This is the number 1 question I get asked online - How do I start selling my art? I wish I was an expert in selling art, and I wish it were that easy! To be truthful, I struggle with this question myself. But over the past few years, there are some things that I've learnt, which I'm sharing today.
It is often said that we live in the best time ever to be an independent artist. Never before have artists had the luxury of being connected so thoroughly and directly with their audience, as now - through the internet. We have access to the best supplies, platforms to share our work with the best of audiences, accessibility to create our own online galleries and shops, which artists have never had before. We have the ability to talk about our art directly with our collectors, in our own voice, which is a huge deal!
Here are my 6 top tips to start selling your art:
1. Create a community
Before you start selling your art, people need to fall in love with your art. Do you have a group of dedicated followers who are excited to see you share your work? It doesn't matter if it's just 20 people. Are they passionate about what you do? If so, you're ready to sell your work.
2. Have a niche / Expertise
If I told you describe your art in 1 sentence, you should be able to do that. What’s your elevator pitch? What’s your expertise? Unless you have answers to these questions, you won’t appeal to anyone in particular.
3. Make it easy for people to buy
When your bio says “DM to order”, you are leaving a lot of questions unanswered. You are not telling them which pieces are for sale. You are not telling them anything about your price points. You are not telling them the delivery time. People do not like to ask these questions. Invite enquiries only if all of these questions are already answered. And if possible, create a checkout on your website. In my opinion, people do not like to have conversations or negotiations. Make it an easy, one click process to buy your art!
4. Be excited about your work
Do not hold back. Celebrate your work! If you are not excited about your work, no one else is gonna be. Don’t be shy about promoting and re-promoting your art. Show your audience how much you love it.
5. Share behind the scenes
Sharing behind the scenes of your creative process creates a relatable story around your piece. Tell your audience how you came up with the idea, what was your inspiration, how you chose the medium, or the size, and the colours. This creates automatic excitement and intrigue into your work, and you as an artist. Use instagram stories to share BTS.
6. Make sure your work is good
Shouldn’t this be the MOST important? :) Yes it should. You can do whatever it takes to get engagement, but the real validation of your work is that people you don’t know are ready to pay a price for it. That proves that your work is good. Have confidence in yourself and keep working on improving if you’re not there yet.
Good luck on your journey!