Disclosure: Some links in this post are affiliate links. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Learn more.
So you’re a new artist and want to make your art more popular? Luckily, you’re living in the age of the internet, digital marketing, and social media!
That means you have plenty of options at your fingertips to get your artwork out there and noticed. Everyone can nowadays create exposure for their art on the web.
Social media is a powerful tool to build a strong online presence as an artist. It can connect you with an audience of like-minded people. You can build a community of other artists and people potentially interested in buying your artworks.
Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, … As you know, there’s a number of social media sites out there and you can choose those that work best for you to gain popularity for your art.
If you aren’t quite sure yet which channels are right for you and how to get your art noticed on social media, let’s take a closer look at the different options:
Instagram has become the top social media platform for visual artists and art enthusiasts. Even if you’re a newcomer, Instagram is great because it makes it relatively easy to gain exposure.
You can posts photos of your art and let your followers get glimpses into your artist life with Instagram stories. But you can also share work in progress shots or timelapse videos of you creating a piece. Those are some proven methods to make your art more interesting because people are generally keen to see the person behind the artwork.
So how can you get more people to come to your art on Instagram?
‘Getting popular’ on Instagram is all about engagement and building a large following. The more engaged followers you have, the more popular your art will become and the more sales you will be able to make.
Apart from posting regularly, there are few things that will help you grow your IG account:
To learn more about how to promote your art on Instagram, check out the DOs & DON’Ts For Posting Art On Instagram.
Many artists are promoting and selling their work off the platform. And for many of them, Instagram is just perfect.
However, if you’re serious about growing your creative business on Instagram, you need to invest time and effort to make things happen. The only problem with this is that it often turns into a full-time job.
The good news is that there are tools like Post Planner, ContentStudio and Tailwind that can save you a lot of time and boost your Instagram feed!
Facebook is probably the second best option for visual artists to make their art more popular.
Facebook is not as visual in nature as Instagram. While you can post photos and videos, a typical Facebook post can also include text only.
In recent years, however, Facebook has been losing much of its original verve. Facebook’s algorithm has been geared towards restricting the organic reach of content in order to push paid advertising.
So how to get your art exposed on Facebook these days?
Well, it’s not so easy anymore but it’s still doable. The best way is to create a personal FB page for your art, join Facebook Groups of like-minded artists or create your own group.
Before joining an artist Facebook group, make sure to see if the group is active. Do members post to the group every day? Do people comment on the posts? If there’s not enough engagement within the group, it’s probably not worthwhile your time joining.
It’s better to look for bigger and more active communities to post your work. While Facebook Groups are not necessarily optimal to drive sales, they can still help you make your art more popular.
Related: → 7 DOs To Grow Your Artist FB Page
Pinterest is a social media network, but it’s also a visual search engine. In that respect, it’s very much like Instagram. And everything that’s visual-oriented is perfect for artists to get their art noticed!
The good thing is that posts on Pinterest are not as short-lived as on other social media platforms. You pins will remain up and searchable as long as you keep your Pinterest account.
That makes Pinterest a much more worthwhile platform to invest your time in and promote your art.
What’s more, you can even sell directly from the platform. If you are interested in creating Shoppable Pins and building a business on the platform, here is a good 7 Step-Guide To Selling Digital Art On Pinterest.
If you use it correctly, Pinterest has the potential to drive a lot of traffic to your art and connect you with other artists and potential clients.
To learn about the best strategies to make your art popular on Pinterest, check out our 15 Must-Know Tips For Artists Using Pinterest.
TikTok, just like Instagram and Pinterest, is a visual-focused platform with a myriad of (usually) short user-generated videos. TikTok is not only a social media network but also a creative digital space with nearly 700 million users.
While the platform was originally aimed at the teenagers of Gen Z, there now is an audience for all niches. Artists have the opportunity to showcase their creations, build a fan base, and connect with like-minded people.
Just like everywhere, finding success on TikTok requires posting on a consistent basis. So if you’ve been trying out TikTok for a while and found that it works for you, you might want to switch to a scheduler like Post Planner or ContentStudio that takes a lot of work out of your hands!
LinkedIn is a professional social network designed to help connect businesses, freelancers, job-seekers, and so on. Content-wise, LinkedIn is a combination of text and visuals similar to Facebook. However, LinkedIn is totally different from Facebook because it has a much more professional focus.
With more than 600 million users worldwide, artists can use the network to connect with other artists, gallerists, curators, museum directors, and many more. You can research art companies you’re interested in doing business with, offer art commissions, art licensing services, and share your experience and knowledge with others.
You can get your art noticed through member connections and build credibility for your artist brand. Post Planner, ContentStudio, and SocialPilot are some tools that also allow you to schedule posts to LinkedIn.
Regardless of which social media network you are using, the formula for success is pretty much the same everywhere:
Posting multiple times each week (or even each day) can be time-consuming, especially if you want to post on several platforms at the same time. Fortunately, there’s a number of scheduling tools that can do the posting for you. Post Planner and Tailwind are some of the most popular social media planners I suggest taking a look at!
Apart from social media outlets, there are other platforms out there that are specifically designed for artists.
Such art sharing sites also allow you to create a free account and post your work to an interested audience.
Many of them are popular for a specific style of art. If you specialize in that particular style and get your art on the platform, chances are you will connect quickly with other artists interested in what you’re doing.
