Are you an artist looking to sell your art online? If so, you’re not alone. Many artists use the internet to reach new audiences and sell their custom art, and so can you. While there are many ways to approach online art sales, a few strategies work better than others.
In this blog post, we’ll share 5 proven effective strategies. Whether you’re just getting started or you’ve been selling your art on your own online store for years, these tips will help you boost your sales and reach a wider audience. So let’s get started.
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Start By Taking Good-Quality Photos Of Your Artwork
High-quality images of your artwork are essential for a successful career in the visual arts. Quality is critical, as this will determine whether you get an offer or won’t land a sale. With modern technologies, capturing the best angles and colors with proper lighting has never been easier. Investing in modern equipment makes sense if you want to show off your art in its true light.
When selecting cameras for taking photos of paintings and other artwork, consider investing in a DSLR camera with manual modes. This allows you to adjust all the settings yourself, providing more control over the look of your images. External flashes can also help balance contrast and eliminate shadows or reflections when shooting against glass frames. Purchasing a lightbox may be necessary for photos on canvas or other non-textured surfaces to ensure even lighting throughout the painting.
The Importance Of High-Quality Images Of Your Art
High-quality images of your artwork will help showcase your art most favorably. When buyers view your work on your own website, they need to clearly and accurately represent what they are buying. Taking good pictures captures viewers’ attention and helps them make an informed decision about whether or not to purchase from you.
How The Quality Of Your Images Can Have You Land A Sale Or Lose A Sale
Neglecting to take good-quality pictures of your artwork can affect your sales. Poorly lit photos or images that are out of focus will not do justice to the art you’ve created and may even turn potential buyers away and have them visit a different online art store.
When selling art prints or originals online, how you present your own art is just as important as what you sell. Quality images can help your art stand out from the competition and online marketplaces and give potential buyers a reason to choose your work over others.
You will also need high-quality digital images of your art if you wish to sell prints or products on print-on-demand services like Fine Art America or Printful.
Best Cameras For Taking Photos Of Paintings
The Canon EOS 5D Mark IV is a high-end DSLR camera popular among professional photographers. The camera features a 30.4-megapixel full-frame CMOS sensor and a 61-point autofocus system. It also has an ISO range of 100-32,000, which makes it ideal for taking photos of paintings in low-light conditions.
The Nikon D810 is another high-end DSLR camera popular among professional photographers. The camera features a 36.3-megapixel full-frame CMOS sensor and a 51-point autofocus system. It also has an ISO range of 64-12,800, which makes it ideal for taking photos of paintings in low-light conditions.
The Sony Alpha A7R III is a high-end mirrorless camera that is popular among professional photographers. The camera features a 42.4-megapixel full-frame CMOS sensor and a 399-point autofocus system. The ISO range of 100-32,000 makes this camera perfect for taking pictures of artwork in dark environments.
The Fujifilm GFX 50S is a medium-format mirrorless camera popular among professional photographers. The camera features a 51.4-megapixel full-frame CMOS sensor and a 117-point autofocus system. With its ISO range of 100-12,800, this camera is perfect for taking pictures in dimly lit conditions – such as when capturing paintings.
Use Social Media Platforms To Market Your Work
Social media has revolutionized how emerging artists market their work, providing everyone with an easy and free platform for spreading the word about what they do. Whether it’s a product launch, selling limited edition prints, a new project announcement, or regular updates on progress, more and more businesses and creatives are finding success with social media.
Crafting posts that capture the interest of your target audience requires effort, but the effort can be worth it when they connect with art collectors or promote your brand. Social media can be a powerful tool for building relationships with potential art buyers and growing your business presence when used to its fullest potential. Spend time mastering various platforms; you will see their effect on your marketing initiatives.
Best Social Media Platforms To Promote Art
Instagram is a visual social media platform perfect for artists who want to shell original art online. With over 1 billion monthly active users, Instagram provides artists with a vast potential audience for their work. Additionally, Instagram has several features that make it easy for artists to promote their own work, such as hashtags, tagging, and geotagging.
Facebook is a social media platform with over 2 billion monthly active users. While Facebook isn’t specifically designed for artists to promote their work, it can still be a powerful tool. Artists can create Facebook pages for their artwork and use the platform’s features to reach a broad audience. Additionally, Facebook groups are an excellent way for artists to connect with art lovers worldwide and promote their work and upcoming art fairs.
Twitter is a social media platform that allows users to share short messages, or “tweets,” of up to 280 characters. While Twitter may not be the first platform that comes to mind when promoting original artwork or art shows, it can still be a valuable tool for artists. Twitter is great for sharing links to your artwork, images, and videos. Additionally, Twitter can be used to connect with other independent artists and promote your work to a broader audience.
