15 Places to Sell Art Online And Make Money

Best Places To Sell Art Online

More and more people are purchasing artwork online. Artists discover new platforms specializing in selling art every year, like print-on-demand sites, social media, and online galleries.

• You often ask yourself, “Where can I sell my artwork?“
• Do you often wonder how I can make money with my artistic skills online?
• Do you find yourself searching for what kind of art sells best?

Before the internet came along, artists had to rely on selling art at local galleries and craft fairs. Those days have come and gone. Today you, as an artist, are in the driver’s seat and have total control of your destination.

It is now the norm to sell art and buy artwork online, whether it is fine art, pencil drawings, prints, wall art, watercolor prints, or prints on merchandise.

With so many websites to sell artwork online, deciding the best websites to sell your artwork can feel overwhelming.

If you find it challenging to decide where to start, don’t worry. We have you covered. We have created a list of the best platforms for you to sell your paintings online and build a following of potential collectors searching for work just like yours.

Related Post – How To Sell Art Complete Guide

Finding The Best Place To Sell Art

As an artist, one of the biggest challenges you may face is finding the right platform to sell your work. With so many options available, it can be challenging to determine which avenue will give you the best visibility and ultimately help you generate sales.

Some factors to consider include pricing, exposure options, and user experience.

For example, many artists choose platforms like Etsy or ArtFire for lower-cost options. These sites typically have a more limited selection than platforms like eBay or Amazon but are a good choice for those just starting or looking for more targeted exposure.

On the other hand, more significant marketplaces like Amazon generally offer more flexibility in pricing and other features.

Additionally, they typically have wider audiences and provide an excellent opportunity for generating interest in your work.

Ultimately, choosing the right platform depends on your individual needs and preferences as an artist.

However, considering important factors like those mentioned above, you can finally find a place to showcase and sell your art confidently.

15 Best Art Selling Websites

Below are some of the most popular platforms thousands of artists use to sell art. Online marketplaces have skyrocketed over the past five years, making it say for creates who want to sell products to people worldwide.

The critical thing to remember is that an online art gallery does not sell art. Artists sell art. Artists who promote their online art store sell original art online.

The online marketplace you choose to showcase your art is a storefront. You will have to learn how to get your work in front of people interested in your artistic style and drive them to your own website.

Here is a list of popular art marketplaces artists sell products on. After the list, we talk about marketing your business online to start selling to people worldwide.

• Abstract Art Gallery –  If you are an abstract artist, this will be a site that you will want to look into.

In 2015 they went global connecting art collectors with abstract artists. In November 2017, Daniel purchased Abstract Art Gallery, a subsidiary of Rustad Group Innovations.

Your art will be judged, and you will receive access to your artist’s account if accepted.

You can upload images of your artwork with descriptions and create a bio so collectors can learn more about you on your account.

When a piece sells, you ship the product to the buyer, and you will receive 70% of the selling price if the buyer is satisfied with the artwork.

• Aftcra – Aftcra is an online marketplace similar to Etsy but focuses on American handmade art and crafts. Its mission is to support American artists by connecting them with buyers worldwide.

Setting up a storefront is free, and products will live for six months. You will pay Aftcra 7% on all sales, which is a very reasonable rate for artists in the U.S to sell artwork online.

Aftcra is also great for crafters to sell handmade products, including clothing, dolls, stuffed animals, candles, furniture, jewelry, and handcrafted items.

• ArtBoost – Art Boost is an online gallery that lets artists showcase, promote and sell art to art collectors globally but is different from most online art e-commerce platforms. The main difference is that they allow personal contact between customers and artists and are both a sales outlet and an online art portfolio. Create an online gallery and easily share your artistic journey and message on Artboost.

Sales are secure through PayPal. Art Boost takes 15% of the sale price.

• ArtFinder – is a juried site that showcases original art, prints, and photography. They have a large community of over 500,000 art collectors and growing and have over 10,000 artists from over 100 countries selling art to art enthusiasts worldwide. Artfinder’s mission is to make it easy for people to buy art with no pretense and no pomp, just great art.

Quickly build a store for free with performance stats and insights to help make better marketing decisions. Artists pay 30% on artwork sales.

• Artist.com – Artist.com is an online gallery and print-on-demand platform for artists. Artist.com makes a 25% commission on original art sales, and artists can sell reproductions of their work using Artist.com’s print-on-demand services and decide on the product’s markup.