There are a couple of popular art sharing (and selling) sites that you should definitely check out, including:
DeviantArt is more for concept and digital artists. So if you work in any of these areas, DeviantArt may be the right thing for you!
You’ll find all types of art here. Lots of it is digital art, concept art, anime, cartoons and manga. But there’s also photography, painting, sculpture, drawing, pixel art, and many more.
You can create a free account and become part of the deviants. When you upload your deviations (your artworks) to the platform, other members can fave and add them to their collections.
Behance is probably the second largest community for artists to showcase and discover creative works of all types. You can sign up for a free account and start uploading your works.
Behance offers you the option to select up to three categories that fit the genre of your work. People can then select their favorite category and browse through the works.
Behance is a huge community, so don’t expect fast results in networking and feedback. In the long run, however, it’s a great way to make your art more popular among other artists and hiring companies.
Saatchi Art is more of an online selling platform for art. But many artists also use it to simply showcase their work. In that way, Saatchi Art works a bit like DeviantArt: users can gather images into collections, which are then available for shared viewing and commenting.
You can also sell original works and art prints on Saatchi. For buyers and curators, it’s easy to discover new artists and search for specific types of artwork through a variety of filters.
As opposed to print-on-demand platforms, you yourself are responsible for packaging and shipping your artwork on Saatchi. But in turn, Saatchi Art helps to promote the top artworks submitted by its members!
Fine Art America, Society6 and RedBubble are all print-on-demand (POD) services. You can create a free account on each platform, upload your work and then pick the products you want to sell it on. (Just for the record, you don’t need to be located in America to sign up with Fine Art America.)
When someone orders your product, the platform’s service fulfills the order and ships it to the customer.
Fine Art America, Society6 and RedBubble have identical sales models. All have a base price for their products. The base price is the amount you pay them for product and printing. You add your own markup to the base price, which is your profit from the sale. Conclusively, the retail price is the base price plus your markup!
To learn more about the social media networks and art sharing sites, check out the Best Sites to Upload Art – Artist Guide To Posting Art Online.
Last but not least, there is Etsy. Etsy is not an actual art sharing site, but it is the biggest online marketplace for all things art. It’s one of the art sites that has been around the longest and thus has a huge audience in place.
By uploading your work to Etsy, you can be sure to use one of the best ways to make your art more popular! Not only will you have the chance to get your art noticed by plenty of people, but you also have the opportunity to get paid for what you love doing, namely creating art.
(By the way, this is the → TOP 25 Best Selling Digital Art On Etsy.)
Creating an account on Etsy is completely free and the transaction fees are very affordable. Click here to get 40 FREE listings when signing up for Etsy today.
Disclosure: Some links in this post are affiliate links. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Learn more.
Creating art is definitely the fun part about being an artist. I assume it’s also the main reason why you decided to become one in the first place.
But as you surely know… Creating art is not enough. You need to promote your art as well. If you want people to see your art and to be successful as an artist, you need to make an active effort.
Otherwise, no one will be able to see your beautiful creations or purchase a piece. No idea where to get started? Here are the best places to display digital art that every artist should be using.
When it comes to promoting your art, you don’t need to go all in straight away and try to do everything at once. This can quickly become overwhelming – and is not necessarily the most effective way to go about it. It’s better to figure out what exactly it is you want to achieve and then outline your promotional strategy accordingly.
Here are some questions you can ask yourself before starting to promote your art:
First of all, get clear about the goals you want to achieve promoting your art.
Do you simply want your art to get noticed? If that’s the case, you can start by learning about 12 sure-fire ways to get your artwork seen.
Do you want to connect with other artists to learn from each other and get inspired? Do you want to teach others how to make art?
Do you want to drive traffic to your online store and get clients for your art?
In general, what are the main reasons why you want to get your artwork noticed?
Once you know what your goals are, you can think about the content you need to create in order to achieve them.
Do you want to focus on selling original pieces and art prints online? Then set up your web store on Etsy, RedBubble, Sellfy or Shopify.
Before diving into selling art prints, it’s a good idea getting clued up on the essentials. Learn what demographic buys art prints and find out what size art prints sell the most. You’ll also need to know in what file format to save your art for printing and what paper you can use for fine art prints.
With that in mind, you can check out the best online printing services for artists, if you don’t want to print your art at home (which I don’t recommend because it is so much more expensive).
There are even different methods of printing. Giclee printing creates the highest-quality prints available in the market. So make sure to know what Giclee printing is and where to get it!
Do you want to do blogging alongside promoting your art? Then you’ll want to build your artist website – either on WordPress or any of the other blogging-ready platforms like Squarespace, Simvoly, or Weebly.
Related: → Is Squarespace Good For Artists?
Maybe you want to produce videos showing how you create your art or teach people how to make art. Great! Then create your own YouTube channel! YouTube ranks #2 for search engines right after Google. That means videos are another fantastic way of promoting your art online.
Another popular e-learning platform to share your skills and get paid for it is Thinkific. Many creatives use the platform because it makes it so easy to create courses, complete with video hosting, quizzes, downloadable content, certifications, and student management … and becoming an instructor on Thinkific is completely free for the first month!
No matter what you do, it is always important to know your audience. The same holds true when you are an artist. So before anything else, I recommend you learn how to identify your target market as an artist in 4 steps.
Then, once someone noticed your content, either in a social media post, in a blog, or in a YouTube video – where do you want people to go next? What is the main platform you want to promote your art on?
