Making a residing as a profession artist is greater than creating lovely artwork. It includes understanding easy methods to construct an viewers, easy methods to value artwork merchandise, and the distinctive necessities for delivery artwork. It means pondering like an entrepreneur.
Earlier than ecommerce platforms, artists relied on third-party gallerists, brokers, and retailers to distribute work. At the moment’s creator tools enable unbiased artists to personal their distribution streams, creating and promoting their artwork on-line—and on their own terms.
This shift has allowed gallerists and curators to characterize extra artists and broaden into promoting reasonably priced artwork prints on-line to achieve wider markets.
Whether or not you’re a creator or a curator trying to make money online by promoting artwork, this step-by-step information will train you easy methods to promote artwork on-line, with recommendation from profitable gallerists and painters.
How you can promote artwork on-line
- Choose your business model
- Decide what to sell: original art vs. reproductions
- Photograph and scan your work
- Find a printer to print your art
- Build your brand as an artist
- Set retail prices for your products
- Build an ecommerce store to sell your art online
- Discover more channels for selling art
- Sell your art offline
- Work with galleries to sell your art
- License your art
- Market your art brand
- Package and ship your art
- Understand plagiarism and copyright for artists
Within the following sections, we’ll cowl the fundamentals of promoting artwork on-line for freshmen and seasoned artists alike. Discover subjects for each stage together with working with printers and coping with plagiarism.

It doesn’t matter what sort of artwork you’re into—unique acrylic work, digital artwork prints, sculpture—this useful resource has actionable recommendation for each artist. Hear skilled recommendation from Spoke Art gallerist Ken Harmon, Ferme à Papier proprietor Cat Seto, and artist Maria Qamar, a.okay.a. Hatecopy. From studying easy methods to promote work on-line to reproducing your work as merch, these specialists will stroll you thru each step.
1. Select what you are promoting mannequin: Promote your individual artwork or works by different artists
There are two methods to promote artwork on-line: create or curate. Cat constructed her profession each methods, by creating and promoting her personal work and representing the work of others in her boutique. Which one is best for you?
Create and promote your individual artwork
As an artist, you’re the creator, producing unique artwork, reproductions of originals, or digital paintings, and promoting on to your clients or not directly by a gallery, retail companion, or agent.
It’s by no means been simpler for artists to promote immediately, with rising creator instruments popping up seemingly day-after-day.
Artist Maria Qamar runs her personal on-line store, the place she sells artwork prints and merchandise, eliminating the intermediary and maintaining her prices low. However she additionally leans on relationships with skilled galleries to exhibit and promote unique paintings.
If you happen to’re studying easy methods to promote work on-line, notice that galleries can expose your work to new audiences. They might even have entry to sources and professionals to assist promote, exhibit, deal with, and ship paintings.
Curate the works of different artists
If you happen to’re not personally an artist however you could have an awesome eye and a love of the artwork world, you possibly can nonetheless get into the sport of promoting artwork as a curator.
Some artists is probably not into advertising and marketing or determining the easiest way to promote artwork on-line and as a substitute depend on gallerists, curators, and retail companions to deal with this side of the enterprise. As a companion to artists, you make a share of the promoting value in change for what you are promoting data and repair.
There are a number of methods to work with artists to promote their artwork on-line—be it promoting originals or prints, or licensing works to be printed on merchandise or utilized in publication. “Most galleries supply an trade normal 50% consignment cut up for unique artwork,” says gallerist Ken Harmon. “The artist supplies the paintings, we do our greatest to promote it.”
Begin promoting your artwork on-line and take a look at Shopify free right now.
2. Determine what to promote: unique artwork versus reproductions
One of the simplest ways to promote your artwork on-line will rely upon the character of your artwork and your chosen medium. It’s possible you’ll select to promote your artwork, promote reproductions of that work, or each.
High-quality artists utilizing basic mediums and promoting at excessive value factors might select to promote solely originals, for instance, whereas digital artwork, which may be reproduced with out lack of high quality, is nice for prints and merch. Nonetheless, most artwork created in 2D mediums have a number of choices for producing limitless gross sales on a single work.
