shops, fellow bookworms and good food. Plus, it was in the Eastern Market — which if you’re from the area, you’ll know is the coolest area in all of Detroit (well, at least I think so). But that was yesterday. Today is the day AFTER the art show. And there are pleeennnttyyy of things that need to be done right after an event that are…
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Pricing your art: 9 things to consider (that most forget)
PRICE WITH CONFIDENCE To make money, you have to price your art. This is a high-pressure decision for many artists because it means placing numerical value on our most prized creations. But pricing your art doesn’t have to be nerve-wrecking and don’t worry — you can and should change it later anyway. There are a few main factors to consider when deciding how much to charge: time, size, material. There are other factors to consider also, that many people forget: rarity, selling platform, location, diversity, and knowing when to change your price. TIME Make it worth your time. By that I mean pay yourself a decent hourly wage. If you’re…
