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Making money by selling art is also an art called ‘Art Business”. And an artist who can sell art online effortlessly is called ‘Artpreneur”.
In our previous LinkedIn Articles on selling art online, we had discussed the various reasons as to “What Makes People Buy Your Art?”. We also discussed, “5 Reasons Why People Don’t Buy Art” from new, amateur and emerging artists online.
In this blog, we shall tell you what are the five most important things to know before you easily sell your art online.
You are an Artist First and an Art Entrepreneur Later
You should be aware that you are in charge of your art. Your maximum time and energy should be devoted towards creation of artwork. Master your art and become an expert. Create many art masterpieces and then go for selling art online.
If you do not know how to promote and sell your art, learn about art promotions, marketing and sales. Devote a slice of your creative time in understanding online marketing and social media.
When you have a large pool of work ready, you can use them to promote and showcase a variety of your work to potential buyers.
Get Opinions, Ask Questions and Get your Artwork Critiqued
The second thing as an artist you should do is to take your art to your potential buyers and target audience. Get a serious opinion from them about your creations. Ask them specific questions about your artwork and skills and ask for tips on improvement.
Ask your potential buyers and target audience how or where they find themselves using the artwork if they buy. Will they use it in their home, office or any commercial or non-commercial establishment?
Connect with fellow creators and show them your creations. Get their views and opinions. Get your artwork critically assessed.
What or How should you Charge For Your Artworks?
The most difficult part of selling your art online is pricing your artwork. If you under-price your art, you are undermining your own potential and creativity. If your artwork is priced high, it might be out of reach of buyers.
Hence the best thing you can do to sell your art is to first understand how much effort you put into creations and how much you are expecting of it. As a rule of thumb, your art price should reflect the hours of work invested and the cost of your art material and medium.
The best way to determine the value of your artwork is by researching how much are your fellow peers making with their art. Also research how much they negotiate with online art studios and galleries.
If you need to get a fair price for your artwork, keep your emotions out of the equation. Pricing should be based on tangible attributes such as quality, subject matter, finesse, etc.
One of the major drawbacks is that people will downplay your valuation and pricing of your artwork. Even you will nag yourself with negative appraisals. Do not listen to this and be firm on your price.
The most common formulae to calculate the worth of your artwork are:
Formula Number 1
Square inch x Dollar or Rupees Amount
Measure your canvas size in length and width, which gives you the total square inch area of your canvas. Then multiply this number by the amount you think is right that you are eligible to get for per square inch. Then add the cost of materials and mediums used to create the artwork to the square inch amount. This amount is the price which you should get after you sell art online.
New creators should be cautious of inflated pricing, while established creators can price their creations based on the skills.
Let us suppose, as an artist you have created a painting with dimensions of 12-inch width and 18-inch length. Then your total square inch area of artwork is 12in x 18in = 216 square inch.
The cost per inch that you have decided is Rs. 1 or $1. Then the total price of your artwork is 216x1 = 216. So your price for the art is Rs. 216 or $216.
Now let us suppose that the cost of materials and mediums used to create the creation cost you Rs. 20 or $20. So the total price of your artwork is 216 x 20 = 4320. So the total price of your artwork could be Rs. 4320 or $4320.
Formula Number 2
(Hourly Rate x Hours Spent) + Material and Medium Cost
For this, you need to know how much are your peers making at per hour when they sell art online.
Let us say that you spent 20 hours on an artwork at Rs. 10 per hour or $10 per hour. The cost of material and medium was Rs. 20 or $20. Then, (10 x 20) + 20 = 200 +20 = 220.
So, the price of your artwork is Rs. 220 or $220.
Formula Number 3
(Height +Width) x per square inch price
Let us suppose you have a painting of dimensions 12 in x 12 in, and your per square inch price is Rs. 2 or $2. Then, the total price of your artwork is (12 +12) x 2 = 24 x 2 = 48. So the price of your artwork is Rs. 48 or $48.
Keep your Information and Artist Statement Updated
An artist needs to have consistency in their artist statement as well. If a creator is unable to maintain the status quo, then it will be difficult to sell artwork online or anywhere else.
Know your Target Audience and Potential Buyer
If you do not know your target audience and potential buyer, then it is of no use, because:
- You may be targeting the wrong audience with the right artwork.
- Target audience does not need what you have to offer.
- You may be giving the wrong artwork to the wrong target audience.
- Buyers and target audience already have that you are offering.
- They are unable to reach out to you.
- You may be asking for too much, too soon.
I am really sure these things to know before you sell art online will help you flourish as an artist. Rest all depends on your art instincts, dedication, and efforts you put in. Some things take time, so does making money as an artist.
If you have any suggestions or any question, you can leave it as a comment below.