Take into account the next codecs:
- Authentic artwork: Work, drawings, illustrations (Word: you possibly can promote each the unique artwork in addition to prints of the identical work)
- Restricted- or open-edition prints: Framed, unframed, or prints on canvas)
- Digital artwork or digital downloads: Desktop wallpaper, templates, print-at-home artwork, and so forth.
- Customized artwork: Made to order from a buyer request or commissioned by a enterprise.
- Merchandise: Your artwork printed on hats, iPhone instances, mugs, t-shirts, enamel pins, greeting playing cards, stationery, and so forth.
- Repeat prints: On cloth, wrapping paper, or wallpaper
- Licensing: “Renting” work to different manufacturers or publications (nice for illustrators and photographers)
- Collaborations with manufacturers: Restricted assortment bought by the companion model’s retailer
Indigenous artist Patrick Hunter creates price-accessible reproductions of his work on items like greeting playing cards and attire.
Some mediums, like sculpture, are tougher to breed or use for merchandise purposes. However for these not possible to scan and print, there are nonetheless methods to generate further earnings from a single design. For instance, clay works might use the identical mould to generate related items, and 3D designs may be created time and again with a 3D printer.
Reproductions of artwork: open version versus restricted version

Reproducing art on t-shirts or mugs, or as artwork prints implies that a single work can bear fruit indefinitely—or for a restricted time. There are two methods to strategy promoting your artwork as prints: open version or restricted version.
What’s open version?
Open version means printing and promoting a vast variety of merchandise (reproductions or prints of an unique work).
Advantages
- You possibly can proceed to revenue from a single piece of artwork indefinitely whereas there’s nonetheless demand for it.
- Your artwork can unfold far and vast by the palms of pleased clients who’re by no means met with an “out of inventory” warning.
Downsides
- The limitless availability of your items might devalue your work general.
What is restricted version?
Restricted version means printing solely a sure variety of prints earlier than they’re gone. These are sometimes numbered and signed by the artist so as to add worth and authenticity.
Advantages
- The impact is very similar to that of a restricted time supply: creating a way of shortage and urgency is a wonderful advertising and marketing technique
- The restricted availability provides worth to the artwork, which means you possibly can promote prints at larger value factors
Downsides
- As a result of the demand is larger than provide, this creates a secondary market the place patrons resell the items at inflated costs.

Spoke usually opts for the restricted version technique. “We work actually onerous to search out issues which can be very particular to promote. Issues which can be particular ought to be handled like they’re particular,” Ken says.
To assist decrease reselling, Spoke will restrict portions of sure prints per buyer. “Ensuring that the true followers are literally those who’re in a position to get the issues that we promote is at all times a precedence,” Ken says.
3. {Photograph} and scan your work
Photographing and representing your merchandise clearly and precisely is vital for any on-line small enterprise. With out the power to really feel a product, potential clients have to get one of the best sense of what they’re shopping for by clear and detailed pictures.
You probably have a nasty picture of your work or the picture doesn’t characterize the work precisely, you’re going to have a tougher time promoting it.
Ken Harman, Spoke Artwork
Promoting artwork on-line is not any exception. “You probably have a nasty picture of your work or the picture doesn’t characterize the work precisely, you’re going to have a tougher time promoting it,” says Ken. Or, you’ll be caught coping with sad clients and processing returns.
Photographing artwork to promote
Product pictures for artwork is just a little trickier than different merchandise, and a fundamental gentle setup should trigger glare or shade irregularities. Take into account hiring an expert to shoot bigger works or artwork with any three-dimensional or shiny parts.

If you happen to’re promoting merch or different merchandise that characteristic your artwork, the overall guidelines of product photography apply. Take clear pictures from a number of angles in addition to zoomed-in pictures to point out texture and element. Life-style pictures (your product in a scene) are nice in your homepage and social media and assist to point out scale.
Print-on-demand providers usually present mockup pictures you need to use in your product pages in lieu of or along with pictures.
Scanning artwork to promote
For 2D works, Ken recommends scanning as an reasonably priced and efficient different to pictures. “Probably the most value efficient manner to try this is to get a desktop scanner and scan the work in components and sew it collectively digitally,” he says. “If you happen to’ve obtained a chunk with a high-gloss coating or a resin, that’s just a little tricker, however for almost all of works on canvas or paper, it’s fairly straightforward.” Within the case of more difficult scans, galleries and different printing providers can assist.
