Are you struggling to find ways new ways to increase your online art sales? Online sales increase during the holiday season and are a great way to draw new potential buyers to your online store.
During October, November, and early December, people visit local art fairs and search online for original works and wall-hanging gifts for close friends and family.
The holiday shopping season is the best time of the year for online retailers to get their best work in front of new people. If done correctly, not only will you increase your total sales this year, but you will also have new collectors you can sell to next year.
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
Increase Online Art Sales This Holiday Season
By the end of this post, you will know how to increase online art sales with:
- Free shipping
- Expiration timers
- Cross-selling
- Fewer options
- Social Proof
- Upselling
The marketing tips outlined below will help you increase online orders show you how to make more profit per sale.
Increase Online Art Sales With Free Shipping
93% of online buyers are encouraged to buy more products if free shipping options are available, whereas 58% of consumers add more items to the cart to qualify for free shipping. (Source: Invesp)
Even online platforms like Etsy highly recommend sellers to offer free shipping because they know that more people will purchase products online if they are shipped for free. Offering new products on Etsy is a great way to reach new people but offering free shipping will help you land a sale.
As of July 30, 2019, items that ship for free and shops that offer free shipping on orders $35 or more to US shoppers will be prioritized in US search to help US shoppers to find more items that ship free within the US. (Source: Etsy)
Enticing new buyers with free shipping is a great way to sell more art this holiday season.
How To Offer Free Shipping Tips:
- Include shipping and handling costs in the price of the art. For example, if you want to receive $500.00 for a painting and shipping and handling costs are $25.00, list the painting online for $525.00.
- Search for discounted or free shipping supplies to reduce the costs of shipping an item. For more information visit, Order Shipping Supplies Online.
- Only offer free shipping for domestic orders.
- Make it clear to art buyers that you offer free shipping and make it easy for them to see your shipping policies.
- Offer free shipping if they spend a certain amount. For example, “receive free shipping if your order is more than $95.00.”
Expiration Timers
Over 80% of people research a product before making a purchase, either online or offline.
Social media and the internet have made it easy for people to learn more about products they are interested in purchasing.
- How often have you read a post your friends posted on Facebook about a new product they purchased?
- How many times have you read the reviews on Amazon before you purchased a new product?
- How often have you researched new art supplies before spending your money?
People want to make sure that they are spending their money wisely, especially if they are purchasing online.
Before shoppers make a purchase, they read reviews, compare items, and look for the best prices, which could have them quickly lose interest in your products.
But there is a way you can inspire your audience to purchase before they stumble on a different artist’s website by creating a sense of urgency on your artist’s website.
Creating expiration timers will motivate shoppers to purchase an item before leaving the site.
Below are some examples:
- 7 Day Flash Sale
- Only 20 available
- While supplies last
Make sure that you highlight the expiration holiday sales on your website’s home page or in the announcement section of your Etsy shop. A great way to get the word out is to write blog posts about the time-sensitive sale and share them on your social media platforms and email list.
Cross-Selling
What is cross-selling?
Cross-selling is a strategy that encourages a customer to purchase additional products that relate to the product they put in the shopping cart.
WooCommerce makes it easy for your shoppers to see similar items after putting an article in the shopping cart.
At the end of each listing, there will be several related products. This feature is excellent for cross-promoting and inspiring a potential buyer to purchase something different.
If you do not have a WordPress site, you can get one started in just a few minutes with BlueHost.
Related articles:
- How To Install WooCommerce On A WordPress Artist Website
- How To Add And Manage Products In WooCommerce
- How To Add WooCommerce WordPress Categories
Another option for cross-promoting is to create bundles.
For example, if you sell greeting cards, you could make an assorted package of six or twelve cards.
Fewer Options
Promoting fewer items on your social media networks and newsletters during the holiday season will produce better results than overwhelming your audience with everything you have.
The best way to design an effective social media holiday marketing plan is to draft some ideas at the beginning of the month. Decide on 5-10 items you would like to highlight. Write down on a calendar when you will be publishing the sale. Creating a marketing calendar will only take a few minutes and help you focus on your target audience.
Develop a holiday marketing plan before the rush starts.
Social Proof
Receiving reviews about your art on your website and social networks will also help you increase your online art sales.
Over 70% of online shoppers trust other consumers online.
Online buyers also tend to spend over 30% more when a company has excellent reviews.
How do you get reviews for your artist’s website?
The easiest way is to ask.
Most people tend to forget about writing reviews for products unless asked to write a review. In the real world, people are busy, and if they didn’t write a review, it is probably because they had other things on their minds.
Send an email 5-7 days after your buyer receives their purchase, and kindly ask them if they would mind spending a few minutes to review their purchase. To ask for a review on Etsy, Click on orders in your Etsy shop, click on the order you want a review, and type a message to the buyer.
Many artists are afraid to ask for a review because they are afraid of receiving a bad review.
Receiving a bad review is not the end of the world. Obtaining a lousy review allows you to make an unsatisfied customer into a raving fan if you work to fix the problem promptly.
Upselling
What does upselling mean?
Upselling is when you encourage an eager customer to purchase a more expensive variant of the same product.
An example would be upsell limited edition prints if they were interested in purchasing greeting cards.
Or you can try to upsell an original painting if they are interested in purchasing a limited edition print.
If you offer bundles of fine art prints and greeting cards, you could upsell a bundle package.
There are many different ways to upsell your art to earn extra money.
Think of different ways you can upsell your artwork.
Visit some top online services like Amazon and Etsy to learn how other businesses implement upselling strategies.
Boost Sales During These Events
Small business Saturday – Visit your local shops and see if they would be interested in commissioning your art during Small business Saturday and the holiday season.
Cyber Monday – Cyber Monday is similar to Black Friday. Online shopping sites promote significant savings during Cyber Monday, just like physical stores do on Black Friday.
You might not make much money per sale these days, but you could end up with loyal customers who will purchase your artwork at higher prices throughout the year.
Final Thoughts On Selling More Art This Holiday Season
Months before the holidays is an excellent opportunity for independent artists to sell art and reproductions. The online marketplace is oversaturated, so small businesses will have to discover ways to entice sales if they hope to make the holiday season profitable. The tips outlined above are a great way to get started.
More Holiday Related Articles
How To Create A Holiday Marketing Plan For Artists And Crafters
The holiday season (quarter 4) is the most profitable time for both big and small businesses. A great way to increase sales for the upcoming year is by applying new marketing efforts to drive potential customers to your online store. Would you like to make more money this holiday season selling … [Read more…]
Is Your Artist Website Ready For The Holiday Rush
It is the first week of October. Is your artist website ready for the holiday rush? Is Your Artist Website Ready For The Holiday Rush Disclaimer: Please note that some of the links on this post are affiliate links and will be clearly marked as so? I will earn a … [Read more…]
Have More Artwork For Sale This Holiday Season – Organize Your Art Studio
Are you excited about selling your art this holiday season? Are you trying to find different ways to earn more money this year? In this post, I am going to talk about how you can have more artwork for sale this holiday season by organizing your art studio today. Have More Artwork For Sale … [Read more…]
Tips for Packaging Your Art for the Holidays
Are you trying to build a loyal following? There is no better time than now for you to build loyal art collectors. In this post, I will share with you some tips for packaging your art for the holidays. Packaging Your Art for the Holidays This is a great time to make a name for your art business. … [Read more…]
