Simple Steps to Selling Art Online
Selling art online might feel as though you’re taking your life into your own hands when you first step foot into the dark and mysterious waters of Web 2.0. The world wide web is a big place and for the average artist it can seem fairly inhospitable at first glance.
With every conceivable option available to you from pay per click, banner advertising, social networking, micro-blogging and a whole lot more besides, it’s no surprise to me to see a few confused faces come knocking at my door looking for a little advice, a few ideas or a word of comfort from the art marketing storm. Let’s face it, artists just weren’t meant to sell their own art, right?
Well, if that’s where you’re at right now then I hope this article and a few more besides will help to offer you some comfort and a little guidance along the way.
The painful truth is this; If you want success as an artist you have to make sales and if you’re not going to sell your artwork, who is?
So, grit those teeth (or bare them if you wish) and prepare to learn how to start selling art online like there’s no tomorrow. You never know, you might even enjoy it!
But before you jump in at the deep end and start to sink like a stone in your eagerness to start selling your artwork online, take some time to put in place your art marketing strategy and a basic but effective art marketing plan. Without these two things your work will go nowhere and your ambitions will become at best unfulfilled dreams and at worst an expensive nightmare.
So, where do you begin?
You begin at the start as the saying goes and you begin with YOU.
Ask yourself the following question…
- Who are you?
- What are you selling?
- Who are your customers?
- Who are your competitors?
- Why should people buy your work?
When you can answer these questions and a few more besides you might just be ready to start to sell your art.
So, you’re happy with you and ready to take on the wonderful world of the Web?
The next step is to look at the options available to you as an art marketer. The internet is vast and constantly growing and developing. Online marketing seems to change on a week by week basis and what works one day may not work the next, so don’t be too concerned if your early attempts fall flat. Every successful artist is a successful business person and doing business online is like being back in college so be prepared to learn, test, track your results and get better at what you do. Focus on an area that interests you and develop your skill and knowlegde in this one area before trying to diversify.
Here’s my list of “Top Tips” to help you to begin selling your art on the internet.
- Check out this list of Web Photo Sharing sites.
- Take a look at our list of video sharing sites to help you sell your art.
- Connect with your fellow artists with our list of social networking sites for artists
- Sign up at the best auction sites online and kick start your art sales!
That should get you started for now and give you plenty of food for thought over the coming weeks while you’re preparing your art marketing strategy.
Remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day and it took a lot longer to paint the Cisteen Chapel. If it takes you a while to sell your first piece of artwork you are in good company. Van Gogh never sold a single painting in his lifetime and Monet classed himself as a failure because his own artwork fell below his own expectations.
Selling art online is a habit that is formed by constant practise and continued effort and once it kicks in you will never look back. Now go sell your art!
Learn How To Sell Art Online!
