How To Start Selling Art Online: A Comprehensive 10-Step Guide
Art has been around for centuries, and people have always been drawn to it. Over time, the way that art is created and sold has changed dramatically. These days, you don’t need a studio or gallery to show your work, instead, you can start selling your art online in just a few clicks.
Selling art online can be a great way to make a supplemental income or even turn it into your full-time job. The best part is that you don’t need to be a professional artist to do it – you just need some skill and a lot of passion.
In this blog post, we will discuss the basics of how to start selling art online, including setting up your shop, marketing your work, and pricing your pieces. Although it may seem daunting at the beginning, with the right tools and strategies in place, it can be a very lucrative endeavour.
Here are 10 crucial pointers that will surely help you sell art online better:
1. Find The Right Platform
To sell your work online, you will need to find the right platform. There are a lot of great websites that cater to artists, but it’s important to do your research before you commit to one. Think about what kinds of features you want and how much you’re willing to pay.
Some sites will take a percentage of each sale, while others may charge a monthly or annual fee. Once you’ve decided on a few options, take some time to look at their policies and terms of service. You want to make sure that you understand everything before you start selling your art.
2. Figure Out What Kind Of Art You Need To Start Selling Online
There are a few things to consider when selling art online. The first is what kind of art you want to sell. There are all sorts of different mediums and genres, so it’s important to find something you’re passionate about and where your expertise lies.
There are a few types of artwork that are popular online and tend to sell well. These include:
1. Paintings – Original paintings tend to do better online than prints. People appreciate the uniqueness of an original painting, and it can be hung on a wall to add some visual interest.
2. Photographs – Photographs can be sold as prints or as digital downloads. They can also be used for products like phone cases, calendars, and notecards.
3. Sculptures – Sculptures are often unique pieces, so they can be harder to sell online than other types of art. However, if you have a website devoted to your sculptures, or if you sell them through an online marketplace, you should be able to find buyers.
4. Jewelry – Handmade jewellery is very popular online, and it can be sold through websites, Etsy shops, and other marketplaces.
5. Glasswork – Glasswork includes stained glass, fused glass, and blown glass. These pieces are often unique, and they can be sold through online marketplaces or galleries.
6. NFT – Non-Fungible Tokens are one-of-a-kind images, videos, or any form of digital, or physical item on a blockchain. It’s decentralised and open to scrutiny.
3. Create Great Images
Once you’ve found the right platform, it’s time to start creating great images of your work. The photos that you use will be the first thing that potential buyers see, so it’s important to make them count. If possible, hire a professional photographer to take pictures of your work. If that’s not an option, there are plenty of tutorials online that can help you create quality photos with your phone.
Don’t forget to show off any special details that make the design of your piece special! With clothing, those details may be an embroidered label, loose yarn end, or a stripe pattern created with contrasting colours. As you become more experienced sharing your creations online, you’ll pick up tricks to take great photos on site. Once you have some great product photos ready to go, it’s time for the next step.
4. Creating Listings
There are two different listing styles: “One Hour Auctions” and “Fixed Price Listings.” Both types of listings tend to sell better on platforms such as Mercari than others, but there are definitely benefits for each.
If in doubt about which listing type is right for your products, do some research on how former sellers listed similar items. Most people will look at all available options before making a purchase from one seller over another.
The time it takes to factor in shipping can mean all the difference here! This is why it’s important to list your product with a lot of detail including the dimension (length, width, and height) of your product.
Getting customers to click that “buy” button depends on how well you write a description about your products and provide great photos. The right sellers choose their keywords, research comparable listings, pay attention to buyers’ online behaviours and are pretty darn amazing at creating excellent sale experiences.
5. Quality Content On Your Website
When you are selling art online, the quality of your content is one of the most important factors that will determine your success. People want to buy art from artists they trust, and the only way to build that trust is by providing high-quality content.
This means putting thought into your artist statement, writing engaging blog posts, social media updates, and descriptions of the art, and even your website should be filled with exciting and engaging content. This will help you to attract new fans and followers, and it will also help you to sell more art.
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6. How To Price Your Work
When pricing art online for your business, there are a few things you need to take into account. You want to make sure you’re charging enough to make a profit, but you also don’t want to price your art out of the market. It can be tricky to find the right balance. Do some research and find out what similar pieces are selling for. This will give you a good starting point.
