Are there months when you struggle to sell your original fine art or prints of your artwork?
If you rely on income generated from selling original art, slow months can be difficult if you do not have money in reserve.
Diversifying your income streams will make slow months less stressful and easier to manage.
The good news is making passive income is possible, and in this post, we will show you how to get started on how to make passive income so you can spend extra time on more important things.
By the end of this post, you will know…
- The best strategies to make it as an artist
- Different passive income ideas for artists
- How you can make money with your artistic skills
- What makes an artist successful
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Top 5 Ways To Make A Passive Income
- Blogging
- Sell art prints on POD sites.
- Sell merchandise with POD sites.
- Sell digital downloads
- Rent your art
What Is Passive Income For Artists
What is passive income?
Passive income is money you earn in a way that requires little to no daily effort to maintain. (Resource: Dave Ramsey)
Some passive income ideas include blogging, renting a property, or art licensing.
It may take some time and effort to get started, but they could eventually earn you a steady income.
Below is a list of different ways you can earn money relating to art.
Some ideas outlined below will require more effort than others.
Take a look and see what will be a perfect match for your art business goals.
Start with the easiest income ideas at first. Once you have them on autopilot, start implementing other passive income ideas.
Below Are some other ways to earn income as an artist besides selling original paintings.
Passive Income Ideas
- Teach art classes – You can generate some good money by teaching your art style in a group or one-on-one sessions. Teaching art classes is not considered passive income, but you could record the lessons and sell them on your website and social media.
- Create video art tutorials – Many artists earn money selling online video tutorials. You can use platforms like Patreon, Thinkific, or sell them on your WordPress site.
- Publish art tutorials on YouTube – You can generate income with YouTube ads if you get enough subscribers and video views. YouTubes rules are constantly changing, but as of today, a Youtube channel needs 1,000 subscribers to be eligible for monetizing YouTube videos with ads.
- Sell instructional books and eBooks – Amazon makes it easy for people to self-publish eBooks and hard copies online. You can create a coffee table book of your favorite art for people to enjoy or write a tutorial book explaining your art techniques. It is easy to earn passive income by promoting your digital products on your website with WooCommerce and sharing them on social media platforms.
- Offer prints of your art on merchandise – It is easy to sell your art on merchandise like coffee mugs, t-shirts, tote bags, phone cases, calendars, greeting cards, art prints, shirts, hats, bags, etc., with print on demand websites like Printful, Fine Art America, Redbubble, Zazzle and Society6.
To learn how to sell your art on print on demand websites, read:
How To Sell Art Prints On Etsy With Printful
Selling On Zazzle Best Tips For Artists
How To Get Started Selling On Fine Art America
22 Creative Things To Sell On Etsy
Each print-on-demand service has different policies and royalty rates, so read all of the details before creating an account.
- Blogging about your artwork and art business is essential for your online art business. Your blog will drive traffic to your site, where people can view and purchase your artwork, courses, eBooks, pints, etc. But that is not the only way to make money from your blog. You can earn passive income from AdSense and affiliate marketing. Many bloggers earn four figures a month on AdSense and affiliate marketing alone. To learn more, visit Art Blogging Tips.
- Digital Downloads – Selling digital downloads like wall art, e-books, and workbooks are easy with WooCommerce, Etsy, and Gumroad.
To learn how to sell digital downloads on Etsy, read, How To Sell Digital Downloads On Etsy.
How To Make Money With Art Skills
You have a unique talent that could earn you a lot of money in addition to selling originals.
Think outside of the box and develop different ways to help solve a person’s problems.
Below are some different income opportunities for artists:
- Help people with choosing the right colors for their homes.
- Teach people how to care for their art after purchasing original artwork
- Teach people how to pick the best frame for their artwork
- Offer commission work
- Teach DIY crafts
How To Make It As An Artist
The technology available makes it possible for you to make a living as an artist.
Even if you do not want art to be your full-time job, you can make some decent money for fun stuff like vacations or even retirement savings.
Before we talk about earning a passive income, we would like to talk about making it an artist.
First, you have to spend time enhancing your art skills.
You should be working on improving your artistic skills for the rest of your art career.
Many platforms have professional video art and craft tutorials like Udemy, SkillShare, and Craftsy. You can also search on YouTube or visit our free drawing tutorials.
The next step is to think like a business owner.
If you are selling your artwork, you are in business.
Peter Economy explains 7 ways to think like an entrepreneur in a post he wrote for Inc.
- Choose Your Mind-set
- Be Determined
- Build A Solid Relationship Bridge
- Slow Down And Lead
- Know Your Business “Health” Metrics
- Be Prepared To Swim Upstream
- Resolve To Succeed
To learn more, visit 7 Powerful Secrets Of Thinking Like An Entrepreneur.
It is imperative to know your objectives before developing an art marketing strategy that will sell your artwork. If you do not know what you are working for, you will never create multiple passive income streams.
To learn more about setting goals, visit:
How To Write Art Business Goals How To Succeed
How To Develop A Visual Artist Marketing Plan That Sells Art
Setting goals is an important step you do not want to overlook if you are interested in selling your original art and setting up different passive income strategies.
Make a list of what you want to achieve with your art business and set timely goals.
Related Source: How to Write Goals You Can Achieve Workbook
The last step is to continue to learn about marketing and assess and revise your marketing strategies. There are many different revenue streams available, and if you do not know what revenue streams are producing the most income, you could be wasting your valuable time.
Successful artists who make passive income are the ones who spend a great deal of time learning how to market their brand and only spend time on strategies that produce positive results.
For even more ways to earn an income as an artist, visit, Art Jobs Perfect For Art Majors.
Final Thoughts On Making Money As An Artist
As you can see, there are many income options available for artists.
To succeed with any income stream, you will have to put in the hard work, which will be time-consuming. But once you have a product or service created, you will earn extra income with little additional work besides promoting them.
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