How would you like to earn $1,000 per month from home? Selling artwork online is a great way to earn extra income without having to leave your house. In this article, I’ll show you how to start selling art online.
Artwork has always been a valuable commodity. From ancient times until today, artists have created beautiful pieces of art that have changed the course of history. Today, art is sold at auction houses around the world.
Selling artwork online is a growing trend. If you want to get started, you don’t need to invest thousands of dollars into equipment or hire expensive graphic designers. All you need is a computer, some basic skills, and a little creativity.
Selling Your Art Online
Let’s begin by focussing on what to do if you want to sell your own artwork online. If you are an artist who wants their work to be sold online then you need to know these basic things:
- What kind of artwork sells best on Etsy
- The different types of artworks that sell well
- How to create an attractive listing for your art
- How to price your art
- How much time it takes to make money with art sales
Before we begin, here are 3 things you should keep in mind if you want to sell your art online.
Be Realistic When Pricing Your Work
If you’re thinking about starting a business, you probably have a lot of ideas about what you can do. However, before you jump right into it, you need to be realistic about your goals.
Don’t Expect Instant Success
It’s easy to think that once you’ve made a sale, you’ll never have to worry about making any more money again.
Unfortunately, most people who try to sell their own artwork fail because they focus too much on short term results rather than long term growth.
Don’t Give Up
It may take months or even years to build a successful business. But if you stick with it, you will eventually succeed.
Now let’s look at the first step towards becoming a professional artist.
Step 1: Find Your Niche
The first thing you need to decide is what type of artwork you want to sell. There are many kinds of artworks out there. Some are very popular while others aren’t as widely known.
For example, if you want to start selling paintings, then you might consider painting landscapes. On the other hand, if you want to sell sculptures, then you could choose to paint animals.
You also need to decide whether you want to specialize in one particular area of art or not. If you only want to sell paintings, then you won’t need to worry about selling other types of artwork.
However, if you want to become a full-time artist, then you’ll need to find something else to offer besides just paintings. For example, you could sell prints, drawings, or even jewelry.
Once you’ve decided what kind of artwork you want to focus on, you’ll need to narrow down your niche further. This means finding a specific audience that is interested in buying your art.
There are two ways to figure out which market you should target. One option is to ask yourself questions such as: “Who am I targeting?” Another way is to use tools like Google Analytics to see where visitors come from.
After you’ve narrowed down your niche, you’ll need to determine how big your potential customer base is. To do this, you can either research the number of artists in your field or simply estimate how many people visit websites related to your niche every month.
Once you know how large your potential customer base is, you can decide whether you want to cater to a small group of customers or a larger audience.
Step 2: Create A Website
Next, you’ll need to set up a website. You don’t necessarily need to spend a ton of money to get started. In fact, you can create a basic site for free using platforms like WordPress.com.
A good place to start is by creating an account on sites like Etsy. Once you’ve created an account, you can upload all of your artwork and begin listing them for sale.
Another great option is to use a platform called Fiverr. With Fiverr, you can list your artwork for $5 each. It’s a great way to test the waters before investing thousands of dollars into your business.
If you’re looking for a more robust solution, then you can always hire someone to design and host your site for you.
Step 3: Promote Your Artwork Online
Once you’ve got a website set up, it’s time to promote your work. The best way to do this is through social media.
One of the easiest ways to get started with social media marketing is by joining Facebook groups related to your niche. These groups will allow you to share links to your artwork and interact with other members.
The next step is to join Instagram and Twitter. By posting images and videos of your artwork on these networks, you’ll be able to attract new followers who may eventually purchase your artwork.
Step 4: Get Paid
Now that you have some fans following you on social media, it’s time to start getting paid. There are several options available when it comes to making money from your artwork.
You can charge anywhere from $1-$10 per painting depending on the size of the piece. If you’re selling smaller pieces, then you can expect to make less than if you’re selling larger ones.
You can also choose to sell prints instead of originals. Prints are easier to ship and cost about half as much as original paintings.
Another option is to offer custom framing services. Many people enjoy adding personal touches to their homes and office spaces. Custom frames give you the opportunity to add something special to your artwork without having to pay extra.
Finally, you can turn your artwork into t-shirts. This is a great way to generate passive income since you won’t have to invest any additional funds into your business.
How To Sell Art Online Made By Other People
You might of course not be an artist wanting to sell their artwork online but instead simply be someone who has a collection of art that they would like to offload onto someone else. It is easy to explain exactly how you could do this.
Firstly, if you have a collection of artworks that you want to sell online you need to decide whether you wish to sell it as a collection or individually.
This is important because some works sell better as a collection, particularly if they were painted by the same artist, however others sell better individually.
Once you have decided whether to sell them as a collection or individually you need to assess the quality of the paintings.
The quality is not simply a case of whether the paintings are in good condition but whether they have been well executed.
Is the handling of light done well? How easily can you identify the artist’s style and or does it seem obvious that it is part of that artist’s cannon?
If it is easy to see that the work or works you are selling are in a good condition, then this will of course increase the price. Another factor that will increase how much you can see your artwork online is whether you have any provenance for the painting.
What this means is any documentation to prove when you bought the painting and who you bought the painting from.
Provenance is critically important if you are attempting to sell a work of art online that you believe was made by a particularly well-known artist.
If you want someone to buy this work of art from you then you have to ensure that it is clear that you can prove who you bought it off, thus allowing any potential future owner to follow the trail back to the artist themselves.
Without provenance, you won’t be able to sell the painting for nearly as much as if you have it because it effectively authenticates the painting and ensures that the person buying it knows they are buying a genuine work by that artist.
Once you have established condition, provenance and whether you wish to sell your art as a collection or individually, then you must make sure that you either view an established auction house that will sell your work for you both online and at an in person auction or list it yourself on an auction site like Ebay.
Listing it yourself might become an issue if you have a large collection however you will know how much each piece will go for and you won’t have to pay any auction fees, which of course somewhat eat into your profit margin.
Final Thoughts
Selling art online can at times seem difficult. It can feel as if you are going against the tide and desperately trying to get your work, whether work you own or work you have created yourself, out there.
However, once you understand the basics of how to sell your art online then you can ensure that you sell it in a manner that not only ensures you make a profit but is also enjoyable as well.
So, if you don’t know much about selling art online but want to change that then do it now. Selling art online can be a truly exciting experience so don’t miss out on being part of that experience.