Many artists and creative entrepreneur struggle to make a living from their art. They might work as artists or designers full-time but can barely pay the bills.
It can sometimes seem impossible, especially when there is no market for your work. And yet, many successful artists have survived on their art alone and thrive in this tough economy, and you can too. Luckily for artists, the world is changing, and more opportunities exist for artists to make money from their creativity.
The change is good news for creatives because relying on original art sales alone is difficult. Devising different ways to monetize your art business to achieve financial success is essential.
In this blog post, we will explore 9 ways to diversify your income streams with creative ways to help ensure your artistic success and financial security.
Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase by clicking on an affiliate link, Nevue Fine Art Marketing may earn an affiliate commission at no additional cost to you. Affiliate relationships include, but are not limited to, Bluehost, Tailwind, Skimlinks, SareASale and StudioPress. To learn more visit Affiliate Link Disclosure Policy
How To Make Money As An Artist
Artists can supplement their income in many ways, but not all strategies work well for all. Take a look at the list below and see what might work best for you.
Sell Your Art Online
Selling your original art online might sound obvious, but it’s one of the most lucrative ways to make money.
The best way is to sell your art through websites like Etsy or eBay, but you can also set up a more personal profile on Artfinder and Artsy that will feature only your own work. You’ll be able to offer custom commissions from customers without any middleman fees determining how much you’re paid for each sale.
Many artists have gone back and forth about whether it would be better to use WordPress with BlueHost for hosting (3.95/month) or go with an all-inclusive platform, such as Squarespace ($12/month). The truth is that both options are good (and free), so consider what features you need before deciding which route will be best for your art business goals.
Many artists build an artist website for their fine art on platforms like WordPress because WordPress lets you update the site as your business grows.
Other artists do well on platforms like Etsy. However, it isn’t easy to create multiple revenue streams on Etsy.
Sell Art Prints Of Your Original Paintings
Besides selling original art online, offering reproductions of your artwork is a great way to make money as an artist. You can market your prints in two ways: limited-edition or open edition.
Limited-edition prints are signed and numbered by the artist, so no more prints are produced when sold out. Open-edition prints are not limited to a specific number of copies. For example, if you sell 100 open-edition prints, then another set of 100 could be created after those have been purchased.
The benefit of selling original paintings is that there’s usually always an emotional connection between the buyer and the artwork.
However, this also means that as an artist, it will take longer before your earnings from art sales begin to grow because most people don’t want or can’t afford to spend thousands on a painting. But selling art prints will allow you to reach a broader audience and make a larger profit. By not offering prints of your original paintings, you could be losing out on a large group of potential buyers willing to pay for the art you create.
Offer Commissions For Custom Pieces
Offering commissions for custom pieces for those who cannot purchase an original painting can help you earn extra income.
This is a great way to diversify your revenue streams and reach new potential buyers of your artwork!
If you don’t already offer commissions, it will take time and effort to market on social media sites like Facebook or Instagram. But as long as the commission fee isn’t too expensive, this could be a worthwhile investment that pays off in the future.
Create A Blog And Sell Advertising Space On It
You are here because you want to learn how to make money as an artist online.
So far, we have talked about selling original art online, selling prints, and doing commission work.
But there are many other ways to monetize your art.
One is by creating a blog and selling advertising space on it. Not only can blog posts drive thousands of art collectors to your website, but you can also earn passive income with advertisements and affiliate links.
The best blog advertisement companies are Google Adsense, Monumetric, and Media.net, giving you the highest rates for your blog’s advertising space.
Amazon, ShareASale, Commission Junction, and LinkShare are the best blog affiliate companies.
You can also make money with blog posts by creating a membership site, starting a graphic design business, print on demand products, or selling your own products. There are endless ways to earn money blogging, but a blog post’s most rewarding feature is the traffic it can bring to your website.
Teach Classes At Local Schools Or Community Centers
Are you interested in learning how to make money with art skills? Teaching online courses or one-on-one lessons is a great way to earn extra money, but remember that you must work extra hours during the week.
To start teaching in your local area, find a local school or community center looking for an art teacher. All you need to do is contact the organization’s director, tell them about your qualifications, and then email samples of your work for consideration.
Another option many artists use is teaching Classes Online At Skillshare or Thinkific.
Skillshare offers online courses from cooking how-to’s to entrepreneurship tutorials with industry professionals like Gwyneth Paltrow’s former assistant Emily Winters. Share what skills you have and which courses would best suit you by taking their quiz on skill matching.
Thinkific is a platform that offers video courses in various topics, including languages, web development, and art tutorials.
Teach One-On-One Art Classes
Learning how to make a living as an artist is easy, but putting in the long hours can be challenging. Searching for potential clients, creating new art, Writing blog posts and newsletters, promoting your work on social media, and finding different ways to supplement your income takes time and dedication.
While waiting for art sales to come in, you can devote an hour or two a day to teach young artists one-on-one. To start teaching one-on-one, you must create a profile for your website and add your qualifications and pricing to the page. Share the page with everyone interested in learning how to paint in your area.
You can build a large following quickly by asking the people you teach to spread the word for you. In return, you can give them a free session for every new client you receive from their referrals.
Make YouTube Videos And Monetize Them With Ads
Monetizing YouTube videos is becoming more popular with each passing day. This is because more and more people are using YouTube videos to learn how to do things or just for entertainment.
If you make a few videos on topics that interest your audience, you can monetize them with ads to generate money every time someone watches the video. You’ll need at least 20,000-30,000 views before an ad campaign makes any significant amount of money, but it does work if done correctly.
Before monetizing Youtube videos, you must have tallied 4,000 hours of overall watch time on their channel within the past 12 months and have at least 1,000 subscribers.
Create A Patreon Account
Artists doing well on YouTube are starting to earn extra money by creating a Patreon account. Patreon is a membership platform that provides business tools for creators to run a subscription content service. The company is more than just another way to monetize your YouTube channel. It’s also an opportunity to build up subscribers and other forms of engagement with the artist’s fanbase to make money from multiple sources.
License Your Art
Another popular way to earn money from paintings already sold is licensing your work. Licensing art is a legal agreement between the artist and the company interested in using their work. The artist agrees to allow the company to reproduce, distribute or display their art as long as they are compensated for the product.
Final Thoughts On Making Money As An Artist
The more you diversify your income streams, the less risk there is. This article highlights how artists can expand their revenue streams and earn money in new ways. Let us know which of these strategies has been helpful for you.
A full-time artist no longer needs gallery representation to earn a decent salary. If you are willing to work, you can earn a living from your art skills.
Related Posts:
How You Can Make Money Being an Artist
17 Creative Art Business Ideas To Supplement Your Income
12 Creative Ways to Earn Money From Your Art
How Artists Can Grow Their Art Business by Teaching Online
