Selling Art on the Web

It’s the goal of most artists. As much as they enjoy creating their art, often they also have a desire to sell the art for income or to support a charity. What are some important tips in getting artwork to sell?

The most critical aspect of selling on the web is to have a beautiful image of the piece. With digital photography that’s fairly easy. You simply save the file as a JPG and you’re done. But for paintings, sculptures, and other pieces, the task becomes trickier. It’s important to work with a photographer who understands the challenges. If you’re going to do it yourself, invest the time to practice and learn how to handle lighting. Even tiny differences in contrast can have a work go from never selling to selling like hotcakes.

Once you have those JPGs, it’s critical to align with a sales site that customers will work with. With all the fraud out there, if you ask a person to call you personally with their credit card number, or to send you a check, you’re going to lose a large chunk of potential customers. Certainly you can offer that as an option – there are always some people who prefer the personal touch for whatever reason. But make sure you also provide a hands-off professional option for those who prefer trusting in established websites with their finances.

We will be adding to this list soon, but start with:

Fine Art America for Art Sales

Etsy for Art Sales

Let us know if you work with any other sites!

Once you get your art online, it’s critical you market daily! Art will rarely sell itself. Even quick Tweets each day will drive traffic to your items and get them noticed. The more eyeballs, the more chances someone will click that BUY button!

Social Networking for Artists

Best of luck!