Are you excited about selling your art online? In this Sell Art Online Startup Plan, you will discover everything you need know to get your online art business started, so you can start selling your art today.
Sell Art Online Startup Plan
There is no better time than now to sell art online. You have the opportunity to reach millions of collectors who are interested in purchasing your art.
Whether you have been selling your art online for some time now, or you are just starting out, your main goal is to be noticed.
Most artists cringe when they hear the words “art marketing.” The truth is you will not be able to sell your art if you do not market your art.
People can not buy your work if they do not know it exists.
Art marketing can feel overwhelming at times, and it does take a lot of effort.
However, if you have a plan, you will be happy to learn you will have an opportunity to sell art online, and a lot of it.
Sell Art Online Strategy
Follow the five simple steps outlined below, and you will have a strong foundation for your online art business.
I provided additional articles and recommendations to help make each step easier.
At first, all of the information might seem overwhelming.
Take one step at a time.
Learn the basics of each topic and start implementing them. Do not get caught up in advanced tactics in the beginning. You need a solid foundation before any advanced art marketing strategies will work.
Complete one step at a time.
Before you know it you will be selling art online.
You will want to learn more advanced art marketing tactics after you feel comfortable with the five steps outlined below.
If you have not already done so, sign up for the free weekly newsletter. I will email you important articles that will teach you how to sell art online.
Visit Art Marketing Resource for all of the tools I use and recommend for operating an online art business.
Sell Art Online Startup Plan - Goals
The articles below will help you with writing your goals and artist mission statement.
You can not sell art online if you do not have a clear vision of what you want.
Step 1. is the most important step you will take.
Every other plan and step you take along the way will guide you towards your vision and your goals.
Before you go to step 2, take the time to read these articles:
A study from Harvard showed some eye-opening results.
A group of people was asked if they had set goals. They were also asked if they had written goals and plans to accomplish their vision.
After a ten-year study, the results showed that 13 percent of the people had goals but did not have them written down. Those people earned twice the amount of money than the people who did not set goals.
The people who had written their goals down earned ten times the amount of money than the people who did not set goals as well as the people who had goals but did not write them down. Only three percent of the people had written goals.
Writing down your business goals and having a plan is well worth your time if you want your income to increase that much. Before you do anything, write your goals and set up a plan to achieve them. Your goals will constantly be changing, and you will want to view them and address them regularly.
If you struggle with writing goals, I recommend reading my book 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 critical 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 today.
The time you spend now on your goals will save you time in the long run.
Now that you have your goals documented it is time to go to the next step. You need a place where people can purchase your art.
Sell Art Online Startup Plan - Showcase Your Art
I am often asked, "What are the best places to sell art online?"
With more art being purchased online, more business will take advantage of the opportunity and provide services to help artists showcase their art.
You will need to have a place online where you will be able to sell your artwork.
Here are just a couple of options for you to get familiar with. The two suggestions are used by many artists but not the only two options available.
After you become available with what they have to offer, take a look around to see if a different site offers something different that will be better for your art business.
FASO – FASO (Fine Art Studio Online) is a Third Party site that was built by artists for artists. If you are interested in designing an online art gallery that allows you to sell art online and you are not computer savvy, FASO is a site you will want to consider using.
You will have a professional online art gallery along with necessary tools needed to help build your art business. You will find everything you need in one place.
ETSY – Many artists start selling their art online with Etsy and do very well. Etsy makes it easy for artists to build an Etsy shop and start selling within minutes.
Another benefit selling art online with Etsy is they already have a large community. It will be easier for you to start building your brand.
I know many artists that have both an online art gallery and an ETSY shop.
To get started with ETSY, take my step by step tutorial.
For $4.95 you will get access to a downloadable PDF and six videos, that will go over with you each step on how to start your Etsy shop and list your first item for sale.
How to Sell Art on Etsy – Online Art Marketing
With more art being sold online every year, you will notice more options are becoming available for artists to showcase their work.
To learn about some other options read, 7 Popular Third-Pary Sites for Artists. This is just a small list of what is available.
When you are just starting out, you want to keep things simple. You need a goal, a place where people can purchase your art and an art marketing plan.
As time goes by and you become more familiar with selling art online, you will discover different options that will benefit your business. For now, use something that is simple and popular with many artists.
