Most artists today have no problem creating art. For anyone who’s passionate about what they do, that comes naturally. The biggest challenge for most creatives is selling their work. We are bringing 7 best services that could help you sell art online.
For the longest time, there has been a select community of dealers, exhibits, and collectors that dictate the art market. But the rise of online solutions has leveled the playing field for artists everywhere. The global art market reached over $64 billion in 2019. 2020 was a different story as the number dipped to around $50 billion due to the pandemic. But even with that dip, there is enough evidence to indicate that the market for art is huge. What artists need to figure out is how to sell art and where to sell them.
Tips to Sell Art Online
E-commerce has become more of the norm than the exception, especially with Coronavirus pushing so much of the world as we know it into online ecospheres. Artists should start jumping into that trend as well if they want to capitalize on it early on. When selling online, there are some best practices to keep in mind and follow. Here are a few tips for selling artworks online that will get you started.
Go Digital
While there is still a market for tangible paintings, it’s no longer the only way to sell art. Some artists make use of digital art tools to convert their works into virtual masterpieces and sell them in softcopy format that can be replicated into different formats. Some sell them as prints in print-on-demand form, while others go for more functional forms like creating t-shirts, pillows, and other merchandise out of their artworks and designs.
Create a Demand
When dealing with more traditional art as a form of collection, the challenge with digital format is that it takes out the exclusive aspect of art. But some artists have been curbing that by providing certificates of authenticity or guaranteeing that they will only print a limited set of their works.
Get Exposure
When selling work online, attention is the name of the game. It’s not enough to simply put your work on a marketplace and wait for collectors and customers to visit your site. You’ll need to market and get exposure by getting on art magazines, posting on social media, getting featured on publications, and other means of getting the word out about your output.
Where to Sell Art Online
Reports indicate that 29% of collectors stated that they prefer to buy art online. When selling to the right market, what artists want to know is where they can post their artworks online to get in front of customers and provide the proper system to transact. Many art selling websites are available to anyone who wants to start a digital trade, and they usually fall into two categories: open marketplaces and self-run digital stores. Let’s look at each one and cite some great examples.
Open Marketplaces
Open marketplaces are existing sites that people can post on with very little setup involved. While these online stores already have existing traffic, they are often more saturated with other sellers and ask for higher commissions and commission cuts. But if you want a solution that is plug-and-play, then open marketplaces are the best option for you.
The most obvious open marketplace available for artists to sell their works on is Facebook. Up to 76% of consumers have transacted on a social media platform. Facebook is free, which isn’t breaking news, but it’s also highly saturated with people selling all the time. Some sellers have opted to pay for sponsored ads or outsource advertising as a way to convert leads into sales.
The best place to start is by creating a Facebook page (not a group or profile) of your brand and posting your works there. Provide as much value on your social channels and keep them updated. Whether you end up selling on Facebook or not, it’s good to have it anyways as it’s also a great way to build up exposure and awareness.
Etsy is another open marketplace that artists can join to sell their work online. The site positions itself as an e-commerce platform for people to sell crafts, clothing, home decors, and art. Creating an Etsy seller’s account is straightforward and easy to learn. Of course, since Etsy is a business too, they have to charge you for certain privileges. Listing a product for up to four months will cost roughly a dollar per item, and the website will also take around 5% of your sales as a commission.
Zatista is another place to sell artworks online, which currently has hundreds of artworks available for sale on their site. Unlike Etsy, this site is more focused on selling artworks. Zatista acts as an online broker of art and reaches a global market. The site doesn’t charge for membership or listings, but it does take a larger percentage cut, usually deducting up to 45% of every sale. Getting on Zatista isn’t as easy as artists need to apply for membership and wait for word on whether they get through screening or not.
When learning where to sell digital art, artists will discover that the traditional canvas is no longer the only format that people collect art. Some people go for more functional formats such as tees. That’s where you might come across Threadless, a dropshipping site with some of the most beautifully designed shirts, hoodies, shoes, and art prints too. Designs come from artists all over the globe. Selling your art as shirts on Threadless can be highly rewarding as Threadless takes care of printing and shipping for you. Artists won’t get as much per item, though, as profits usually range from $10 to $20 per item.
Self-owned Online Stores
When learning where to sell art online, open marketplaces might not be an enticing option for some artists. Some want more control over how their store might look and business aspects like payment options and shipping terms. In these cases, it’s better to build your own online store. Here are some of the best sites and tools to create an e-commerce store without starting from scratch.
Shopify is one of the most popular e-commerce tools now. It provides people with an array of templates and tools that one can use to create a beautiful online shop with a custom address. Shopify pricing plans range anywhere between $29 to $299 a month, depending on the features you’ll need and the volume you want to ship. On top of that, the site also has a payment gateway that collects payments for you and takes out roughly 2 to 5% off every transaction.
Another of the best websites to sell art on is the quickly-rising website builder Squarespace, which provides artists and business owners a simple drag-and-drop system, allowing anyone to create a site without having to code. There are, however, many functional limitations to Squarespace as the design can be quite constrained. But it does have a lower price point as Squarespace plans are $12 to $40 a month. The site also charges 3% out of every sale made through their e-commerce system.
Another site-building tool is WordPress, one of the most popular website creation solutions today. WordPress is free and has no monthly fees, but it can be harder to set up on your own so you’ll have to either learn how to create a site with WordPress or hire a professional web developer to build it out for you. WordPress also has a plugin for WooCommerce, which gives you in-built features to sell your products online.
FoundMyself is an online community and marketplace for artists and art lovers to buy and sell artwork. Unlike other online galleries that charge commissions or listing fees, Foundmyself really does let artists sell their art online, for free. They don't get involved in sales so there is no middleman to take a cut. Foundmyself runs on the Honor System, which means that you can sell your art directly to customers and keep 100% of any sale you make. You set your prices, you keep the profits.
Graphic Design and Art
If you’re looking to sell your art online, you’ll need to learn graphic design and use a tool that will help you layout promotional content or even the artworks themselves. If you don’t have a tool in mind yet, you can check this list to select and compare graphic design software.
When you start selling your art online, the world becomes your marketplace. And with the right strategy and platform in place, you could turn your passion into a highly profitable profession or side hustle at the very least.
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This blog is a guest post written by Finances Online content team.
Image Courtesy: Pexels.com