In each instances, you’ll need the ultimate product to characterize your work as carefully as doable so you need to use it in your portfolio or promote the work as prints or digital artwork.
🎨 Be taught extra:
4. Discover a printer to print your artwork
Understanding easy methods to promote your prints of your paintings comes right down to getting very pleasant with a printer, whether or not that’s your at-home inkjet or an organization that handles the duty for you. There are a number of choices, from DIY to utterly palms off, that will help you promote artwork prints and different merchandise to your viewers.
DIY printing
It’s doable to start out promoting your individual paintings by creating high quality prints your self with high-quality paper, ink, and an at-home workplace printer. As a brand new artist, this technique can maintain prices low, however could also be unsustainable as you scale over time.
“To start with, I might print, package deal, and ship by hand each single poster that was ordered,” says Maria. “Sooner or later the quantity grew to become a lot that I couldn’t make time to attract. I used to be spending all of my days delivering and in transit.”
This technique is normally restricted to promoting artwork prints on paper, however some specialty dwelling printers might will let you print on canvas paper or cloth designed particularly for this objective.
Utilizing a printing firm
A neighborhood or on-line printing firm can reproduce your work en masse and might even supply bulk reductions if you’re printing lots of the identical piece. This may be the easiest way to promote artwork on-line in case you have a small catalog and excessive gross sales quantity of these items.
With this technique, you’ll nonetheless be accountable for packaging and delivery the prints you promote on-line. These corporations can usually produce high-quality prints as a consequence of extra superior printers.
It’s vital that we’re the final units of eyes inspecting, packaging, and delivery the product to our clients.
Cat Seto, Ferme à Papier
Artist and store proprietor Cat Seto usually prints giant batches for assortment releases. Whereas she does use print-on-demand providers, the prints arrive at her studio first, somewhat than delivery on to the client. “It’s vital that we’re the final units of eyes inspecting, packaging, and delivery the product to our clients,” she says.
Print on demand

Print on demand is probably the most hands-off and versatile possibility and the simplest strategy to promote artwork on-line—particularly in case you plan to promote your work printed on merch like t-shirts or caps.
Print-on-demand providers usually combine along with your on-line retailer. When an order is positioned, the mixing triggers that piece to be printed and shipped on to the client. It is a nice possibility for promoting artwork on a funds, as there isn’t any have to put money into gear or stock.
When the variety of orders exceeded her capability to print and ship work herself, Maria upgraded to utilizing a print-on-demand firm. “All I’ve to do is add and let it do the work for me,” she says. “Now I can concentrate on really creating the paintings and connecting with individuals.”
Print-on-demand merchandise don’t simply cease at paper prints. Your artwork may be printed on various objects to promote, from telephone instances to stickers.
💡 Tip: Request samples from the print-on-demand supplier so you possibly can examine the colours and high quality of the print. That is particularly vital if objects shall be despatched on to your clients.
5. Construct your model as an artist

As an artist studying easy methods to promote your paintings, your model might evolve as a pure extension of your artwork. Your chosen fashion and medium will outline you as an artist and you’ll naturally appeal to followers and patrons primarily based on this alone. Nonetheless, there are a lot of selections you will want to consciously make if you begin to think about your self as a enterprise in addition to an artist.
As a result of artwork is a private and typically emotional buy, your model story as an artist might issue into somebody’s determination to purchase. And different enterprise belongings like packaging and web site design ought to mirror or complement the visible aesthetic of the work itself.
Your branding train ought to reply the next:
- Do you create and promote artwork below your individual title, a pseudonym, or a model title?
- How will you strategy brand storytelling? How a lot of your private story will you inform?
- Do you could have a mission, values, or a trigger that you simply wish to talk by your model?
- Exterior of the artwork itself, what’s the visible course of your brand identity? What’s the tone of your communication?
- What branding belongings do you want? Even with out design abilities or the funds to rent a graphic designer, you possibly can generate a emblem with a logo maker and execute branding design with free and easy instruments.