In just three easy steps, you can sell your products on Artist.com.

• Register as Artist or Gallery.
• Upload your images and descriptions of art.
• Choose which products to sell.
• Shopify – is an e-commerce platform for online stores.

Shopify makes selling and marketing products easy for in-person and online sales. With Shopify’s built-in art market research tools, marketing your business is easy to help you create effective marketing plans and analyze the outcome.

Related Post – Best Shopify Print-on-Demand Sites

A single dashboard allows you to manage orders, shipping information, and payments.

• eBay – eBay is where you can auction or sell your artwork at a flat rate and anything else you might want to sell online, like limited edition prints and digital art. Artists with a specific niche have done very well on eBay, and creating an account is free. Transaction and listing fees apply. The fees associated with auctioning goods on eBay have increased over the years, so check the hidden costs before creating an auction and see if it will be profitable.
• Etsy –  Etsy is an art marketplace created for artists and crafters to sell original artwork and products with prints of their original art to people worldwide. Etsy also allows artists to sell original work reproductions and digital downloads. Etsy has a large community that supports and helps artists learn how to sell their art. Setting up a shop is free, but transaction and listing fees apply.

To learn more about selling on Etsy, visit:

• How To Open an Etsy Store Step by Step
• How To Sell Digital Downloads On Etsy
• How To Sell Art On Etsy – Complete Guide
• How To Sell Art Prints On Etsy With Printful
• 22 Creative Things To Sell On Etsy
• Where To Print Prints From Etsy

FineArtAmerica – Fine Art America started as a Print on Demand site specializing in high-quality art prints. They now allow artists to sell art online and sell print on high-quality fine art paper, canvas, and merchandise like mugs, iPhone cases, and more.

Fine Art America was launched in 2006 and has become one of the most trusted print-on-demand companies for artists, illustrators, designers, and photographers. They are proud to say that they have shipped over 5 million products by hundreds of thousands of independent artists worldwide. Fine Art America is a great company to work with if you want your artwork printed on many different products.

Customers are happy with the fast-processing times due to their sixteen manufacturing centers in five countries.

How To Get Started Selling On Fine Art America

• GalleryToday – Gallery Today is a juried site that connects buyers with artists to sell original signed art internationally. They go above and beyond, guaranteeing every painting will arrive in perfect condition. Artists receive 70% of the sale.
• GlobalArtExchange – Global Art Exchange allows artists to list and sell original paintings online. Listings are free, and artists will receive 80% of the sale.
• HandmadeArtists – Handmade Artist is a site that has a very active community and allows artists to sell their art or crafts online. They provide a shopping cart and a low monthly fee of $5.00. No commissions are taken from the sale.
• Storenvy – Storenvy is an online marketplace where emerging artists can launch an online store in just a few minutes. Storenvy is popular among visual artists, musicians, jewelry designers, and furniture makers. Signing up is free, and two options are available for selling products. You can list your artwork in a marketplace and get access to thousands of shoppers or build a professional online e-commerce store similar to Shopify.
• Society6 – Society6 is a popular print-on-demand service artists and photographers trust. It is easy to upload digital images of your artwork and sell everything from fine art prints to mugs. Artists and photographers retain all of their artwork and photographs’ rights, and Society6 fulfills the orders and ships them directly to the buyer.
• SaatchiArt – SaatchiArt is a popular site for artists that allows artists to sell their original art and prints.

The online art galleries listed above are some of the best sites to sell original artwork and reproductions online.

Before committing to a specific company, read the terms and conditions and see if there are any membership fees. Most platforms are free to start, but some have membership fees for additional art market research tools.

Here is one more platform to look into:

Art2Arts – Online art gallery and home or original art, run by artists for artists. They bring together art lovers and artists from the UK to share their talents and bring beautiful art into people’s lives. A community of more than 800 established and emerging artists offering over 10,000 original artworks. Artists become part of a minor, unique community of people with a shared passion for art and are supported in selling their artwork. Artists 35% commission on artwork sales.

Deciding On What Websites To Sell Art On

Before diving into the sites listed above, you will want to know your objectives for starting an art business.

• Why do you want to sell art online?
• What medium do you use to create your art?
• Are you going to sell limited edition prints?
• Are you going to sell your designs on merchandise?
• How much money do you need to generate in a year?
• Are you going to sell your products in retail stores or at craft fairs?