Once you have become familiar with showcasing your art on third-party sites, you will want to consider building an artist website. It will be easier for you to generate traffic to your artist website after you have built an online business.
While you are building your online presence, learn how to build a website with WordPress. WordPress is very easy to use and you will own it. You will have total control of the look and feel of your site.
Visit 4 Amazing Artist Websites You Should See so you can start to get an idea of what you can do with a website.
Why Many Artists Fail
One reason many artists fail selling art online is that they do not learn how to market and promote their work. They think that just because the upload an image of their art, people are going to find it.
This is not how it works. You need to market and promote your art. You need to let people know what you have to offer.
There are so many tools available for you to accomplish this and you will want to take advantage of the ones that will give you the best results.
The next three steps will go over email marketing, content marketing (blogging) and social media marketing.
Focusing on these three categories will help you build your business larger than you could have ever imagined.
Time Management
Another reason artists fail is that they do not learn how to accomplish every task that needs to get done. This is also known as time management.
You will need to learn how to be productive and organized if you want to reach your goals.
Sell Art Online Startup Plan - Build an Email List
Your next step will be to start collecting emails and develop a newsletter marketing strategy.
Try AWeber free for 30 days! - AWeber Communications
Read the articles below to learn how to develop a newsletter marketing strategy.
You will notice most of these articles are designed to optimize your Artist Blog. I want you to get familiar with this content before building your blog.
You will discover how to optimize your site for your email marketing strategy. It is easier to do it right the first time than going back and revising.
- Ultimate Email Marketing Guide for Selling Art Online
- 7 Email Services for the Online Artist
- Best Places to Add an Email Opt-in on Your WordPress Blog
- 4 Email Opt-in Plugins for WordPress
Here are a few books I recommend for email marketing:
Email Persuasion: Captivate and Engage Your Audience, Build Authority and Generate More Sales With Email Marketing by Ian Brodie
Audience: Marketing in the Age of Subscribers, Fans and Followers by Jeffrey K. Rohrs
Don't take this step lightly. Learn everything you can about building your email list.
Your email list will be the biggest asset for your business.
Many successful artists wish they have started working on their email list from day one. They have learned throughout the years of their career the importance of collecting emails.
Don't be the one saying, "I wish I started working on this from day one."
Sell Art Online Startup Plan - Artist Blog
To sell art online, you will need to be noticed and build brand awareness.
Many successful online businesses achieve this with content marketing.
I recommend using WordPress for your platform. You will need a hosting service if you are going to use WordPress.
I use and recommend HostGator (Affiliate Link) for a hosting service. I could not be happier with their product and customer service.
HostGator makes it easy to have your WordPress site up in minutes. If you need assistance, customer service is available 24/7.
Read these articles to help you get your art blog up and running so you can let everyone know about your artwork.
- 6 Blogging Benefits You Can’t Ignore
- How to Write a Content Marketing Plan That Increases Art Sales
- Art Marketing Basics Solve a Reader’s Problem
- Effective Writing Tip – Keep it Simple – Online Art Marketing
- How Content Marketing Can Benefit Your Art Business - Infographic
- What do I do After Installing WordPress - Art Marketing Plan
You can find more helpful articles at Blog Resource.
Regularly visit Content Marketing Library for up to date content marketing articles or sign up to my weekly newsletter so you do not miss any important art marketing articles that will help yo grow your online art business.
Why Many Artists Give Up on Blogging
One common reason artists give up on blogging is because the do not see any instant results.
People have come to expect instant results.
When you post on Facebook, you will see instant likes and shares. This satisfies the ego but does not help pay the bills.
Ask yourself these questions:
- How long do I plan on selling art online?
- How much art do I want to sell?
- Do I want to earn money from my skills besides just selling art online?
If you are planning to sell art for the long-term and wish to make money by helping other artists, blogging is the key to your success.
Blogging is for the serious artists and business. It takes time to rank in Google's search but when you get to that point you will see your business grow larger than you could have ever imagined.
I can not tell you how long it will take for your art blog to gain organic traffic from search engines. There are many factors that will determine how long it will take.
Through experience with my blogs and helping other bloggers, the average time it takes to see some results is up to one year. From that point on you will start to significant growth.
