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Are you thinking about selling art online and do not know how to start?
Have you thought about selling your art on Etsy?
It is easy to sell art on Etsy and best of all it is very affordable.
How To Sell Art On Etsy
Etsy has become one of the largest marketplaces on the internet for artists to sell their artwork and handmade crafts. Etsy has built a large community of art collectors searching for one of a kind art that can not be found anywhere else.
Etsy has made it easy for artists to sell their art online with its user-friendly platform and low selling fees.
In the video tutorial above, I will show you step-by-step on how to start your Etsy account, Open your Etsy Shop and list your first item for sale.
After you have your Etsy shop up and running you will want to focus on some basic marketing strategies to help you generate traffic to your listings.
Go through the steps below to build a solid foundation for your new online art business.
By the end of this post, you will know…
- The importance of high-quality images
- Best cameras for photography
- Online course for photography
- Best time to post your items
- Branding basics
- Etsy’s tags and categories
- Promote your Etsy shop on your art blog
- Importance of growing your email list
- Share your Etsy listings on social media
- Learn from other artists on Etsy’s community
- How to price your art
Sell Art On Etsy With High-Quality Images
I can not emphasize enough how important image quality is for selling your art online.
The people viewing your art online have nothing to go on except your images. They can not look at your art at different angles, hold it or see the fine texture.
Make sure that the image is not grainy and represents the colors of the original accurately.
Investing in a good camera and photography tutorials will go a long way.
Practice taking photos with different lighting.
Digital cameras allow you to take hundreds of photos for free.
Discover what room and lighting work best for your art.
Many artists have done well by taking different shots of their art so the viewer can see the art at different angles.
Staging your art on a wall is another good idea. This allows the viewer to see what the art will look like hanging on their wall or placed on a shelf.
Don’t settle for something that looks “ok”.
You take pride in your art so make sure you take pride in the images that you are showcasing online.
Best Cameras For Photography:
Nikon D800 Digital SLR Camera Body (36.3 M/P)
Canon EOS Rebel SL2 DSLR Camera
Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-RX100 V Digital Camera (20.1 M/P)
Related Posts:
How to Photograph Art to Sell Online
7 Tips Photographing Artwork to Sell
Related Online Course:
Craft Photography Fundamentals by Candice Stringham
Space Your Postings
A new Etsy listing will be showcased at the top of the search results for a short period of time.
The more engagement the post has the longer it will stay on top.
This little boost gives your products increased visibility which will increase your business brand and might increase your sales.
Consider creating a posting schedule throughout the week and see what days and times work best for you.
You might find better results if you post an item once every three days rather than posting three items at one time.
Brand Your Etsy Shop
In order for you to be discovered online, you must take the time to market and brand yourself.
Take some time thinking about the background colors, font style, logo, and policies you will have for your Etsy business.
Branding starts with being consistent with your listings so people will start to recognize your art when they are scrolling through Etsy. The images you upload should be consistent and the descriptions of your products should be similar.
Create a template for your art listings to save time when you are uploading new products.
The template you create will make it easy for you to stay consistent with each listing.
Related Posts:
Art Branding Basics Increase your Art Sales
How To Write Art Descriptions That Will Sell Your Art
Related Online Course:
Brand Your Creative Business by Megan Auman
Utilize Etsy’s Categories And Tags
Tags (keywords) are the words that shoppers use on Etsy to discover new products.
Using tags that best describe your product will help Etsy showcase your posts to people who will be interested in purchasing your creations.
Categories make it easy for your shoppers to discover similar items that you offer instead of scrolling down a hundred listings.
For example, if you paint wildlife, landscapes and domestic pets, create a category for each group.
The categories will make it a more pleasant shopping experience for your buyers.
Promote Your Etsy Listings On Your Art Blog
Your art blog will be your traffic generating machine. In time your blog will attract and drive your target audience to your Etsy listings.
When people land on your blog posts you can direct them to your Etsy shop or a particular sales page.
It takes some time to see results from blogging, so it is important to start it once you open your shop.
When your blog starts to be ranked by search engines, you will notice traffic to your Etsy shop will increase.
The more people you can drive to your artwork the better your chance will be to sell it.
Related Post:
5 Content Marketing Benefits for Artists
6 Blogging Benefits You Can't Ignore
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Related Online Courses:
Build a Successful Creative Blog by April Bowles-Olin
Blogging to Sell Your Products by Megan Auman
Grow Your Email List
Start building your email list from day one.
