Have you ever dreamed of becoming a paid artist? Do you have paintings sitting around you'd like to sell but don't have a clue how to do it? I used to feel the same way until I started to research different avenues available on the web. The internet has opened the doors and made that dream a reality for many artists to become paid working artists. I too have successfully sold many paintings online and I thought maybe other artists would like to hear about some of the things I've learned.
Before we begin, would like to state that the information below is geared toward people who find the idea of 'do-it-yourself' kind of fun and do not care if it is done the professional way in a gallery or not. If this applies to you then please read on!
You can start off by creating a personal website to showcase your artwork. Nowadays, you can build it yourself with custom template sites (such as Names Direct.com or Go Daddy.com) or you could hire someone to do it for you. I suggest you do it yourself, that way each time you want to add new content to your site you won't have to pay someone else to do it.
In order to build a website, you will need a personalized domain name. To find a company that sells domain names just do a google search for 'domain name availability' and you'll find hundreds to choose from. Try to pick something that sounds like you. For example, I have two domain names; GaylesPaintings.com and GayleEtcheverry.com. I decided to use two domain names because often people have a hard time spelling my last name.
A second option for showing off your artwork is by starting a personal blog. There are many companies available for this free service - two most popular being Blogger.com and Wordpress.com. This is probably the easiest way to display your artwork. In addition, a great feature blogs offer is an RSS feed. RSS feeds keep your fan base in the loop of all new content added to your blog. For example, once you upload a new painting to your blog, anyone who signed up for your RSS feed will instantly know about it!
In order for you to upload photographs of your artwork, a digital camera will work the best. You don't have to invest thousands of dollars in a camera. I bought my camera two years ago and it still works great. I paid less than $300 and it works like a charm!
Two websites I've used in the past to sell my artwork on are EBay and Etsy. I like them because hundreds of thousands of visitors check out their respective sites daily with many purchasing artwork. This gives the ability of people in different parts of the world to buy original artwork for a price that fits their pocketbook. Yes these companies do charge fees for listings, however it is much cheaper than the 50% commission most galleries would charge. Plus, you'll be able to accept credit cards from your customers by using a service called PayPal. Don't forget to add links between your portfolio site/blog and EBay/Etsy listings!
There are some artists who sell their art straight through their personal websites. This is also an option for you if you should feel inclined to do so. Nowadays, I mainly sell my paintings with PayPal right within my website. Sometimes I do post a painting or two on Ebay or Etsy just to stay in the loop with their customer base. If you are just starting out, you may want to go the public route and tap into their large customer pool.
One of the most important elements to your success will be from networking. A strong networker connects with others and together they actively search for quality referrals for each other. (Note: These can be from completely different fields of work, such as real estate, plumbing, child care referrals.) Top sales expert, Zig Ziglar was once quoted saying, "You can get everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want."
From now on, you should always be ready for the possibility of networking with people you meet out in public or online. You'll ask others what types of business referrals they are looking for so you can better help them find new business. Then, be sure to tell them you are looking for people who like to purchase original, unique artwork from artists such as yourself! Immediately tell your friends and family your plan to sell artwork online and ask that they tell their friends and family too. Keep this number in mind - for everyone one person you know, they have at least 10 referrals for you! Be sure to have your own personalized business cards on hand at all times. These should have your blog/website address and contact information on them.
Since you'll be spending more time online, you ought to sign up for some free networking websites. There are thousands of these available on the web. Some of the obvious are Myspace and Facebook, however there are many other sites out there that encourage you to post messages and links to your business sites (one such site is JasonsNetwork.com). Most importantly, you have the capability of meeting thousands of people all over the world - people that could turn into future clients!
One last piece of advice I'd like to share with you is to never give up. Just keep plugging away at promoting yourself and your art. Collect email address of those who want to stay current of your new works and email everyone each time you make a new post. Ask those on your email list to forward it to others so you can find new fans. It may take a little bit of time to build you fan base, but you'll begin to see the exponential potential in selling artwork online in no time!
About the Author:
Los Angeles based artist, Gayle Etcheverry is pleased to share her simple tips so you can successfully begin to Sell Your Artwork Online. Get a totally unique version of this article from our article submission service
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