Do you feel like you are spinning like a top and are becoming frustrated because it seems like nothing you do is helping you to sell your art? In this post, I am going to talk about some reasons why your art isn’t selling and how to fix it so you can start to see the sales roll in.
Why Your Art Isn’t Selling And How To Fix It
How discourage do you get when you post a new painting or drawing on Facebook and you receive hundreds of likes and shares but nobody is making a purchase.
Yes, likes and shares make you feel really good about your creations but they will not pay the bills or put money into your bank account.
Before you start wasting time marketing with every shiny bells and whistle marketing strategy that you come across, take a look at what you are already doing and see if there is something you can improve on.
Take a step back and ask yourself the hard question, “Why is my art not selling?”
Make a list and title it, my art isn’t selling because…
This will become your daily to-do list.
If you are not aware of what is working and what is not working for you, you will continue to spin like a top and eventually give up.
Below is some common problems artist face when they are trying to build an online art business. These tips for selling art online will help you to build a solid foundation for your business.
Online Art Gallery
What platform are you using to showcase and your art online?
Do you have an Etsy Shop?
Are you showcasing your art on ArtBoost or ArtFinder?
Many artists do well selling their art on third-party websites like the few listed above however if you use those platforms you will have limited features that will allow you to brand your business and separate yourself from all of the other artists using the same platform.
Related Posts:
Should You Sell Art On Third Party Websites?
15 Places to Sell Art Online and Make Money
The only time I will recommend third-party services is if an artist does not have a few extra minutes to learn how to build a WordPress website.
But if you are willing to learn how to build a website then I would strongly recommend building it on WordPress.
At first, you might be thinking that there is no way you can build a website and I want to tell you that it is easier than you might think.
If you learned how to manage a Facebook page than you can easily learn how to use WordPress.
It will only take you a few minutes to purchase a domain name, hosting and have your website live using a one-click WordPress installer. After that, all you have to do is design your site. It is really that easy.
Below are some resources to help you out if you are thinking about building a WordPress artist website.
WordPress Dashboard Guide eBook
Online Art Marketing
I do not have to tell you that there is a lot involved with selling art online.
You have two primary jobs when you are selling art online and they are creating art and promoting the art that you are selling.
Unfortunately, there are only a certain amount of hours that you will be able to devote to your art business every week.
If you are not good at managing your time you will find yourself putting important tasks such as marketing your art on the backburner.
The first step is to learn how to manage your time. You will be surprised at how much you can get done during the week if you have a plan and you stick to it.
Related Resource:
Get More Done in Less Time The Part-time Artist eBook
The second step is to take the time to learn how to market and promote your art online.
You will want to learn more about social media marketing, blogging, email marketing, and branding.
Below are some posts to help get you started:
- Easy Social Media Strategies For Artists Selling Art Online
- Choose One Social Media Platform to Focus On
- How to Start Selling Art on Pinterest
- How To Sell Paintings With Tailwind Series
- Take the 28 Day Blogging Challenge for Visual Artists
- Ultimate Email Marketing Guide for Selling Art Online
- Create an Artist Brand Workbook
Pricing Artwork
A common struggle many artists face selling art online is deciding how much they should charge for their artwork.
This might be one of the biggest challenges you might face in the beginning.
If you set the price too low you will lower the value of your artwork and you will lose sales if you set the price too high before people get to know who you are.
The prices should reflect the cost of creating the piece, the time it took to create it and how long you have been selling your art online.
For strategies on how to price your art to sell visit Art Pricing Guide – How to Price Art to Sell eBook
Connect With Your Buyers
The last thing I would like to talk about is to connect with your buyers. Selling art is much different than selling a can of coke.
Take some time to reach out to your customers and let them get to know who you are as an artist. The more you let them get to know you the more connected they will feel with your creations.
You will gain a loyal art collector when you can connect them to both you and your artwork.
The effort you put in will pay off down the road because the people you can connect with will become a part of your tribe and they will share your art with all of their friends and family.
Related Post:
How To Use Tailwind Tribes To Sell More Art
Conclusion:
There are going to be many reasons why your art sales might be slower than you have hoped for but if you stick to the basics like having a professional website, taking the time to learn how to market your art online, building a brand that separates you from all of the other artists, and connecting with your audience you see will see that your sales will continue to increase every year.
Now that you know the basic selling art online tips it is time to take action. The sooner you start the sooner you will land a sale.
Why Your Art Isn’t Selling And How To Fix It Overview:
- Online Art Gallery
- Online Art Marketing
- Pricing Artwork
- Connect With Your Audience
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You put a lot of emphasis on creating a website. Do you have any evidence of this helping people sell more art than they would on a third-party site? It seems to me that a website would just get as “lost in the crowd” as having a third-party account. Are people really doing web searches on “art for sale?” My suspicion is that they go to the third-party sites first.
You also don’t address the fact that some people’s art just might not be that “sell-able.” Let’s face it, the general public’s taste in art leans to the more “pedestrian,” “interior design-friendly” sort of stuff.
Hi Patton, thank you for your comment and you bring up some great points. I am proof that owning has not only helped me to sell more of my art, but it has also increased the value of my artwork because I was able to brand my business according to my goals.
I have also seen many artists do well with third-party sites. It all boils down to the individual’s unique goals.
The benefits of owning a website are that you will be in total control of the look (branding) an what type of content you publish on it. A WordPress website allows you to adjust it as your business grows and your goals change. A third-party site has limitations, and, in some cases, you will spend more money operating a third-party site. For example, FASO charges about 35 per month which comes to 420 a year. My WordPress site costs me less than half that amount per year and that is including premium plugins.
The point you made about being lost in the crowd works both ways. The only way you will have a chance of selling art online is if you build brand awareness for your art business. There are thousands of pages of artwork on third-party sites and I find it hard to believe that if you were on the last page someone would spend the time going through all of the pages to find your art on the last page.
I also find it hard to believe that most people who are looking for art know about all of the different third-party sites that are out there.
The same argument can be said with a website. If your website is not ranked high in search you will never be found. So what is the solution? The only way to sell your art online is to market it to your target audience.
Using a third-party site or owning a site should only be decided on your unique goals. The platform you use is only a tool that allows you to showcase your artwork and collect money from a customer. In order for you to sell your art, you will have to work hard to drive traffic to whatever platform you use.
I hope this helped and best wishes
Dave
Helpful article but for for myself most of the obvious online resources seem to provide minimal traffic making it very difficult to create sales on a consistent basis. It’s one thing to make an ocassional sale but quite a more difficult to turn into a profitable venture. Original artworks sold seem to have the best chance of success but again seems to very inconsistent. Prints and the like are a popular way to go but selling is more difficult as competition and choices for consumer engagement are difficult to overcome. Maybe just keeping art on a less formal path as part of personal expression could be a better and healthier solution.
You have brought up some great points and thank you for sharing your thoughts, Mark.