The reply to those questions will enable you to construct a set of name tips that may kind the inspiration for web site design, advertising and marketing supplies, and so forth. If you happen to finally scale what you are promoting, these tips will enable you to preserve model consistency as you delegate duties to employees or different companions.
Your model story can floor in a number of locations together with your social media content material, inserts in your packaging, and on an About web page in your web site, like this one from Australian artist Sarah Migliacco.
Many artists construct fan bases primarily based on their on-line personas or private manufacturers which can be carefully tied to their artwork. Tatiana Cardona, also called Female Alchemy, has chosen to place her face on the middle of her social media technique.
For Cat, the causes closest to her coronary heart are central to her model. Cat’s brand values affect the sorts of initiatives she takes on with manufacturers and shoppers. “In collaborating, I believe it’s vital to not solely keep true to your model,” she says, “however to have the ability to hear and be proactive to whomever you’re collaborating with.”
🎨 Be taught extra:
6. Set retail costs in your merchandise

How do you promote artwork on-line—and truly make cash doing it? Making a residing as a working artist is feasible if you understand how to worth and value your work. Pricing artwork is difficult as a result of it doesn’t essentially match neatly into typical pricing strategies.
Pricing unique artwork
Working any enterprise that shall be sustainable in the long run includes being worthwhile in some unspecified time in the future. To realize this, you will want to cost your artwork accordingly. If you happen to’re simply starting to experiment with easy methods to promote your artwork and don’t have a extensively identified title, you can begin with a easy components to cost your unique artwork:
Your value to promote and market the piece + materials prices + different bills + your markup (revenue) = retail value
For this technique, it’s useful to issue within the time you spent creating the artwork. It’s typical for artists to undervalue their time and work, particularly in the beginning.
Figuring out what your merchandise stand for and what you aren’t prepared to compromise are key parts in driving selections about pricing.
Cat Seto, Ferme à Papier
The place the components above fails is that the worth of artwork is subjective and never essentially depending on concrete particulars like materials value or labor hours. Well-known artists can fetch exponentially extra for a chunk that has roughly the identical creation prices as that of a brand new artist. Test the market to check your pricing to related artists at related ranges and regulate accordingly.
💡 Tip: You possibly can work with gallerists, who’re specialists at valuing and pricing artwork, to set a value that is sensible for you, the gallery, and the market. Word that the gallery will take a minimize of the retail value when promoting work on-line and IRL.
Pricing artwork prints
Promoting artwork prints or different sorts of copy can observe a extra easy pricing components:
The price of printing + your value to promote and market the print + different bills + your markup (revenue) = retail value
Your markup could also be on a scale relying on whether or not you promote open- or limited-edition prints. Different bills might embody workplace provides, software program or app charges, skilled providers, studio lease, and extra.
“Figuring out what your merchandise stand for and what you aren’t prepared to compromise are key parts in driving selections about pricing,” says Cat. For her, printing on sustainable paper was essential, although it could drive up materials prices and finally the retail value. Speaking these selections to the client is vital, particularly in case your costs are larger than common.
🎨 Be taught extra:
7. Construct an ecommerce retailer to promote your artwork on-line
One of the simplest ways to promote your artwork on-line is thru your individual ecommerce retailer. You’ve already achieved numerous the work in case you’ve established model tips, pricing, and enterprise mannequin (originals, prints, or merch)—this half is solely meeting.
Vital pages
Each ecommerce retailer ought to have a number of key pages that clients anticipate to see when searching. These embody a homepage, contact web page, About page, assortment pages, and product pages. Some lesser identified however vital pages to contemplate are terms and conditions, FAQ, privateness coverage, and shipping policy pages.

For artists, a gallery or portfolio web page may additionally be helpful in case you plan to license your work, promote by galleries, supply customized artwork, or appeal to brand partnerships.

Retailer design and themes
When establishing your on-line artwork retailer, select a Shopify theme that lets your artwork breathe—giant pictures and plenty of white/unfavorable house. Themes are like templates that you simply construct upon, layering in your individual pictures and replica, and tweaking colours and format to fit your enterprise.
A few of our theme picks for promoting artwork on-line embody:
Whereas Shopify themes are designed to be personalized simply with no code, you possibly can regulate your theme even additional by hiring a Shopify Expert that will help you with design or growth work.

