Today’s episode is for you if you are completely new to selling your art, think you might want to try, and aren’t quite sure how to get started.
Hi, my name is Carrie Brummer and here on Artist Strong I help creatives like you build your skill and develop your unique artist voice. Today I want to talk about the steps to start getting noticed.
The first suggestion I have is to create a series of works to release at once. For example, a set of 6-8 landscapes, or floral paintings, that share a similar approach to your marks, colors, etc. Choose something that helps them feel unified. Look at my article on batching, linked below, for one way to do it.
As you paint them, take photos (or videos, or both) of the work in progress and share them on social media. Talk about the choices you are making and always end with a question. Which color do you prefer? What name could I give this piece? Keep it so your readers can answer easily with 1-2 words.
Use those images to help build interest in the work. Post at least 2-3 times a week. And then release the works all at once for purchase. If you have a website, put them up for purchase at the same time.
If you have an email list (I highly recommend you get one – Convertkit has a free plan for email management, I can get you a sign up link just ask), release them first to people who are on your newsletter.
If you don’t have that, post to your facebook personal wall, or wherever you spend time on social media. Family and friends are usually our first buyers (though not always). And if you sell one work CELEBRATE! Don’t expect to sell the whole series. And then make another group of 5-8 artworks and start again.
Whether your work sells or not is not a measure of the work’s quality, it’s a measure of your ability to market and connect with people who might be interested in your work. It’s easy to feel no sales means your art just isn’t good enough, but it is likely you don’t have a marketing strategy in place, and if you want to sell art, you need to be a marketer, too!
I hope this helps start you off. These are the kinds of things we also discuss in my monthly Patreon Q&As. It’s a paid membership with a $3 a month commitment, for as long or as little as you like. If you think you might want that kind of support, you can learn more through the link below.
I hope you’ll let me know if any of this resonates with you.
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Now it’s your turn: what were your first steps to selling art? What steps can you start taking today if you’re completely new and want to?
Twice, in the past year, someone has asked to buy something I have posted on Facebook. That’s fine but more recently someone asked me to do something specific for them and sent a perfectly useable photograph. I am sure I can do the job it but setting a fee and actually doing the art seems to have stopped me in my tracks. Creating for someone else is rather scary!
Hi Karen! That’s wonderful! And yes, doing new things and making work for someone can absolutely feel scary. I do commissions somewhat regularly and I can still feel that way. I have an example of how I price things and set up commissions you can use as example for yourself here: https://www.carriebrummer.com/custom-artwork/
Take a deposit. People sometimes ask for this work, we put the time into it, and then they change their mind after you’ve spent all of your time and effort on the work. COUNTLESS people I know have had this happen (I am included in this). Deciding on your fees: you can use some like mine as an example, but my prices certainly did not start here. It’s easier to increase fees over time. There is A LOT of advice out there on pricing. I suggest you find one way of pricing and stick to it. There is no right or wrong way.
I hope this helps!!