Do you want to focus your audience on your own artist website? Or do you maybe want to send potential buyers over to your Etsy store?
Make sure to include a link to your main platform where you want your audience to go.
Branding your art is very important. A consistent brand helps people recognize your work and better connect with you.
Branding can mean creating a logo for your art and consistently using it across all your platforms. It can also mean to choose a certain set of colors that you stick with and that connect all of your works in some way. In that vein, it’s a bit like developing your unique art style.
But branding is also how you present yourself as an artist, what message you convey to your audience, and how you want people to feel about you and your art.
Help your followers to get to know the artist. Tell them something about yourself, give them little insights into your daily life, or take them along on your process of creating an artwork.
Once you have established your goals and created a consistent brand, it’s time to decide how you want to market your work. If you haven’t any marketing experience yet, get an idea of how to market your art and how to use the rule of seven to your advantage!
When you got genned up on the basics, decide where you want to market your art. Do you want to share your art online or do you want to promote your art hands-on in person? Social media networks and art sharing sites are great to build your network online.
But did you know that you can also join artist organizations, exhibit your art in a gallery, sell it on art shows, and take part in art competitions and community projects? There are lots of real life opportunities to promote your art!
Gaining a foothold in the ‘physical’ art world is a bit harder than finding an audience online, but it is absolutely possible to make money as an artist offline.
Nevertheless, I always recommend setting up a variety of income streams and never put all your eggs in one basket. Here are some passive income ideas for artists you can check out.
Whatever avenues you choose, building a network in the art world is key because it helps you create exposure, connect with like-minded people, and discover new art opportunities.
And just for you to know: you don’t need to have a formal art education to build a successful online presence. It is also possible for self-taught artists. I am a self-taught artist myself, and in this post I am sharing 11 hands-on tips on how to make money as a self-taught artist.
Disclosure: Some links in this post are affiliate links. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Learn more.
Almost everyone is on social media nowadays, and it’s also a great opportunity for creatives. There’s lots of potential in social media marketing for artists, and many creatives have built solid businesses off the different networks.
But how do you know which social media is best for artists and for YOU?
Generally, social media boils down to six or seven main platforms: Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, TikTok and LinkedIn… maybe Tumblr. But is Twitter good for artists? And if not, then is Instagram good for artists? Or maybe Facebook… Is Instagram or Facebook better for artists? And now there’s also Threads. Is that good for artists, at least?
Well, each platform is different. Depending on your creative niche, your personality, and your audience, some social media networks will work better for you than others.
In this article, we are giving you a quick rundown of the best social media for artists. We are discussing the pros and cons of each platform, along with how often you should post to successfully promote your art.
If you’re keen to find the best place to post art (including social media and art sharing sites), check out the best sites to upload art!
Disclosure: Some links in this post are affiliate links. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Learn more.
With the millions of pictures being posted on the web every day, it’s not easy to get your art noticed. When gaining no attention after trying really hard, many artists tend to get frustrated because their feel their art is just not good enough. But that’s just your inner art perfectionist talking. It doesn’t mean that no one likes your art just because you are not able to get a lot of eyeballs on your work right off the start.
So don’t make the mistake to quit prematurely. There is no reason to feel disheartened and insecure about your art. It’s just the way things are on the internet these days…
Whether you are new artist or already established in the art world, it always requires patience and perseverance to create more exposure for your work.
Here are 10 tips to help you gain attention as an artist:
Believe it or not, the number one method how artists get attention is by giving something away free.
Freebies always get noticed. Even the big businesses give away free stuff in their marketing campaigns. We all love to get things for free.
You don’t need to put too much time and effort into creating a free resource. Even small free things will make people happy and gain you attention.
Here are some ideas of things that you can give away for free as an artist:
Right after giving something away for free comes giving something away at a considerably discounted price!
Special offers and promotions are a proven method to spur your sales and gain the attention of new customers.
For example, you can post a limited discount code on your social media or offer Black Friday promotions in your online store. Many artists also offer limited edition or signed prints.
The secret to successful special offers and promotions is to not share them too frequently. A special offer should really feel like something special.
If you want to take your art to the next level, there is no way around having your own artist website.
When you look for information about a product or a company, you expect them to have website, right?
The same is true when people are looking for your art. They want to see the artist’s website.
That’s why it’s important to have your own little space on the internet. You can provide information about yourself, showcase your portfolio, run an online store, or blog about your art. Plus, your own website gives you total control over what and how you present yourself and your art.
If that doesn’t quite convince you yet, then here are 10 reasons why you should make a website for your art.
Building your own artist website doesn’t have to be complicated and expensive. There are lots of platforms that make it easy for artists to put together a website, without any programming skills.
Building your own artist website doesn’t have to be complicated and expensive. There are lots of platforms that make it easy for artists to put together a website, without any programming skills.
One of the best website builders for artists is Squarespace. It is really easy to use (no previous web design experience required) and comes with the most visually appealing templates specifically designed for creatives. That’s why so many photographers, illustrators, painters, and designers have their websites hosted on Squarespace. You can start a FREE Squarespace Trial here (without any credit card needed).
For a greater choice of options, click through to the best website builders for artists.
Plus, in the Build Your Artist Website section, you will find all the information you need to create your own website for your art!
Online art galleries and market places are another great opportunity for artists to gain attention. Some of the well-known sites have the potential to expose your art to a huge audience and sell it worldwide.