🎨 Be taught extra:
Apps for artwork shops
The Shopify App Store is full of apps that plug immediately into your on-line retailer to resolve particular ache factors, add distinctive options, and enable you to run your retailer extra effortlessly—permitting you to concentrate on the artistic facets of the enterprise.
App strategies to assist promote your artwork on-line:
- Print-on-demand apps. If you happen to promote your paintings as prints and merch, apps like Creativehub, Printful, or Printify can sync along with your retailer.
- Gallery apps. An app like POWRful Photo Gallery can be utilized to create a portfolio or catalog of your work to share with galleries or manufacturers trying to companion with you.
- Social advertising and marketing apps. Maintain web site content material contemporary with an app like Instafeed that pulls Instagram pictures right into a gallery in your web site.
- Product web page apps. If you happen to’re providing a selected piece of paintings with overlapping choices (dimension, body or no body, paper sort, and so forth.), use an app like Bold Product Options to layer merchandise variants.
🎨 Be taught extra:
8. Uncover extra on-line channels for promoting artwork
What’s one of the best place to promote artwork on-line? Other than your individual on-line retailer, it’s the place your preferrred buyer is already hanging out. You probably have amassed a following on a specific social media channel, for instance, that is likely to be an awesome place to start out.
Having an omnichannel technique is vital for shielding your independence as a creator. A standalone web site means that you can personal the appear and feel of your house in addition to the viewers you construct. However layering on different channels can assist you entry further markets and construct your private model as an artist.
The place to promote your artwork on-line:
- A standalone ecommerce web site utilizing an ecommerce platform like Shopify.
- Online marketplaces like Etsy, Amazon, or eBay can plug immediately into your on-line retailer, permitting you to sync gross sales and attain wider audiences.
- Different art-specific marketplaces enable you to present up the place artwork lovers congregate (Society 6, Artfinder, Saatchi Artwork, High-quality Artwork America, and so forth.).
- Social promoting channels like Facebook and Instagram that combine along with your Shopify retailer. Sell on TikTok and run TikTok ads to drive followers to your retailer.
- Wholesale or consign to different on-line boutiques and galleries. You possibly can browse wholesale markets to search out suitable retailers that wish to promote your artwork.
- Collaborations with different artists who promote paintings on-line. Get publicity to their audiences by producing collab work to promote and promote on each your web site and theirs.
Cat sells direct to clients and works on customized initiatives for shoppers and types, along with her wholesale enterprise. “If I had tried to steadiness all of those from the onset,” she says. “I imagine I might have been overwhelmed.”
Join with customers on TikTok
Shopify comes with highly effective instruments that will help you inform your model story and create TikTok in-feed advertisements in minutes. Make gross sales on TikTok and handle all of your orders, returns, and funds from Shopify.
9. Promote your artwork offline: gallery exhibitions, pop-ups, and occasions
As a result of Maria works incessantly in conventional mediums, a lot of the impression of the feel and scale of her work will get misplaced digitally. “It’s precise bodily work, so after we do displays, you possibly can stroll right into a gallery and see that I’m an actual one that has technical abilities and might do work and enormous scale installations,” she says.
Artists also can join with followers and discover new audiences by promoting artwork offline. You need to use in-person experiences to drive individuals again to your on-line retailer.
Take into account the next when promoting your individual paintings IRL:
- Accomplice with a gallery to exhibit work and generate buzz.
- Look into native artwork markets, artwork gala’s, and occasions, and arrange a one-time or semi-permanent sales space.
- Consign or wholesale with artwork, present, or life-style retail shops, or arrange a small pop-up inside an current retailer.
- Open your studio to the general public if you launch your web site, or maintain constant weekly open-studio hours to ask followers into your course of.
- Run a pop-up shop (companion with different artists to cut back prices).
- “Lend” or consign work for décor to rising retail companies like cafés in change for the publicity.
Earlier than Ken opened his everlasting gallery, he dabbled in pop-ups as a method to construct his repute and validate the business idea. For these promoting unique works, some ingredient of in-person expertise is essential, says Ken. “It’s very uncommon to discover a profitable artwork gallery that features fully on-line.”
