Are you thinking about selling your artwork but you do not know how to get started? In this post, you will discover how to write an artist business plan that will help you to build a solid foundation for your new business.
Write An Artist Business Plan In 5 Steps
Selling artwork involves more than just creating beautiful paintings or drawings. Once you have decided that you are going to be selling your work you have decided you are going to become a business owner.
So, how do you get started?
The first step is to develop a business plan.
A business plan is a very important strategic tool for entrepreneurs. A good business plan not only helps entrepreneurs to focus on the specific steps necessary for them to make business ideas succeed, but it also helps them to achieve both their short-term and long-term objectives. (Source: iAfrikan)
Developing a business plan might seem overwhelming and it is if you do not know what a business plan involves. That is why I have created an outline for you to follow so you can develop a strategy that will help you to achieve your goals.
How To Write A Business Plan
- Vision Statement
- Mission Statement
- Goals
- Identify Your Target Audience
- Who Are Your Competitors
- Cost Of Doing Business
- Selling Platform
- Art Marketing
Vision Statement
A vision statement identifies what a company would like to achieve.
- How much money would you like to generate with your business?
- Do you want to be famous?
- Do you want to sell your art in galleries?
- Do you want to sell your art worldwide?
- Where would you like to operate your business?
- Will you have people working for you?
The answer is up to you. Write your vision statement and keep it where you can see it every day.
Create a detailed list of everything you would like to achieve. Having a clear vision of your business five or ten years form now.
Related Post:
Artist Vision and Mission – Online Art Business Strategies
Mission Statement
A mission statement is a formal summary of the aims and values of a company, organization, or individual.
- What is your mission?
- Why do you want to be a professional artist?
Your mission statement will provide a way for your viewers to have an understanding of your values.
Write a mission statement for your business and post it on your artist website, art blog and all of the social media sites you are marketing your art on.
Related Post:
How to Write an Artist Mission Statement | Art Marketing Tips
Goals
Every artist will have a different definition of success.
What would you like to achieve with your art business?
Take a few minutes to write your objectives and develop short-term goals and long-term goals that will guide you to the finish line.
The strategies you write should compliment your vision and mission.
The How to Write Goals You Can Achieve Workbook will help you to write goals you can achieve and keep you on track so you can grow your business faster.
Identify Your Target Audience
Now that you have described your business let’s talk about who your customers are also known as your target audience.
A target audience is the demographic of people most likely to be interested in your product or service. (Source: The Balance Small Business)
- Is your ideal customer male or female?
- What is the average age of your audience?
- Where does your audience reside?
- What is your audience’s yearly income?
- Where do your customers purchase art?
Related Posts:
Sell Artwork Online By Knowing Who Your Audience Is Part 1
Sell Artwork Online By Knowing Who Your Audience Is Part 2
Your small business plan will benefit greatly if you have a clear vision of who you are going to be selling your artwork to. The information you gather will help you to develop an effective marketing plan. You will be able to go where your collector’s hangout and you will also know how to communicate your message clearly to them.
Who Are Your Competitors
The next step is to take some time and research who your competitors are.
Your competitors will be artists that are similar to you.
Visit their website and social media business pages.
Things you should observe:
- Who are they networking with?
- How long have they been selling art online?
- What are their prices?
- How is the quality of their photos?
- How easy is it to navigate through their site?
- How large is their following on social media?
- What type of content are they publishing on social media?
- How are they interacting with their audience?
- Do they have an art blog and if so how often are the publishing blog posts?
All of the information you gather will help you to make better marketing decisions.
You will learn what is working for other artists and you can try to incorporate some of the same strategies to help build your art business.
The easiest way for you to build your art business is by learning from others not trying to reinvent the wheel.
Understanding The Cost Of Doing Business
Every business is going to have expenses. There is no such thing as selling art for free.
Online art business expenses:
- Art materials
- Studio expenses, electricity, water, heat, etc.
- Internet
- Website costs, hosting, domain name premium plugins and themes
- Marketing costs
These are just a few of the costs that are associated with operating an online art business.
Make a list of all the expenses your business has.
The next step is to figure out how you are going to pay for everything while your business is growing.
- Do you have savings?
- Can your job pay for everything at the start of your business or are you going to have to apply for a grant?
- How much money will your art business have to generate to cover all of the costs?
The information you have gathered will help you to decide how much you will have to charge for your art and services.
Related Resource:
Art Pricing Guide – How to Price Art to Sell eBook
Selling Platform
Now is the time to decide on what platform you will use to sell your art. You have two options. You can sell your art on third-party websites like Etsy or you can build a website.
Related Resources:
Sell Art Online Free – 7 Popular Third-Party Sites for Artists
Should You Sell Art On Third Party Websites?
Art Marketing
At this point, you should have a clear vision of your business, detailed goals on how you will achieve your vision, an understanding of who your target audience is, know what is working for your competitors, and how much it will cost to run your business.
The next step is to think about marketing your art and what outlets you will use to drive your customers to your artwork.
Online marketing strategies:
- Blogging
- Newsletters
- Social Media
- Video
- Paid Advertising
Decide how you are going to market your art online and take the time to learn everything you can about the marketing outlet you are going to use.
Conclusion:
Operating a business is going to take a lot of work and thought. The basic business plan layout that is outlined above will jumpstart your career.
Bookmark this page so you can revisit it while you are completing each section.
Write An Artist Business Plan Overview:
- Vision Statement
- Mission Statement
- Goals
- Identify Your Target Audience
- Who Are Your Competitors
- Cost Of Doing Business
- Selling Platform
- Art Marketing
Write down this overview and use it as a checklist to make sure you do not overlook any steps.
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