Are you ready to take your art business to the next level?
The Content Marketing for Artist Course will help you to get the most out of you content marketing. You will learn how to make an online presence and write great content that will attract your target audience and build a loyal following.
Recommended reading:
Everybody Writes: Your Go-To Guide to Creating Ridiculously Good Content by Ann Handley
Ann's book has helped me improve my writing skills in more ways than one. If you struggle with your writing, I am sure you will enjoy Everybody Writes.
If you do not have time to read, purchase an audio version of the book and listen to it while you are in the studio. That is what I did and it really helped.
SEO
You will want to become familiar with SEO (Search Engine Optimization) while you are working on your artist blog and website.
This article will help you understand the basics of SEO.
SEO Basics - What Artists Need to Know
Images
Besides creating great content for your blog, you will also want to take breathtaking images of your art.
The Importance of Photographing and Displaying Images of Art
The content you write will drive traffic to your artist website, the images will land the sale.
Sell Art Online Startup Plan - Social Media
Your last step will be to set up some social media accounts so you can promote your art gallery and art blog.
Many artists use social media wrong. Social media is not a place to buy and sell art online. Social media is a place to build relationships with your audience. After you have built their trust, they will become loyal collectors of your art.
Use social media to get to know your audience, as well as let them get to know you as an artist and a person.
Read these articles to help get you started with some common social media sites used by artists.
How to Create a Social Media Marketing Plan - Sell Art Online
Many artists have done well with Facebook Business Pages. If the right art marketing strategy you will be able to build a large following on Facebook.
Your Facebook Business Page will keep your audience up-to-date with your art business.
How to Create a Facebook Fan Page Step by Step
How to Use Facebook Insights to Reach Your Audience
6 Artist Tips to Increase Facebook Organic Reach
For up-to-date Facebook marketing tips visit Facebook Art Marketing - Nevue Fine Art Marketing.
Pinterest is a unique social media platform. I think of it more as a search engine. People visit Pinterest to find content just like they do on Google or Bing.
The benefit you will have is, Pinterest is visual. It is a great place to showcase your art.
I highly recommend using Pinterest in your art marketing plan.
Create a Pinterest Business Account Step by Step
6 Easy Pinterest Image Tips That Drive Traffic
Optimize and Hide Pinterest Images in a WordPress Post
For up-to-date Pinterest marketing tips visit Pinterest Art Marketing - Nevue Fine Art Marketing.
Regularly visit Social Media Marketing Library for up-to-date articles to help you with all your social media marketing strategies.
Brand Awareness
Now that you have a solid foundation for your online art business, you will want to focus on building a presence.
Many people do this wrong. They will market to anyone and everyone. The truth is there will be a specific audience that will want to purchase your art.
Spend your energy finding your target audience. The people who will be interested in purchasing your art.
Save valuable time by taking this online course and start marketing to the people who matter.
Continued Education:
At this point, you have an operating business. You will be able to grow your business as large as you wish and will depend on your drive and ambition.
In order for you to continue to grow your business, you will need to stay on top of new marketing strategies that arise.
If you have not already, sign up for my free weekly newsletter.
I also want to share with you some of my favorite marketing book that I regularly revisit.
Guy Kawasaki’sThe Art of Social Media Power Tips for Powerful Users is a book filled with useful insights and tips that are straight to the point and easy to implement even for the new marketers. Guy guides you through the steps you will need to take to build a solid foundation that will attract your target audience.
The Art of Social Media is quoted to be, “The one essential guide you need to get the most bang for your time, effort, and money.”
Andrew Macarthy’s500 Social Media Marketing Tips: Essential Advice, Hits and Strategy for Business: Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+, Youtube, Instagram, Linkedin, and More! is the perfect book for tips and tricks for your marketing strategy. 500 Social Media Tips is filled with hundreds of actionable strategy tips that you can start implementing immediately.
Conclusion:
Congratulations on completing this Sell Art Online Startup Plan. You are ready to sell art online.
Final thoughts stay patient, keep learning, stay consistent and live your dreams.
Best wishes in your success!
Dave Nevue
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 commission at no extra cost to you if you choose to purchase through those links. I will only recommend products I have used, found helpful to my business and are companies I trust.
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Everything you need to know to sell art online.
