What Kind Of Art Sells Best – Art Selling Tips

Are you finding it challenging to sell fine art online? Are you concerned about what art buyers are searching for? In this post, I would like to discuss what kind of art sells best and why it doesn’t matter.

I will also share with you some art marketing tips to help you build a thriving online art business.

What Kind Of Art Sells Best – Art Selling Tips

By the end of this post, you will know…

• Best-selling art subject matter
• Most Popular Art Subjects
• Is the grass greener on the other side
• Discover Your Unique Voice
• Art Marketing Tips
• Set Goals
• How To Sell More Art With Search Engine Optimization
• Content Marketing
• Social Media Marketing
• PPC Advertising
• Affiliate Marketing
• Email Marketing

Best Selling Art Subject Matter

Art Business Today did a survey and came up with this list of top-selling paintings in the UK.

Keep in mind that this survey was taken in the UK.

This list might not be relevant unless you are only selling to people who reside in the UK.

According to a survey in Art Business Today, these were the top 10 best-selling subjects for paintings in the UK:

• Traditional landscapes
• Local views
• Modern or semi-abstract landscapes
• Abstracts
• Dogs
• Figure studies (excluding nudes)
• Seascapes, harbor, and beach scenes
• Wildlife
• Impressionistic landscapes
• Nudes

Most Popular Art Subjects

Do you love to paint abstract landscapes but are afraid they might not sell?

Are you wondering if it is worth selling art prints?

You can also visit ArtGallery.co.uk to find out the most recent art sold at ArtGallery.co.uk.

iCanvas also has a section for popular artwork that sells.

Etsy has a section you can visit to find out what type of paintings sell best on Etsy.

With enough time you can find out what art is selling the best on any third-party website.

Knowing what kind of art and handmade products sell best on Etsy or what size painting sells the best is valuable information, but will it help you sell more art?

Is The Grass Greener On The Other Side

Humans tend to want things they do not have.

• Thin people want to gain weight.
• Heavy people want to lose weight.
• People with straight hair want to have curly hair.

I can keep going on, but I think you get my point.

Curiosity also motivates people to learn more about things they do not know.

• Have you ever wondered what kind of art sells best?
• Why do you want to know what kind of art sells best?
• Does it motivate you to become a better artist, or are you thinking about copying the best-selling art?

If you are seeking motivation, I encourage you to take the time to observe other artists.

If you are trying to find out what art sells best to copy their ideas, I will tell you you are doing wrong.

The grass is not always greener on the other side.

If you want to have a beautiful green lawn, you will have to learn how to maintain your lawn.

If you want to sell more art, you must learn how to market your art, not copy other artists’ work.

Art that sells best is created by artists who are passionate about what they create.

These artists have spent years enhancing their artistic skills and spent many hours learning how to promote their paintings and drawings.

Discover Your Unique Voice

If you think you will sell more art by copying other artists’ ideas, I will tell you that you are wrong and will be wasting your time. Not only are you going about it wrong, but it is also unethical and illegal.

The Beatles sold over 800 million physical and digital albums worldwide.

Their first album came out in 1963 and became an instant success.

Other successful bands in the 1960s, like Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Beach Boys, and Chubby Checkers, became well-known not because they copied the Beatles but because they found their unique voice.

You need to do the same thing as an artist.

You have to find your unique voice and artistic style.

The goal is to have people know that you created the art they are viewing.

Just like when you hear the Beatles on the radio.

You know it is the Beatles because of their unique voices, harmonies, and how they arranged their songs.

You want people to be able to recognize your artistic style and connect with your artwork emotionally.

Your target audience has the same passions and will understand the messages behind your paintings and drawings.

Making Art That Sells

I am sure that one of the reasons you are reading this post is that you are trying to find a way to sell more art.

Here are some reasons your artwork might not be selling:

• No Goals
• Weak Art Marketing Strategy
• Weak Content Marketing Strategy
• Weak Social Media Strategy
• Weak Email Marketing Strategy
• Prices
• Subject Matter
• Color Schemes
• Size
• Medium

I would like to start by discussing the subject matter, color, size, and medium you use. These areas will not determine if your art sells or not.

How well you can market your art and artist brand will be the key factor determining if your art sells or collects dust in your closet.

Instead of researching what kind of art sells best, take that time and learn more about art marketing and digital marketing.

You should devote weekly time to enhancing your artistic and art marketing skills.

Set Goals

Later in this post, I will talk about some art marketing strategies that will help you grow your online art business, but before I do that, I want to talk about writing down your goals.

If you want to achieve something, you must first know what you want to achieve.

According to Alyssa Gregory, “Every small business owner, in any stage of the business life cycle, needs goals to keep moving forward, get them motivated to do more, and maintain the success of their businesses.”

Related Post: The Ultimate Guide to Small Business Goal Setting.

Because goals are so important, I have created a video course, workbook, and planners to help you with your art marketing goals.

How to Write Goals Online Video Course

How to Write Goals You Can Achieve Workbook

If you are seriously thinking about selling your art, take some time now to write your goals.

Do not wait until tomorrow because tomorrow will never come.

Online Art Marketing – Art Selling Tips

Art does not sell by itself.

To sell your art online, you will need to learn how to find your target audience, know where to find them, and how to promote your artwork to them.

Just posting an image on Facebook or Instagram will not cut it.

You will have to do more work than that.

Online art marketing overview:

• SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
• Content Marketing
• Social Media Marketing
• PPC (Pay Per Click Advertising)
• Affiliate Marketing
• Email Marketing

The list above shows how much goes into online art marketing. Becoming familiar with each category and implementing well-designed strategies will help you grow your art business larger than ever imagined.