Most art galleries and sales platforms allow you to create a free account and upload your artwork for free.
However, terms and conditions may vary considerably from one platform to the other. So always make sure to find out at what conditions you sell your art and what cut they take on each sale.
Some platforms charge you for placing a product for sale. Some handle packaging and shipping for you. On other platforms, the artists themselves are responsible for packaging the artwork and getting it to the customer.
Well-known online art galleries are Behance, Saatchi Art, Fine Art America. Besides, many artists sell their art on market places such as Etsy, Zazzle, and Society6.
For more, check out the best places to display digital art that every artist should be using.
How do artists gain attention on social media? Peer-to-peer and cross-promotion are two of the best strategies to do so!
There are lots of artists out there in the same boat as you: they’re also looking to get their art noticed and gain more exposure.
So, one easy way to get some free social media attention is to team up with another artist. You can post one of their works, say why you like the piece and tag the artist in your post. The other artist will do the same for you and you’ll both get more attention in return.
It’s a win-win for everybody.
Joining an artist organization is a fantastic way to grow as an artist and get support from experts.
Many artist organizations offer workshops, promotions, consulting, and other resources.
Try to find artist organizations in your local area and look for organizations online that match your type of art.
How do artists gain popularity in their area?
Participating in local events is a great possibility to connect with people in your community and get your name out there at the same time.
You can take part in local art fairs, street shows, and other art projects, help at community centers or organize an art tour around your city. You can also take your art to the streets and volunteer in mural projects.
Other ways of getting involved include charity auctions or small art shows in your neighborhood. Here are more possibilities to promote your art offline for you to check out.
Don’t forget to bring your business cards and other print materials like flyers and posters to such events. Include your website and contact information, so people know where to find you.
Instead of just creating art, you can become the teacher and show others how it’s done! There are lots of opportunities to teach art – both online and offline.
Popular e-learning platforms for creatives to publish and sell courses of all kinds are Thinkific and Payhip. Other places on the web where you can upload tutorials are YouTube or your own artist website!
Offline, you can demonstrate your skills at local schools and community centers or give workshops in your studio or at art shows. In any case, imparting your skills to others will help you build an audience and can also be a way to generate additional income as an artist.
Art exhibitions and fairs are excellent occasions to meet other artists, art lovers, gallery owners and agents.
You can draw new inspiration from other artwork and at the same time grow your network.
You will quickly learn about new opportunities to get your art noticed. This may include getting in touch with agents interested in writing about your work or galleries looking for new artists to exhibit.
Have you been dreaming of your art being showcased publically for people to see it? Well, throwing your own art show is not as hard as you might think!
If you don’t want to organize a show all on your own, you can team up with other artists in your area. Joining forces in a group show is a win-win for everybody and helps all the artists gain attention.
Getting a venue for your show doesn’t need to be expensive. You can talk to local restaurants, wine bars, hotels, or community centers. Chances are they will be more than happy to exhibit your art because it will help them attract customers.
Disclosure: Some links in this post are affiliate links. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Learn more.
Getting your art noticed all depends on how you market yourself as an artist. Self-promotion is very important if you want to gain an audience for what you create and eventually sell your art.
At first glance, many artists might say, ‘What? I am supposed to market my art? I’m an artists and not a marketer!’ But you can learn how to market your art (even marketing is an art). So don’t be too shy, online marketing for artists is key in today’s world if you want to make it as an artist!
So how do artists promote themselves? If you have a bit more time, read the in-depth article on 10 must-know ways to make a living as an artist.
For now, here are quickly the TOP 5 tips to help you grow an audience for your art:
As you already know, social media platforms can be a powerful tool for artists to self-promote.
Your social media audience gives you immediate feedback on what they like and what they don’t like so much.
It’s best to create a free business account on platforms like Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest. This provides you with detailed insights into which posts work well and which are not so popular.
Try varying your post to find out what particularly resonates with your followers. For example, instead of just posting images of your work, you can show glimpses into your artist life.
While you might find your studio surroundings too unspectacular to share, other people may be excited to see where and how you work.
Little behind-the-scenes snippets tend to get attention, but your followers may also be interested in your tools of the trade. If you’re into digital art, you can upload photos or quick videos that show how you work on your drawing tablet or use your digital art software.
Showing how you are creating a piece of yours is also self-promotion in art!
If you choose social media as your main channel for promoting yourself as an artist, you need to make sure that your social media are on point.
That means you need to engage with your followers, upload high-quality content, and – most importantly – post consistently.
Consistency on social media means posting once a day, or even several times a day. Frequency is key in order to keep your account alive and attract new followers.
Fortunately, there are a variety of tools to help you stay on top of things without investing crazy hours of work every day. These tools make it easy to post at the best times and to plan your feed ahead of time.
Post Planner is a powerful social media scheduling app that helps you create and post to almost any social media platform out there. You can organize your posts in a visual posting calendar, edit captions, hashtags, and much more — all in one place! Post Planner comes with free plan and supports 10 social platforms (Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok, Twitter/X, Threads, Bluesky, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Google Business). You can try Post Planner for FREE here.
As Facebook has been restricting the organic reach of content, your second favorite social media may be Pinterest.
Pinterest is not only a social network but also a visual search engine. On Pinterest, your posts remain visible for much longer periods of time than on the other social media sites.
Tailwind is an excellent tool that makes it easy to get your pins out at the best times of the day. It automatically analyzes your Pinterest data and determines the optimal times for promoting your art.