After your goals are documented, you will want to become more familiar with the 15 sites listed.

Write down several platforms that interest you and might work well for your unique objectives.

The next step is to visit the different places on your list.

Read all of the terms and conditions, as well as the fees.

Write a detailed list of each site you visit.

This might sound daunting, but it will be worth the time invested.

The sites highlighted in this post focus on selling original artwork; however, some sites also provide a Print on Demand service that will allow you to sell prints online and digital art.

Now that you have documented goals and have decided on a selling platform to showcase your work, you are ready to sell your creations online.

Thousands of people search online for home decor, wall decor, original paintings, limited edition prints, and merchandise with unique designs daily.

That is why there are thousands of artists trying to make a name for themselves online.

But how can you sell your art online with so much competition on Fine Art America, Saatchi Art, social media platforms, and other print-on-demand sites?

If you want to sell anything online, you need traffic. Whether you are on Saatchi Art, Fine Art America, Shopify, or own a website does not matter. If you want to sell your work, you need to drive a large amount of traffic to your listings, and below, we will talk about the best strategies to use for driving traffic and building name recognition to sell your art online.

How To Make Money Selling Art Online

Once you have decided on what platform you will showcase and sell your art, you must learn how to upload your images and descriptions.

High-Quality Images

Uploading images on e-commerce platforms is as easy as uploading an image on Facebook. The only difference is that there might be an image size requirement.

Image editing tools like Photoshop and Canva will allow you to resize images if needed.

The difference between selling art at local art fairs and in an art marketplace is that people can view the work in person at art fairs. For artists to sell their artwork online, they must rely on the image’s quality. The quality of your images will significantly affect your sales and return business.

Nothing will discourage people from making a purchase other than a blurry image.

Related Post – 7 Tips for Photographing Artwork to Sell More Art Online

Well Written Art Descriptions

As an artist, you must be able to effectively and accurately describe the qualities of your work. This is especially true when selling your art online or in a gallery setting.

Writing well-written art descriptions helps ensure that you put your best foot forward as an artist and effectively communicate the essence of your work to potential buyers.

Not only does this help build your reputation as an artist, but it also increases the likelihood that your pieces will be purchased by those who genuinely appreciate them.

Furthermore, a well-written description can be a valuable tool for enhancing viewers’ understanding of and experience with your artwork, helping to engage their senses and boosting their appreciation for your unique artistic vision.

In short, writing well-written art descriptions is essential for any successful artist.

There are many professional artists selling paintings on online art marketplaces. The ones that are making a profit in the art world are the ones who are dedicating time to digital marketing.

After you have your listings and well-written art descriptions, you need to promote, promote, and promote.

The real work begins after you have your artwork listed for sale.

The artists you see on social media and search results have spent many hours learning how to market their businesses.

How To Drive Traffic To Your Own Websites

As an artist, one of the most important things you can do is ensure that as many people see your work as possible.

A great way to do this is to have a website where you can start selling original art online and reach a global audience. There are several options available for building a website. If you have the time, you can build a website with WordPress, use a website builder or hire a professional at Fiverr.

However, simply having a website is not enough. It would be best if you also found ways to drive traffic to your site so that people can see your work.

There are many ways to optimize your site for search engines, use social media to promote your work and use online advertising.

By driving traffic to your website, you can ensure that the broadest possible audience will see your work.

Here are the best ways to get people to notice your work:

Blogging

Artist Blogs are one of the best ways to generate traffic to your artwork and build trust with your audience.

Related Post – 6 Blogging Benefits Artists Shouldn’t Ignore

You must be seen as an authority in your niche to sell fine art online.

The more blog posts you publish, the more people and search engines like Google will see you as an authority.

In time, Google will rank your online gallery higher, making it easier for people to discover you when searching for paintings, drawings, prints, and home decor online.

Blogging For Artist Resource

It takes time for websites and blogs to generate traffic, but blog posts will generate more traffic than all social media platforms combined, including Pinterest.

Here are some blogging articles to help you speed up the process.