I will give you a brief overview of these categories and some action steps to help get you started.

How To Sell More Art With Search Engine Optimization

According to Neil Patel SEO is the process of optimizing your online content so that a search engine likes to show it as a top result for searches of a certain keyword.

For example, if you paint horses, you will want to rank in the top results for horse paintings, horse paintings for sale, original horse paintings, etc.

The content on your site and your blogs should focus on those keywords and any others related to horse paintings.

Besides knowing what keywords you would like to have your site ranking for, you will want to make sure your site is structured so that search engines understand.

You do not have to know what kind of art sells best to generate more traffic to your artist’s blog.

All you need to know is how to optimize your blog for SEO.

Related Posts:

• What is SEO – SEO Basics for Artists Selling Online
• WordPress Themes – SEO Basics for Artists Selling Online
• WordPress Visibility Settings – SEO Basics for Artists Selling Online
• URL Structures – SEO Basics for Artists Selling Art Online
• WordPress SEO Plugins – SEO Basics for Artists Selling Online
• WordPress Categories and Tags – SEO Basics
• Use SSL – SEO Basic for Artists Selling Art Online

If you find learning easier by watching videos, you might be interested in the WordPress SEO Basics online video course.

Content Marketing

Like I have said earlier, the content you create will be the fuel that drives traffic to your artist blog and art listings.

Without content, you will not have any substance to attract your target audience.

Instead of wondering what kind of art sells best, ask yourself, “How can I create better content that will separate me from the other artists selling art online?“

Here is a screenshot of the definition Google provided for content marketing.

High-quality, valuable content is more important than ever before.

With so many blog posts, videos, images, and social posts being uploaded daily, you have no choice but to deliver the most outstanding content.

The downside is that publishing helpful content requires extensive time, effort, and research.

This makes it challenging for artists who work alone.

The positive side is that it can be done.

Many artists, including me, have established a successful career selling art online.

You can do it as well as long as you believe in yourself and are willing to put in the work.

Alyson Stanfield is a notable example of an artist coach who built a successful business with the help of online marketing.

If you do not know Alyson, she wrote I’d Rather Be In The Studio.

A book that has helped so many artists build a successful art businesses.

Alyson has mastered the art of content marketing, and you can see her all over social media, her blog, and podcasts.

She consistently delivers valuable content that attracts her target audience on multiple mediums.

I encourage you to visit Alyson at Art Biz Coach.

Here are some articles to help you start with your artist blog:

• Digital Content Marketing – What Artists Need to Know
• How to Create an Artist Blog That Generates Passive Income
• 5 Ways Artist Blogs Sell Art and Why You Should Start One
• How to Optimize Art Blog Posts with Great Content

Social Media Marketing

This is the part where most artists get it wrong.

I want to clear something up right away.

Social media is not for immediate sales. It is about building brand awareness and trust with your audience.

People visit social media sites to be social, meet new people, and get away from the daily stress in life for a few moments.

The last thing they want to see on social media is someone trying to sell to them.

You will see better results if you produce a social media strategy to help you grow a larger audience and build relationships with the following you already have.

Related Posts:

• Choose One Social Media Platform to Focus On
• 7 Effective Social Media Tips for Growing Your Artist Brand 
• 7 Pinterest Strategies That Increased My Traffic

Related Resource:

Selling On Social: A Complete Guide by Mei Pak

PPC Pay Per Click Advertising

PPC are advertisements purchased by a business and are displayed in search results, blogs that allow advertisements, and YouTube videos that allow advertisements.

Google Adwords is the most popular platform for online advertisements.

You have already noticed all of the ads running on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter.

Businesses also take advantage of social media advertisements, hoping to build a following.

If you are just starting your online art business, you might want to consider using advertisements, in the beginning, to help build brand awareness.

You will receive more organic traffic through the search results as long as you are consistent with your content marketing strategy.

I recommend researching the best strategies for PPC advertisements before you get started. You want to get the best results for your money.

Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is when a person makes a commission on a sale generated by promoting a product.

If you have products other than your artwork for sale, you might want to consider starting an affiliate program.

Referrals are a big piece of the pie for online sales.

Email Marketing

The last thing I would like to cover is building your email list.

I can not say this enough, and I wish I had listened to people when I started online marketing.

Your email list is your money-maker.

It is a group of people who already trust you and are interested in your artwork and artistic journey.

They gave you their email address because they trust you and want to know more about your artwork.

I have worked hard over the past couple of years to build a list of over 5,000 people.

I can only imagine the number if I started an email marketing strategy over fifteen years ago.

Related Posts:

Sell More Art Online by Growing Your Email List

How to Build an Email List from Scratch Fast

Ultimate Email Marketing Guide for Selling Art Online

Related Resource:

Simple Email Marketing for Makers by Megan Auman

Conclusion:

If you want to sell art online, stop working on what kind of art sells best and put your energy into enhancing your art marketing skills.

What Kind of Art Sells Best – Art Selling Tips Overview:

• Best Selling Art Subject Matter
• Most Popular Art Subjects
• Is the Grass Greener on the Other Side
• Find Your Unique Voice
• Art Selling Tips
• Set Goals
• Online Art Marketing
• SEO
• Content Marketing
• Social Media Marketing
• PPC
• Affiliate Marketing
• Email Marketing

Selling art online can be very rewarding if you put the work into it.

After reading this post, does it matter what kind of art sells best?

What are some of your struggles selling art online?

Let me know in the comment section below.