This one is very important. All artists promoting themselves should have a website.
Why is having an artist website key?
Because if someone interested in your art – a client, gallery owner, collector, etc. – searches you on Google, it’s important they find something that accurately represents you as an artist.
Your own website gives you the greatest control over how you promote yourself as an artist. You can decide how you showcase your art, at what conditions you sell your art, and what content you put out there.
Building a website for your art doesn’t need to be complicated. WordPress gives you the most control over layout and design. We have lots of WordPress tutorials for artists to help you get your website up and running quickly.
And there are even easier options out there that allow you to create your own website absolutely hassle-free. Squarespace is a good choice because many of its templates are geared towards photographers and other visual creators.
Read our full Squarespace Review to learn more or check out more easy-to-use website builders for artists.
Once you have your artist website up and running, it’s time to start talking about your art. Artists don’t need to explain their art, but it’s definitely an effective method to get it noticed!
A blog is a great way to interact with people interested in your artwork and to increase your site’s ranking in the search results.
People love to know more about what motivates their favorite artists to create their work. Even though you might feel a bit uncomfortable talking about your art at the beginning, it will help you promote yourself.
Overcome your inhibitions and start discussing specific pieces of yours on your blog. Learn to express your art in words. Write about your creative process, what inspired you to create the piece, and so on.
You can also write about upcoming art exhibitions or promote special offers alongside your blog post.
This is another thing you can do when you have your own website… and that one’s huge.
Building an email list means creating a database of your contacts, which belongs to YOU. Of course, you can connect with your followers on Instagram and your friends on Facebook. If you think of Pinterest, then keeping in touch with people is already a bit more difficult.
However, people don’t stay on social media forever. Plus, Facebook’s algorithm already doesn’t show your posts to all your friends.
This is where email lists come in. They allow you to connect with your friends and fans, regardless of whether or not they still have a social media account. Once you send out an email, all your contacts receive it.
Newsletters are a powerful tool to promote your art, keep your contacts up-to-date about new work and upcoming events, of offer special discounts for subscribers only!
To build an email list, you’ll need to have an opt-in somewhere on your website. Some popular email marketing tools include:
Disclosure: Some links in this post are affiliate links. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Learn more.
These days, more and more artists are exploring new ways of marketing their artwork without relying on gallery representation. They are learning the art of marketing art online.
Just like those artists, you too can learn how to grow your art business, how to advertise art prints, and how to find a market for your art. It’s no rocket science.
So how do you go about getting customers for your artwork?
We’ve sorted out the 6 best tips to help you get clients for your art!
First and foremost, it’s important to identify your target audience.
Who are the people who like your specific style and want to buy your art? Are the majority of them men or women?
How old are your customers on average? Are they mostly teenagers and young adults? Or are they midlifers and seniors?
Where do most of your customers live? Are they located in the United States and Canada? Are they from Europe?
Are there other things that your customers have in common? Particular interests, hobbies, etc.
Of course, you cannot please everyone with your art – and you shouldn’t try! But once you understand who your clients are, you know that most of them will like your art… most of the time!
Now that you know who your target audience is, ask yourself where they might hang out during their free time – both online and offline.
Are they on social media? If so, which platform do they mostly use? Instagram has a different audience from Facebook, and Pinterest has yet another audience than Twitter.
But not everyone likes social media. Some people may prefer specific art sites, forums, or art selling platforms.
But you can also get clients for your art in real life. Think about the places your target audience is likely to go to.
Do they visit clubs and pubs? Do they eat out in restaurants and attend wine tastings? Do they enjoy coffee shops and hotel bars?
Once you’ve identified the favorite venues of your clients, you can start contacting the venue owner and ask whether they are interested in showcasing some of your artwork.
More often than not, there are wine bars, coffee shops, and hotels looking for artwork to display on their walls.
As a matter of fact, each artwork of yours should have a clearly defined price.
But keep in mind that there may be additional costs adding up to the sales price. Most likely, you will have some charge for shipping and handling, sales and VAT taxes, and maybe customs duties if you ship internationally.
It’s good practice to inform your clients about extra costs that may arise before they purchase a piece. Either, you include all those costs in the selling price, or you list them separately below your artwork.
Not letting your clients know exactly what they will pay is one of the quickest ways to stir irritation and lose sales.
You see calls-to-action everywhere. On websites, in newsletters, in marketing campaigns. Every time someone wants to sell something there’s a call-to-action.
Why? Because it works.
Even if you think you’ve already made clear what you want people to do next, it’s a good idea to add a clickable call-to-action.
Make it easy for your clients to proceed to purchasing a piece of yours. Some quick words like ‘Choose print size’, ‘View all collections’ or ‘Visit my online store for more’ are enough to direct your customers to the next step you want them to take.
Small things are often enough to make your clients happy and to forge a long-lasting relationship.
It’s enough to include a little thank-you card in the package to express your appreciation. Adding a heart sticker, a little bow or some candy is all it takes to create a memorable impression.
If you drop-ship your art prints and cannot include anything personally, you can still send your customer a follow-up email. Thank them for purchasing your piece, ask them if they are happy, and if everything went fine with handling and shipping.
If the client is happy, they will gladly tell you. If they are disappointed for some reason, you have the chance to solve the issue.