Nonetheless, advances in expertise like 3D and AR for on-line shops and the development towards digital experiences might mark large modifications for the artwork world sooner or later. It’s vital to observe consumer trends when you learn to promote your artwork and develop what you are promoting.
Begin promoting in-person with Shopify POS
Shopify POS is the simplest strategy to begin promoting in-person. Take your model on the street and settle for funds, handle stock and payouts, and promote in all places your clients are—farmer’s markets, pop up occasions and meetups, craft gala’s, and anyplace in between.
10. Work with galleries to promote your artwork
You possibly can work with galleries to promote your artwork in your behalf if you’re not focused on dealing with the enterprise aspect of artwork, or as an extra channel to enhance your individual efforts. This partnership may give you entry to new audiences, together with critical artwork patrons and artwork collectors.
Listed here are a number of dos and don’ts when working with galleries:
✅ DO try the gallery’s social media accounts. “You probably have extra followers than that gallery does or that gallery doesn’t have numerous followers, that will offer you pause,” says Ken. A gallery ought to be capable of offer you a wider publicity than you may get your self.
❌ DON’T strategy a gallery through social media (until they particularly ask for it). “Whereas social media is a significant focus for us, that’s simply not a really skilled strategy to come throughout in case you’re an artist,” says Ken.
✅ DO your analysis and phone solely these galleries who characterize work consistent with your individual fashion. “You possibly can’t promote road artwork to someone who collects impressionism,” says Ken.
❌ DON’T sacrifice high quality for amount. “It’s irritating when an artist who’s hoping to catch our consideration tags us and 20 different galleries all in the identical publish.” Choose the highest few galleries that you simply wish to work with most and ship particular person outreach to every.
✅ DO your homework. “Discover the title of the director or the curator for the gallery,” says Ken. “With the ability to personalize an e-mail is a superb first step in that course of.”
11. License your artwork
Other than promoting bodily artwork—each unique and reproductions—there’s one other strategy to make cash as an artist: licensing. Licensing your artwork includes promoting permission for a model, enterprise, establishment, company, inventory pictures web site, or individual to make use of a digital model of your picture for a selected use case and timeframe.

Licensing contracts fluctuate and will embody limitless use rights or the proper to make use of a digital artwork picture indefinitely, although normally there are limitations in place to guard the artist. Perceive what you’re signing earlier than getting into into any authorized settlement, and make certain you continue to retain possession over your picture.
💡Tip: Seek the advice of a contract lawyer for assist in negotiating the phrases of your licencing agreements. That is particularly vital as you acquire extra cachet or the worth of your artwork will increase.
12. Market your artwork model
Many artists like Maria began on social media, rising a following first earlier than launching a retailer and monetizing their work. The channel the place you’ve gained probably the most traction at first is a pure place to spend your vitality and advertising and marketing {dollars} first.
Artist Adam Spychala makes use of Instagram—a platform the place he has over 100,000 followers—to advertise his work and his print store.
There are a number of methods to market your artwork and drive visitors to your gross sales channels. Attempt these advertising and marketing methods in your model:
- Paid advertisements. Run advert campaigns on platforms like Google or Fb.
- Put money into natural social content material by posting constantly and fascinating with followers and artwork communities incessantly.
- Run contests or supply unique reductions. Use these to assist construct your e-mail record.
- Use influencer advertising and marketing. Attain out to creators and press if you launch your web site or a brand new assortment.
- Apply search engine optimization. Study ecommerce SEO to assist enhance your retailer’s discoverability on search engines like google.
- Attempt offline advertising and marketing. Take part in artwork exhibits and markets or work with a gallery to broaden your attain to new, bigger audiences.
- Use content material advertising and marketing. Leverage your experience to create content material round artwork, tutorials, behind-the-scenes sneak peeks, and so forth., both by a weblog, TikTok account, YouTube channel, or podcast.
Artist Segun Caezar takes followers behind the scenes with content material that demonstrates his course of of making his work.
In the end, you will want to steadiness how a lot time you could have for advertising and marketing along with your talent stage and willingness to create content material. Typically artists prefer to concentrate on what they do finest and go away the remaining to specialists. Working with retail or gallery companions might lead to smaller margins, however will take the onus of selling off your plate.