Also, consider your audience. Who is your target market? What are they willing to pay for art? Don’t undercut yourself. If you price your work too low, people may not take it seriously. But at the same time be realistic. Don’t charge too much for the art displayed on your website or you may scare buyers away.
7. Marketing The Art Online
When it comes to marketing art online for business, there are a few key things to keep in mind. The first is that you need to have a great website with high-quality images of your work. Your website should also be easy to navigate and include information about the artist, the process, and prices.
In addition to your website, you’ll also want to create social media profiles for yourself on sites like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Make sure to post interesting and engaging content regularly, and use hashtags to reach a wider audience.
You can also join online communities of artists and support groups instead of creating a new one. And remember to occasionally insert your promo video on YouTube and Facebook, as well as in all emails you send out when promoting your profile.
Try to make the best use of Instagram’s tagging feature by tagging people who are more likely to remain active for months and years ahead since these users will encourage you better than random users. Hashtags also allow you to be more visible when someone searches for users with mutual interests which is an excellent marketing strategy for connecting people without spending large amounts of money.
Make sure not to bother users with ads and spam content on your account though since this will result in reportings and restricted access.
Getting the word out about your work should never end: social media remains a powerful way to interact with people walking through the gallery where you show, but it isn’t exclusively designed for it. Dynamic storytelling combined with thoughtfully crafted content allows you to publish interesting blog posts saving time while promoting your work incredibly effectively at the same time.
Another great way to drive traffic to your site is through search engine optimization (SEO). You can optimize your site for keywords that your target audience is likely to use when searching for products or services like yours. This will help you rank higher in search engine results pages, which will bring more traffic to your site.
You can also try out Pay-per-click advertising on Google which is a form of online marketing where you pay a fee each time someone clicks on your ad. This can be an effective way to get traffic to your website.
8. How To Ship Your Art
When it comes to selling art, there are a few different ways to go about it. You can have a brick-and-mortar store, sell through an online gallery, auction house, or work with dealers. But no matter which way you choose to sell your art, you’ll need to dispatch it in some way.
Here are a few tips on how to do it effectively.
First, make sure that you have all the necessary paperwork filled out and in order. This includes shipping labels, invoices, and customs forms. If you’re shipping internationally, make sure that you know the regulations for shipping to a specific country. These vary from nation to nation and can be confusing, so it’s best to ask a professional shipper or customs broker for help.
Then, pack your products in strong boxes with plenty of padding – you don’t want anything getting damaged during transit!
Finally, choose a shipping service that will get your products to their destination quickly and safely.
9. Avoiding Damage To The Art
When it comes to selling art online, the main concern for most sellers is how to prevent their products from being damaged in transit. While there’s no foolproof way to ensure that your paintings or sculptures arrive at their destination in perfect condition, there are a few steps you can take to minimize the chances of something going wrong.
Package your items securely. Make sure that they’re well-protected with packing materials, and use a sturdy box that won’t easily collapse under pressure. You should also consider using a shipping service that offers insurance, in case something happens to your package in transit.
10. Over-The-Top Customer Service
In the art space, it’s all about glam and finesse. Art enthusiasts would gladly spend those extra bucks to ensure that they receive quality customer service and that’s where you step in. Building a strong customer base and providing them with services that your competitors can’t or don’t offer should be your primary focus.
Pros And Cons Of Selling Art Online
Pros
1. Reach a larger audience.
2. Increased exposure to your work.
3. Easier to sell pieces across the globe.
4. No need to carry or ship physical artwork.
5. Potential to make more money than selling through traditional methods.
Cons
1. Not everyone is tech-savvy enough to buy art online.
2. You may not get as much money as you would if you sold it in person.
3. It can be difficult to determine the quality of artwork without seeing it in person.
4. It can be difficult to track down the original artist if something goes wrong with the sale.
5. There’s a risk that someone could copy your artwork and sell it online themselves.
Conclusion
This article explored the pros and cons of starting an art business online. It can be a great way to make a living doing what you love if what you love is art. If these tips have instilled some confidence in you to get started with your online business selling art then request a ready-to-launch website today to sell your art online!
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