Two of the best drop-shippers that a lot of artists use are Printful and Printify. Both companies offer a variety of fine art print options and other products (such as living accessories, stationery, clothing items, etc) you can have your art printed on. For a greater choice, have a look at the 5 best places to print digital art online.
To sell premium high-quality Giclée prints, it is recommended to use a professional printing service that specializes in Giclee printing. (→ Fine Art Explained: What Is Giclee Printing And Where To Get It?)
Remember you want to grow your art business, so be professional with your clients at all times.
Stay friendly and respectful even when things get heated. Let the client know you’re doing everything to fix the problem.
If possible, inform your client of a problem in advance. For example, if an order gets delayed, let the buyer know and explain why this is happening.
Most people will appreciate you being honest and understand that things don’t run smoothly all the time.
Having your art displayed in a gallery is a fantastic way for any artist to get their art noticed by a wide and interested audience of art collectors.
There are many galleries looking for new artists. So even if you haven’t had any art exhibition or magazine features yet, it’s still possible to exhibit art in a gallery.
How do you get an art exhibition? We’ve put together 4 steps to help you get your art in a gallery!
As a rule of thumb: if you want your art to get noticed by a gallery, you need to be prepared to talk about your work.
For example, you need to be able to communicate what motivated you to create a piece, where you found your inspiration, what techniques you used, or what message you wanted to convey.
Here’s an easy 3-step process to explain your art that might be helpful.
If you don’t speak about your artwork and think that it speaks for itself, many galleries will quickly lose interest in displaying your art.
Be sure to engage others in your art and make it interesting enough for them to wanting to purchase it!
Many artists believe the best way to apply to an art gallery is to simply walk in with their portfolio and ask for representation.
Unfortunately, things don’t work that way. Showing up at a gallery unannounced or sending unsolicited emails is probably the worst you can do.
Start by doing some research about the gallery. Find out if the gallery’s style is a good match for your art.
Not all galleries are the same. A gallery usually focuses on displaying a particular type and style of art.
Make sure to find out what kind of art a gallery is showing and only apply if it blends with your art!
Once you’ve made out a suitable gallery and learned how to talk about your artwork, it’s time to build a relationship with the gallery.
Why do you have to build a relationship in order to get an art exhibition?
Because galleries mainly choose artists through relationships, and not so much through submissions.
That means you either know another artist who already exhibits their work with the gallery, or you find other ways to develop a relationship.
Establishing a relationship can be done both online and offline. In real life you can, for example, attend gallery events. On the web, you can like the gallery’s Facebook page, follow them on Instagram or sign up to their newsletter.
Make sure to stay engaged on their social media and get involved with their community. This is the best way to get your art noticed by the gallery!
Once you’ve established a relationship with a gallery, you can start finding out about their art submission guidelines.
If you cannot find any submission policies on their website, ask them in person or by email how to submit art.
If they don’t accept submissions, do not send your artwork anyways.
If they do accept submissions, make sure to follow their guidelines. Look how many images they’d like to see, in what format and what additional details they’d like to know.
Choose the best images of your portfolio and don’t send more than requested!
When you submit art to a gallery, it’s best to follow their guidelines to the letter.
Every art gallery will take a certain percentage of each piece of yours that they sell. This is to cover their own expenses that arise for art shows, promotion, venue rental, and so on.
As a rule of thumb, the commission is usually around 50 percent of the sales price. Some art galleries might take 60%, others only 40%.
Having your art exhibited in a gallery is very beneficial for your résumé and reputation as an artist. See what the gallery does for you and evaluate their commission against your benefits.
There are some art galleries out there that actively look for artists to submit their work to them. Those galleries tend to ask for submission and exhibition fees.
First of all, reputable galleries hardly ever ask any artist to submit their work. They are being flooded with requests of artists wanting to exhibit with them.
Secondly, good galleries make a commission off the sales of artwork but don’t take money from the artists themselves. Galleries that want to display your work in exchange for money are so-called Vanity Galleries. Make sure to avoid them!
Exhibiting your art in such a gallery is a misspent investment and not helpful to your artist career in any way.
In the end, it’s important to keep in mind that finding gallery representation as a beginner artist is more the exception than the rule. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t establish an audience and still sell your art!
Jump to the next toggle to find out how you can gain attention as and artist and start selling your art – even without gallery representation.
Disclosure: Some links in this post are affiliate links. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Learn more.
Selling your art is not as hard as you may think. Even if you’re a new artist, there are ways to get started selling your artwork.
The first thing that comes to mind is probably selling prints of your artwork. Of course, you can make art prints to sell, but there are lots of other possibilities to sell your art – online and offline.
So how good does art have to be to sell? Well, there is no rule on how advanced your skill level needs to be or much experience you need to have to start selling art. The good thing is selling art can also work for beginners.
If you’re wondering how much you should be selling your art for, jump to the next toggle on ‘How should I price my art?’ to learn more.
How can you start selling your art online? We’ve put together the TOP 9 tips for you to start selling your art online, which also work for beginners!
So let’s jump straight into it.
Selling prints of your art is a great way for traditional and digital artists alike to make an income.
Related: Can Fine Art Be Digital? [Addressing The Digital Art Debate]
How to make art prints to sell? Depending on the type of art you create, you’ll need to make some preparations before you can start selling art prints.
If you work with traditional media, you’ll need a good photo scanner to transfer your art to your computer. The Epson Perfection V600 is a great scanner for artists and definitely worth the investment, if you’re serious about selling art prints. More affordable scanner options are the Epson V19 or V39.