🎨 Be taught extra:
Market what you are promoting with Shopify’s buyer advertising and marketing instruments
Shopify has every little thing it’s good to seize extra leads, ship e-mail campaigns, automate key advertising and marketing moments, section your clients, and analyze your outcomes. Plus, it’s all free in your first 10,000 emails despatched per 30 days.
13. Bundle and ship your artwork
As artwork is visible, it is best to take note of the smallest particulars, right down to how your artwork is packaged and shipped. Artwork that arrives undamaged is the naked minimal—give your clients an expertise that matches the standard and care you set into your work.
As artwork may be fragile, observe these tips for making certain your work arrives protected and sound.
DIY delivery for artwork

If you’re delivery unique artwork, or elect to ship prints and canvases your self, somewhat than by a print and achievement firm, take further precaution along with your packing. Bigger prints and posters are finest shipped in cardboard mailing tubes, and smaller prints in inflexible cardboard mailing envelopes.
Use glassine (a water and grease-resistant paper) or clear cellophane sleeves to guard prints inside the packaging. Customized branded packaging like tissue paper or poly envelopes that characteristic your branding or artwork can spark delight with clients and enhance their expertise along with your model.
Many ecommerce platforms combine with delivery suppliers and delivery apps that will help you discover one of the best delivery charges for every market and package deal. Decide if you’ll supply free delivery and roll the delivery value into the retail value or cost a flat payment to maintain delivery clear.
Delivery costly and outsized unique paintings
Framed works and canvases require further precautions. Packaging provide retailers supply packing and delivery supplies like cardboard corners and specialty field sizes designed particularly for artwork.
If you happen to’re delivery unique work to a gallery or artwork collector, there are methods to chop prices. “The associated fee to ship an outsized portray that’s stretched on a canvas may be fairly substantial,” says Ken. “Typically what we do is unstretch a canvas, roll it in a tube, and ship it that manner, which dramatically lowers the freight prices. Then we are able to have the canvas stretched domestically.”
Delivery artwork direct with print on demand
The best strategy to promote paintings on-line is to outsource all the printing, achievement, and delivery to a print-on-demand companion. They can entry nice delivery charges as a consequence of quantity and partnerships with carriers.
Delivery insurance coverage for advantageous artwork
Insurance coverage is vital when delivery unique works, as a misplaced or broken package deal can’t get replaced. Many normal carriers supply pretty fundamental insurance coverage on most packages, and in case you promote your artwork it is best to look into the precise further protection prices and limitations of every provider’s insurance coverage choices.
If you happen to’re promoting your individual paintings at excessive value factors, Ken takes further measures to make sure the security of the work. “Delivery something value greater than a thousand {dollars} is unquestionably difficult,” he says, suggesting that artists look into utilizing a non-public freight firm or a provider that makes a speciality of artwork dealing with, regardless of the upper prices.
🎨 Be taught extra: Shipping & Fulfillment 101: A Step-By-Step Guide for Getting Your Products to Your Customers
14. Perceive plagiarism and copyright for artists
Artist Tuesday Bassen waged battle on copycats—giant chain shops who ripped off her unique designs—by hiring a lawyer and taking her story to the media. Nonetheless, each Maria and Ken say copycats and plagiarism are simply an unlucky actuality of doing enterprise. Maria took authorized motion solely as soon as, earlier than shifting her perspective.
“On the finish of the day, it took me my entire life to learn to do that,” Maria says. “If someone is copying me, they’re going to have to sit down down and finally study for themselves, as a result of eventually they’re going to expire of concepts.”
It’s an indication that I’m inspiring others and that what I’m doing is true, as a result of they wouldn’t copy me in any other case.
Maria Qamar, Hatecopy
Maria takes Hatecopy’s copycats as a sign that she’s onto one thing.“It’s an indication that I’m inspiring others and that what I’m doing is true, as a result of they wouldn’t copy me in any other case,” she says, “I’m not offended or bothered by it anymore.”
For galleries that characterize a number of artists and promote artwork on-line, copycat web sites are a constant downside. “We do have a difficulty with numerous on-line websites simply bootlegging what we do,” says Ken. “It’s a part of the best way the world works, sadly. We do our greatest, nevertheless it occurs.”