Tumblr
Tumblr is a social media platform that allows users to share text, images, videos, and more. Tumblr is popular among artists as it provides an easy way to share artwork and connect with other creatives. Additionally, Tumblr’s tagging system makes it easy for users to find the content they’re looking for, which means that your artwork is more likely to be seen by those interested in it.
Pinterest is a visual social media platform that allows users to “pin” images and videos to virtual boards. Pinterest is popular among artists as it provides an easy way to share and sell art online and connect with other creatives in the art world. Additionally, Pinterest’s vast user base means that your pins are more likely to be seen by those interested in them.
Create A Website Or Blog To Sell Art Online
Creating a website or blog to display your art is a great way to make your artwork accessible to a broader audience and expand its reach. You can make online galleries as simple or complex as possible by focusing on the pieces or adding other elements, such as essay components or custom-made merchandise. No matter your design, designing any online gallery for your artwork will allow potential buyers and admirers to purchase art prints and original art. Developing an original design will give your artwork the recognition it deserves and help you to develop a brand for your own business, so have fun with it and get creative.
Best Website Builders For Artists Selling Art Online
Wix is a popular website builder that offers a wide range of features to help you build a professional-looking website. One of the great things about Wix is that it offers a wide range of templates specifically designed for artists selling art online. With Wix, you can easily add galleries to showcase your artwork, set up an online store to sell your work, and more.
Squarespace is another popular website builder that offers a sleek and modern platform for building websites. Like Wix, Squarespace also offers several templates designed for artists selling art online. With Squarespace, you can easily create beautiful galleries to showcase your work, set up an online store, and more.
Weebly is a simple website builder that offers an easy-to-use platform for building websites. While Weebly doesn’t offer as many features as Wix or Squarespace, it’s still an excellent option for artists selling art online. With Weebly, you can easily create galleries to showcase your work, set up an online store, and more.
WordPress
WordPress is a popular content management system (CMS) used to build websites. While WordPress isn’t technically a website builder, it still offers a lot of features that can be helpful for artists selling art online. With WordPress, you can easily create galleries to showcase your work, set up an online store, and more.
Shopify is a popular eCommerce platform that offers everything you need to create an online store. While Shopify isn’t technically a website builder, it’s still a great option for artists selling art online. With Shopify, you can easily create an online store to sell your work, and more.
Use Online Directories And Forums To Sell Your Work
With the increasing power of the internet, there are now many ways to find customers and sell your work. Utilizing online directories and forums can help you do just that! You can create a profile page in an online directory that will tell potential customers about your skills and services. On forums, you can engage with other professionals in your industry, get feedback on projects, answer questions from people looking for advice, and market yourself to potential buyers. With an up-to-date directory and forum presence, you’ll find more opportunities to showcase your work and increase sales.
Offer Discounts And Promotions To Attract Buyers
Attracting buyers to your product or service is essential in growing your business. Offering discounts and promotions is one of the most effective ways to do this. Discounts appeal to customers’ wallets and incentivize them to buy right away. Promotions, such as limited-time offers, can also help drive sales and stir excitement. Customers can feel good about their purchase decision with cost savings as a bonus. Combined with quality service, adding discounts and promotions can be a powerful tool in bolstering customer loyalty and increasing your customer base.
Offering Discount Tips
Offer a percentage off the total purchase.
Calculating and offering a standard discount is simple – for instance, you could offer 10% off any artwork purchased online. This type of discount can give customers an excellent incentive to purchase as they will believe they are getting great value for money.
Offer free shipping on all orders.
Shipping costs can be a significant barrier to purchasing, especially for more oversized items such as paintings. Offering free shipping on all orders, or at least on orders over a certain amount, can help increase sales by making it more affordable for customers to purchase.
Offer discounts for bulk purchases.
If someone is interested in purchasing multiple art pieces, offer them a discount for buying in bulk. This could be a percentage off the total purchase price or a flat rate discount per item purchased. This discount can help increase sales by making it more affordable for customers to buy multiple items at once.
Offer discounts for returning customers.
If someone has purchased from you in the past, offer them a discount on their next purchase. This could be a percentage off the total purchase price or a flat rate discount per item purchased. This strategy helps build loyalty among your customer base and encourages repeat business.
Offer discounts for referrals.
If someone refers a friend or family member to your website, offer them a discount on their next purchase. This could be a percentage off the total purchase price or a flat rate discount per item purchased.
Conclusion:
By following these tips, you’ll be well on your way to selling your artwork online. Remember to take good-quality photos, market your work on social media platforms, and create a website or blog to showcase your art. You can start selling your art online in no time with little effort.
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