Every artist desires to sell their art and hard work they’ve put into their creation for a fair market value. And if you’re searching for a fair share of attention to your artwork and sell art prints online, you’ve landed at the right place.
I have loved playing with colors and brushes since I was a toddler. Gradually the simple, playful gestures turned into a passion. Ten years ago, I completed my graduation from a reputed Art School. I had acquired a mastery of art techniques and color theories. But in the first year, I could barely sell 2 paintings. The second-year wasn’t very eventful either.
While my college taught me how to express my creativity, they didn’t empower me to make a living out of it. And like many newbie artists, I struggled with these questions:
- How can I sell my art/ creativity online?
- How would I market my work to valuable clients?
- What steps should I take to sell my art?
And the most important question was- How should I price my creation? What about the shipping cost?
But did you know with the right guide, you can sell art prints, paintings, and sculptures online like hotcakes and donuts?
How To Sell Art Prints Online? 5 Most Successful Ways
A question asked by both budding artists and seasoned professionals. Conventionally, you had to hunt for a reputed gallery owner or art broker to get your creative output displayed in an art gallery. This method had many drawbacks.
- The first one was that the involvement of too many intermediaries ultimately made the income very low for the artist.
- Secondly, unless the art gallery/ art show was renowned, it didn’t attract on a global or wider scale. Your artwork was limited to the local crowd.
With advancements in technology, selling your paintings, photography, and sculptures online has become relatively easy.
Most artists are independent creators and business professionals. And online platforms help to keep that essence online by preventing excessive commission. In this guide, we’ve curated some best tips to help you get a good income from selling your art online.
Understand Your Niche
The creative industry always appreciates something unique. And that’s the first lesson you’re taught in the art school- be unique. Before you exhibit your artwork through a digital platform, understand:
- What is your niche?
- What sets you apart from other creators? You can be a specialist in street art, digital art, unique art sculptures for home decor, modern painting, etc.
Selecting and sticking to a niche will help reflect who you are as an artist. It conveys your strengths to your potential clients.
Some clients are ardent fans of fine-art paintings. At the same time, some clients might be looking for vintage art deco home furnishings. Some famous niche includes:
- Street Art
- Prints
- Photography
- Digital Art
- Sculptures
- Paintings
Specialty niche can attract high-value clients that appreciate a specific artform.
Improve Your Knowledge About Independent Art Business
As mentioned earlier, your art school doesn’t give you an insightful idea of how to run a business. Therefore, online self-study courses can help to enrich your knowledge of independent art business.
By opting for classes and reading books, you can determine how to manage your money, legal terms associated with your business, taxation, and other self-employment elements.
Determine other aspects of the business:
- What’s correct for you: selling your self-created art or selling works by other artists?
- Original or reproduced copy? You can even sell re-printed copies of your original art.
- Do you sell custom art?
- What do you want to go with Limited- or open-edition artwork?
- Do you want to put a range of certain unique sculptures for sale?
- What is the price and profit for your artworks?
- And most importantly-copyright, laws, and contracts.
Find The Right Art Platform To Sell Your Art
While art galleries are one of the most popular places to exhibit your piece, they might ask for a significant share of your profit. Additionally, if you’re going to the gallery or event through an art broker, you’ll need to pay them separately. This considerably reduces your profit margin.
With platforms for art exhibits and online galleries, you can now sell any type of art, such as paintings, prints, or sculptures online. The best part? You don’t need to pay art brokers any commission on the profit.
All you require to do is upload your art. You might need to pay minimal charges such as $1 or 1 EURO per day as a subscription charge for entry into the privileged exhibitions.
However, you get to control how long you and where you want to exhibit from the comfort of your home. No more running around from one gallery to another. Or attending hours of exhibitions in uncomfortable shoes and heels. You can even create independent artist profiles on their platform.
Reputed art platforms even sent you pictures of your display as proof of the authenticity of their services.
Make Social Media Your Best Friend
Leverage social media to connect, learn, and market. The creative realm is saturated with independent artists trying to make a name for themselves in the industry, just like you.
You’ll find it a lot simpler to sell your art to an already existing audience. Use social media channels to connect and engage with interested people. You might even find mentors on social media sites.
Use Blogs, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, or Youtube, to tell people about you and your creations. You can even send invitations on these platforms for your upcoming painting, print, or unique sculptures for sale.
You can share glimpses and clips of the scenes in your art studio or reflect upon your inspiration for your artwork. This helps in building trust and acknowledgment as a brand.
Send Personalized Email Invitation To Art Enthusiasts
Outreach programs are always best for budding artists. Collect the email IDs of your previous customers or art enthusiasts you’ve interacted with to create a mailing list.
After listing your piece for the exhibition, start sending out personalized invitations. People love things with an element of personal touch.
And that brings us to the end of our guide. Try these tricks to get your art business started! Share your artistic journey in the comment section below.