Whereas copycats could also be a actuality, artists and companies have authorized recourse and may search the recommendation of a copyright lawyer to assist defend mental property earlier than infringement occurs.
At the moment’s the day to start out promoting artwork on-line
For a lot of rising artists, the easiest way to promote your artwork on-line is to simply get began with what you could have at your disposal. Cat began her artwork enterprise from a spare bed room. Whether or not it’s a basement or a kitchen desk, it may possibly work as your launch pad.
On this stage of what you are promoting, you’ll put on all of the hats: creator, marketer, packer, shipper, net designer, and customer support rep. Cat describes this time in her personal journey as lean and humbling. “It gave me assurance of figuring out each side of my enterprise in and out,” she says, “together with its strengths and weaknesses.”
Considering of your self as an entrepreneur proper from the get-go shall be essential to your path to changing into a profitable artist. It’s possible you’ll stumble as a artistic to study the enterprise facets, however they may finally enable you to develop and scale what you are promoting promoting work on-line. Ultimately, you possibly can delegate and automate, permitting you to concentrate on what you do finest: making lovely issues.
“You would know every little thing about enterprise and you may know every little thing about artwork,” says Maria, “nevertheless it’s the mixture of each that actually makes a profitable model.”
Function illustration by Pete Ryan
How you can promote artwork on-line FAQ
What’s the easiest way to promote my artwork on-line?
One of the simplest ways to promote artwork on-line is by constructing your individual branded ecommerce web site with a platform like Shopify. You can too promote your work on a crafts and artwork market like Etsy or on social media platforms like Instagram and Fb Retailers. Perceive the place your goal clients like to buy to search out out one of the best place to promote your artwork on-line.
What steps do I have to take to promote my artwork on-line?
If you’re an artist trying to learn to promote artwork on-line, you possibly can rise up and operating in a number of easy steps:
- Select your format: originals or reproductions.
- Discover a printer (for reproductions).
- Construct your artist model.
- Arrange an internet retailer.
- Broaden your attain by promoting by marketplaces or on-line galleries.
- Market your artwork enterprise.
Is promoting artwork on-line worthwhile?
Sure, promoting artwork on-line may be worthwhile in case you’re intentional about your pricing and advertising and marketing methods. It’s vital to know your prices, together with artwork supplies, ecommerce or market promoting charges, advertising and marketing prices, and different overhead will enable you to set retail costs that embody a revenue margin. When you learn to promote artwork on-line, you possibly can discover the various channels that may assist get your artwork into the palms of followers. Promoting on marketplaces will enable you to attain larger audiences and make extra gross sales, however be cautious of charges that may minimize into income.
How can I promote my unique artwork on-line?
Studying easy methods to promote artwork on-line begins with understanding your model and the proper channels to search out your viewers. Typically your individual on-line retailer would be the finest place to start out promoting unique artwork. Value level for unique artwork shall be a lot larger, so it’s vital that you simply construct a powerful, loyal viewers in your work. Diversifying your gross sales channels, like additionally working with an internet gallery or a web site like High-quality Artwork America to promote work on-line, will enable you to broaden your publicity as an artist.
What sort of artwork sells probably the most?
It is a difficult query as a result of artwork could be very broad and subjective. If you promote prints of your work, it may be very worthwhile as a result of you possibly can proceed to generate earnings from a single piece. Lower cost factors (versus unique artwork) imply you doubtless can promote extra quantity. Curators ought to observe developments in artwork and design to assist perceive what artwork collectors and potential patrons are shopping for, then work with artists which have excessive success potential. As a creator, it is best to lean into the fashion that you simply do finest and construct a following from there.
Can you’re employed with galleries to promote your artwork?
Sure, you possibly can work with galleries to promote your artwork. Each on-line and bodily galleries are at all times searching for new expertise to characterize. They can assist with on-line artwork gross sales or promote your unique paintings in a gallery exhibition. Many profitable artists profit from displaying their work on this manner. Attain out with a personalised {and professional} e-mail with hyperlinks to your portfolio. Every gallery might have totally different processes for submissions, so do your homework!