Creating gorgeous pieces of art is a labor of love that takes both time and skill. However, there is more to becoming a successful artist than developing your talents. You also need to develop a strategy to get your work seen and start making sales. Follow these steps to market your work and gain success as an artist.
Perfect Your Niche
The first step in any artist’s journey is to find your niche. Do you prefer digital art? Perhaps you love to paint. Whatever your passion is, devote your time to perfecting your skills to create artwork of the highest quality.
Set Pricing
Remember to factor in all costs when you set prices for your work. This includes your materials, advertising, shipping, studio costs, and your own earnings. Many artists forget to consider what they pay themselves and end up charging too little, especially when you first start out. Decide on the hourly rate you wish to earn based on the value your work provides. Check around to see what other artists are charging for similar work. This gives you a great starting point. As you become more comfortable with selling your art, creating a pricing structure becomes easier.
Develop a Marketing Strategy
If you want to make sales, you need to have a sales plan. This is the strategy you implement and follow to hit your revenue goals. To get started, identify your target market so you can build the best approach. Direct your marketing efforts to proven ways to reach these customers before branching out to grow your audience.
Create a Website
Building your own website to sell your artwork is a great idea. You can create your own independent page, open an online store on an existing platform, or both. Put thought and effort into the design and content of your website. This is your chance to tell your story, show your work, and capture the attention of customers.
Pay close attention to user experience. Customers must be able to easily navigate through your site to find relevant information. Display great images that show off your art. Finally, make sure you include a way for customers to reach out and ask questions or express any concerns or problems they have.
Stay Active on Social Media
Social media provides an excellent way to show off your artwork and build a relationship with your followers to encourage them to make a purchase. Create accounts for your art and update them regularly with fresh content and pictures of your latest efforts. Make it personal by discussing your process of creating art. Audiences love to get a behind-the-scenes look to satisfy their curiosity.
Attend Art Fairs
The internet isn’t the only place you should sell your artwork. Art and craft fairs attract huge numbers of people already looking to buy. Find out which events are near you. You can also look into larger art fairs in big cities. You may need to travel, but the potential for earnings can make the trip worthwhile.
Select a few fairs and commit to showing up with your best work. Take the time to create plenty of interesting pieces to display. If your work is custom-made, provide examples and have a system ready to take orders.
Speak with Retailers
Another great tip to sell your artwork involves doing a little legwork. Visit or call some of your local retailers to find out if they are willing to sell your artwork on commission. By paying them a fee, you get another place to display your talents and expand your customer base.
Explore Your Craft
One of the best things you can do as an artist is to continue to learn and develop your skills and understanding of your abilities. Try new mediums and ways of working with your favorite materials. Keep a sketchbook at hand to jot down ideas when they come to you. Let your evolving personality and view of the world show in your work. This is what keeps your art fresh, exciting, and appealing to potential customers.
