Step 1. Build your portfolio.
In order to start selling your art online, you should have a decent sized portfolio for potential customers to choose from. Aim for 10-25 artworks.
You can either make a bunch of new artwork, or dig up some old pieces that could work digitally or physically to sell.
Step 2: Decide where to sell your art.
Next, you’ll have to decide where to sell your art and that will depend on your medium, style, and goals as an artist.
Identify your audience and how you want to sell your art.
- Are you going to sell primarily prints? (many avenues)
- Are you going to sell physical work, such as paintings? (Etsy, or Fine Art America)
- Do you create sculptures, jewelry or something else tangible? (Etsy)
- Are you interested in designing t-shirts and/or home decor products? (Society6, Zazzle or Redbubble)
Check out my blog post about Where to Sell Your Art Online to help you decide.
For even more help on deciding where to sell your art online check out these posts:
- Selling your art on POD websites – Zazzle vs Society6
- Selling your Art on POD Websites – Redbubble vs. Society6
- Selling your Art on POD Websites – TeePublic Edition
Step 3. Optimize your artwork for sale
You’ll have to optimize your art digitally, or take a nice photo of it in order to sell it online.
- Scan or photograph your artwork
- Make it a large file size
- Try to get sharp lines and true colors
- Post process in a program like Photoshop to fix colors, or clean up scans.
Here is a an explanation of how I clean up my drawings using Photoshop and Illustrator
Step 4: Upload and enable as many products as possible
Upload your art to your chosen platform.
If you are going the Print On Demand route, only add to products that look good and work with the design.
Step 5: Market your products
This is where a lot of artists struggle because, well, we’re artists not business or marketing professionals!
- Share your products and artwork on social media.
- Create an Instagram, Twitter, and/or Facebook page dedicated to your art.
- Ideally, choose one you use frequently so it’s not a burden to learn or use daily.
- You may consider building a website, which can be a hub if you sell on multiple platforms. It could be a blog or just a portfolio of your work.
- Check out my pages for inspiration:
- To dive deeper into marketing, watch tutorials on YouTube or try Skillshare to hone your business skills or even artistic skills as your business grows.
There is a lot to learn on the business side, but don’t neglect your art!
Consistently create new designs so you can figure out what works and what doesn’t, and go from there.
Consistency is key!
For more tips on selling your art online check out these posts:
Social Media Marketing Tips For Artists
Blogging for Your Art Business
How to Increase Your Sales on POD Websites
I hope you’ve found this guide to selling your art online useful. Feel free to leave any additional tips or questions for me in the comments below!>
Cheers,
Julie