• Art Blogging For Beginners
• What Is Great Content
• 9 Effective Tips On How To Sell Your Art Blogging
• 8 Effective Blogging Strategies For Art Blogs
• 7 Must Read Blogging Tips For New Art Bloggers
• Evaluate Your Last Years’ Blogging Efforts
• 5 Blogging Mistakes Artists Must Avoid
• How To Be A Successful Blogger
• 7 Tips To More Productive Blogging
• 110 Art Blogging Ideas
• 6 Blogging Benefits Artists Shouldn’t Ignore
• Blogging Tip That Works Learn Your Writers Voice
• Blogging Made Easy Grow Your Business
• How To Write List Posts That Generate Traffic
• Why Consistent Blogging Drives More Traffic To Your Artist Blog

Social Media

The next step is sharing your new artwork, artwork sold, events, and blog posts on social media like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Social media is a great tool to help you build a following, build relationships with potential buyers and increase sales.

However, it’s important to approach social media marketing correctly.

The first step is to create a solid online presence by building a website and blog and populating them with high-quality content that will showcase your work in the best light.

Once you have an established online presence, you can use social media to share your work with a broader audience.

It’s important to be active on social media and be strategic about it. Posting too frequently can be overwhelming for followers, and posting infrequently can make it challenging to build a following.

Instead, focus on sharing quality content that will engage your audience and help you build a solid social media presence. You can use social media for marketing your art effectively and reaching a new group of potential buyers with little effort.

Enhance Your Artistic Skills

One of the most important things for artists who want to have an art career and increase online sales is continuously enhancing their skills.

Technology, new developments, and passing the time can quickly make an artist’s skills outdated. An artist’s portfolio should reflect their current skill level so that when they submit it for review, they get an accurate picture of where they stand with other artists.

There are many ways to enhance skills, including taking classes, practicing, and studying the works of other artists.

Also, exhibiting artwork and getting feedback from fellow artists and/or professionals in the field can give insights on improvement. A periodic review of an artist’s goals can help them refocus their efforts on the areas that need improvement.

Lastly, by being active in the art community, whether online or offline, artists can stay current with what is happening in the art world and be ready to apply those changes to their work.

Selling art is a business; you must continue learning about selling art marketing strategies and enhancing your skills to increase online sales.

Should You Build An Artist Website

You should learn about digital marketing before building an artist’s website for you or creating a WordPress site.

You will benefit more from building brand awareness and an online presence than learning how to build an online gallery.

The sites listed above make it easy for you to have your work available for purchase in minutes.

After you have built a following and are familiar with online marketing, you will want to consider building an artist website that you own strongly.

Any artist who wants to build a sustainable career should have a website.

A website is essential for promoting your work, connecting with fans and collectors, and maintaining a professional image. The sooner you create a website, the better. If you wait too long, you risk falling behind your competition. Moreover, building a website is not as difficult or expensive as you think. Various drag-and-drop site builders make it easy to create a high-quality website without prior experience.

Should You Sell Artwork On Third-Party Websites

What Is A Third-Party Website?

A third-party website is a website that is owned by someone else.

Etsy, for example, is a third-party website. The website allows artists to list items for sale that they have created. The artist will pay listing fees and selling fees to the site owner. In this example, Etsy will collect the fees.

All third-party websites have unique fees and terms and conditions. 

Before jumping in, you should become familiar with the fees and the terms and conditions. 

Some sites have a set monthly fee, while others take a percentage of each sale.

You will then be able to decide if a specific site will work for you.

In simple terms, a third-party website is like an apartment. You will be at the mercy of your landlord.

Sell Art On Third-Party Websites Pros

There are many benefits of third-party websites for artists just beginning to sell their artwork or veterans.

• Most Third Party Websites are very easy to get started. (Read the terms and conditions before joining.)
• Uploading artwork is effortless.
• Some sites allow you to have a storefront to brand your business
• You do not need to know how to build a website
• Sell prints of your work
• Sell prints on merchandise
• They will help you market your items
• They offer a shopping cart
• Ideal for someone just starting out

Sell Art On Third-Party Websites Cons

With every positive, there will be negatives. You will want to weigh the pros and cons before deciding if you will use a third-party website.

Before jumping into a third-party website, you will want to know about some cons.

• You do not own the site
• Limited branding functions
• Overcrowded with artists making it challenging to stand out
• Selling and listing fees
• You cannot collect buyer’s contact information
• Some sites charge monthly fees

Who Should Sell Art On Third-Party Websites

Third-party websites are a great place to start if you are starting to sell your artwork or handmade crafts online.

They are relatively easy to upload images of your art, so you can start selling your creations immediately.

