Whether you’re a seasoned artist or a newcomer, selling art online does work. And if you are not involved in selling your art online you are losing out on a huge opportunity. There are a wide variety of ways to sell your art online and selecting the best few will save you a lot of missed sales.
Third Party Websites
The best way to start selling art online is to use existing services that typically do not have upfront costs. Most gallery websites that sell art online for artists charge a fee, and it is important that while you are signing up, you pick those that offer the lowest commission. Many sites charges 40% commission on the sale, and most sales may be made through the site in order to keep you from circumventing the commission. And remember you’re not the only artist, you need to find ways to get your art noticed above all others.
Go where the crowds go. Do not try selling art online on some obscure website. Competition is not a bad thing especially if you’re trying to get your art noticed. By displaying your art on the major gallery sites you open yourself up, to be visited by hundreds even thousands of potential buyers. Remember, in many cases, a buyer isn’t looking for something specific they are looking for something they like. This is when competition actually helps you by providing a buyer many options to choose from, whereas if selling on an obscure website buyers will leave because of a small selection.
NB: To find the right third party websites, key into the major search engines the keyword/keywords that relate to your art and see which sites come up on the first page of google, yahoo etc. These are the sites you should try first.
Joining Forums
Getting your art noticed is not as difficult as you may think. Regardless of whether you are a professional or an amateur, joining forums is an excellent way to provide content for the community, while subtly advertising your art. Be forewarned that if you are selling art online inside a forum or community is highly possible that you will be blacklisted from the form or community. To avoid this, offer content that is relevant to people’s questions and answer them truthfully. This commitment to the community will shine through, and people will naturally be interested in your art work.
Auction Websites like Ebay
You may also try selling art online at auction websites, but keep in mind, they often have stiff fees. This type of online selling can provide a steady income and is also a great way to get some of your lesser pieces sold and still make a reasonable profit. You need to be very descriptive of your artwork and provide some excellent high quality photos for potential buyers. Avoid offering your higher-priced art on auction websites and to maintain the value of your art you should try and set reasonable reserve prices. This benefits both you and your buyers, and keeps your artwork at an acceptable price range.
Setting up your own Blog and Website
The power of the internet is that you can have your own gallery and display it to the whole world. You can also showcase your work to potential buyers and galleries without any time or geographical constraints. This is where your own Blog and Website is very important as you have control over the contents and style. The only drawback is trying to get visitors to your website and cost of setting up the website. However in this day and age, website creation has become very cheap. Bringing visitors to your website is another subject on its own.
As buyers become more comfortable with purchasing art online artists must meet the demand by selling art online. It’s important to find effective selling outlets in order to make selling art online work. By considering multiple sales outlets today’s artist can ensure that they receive the maximum amount of exposure for the minimum amount of affect.