For larger artwork that cannot be scanned you’ll need a high-quality DSLR camera, such as the Canon Rebel.
Equally important for both traditional and digital art is the file format you choose for printing your art.
Once you got your art scanned to your computer, you’ll need good photo-editing software to adjust the color or tweak the scan to match the original work. Photoshop is the best tool to get everything right and to easily export your images for printing.
Next, you will need to choose the printing paper. Giclée prints are the best fine art prints you can get. Giclée is a professional type of printing that uses the highest quality paper and inks.
Pictorem and FinerWorks are two companies that specialize in creating Giclee fine art and canvas prints for artists. Other sites where you can sell art prints (and more) are:
Having your own website will not only help you start selling art but also to establish yourself as an artist.
With your own artist website, you have so much more opportunities to sell art prints, but also to monetize your art in other ways.
You can have your own online shop on your website, or link to other platforms where you are selling art.
Creating a website for your art is not difficult. There are many website building platforms out there that make it easy to set up your website – without any coding skills needed.
Drop-shipping is a great way to start selling art if you have your own ecommerce platform. This can be an online shop on Squarespace, Simvoly, Pixpa, or Shopify, your WordPress site, or on any other platform, such as Etsy.
Once a customer buys a print in your online store, you send the order to the drop-shipper, who handles everything for you.
This makes selling your art super-easy. You don’t need to keep an inventory or ship any products yourself. You pay a portion of the sales price to the drop-shipping company for handling and shipping, while the remaining part is your profit.
Some drop-shipping companies that are particularly recommended for art prints include:
Speaking of print-on-demand, this is also a great way to sell more of your art than just prints.
Print-on-demand platforms let you upload your artwork and create different products. You can sell your art on posters, phone and laptop cases, mugs, bags, clocks, coasters, and more. PoD is also a fantastic option of selling art for beginners.
The best sites to create print-on-demand products are:
Notebooks and stationery offer great potential for selling your art. Many people – including other artists – love to use sketchbooks, journals or diaries with artwork on the cover.
If you can get your art on the cover of a high-quality notebook or other blank-page book, chances are you’ll start selling art fast.
Other stationery items you can sell your art on are notepads, cards, and wrapping paper.
Some places where you can sell notebooks and other stationery are Etsy and Zazzle.
Another way to make money with your art is by selling printables and digital downloads. Printables are files created by an artist or other creative that people can buy and print out themselves.
Some examples of printable include quotes (with or without artwork), calendar planners, project planners, meal, diet and fitness planners, coloring sheets (for kids and adults), worksheets and spreadsheets.
Selling printables can be a great side business because you only need to put in a little bit of work upfront and then you can sell the item over and over again.
If you are interested in creating printables, don’t forget to download your FREE eGuide to the 60+ Best Selling Printables in the Freebie Library.
Digital downloads are very similar to digital printables. The only difference is that digital downloads are not necessarily intended to be printed! Some digital downloads that a lot of artists create and sell include digital files of their artwork, photos, eBooks and guides, tutorials, online courses, logos, graphics, Photoshop resources like presets, brushes, etc.
If you want to sell any printables or downloads that include text, make sure to use fonts that are allowed for commercial use. There are free fonts available, but many of them are not licensed for commercial use. By purchasing premium fonts, you will get the proper licensing and can use the fonts to create items for sale. Some great places to get fonts for commercial use are Creative Fabrica, Deeezy, and Creative Market.
Apart from that, creating printables and downloads is one of the best passive income ideas for artists. You only need to create a product once and then you can sell an unlimited number of copies. Anyone with art skills can design such products. To get started, a basic text processing program like Word, Excel, Google Docs or Sheets is often enough.
A graphic program isn’t a must either, but it can definitely help if you want to create more intricate designs. Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator are powerful tools to design your printables, but there are also more affordable and even free options:
Last but not least, what are the best places to sell printables and downloads?
Well, Etsy is again the number one marketplace you should consider using. But many artists also sell their designs on Sellfy, Payhip, and SendOwl. Moreover, you can also look into Creative Fabrica, Deeezy, and Creative Market to sell your digital art products. There are certain types of digital items that tend to sell extremely well on those platforms. Have a look at what’s on offer and maybe it is exactly your niche!
Licensing your artwork for personal and commercial use is another opportunity to generate an income off your art.
Licensing means that you sell the digital file of an artwork under closely defined conditions. This involves a contractual agreement between the author of the image (you) and the person who buys it.
There are different types of license agreements you can use to sell your art. Here are some typical licenses (from lowest to highest price):
If you are interested in licensing your art, see our blog posts about:
Plus, you can find some FREE License Agreement Templates in the Freebie Library, which you can download and adapt to your needs!
Offering art commissions is also something you can do to get your art noticed and start selling art online. Commissions are artworks that an artist creates specifically for one person or brand. They are customized works catered to the wishes of the client, so to speak.
Because they are personalized, commissions can give artists a good monetary return. You do not necessarily need to have advanced skills. Even if you are still a beginning artist, you can offer your services on platforms like Fiverr and Upwork.
With a bit more experience, you can start selling art commissions on places like Etsy, DeviantArt, and Behance. If you are particularly into computer-generated art, have a look at ArtStation. For more options, check out the 7 top places to sell digital art commissions!