While becoming familiar with the platform you are selling on, you will want to learn everything about marketing, promoting, and building your online presence.

Remember that it does not matter what platform you use; if people do not know your art exists, you will not sell anything.

Deciding the platform you will use to showcase your work is the first step.

Becoming an expert at marketing your art will separate you from the other artists selling art online.

Related Post: Sell Art Online Startup Plan

Email Marketing For Artists

Email marketing is a powerful marketing strategy for artists who sell online. It is easier to sell to buyers who signed up for your newsletters because those are the people who are interested in your work.

Selling reproductions on print-on-demand companies like Fine Art America makes it impossible to collect emails from buyers who purchase your prints because they fulfill the orders.

Owning a WordPress website will eliminate the middleman, and you can use signup tools to collect buyers’ emails.

Read these posts to learn how to collect emails from your buyers so you can increase your sales quicker.

• How To Avoid The Top Email Errors Made By Artists
• How To Start Your Email List Today So You Can Sell More Art
• Sell More Art By Growing Your Email List
• How To Build An Email List From Scratch
• Ultimate Email Marketing Guide For Selling Art
• Best Email Opt-in Plugins For Artists WordPress Websites
• Email List Building Basics Artists Must Know
• 7 Email Contact List Benefits For Artists

Pinterest Marketing For Artists

Whether you own a website or showcase your work on platforms like Shopify, ArtPal, or Fine Art America, it takes time to be seen as an authority by search engines like Google and Bing. Blogging will produce free traffic to your site, but it takes time to index a post.

Uploading your work and blog posts on Pinterest will help get the ball rolling while you wait to be indexed by search engines. Millions of people are looking at photography and artwork on Pinterest. Even art galleries use Pinterest to help their artists see collectors worldwide.

• How To Create A Pinterest Business Account Step By Step
• How To Enable Rich Pins On Pinterest
• Pinterest Marketing Series For Crafters And Artists
• How To Maximize Pinterest Opportunities To Sell Your Art
• 4 Pinterest Tools To SkyRocket Your Pinterest Traffic
• 7 Pinterest Business Tips For Artists Selling Online
• How To Pin On Pinterest With Tailwind’s Smart Schedule
• Understanding Tailwind Analytics
• How To Start Selling Art On Pinterest
• What You Should Pin To Your Artist Pinterest Boards
• Pinterest Board Tips That Will Attract Your Target Audience
• How To Create A Pinterest Profile For Your Art Business
• How To Start A Pinterest Strategy For Artists
• Increase Your Art Blog Traffic With Simple Pinterest SEO
• How To Use Pinterest To Drive Massive Art Blog Traffic
• How To Create Pinterest Images With Canva
• How To Hide Pinterest Images In Blog Posts With Social Warfare
• 7 Pinterest Strategies That Increased My Traffic
• 15 Pinterest Business Tips For Artists That Work
• Why Artists Should Create A Business Account
• 6 Easy Pinterest Tips That Drive Traffic

Sell Your Paintings Online Free

We are often asked how to sell art online for free.

Unfortunately, everything comes at a cost.

Selling prints on a print-on-demand service might have no upfront costs but small profit margins.

Selling art online on third-party online galleries might not only have a high membership fee, but you will have to pay a percent of your sales.

WordPress might be free, but you must purchase hosting and a domain name.

We do have some good news.

Promoting your art online can be free. The only cost will be your time.

Promote your art by writing blog posts, sharing your art and blog posts on social media networks, and pinning your art and blog posts on Pinterest.

Put your artwork in front of people every day. The artist who spends time promoting their workdays will be the artist who lands a sale. There are thousands of artworks being shown on the marketplace every day, but the work that is seen is the work that has been promoted.

Final Thoughts On Places To Sell Art Online

Thanks to all the available online tools, artists, photographers, and crafters earn an income. An artist no longer needs to rely on galleries to represent their work.

Artists can upload their photographs on WordPress, Shopify, ArtPal, and Fine Art America and promote their work via blogging and sharing on social media platforms. It does take more work to create an effective art marketing plan, but you can remove the middleman and keep the profits generated from the sales.

It does take time to get a following, but you can build a successful art business with determination and hard work.

There are so many art buyers searching for art like yours online. To start selling art online, you must decide on a platform to showcase and promote your work on the digital marketing tools we highlighted.

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