How to Sell Original Art Online
The Internet gives artists from around the world access to over a billion potential customers. Previously, artists had to rely upon local art galleries in order to expose the public to their works, but the world wide web lets an artist's vision be seen everywhere from Siberia to San Francisco. Selling original art to global buyers can be accomplished with a combination of marketing, salesmanship and shipping options.
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Things You'll Need
- Digital camera (to take photographs of the artwork)
- Computer
- Broadband access
Instructions
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Set up a seller account on Amazon. While you are also going to be selling on other sites (such as your own website), Amazon constitutes the Internet's largest shopping portal and your artwork can benefit from appearing in areas where it will be seen. Setting up is simple and the online guides will walk you through the entire procedure, step-by-step. Make sure that you post pictures of what you are offering for sale on Amazon.
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Purchase a domain name and build a website. Your own website means that you'll have complete control over your artwork, how it is displayed and how it is marketed. In addition, you'll be able to constantly add content to your website, which will allow search engines to locate it and list your site. Various hosting sites, such as SquareSpace and Yahoo, will host your website and also provide you with tools to create a website, even if you are a beginner. You can also find inexpensive programmers on sites such as Craigslist and Elance who can build websites for reasonable fees.
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Set up an eBay account. Like Amazon, eBay has a tremendous following and listing your artwork there will widen the potential audience looking for art. Naturally, when posting your art, you want to make sure that you provide good digital photos for buyers to study. Unlike Amazon, though, eBay allows people to bid on artwork, which means that you might see more of a profit than you expected.
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Price your artwork reasonably. You don't want to give your work away, but neither do you want to list the price for your pieces so high that no one is going to be interested. Look at the cost of the material and then add in the labor needed to create that art. By keeping your prices fair, you'll have a better chance at making the sales.
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Set up a blog that talks about your artwork and shows it off. In addition to having your own website, blogs are great tools for getting people to notice you and your work. By linking the blog to your website, interested buyers can learn more about you and your work, and see what you have to offer.
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Keep good financial records. You are an artist but you are also in business. That means that you want to make money at what you're doing---and that means that when the time comes and you start making money, you'll have all the information at your disposal in order to to pay proper taxes.
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References
- Photo Credit Jupiterimages/Brand X Pictures/Getty Images