How much you can charge for art commissions depends on what type of art project you offer. Is it a big project that will take you a long time to complete? Then you can charge more. Also consider your experience and reputation as an artist. If your name is already known in the art world, you can ask more for your services than when you’re just starting out.
When a commission is completed, you will usually send the digital file over the web. Of course, you can email it to the client (if it is not too big). However, if you are planning to do commissions on a professional level, I suggest getting clued up on the 3 best ways to deliver digital art to clients.
There are lots of new artists wanting to learn how to do art. Even though teaching might not be the first thing you think of when finding ways to start selling art, it’s definitely worth giving it a thought!
Look at it this way: over time, you have gained a lot of knowledge and practice in your craft. In case you have taught yourself digital art, you might have discovered one or the other knack that you might not have learned in art school.
All those things are valuable skills that are fundamentally useful for new artists who are some steps behind you. If you can teach them how it’s done, you do not only gain more attention and credibility as an artist, but you will also have the chance to sell your art.
For example, if you create your art using Photoshop, you can offer Photoshop tutorials and show newcomers how to use the program. Likewise, if you know how to use your tools of the trade in art, you can show others how to work with drawing tablets (as a digital artist) or brushes, paints, and varnishes (as a traditional artist).
These are just a few examples, there is much more to learn with regards to how to find new inspiration to create art or how to promote & sell art. If there is a skill you had to learn first, chances are other people are keen to learn it as well!
There are multiple online sites where you can share your artistic skills. Some e-learning platforms that are great for selling your own art courses are I can recommend checking out are Thinkific and Payhip.
The big advantage of Thinkific and Payhip over conventional e-learning platforms like Skillshare and Udemy is that you are in control of what your course looks like and how much you earn from it.
On Skillshare and Udemy the customization options are more limited and you’ll have to agree to the platforms’ pricing and discount regulations … and if they are suddenly changing their rules, you will not anymore get paid for each students subscribed, but for every minute watched…
That’s why a self-managed platform like Thinkific or Payhip might be the better option in the long run.
Figuring out what your artwork is worth is often the hardest part of selling your art.
As a rule of thumb, pricing your art depends on how much you value your time and where you are in your artistic career. Are you already an established artist or are you a relative newcomer?
Generally speaking, your client will value your art according to the price tag you put on it.
If you underprice your work, chances are the buyer will undervalue it as well. As a matter of fact, we tend to not be as appreciative of something we bought for $20 than we are of something that cost $200.
On the other hand, if you charge too high of a price, especially at the beginning of your career, you might not be able to get clients for your art.
You need to find a happy medium that is acceptable to you and your customer.
Pricing artwork for emerging artists is different from what a well-known artist can charge for their work.
Let’s say you’re a new digital artist and you love to paint. It took you around 20 hours to finish a particular digital painting.
What would you consider a reasonable hourly rate for your work?
If you decide to value your time at 20 dollars per hour, you could price your painting at $400. While this may be an adequate price for your artwork, you need to realize that at the beginning of your career it’s difficult to sell your art at that price.
You haven’t built a reputation as an artist yet. People don’t know you. That’s why they may be unwilling to spend that amount of money. With time, however, that will change.
As an up and coming artist, just make sure to over-deliver for what you are charging. Once you got more established, you can slowly start increasing your prices.
Just like any other product out there on the market, art is priced according to a certain formula.
This formula mainly depends on what’s going on in the art marketplace. How do dealers and galleries currently value a particular style of art? What kind of art are collectors looking for at the moment?
To find out the current market value of your art, have a look at how much artwork similar to yours is selling. You can research online or go to local art galleries.
The pricing of art may vary relative to the current demand. If, for example, digital paintings are highly sought after, they may sell at a higher price than 3D renders or photo manipulations.
Also, dimensions and printing quality do influence the price. A bigger and higher-quality art print means more costs for printing paper and inks.
Last but not least, don’t forget to consider the résumés of the artists you compare your work with. More experienced and established artists can charge higher prices than emerging artists.
Taking all these factors into account will help you establish an adequate price range for your artwork.
When you price your art, don’t make the mistake and let emotions get in the way. Some works might be more meaningful to you than others. However, that should not impact your price. When you sell your art, it’s important that your prices are coherent.
Buyers won’t understand prices based on what a work means to you personally. They will only understand prices based on facts.
On a similar note, clients may feel taken aback if your raise your prices too much too quickly.
As you begin to gain some reputation as an artist, it’s natural that you want to sell your art at a higher price.
Instead of increasing your prices once by 30%, it’s better to raise your prices gradually by 10% or 15% each year.
Drastic markups might look arbitrary to your customers and you risk losing sales.
Pricing art prints basically follows the same rules as outlined above. See how much art prints similar to your work are selling for and set your prices accordingly.
Apart from size, what matters most when selling art prints is the paper you choose. There are different types and grades of photographic papers for printing art. The most expensive prints are Giclée prints. Giclee printing produces particularly robust fine art prints made using pigment ink on archival papers. There are the best fine art printing services for Giclee.
Another thing to keep in mind is the photo finish, which is important if you want to sell prints for framing.
If you decide to sell art prints, it’s important to know what demographic buys art prints, what size art prints sell the most, and what format to save your art to get the best printing results.
Some things you can do to raise the price of art prints are offering limited and special editions. Here are some options of art prints that you can offer (from lowest to highest price):
But, regardless of what kinds of prints you eventually decide to sell, you should always know the best online printing services for artists!
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