Gather emails from opt-in forms on your blog and social media accounts.
Ask everyone who has made a purchase if they would like to receive updates.
Send out weekly, bi-weekly or monthly newsletters to keep your following up to date.
Your email list will be the biggest asset to your online business.
Related Posts:
Ultimate Email Marketing Guide for Selling Art Online
How to Build an Email List from Scratch Fast
Best Places to Add an Email Opt-in on Your WordPress Blog
Related Online Course:
Simple Email Marketing for Makers by Megan Auman
Promote Your Art On Social Media
Social media has made it easy for marketers to share information about their products and services to their audience.
Decide on a couple of social media networks you would like to promote your art on.
Take the time to learn everything you can about the platform so you can build a large following.
Do not make the same mistakes many artists make. They feel that if they just upload an image they will land a sale.
That is not how social media marketing works.
You need to produce valuable content your audience will be interested in and inspire them to want to learn more about the topic you are writing about.
Related Posts:
How to Create a Social Media Marketing Plan - Sell Art Online
How to Create a Social Media Marketing Calendar
Related Online Course:
Selling On Social: A Complete Guide by Mei Pak
Study Other Artists
One of the best ways to learn is by watching others.
Take some time to research other artists on Etsy and see what they are doing to build their business.
After researching a few different artists you will discover some common strategies they are using.
Take note of these and see if you can incorporate them into your strategy.
Do not try to invent the wheel. If a strategy is working, use it.
Another great feature Etsy offers is the Etsy Community.
You can join a team, browse the forums or start a discussion.
It is easy to find the answer to any question you might have with the Etsy Community.
Build Your Reputation
Selling art is a customer service business. You are providing products and services to people. Take care of your customers and they will take care of you. Strive to provide excellent customer service. Everyone who purchases from you will have nothing but good things to say about you and your Etsy Shop.
How To Make Money Selling On Etsy
Making money selling your art starts with knowing what the costs are for doing business.
You will be able to create a profitable pricing strategy when you know how much it costs to create and sell your products.
Art Business Costs:
- Cost of supplies
- Cost of shipping supplies
- Cost of shipping
- Marketing costs
- Home business costs (internet, electricity, etc.)
Your selling price will be determined by how much it costs to create the product and how much profit you would like to earn for each piece.
For example, if it costs $15 to create your art and you would like to make $20 you would have to sell it for $35.
The other thing you will have to consider is knowing what people are willing to spend on products that are similar to yours. This is known as market value.
Before you start listing your items for sale you should take some time to research what other artists are selling their products for.
Search for artists who are selling art that is similar to yours.
Write down all of the prices you have gathered and price your art within that range.
You might not be able to sell your products at the price you are hoping for at first, but the value of your art will increase as you start to build your brand.
Related Posts:
How to Price Art - Ultimate Art Pricing Guide
When to Increase Art Selling Prices
Be Consistent
The last tip I would like to cover is staying consistent with the quality of your art and art marketing strategies. Building an online presence will take some time, but if you are consistent with your efforts you will be able to speed up the process. Keep in mind everything you do today will reflect the growth of your business tomorrow.
Popular Art Marketing Courses
Are you ready to take your art business to the next level?
Investing in marketing courses and tutorials will maximize your profit and speed up the growth of your business.
Below are some of the most popular art marketing courses that will grow your online art business:
Most Popular – How to Make a Living Selling What You Make by Megan Auman
Most Popular – Build a Successful Creative Blog by April Bowles-Olin
How to Build a Business While Learning Your Craft by Megan Auman
Pinterest Marketing for Makers & Designers by Megan Auman
Conclusion:
It takes more to sell art online than just publishing new art. Your job starts after you have uploaded your images. You will have to work every day on marketing your art in order for your business to grow. The artists you see online are the artists that took the time to learn how to market their art.
28 Day Blogging Challenge for Visual Artists
Are you ready to start building an online presence?
Available on Amazon or Download your copy today.
The Productive Artist How to Live Your Dreams
The right mindset and time management skills are essential for any business. These topics are often not talked about but are key elements for your success. You will learn how to have a winning mindset and time management skills necessary for operating a successful art business.
Available at Amazon or Download your copy today.
Get More Done in Less Time The Part-time Artist
Proven strategies that will help you to get more work done in less time so you can sell more art and earn more money.
Available at Amazon or Download your copy today.
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Etsy is a great platform to use if you would like to sell fine art online and just starting out. After you have become familiar with online marketing I would strongly suggest building a WordPress website.
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