We think the world is better off
when artists sell their art.
We think the world is better off when artists sell their art. If you’d like to brainstorm with us (it’s free—we think of it as our service to the world) about how to find customers and sell to them, fill out the Brainstorm form.
The survey will ask for your name, email, phone number, and website URL, if you have one, as well as what types of art you make, what kinds of marketing you do, and what concerns you have about marketing and selling your art. It should take 5 to 7 minutes to fill it out.
After you fill out the form, we will contact you to arrange a guest interview on our YouTube channel, Art Dialog with Christy and Carol. If you decide you’d like to be brainstormed, we will ask that you give us consent to record our video discussion with you. If you aren’t able to give consent at this time, please don’t fill out the form. But please do follow us on Instagram so we can follow you back and help you build your audience.
The recorded video will be edited for length and clarity and posted to our Art Dialog with Christy and Carol YouTube channel. That helps us build our audience so we can help more artists. In addition, we can give you some or possibly all of the raw video so you can use it to market your work.
We’ll brainstorm some or all of these issues with you:
Choosing the art forms (products and services) that suit you best, so you will be marketing and selling work you love to make.
It’s easy to get distracted when you can make just about anything. It’s fun to explore many art forms, and you should always be creative, but you can’t build a business around making “anything” to sell to “anybody.” Discerning your artistic superpower is the first step toward building a successful art business.
Discussing the best marketing methods for you, especially if you’re an introvert, so you don’t lose yourself in one-size-fits-all marketing advice.
Having so many methods to market and sell your art can be crazy-making. Should you sell on social media or at an in-person shows? Should you have a blog, should you send out an email newsletter, should you try selling on a platform like Etsy, should you sell on your own website? The good news is you don’t have to use all marketing methods! At least one will be right for you.
Tackling the daunting job of setting prices so you can improve your chances of earning an income from your art.
You can buy art for a dollar or $25 million. Figuring out what your art should cost can be tough, but it’s an essential step toward selling your work. Pricing your art depends on many factors, especially identifying and reaching your ideal target audience.
Identifying your ideal target audience so you have a better chance of reaching them in the right places with the right marketing messages.
Whether you sell to the art consumer directly or through an intermediary like an art consultant, interior designer, or gallery, knowing your best audience is crucial. Do they shop for art online or do they prefer to buy art in-person? Are they buying art as an investment or do they just need something fabulous to hang over their mantel? Once you have an idea of who they are and why they buy art, you’ll know where they are and how to reach them.
Building your web presence so buyers can find you.
Do your customers have a place to go to buy your art, book your music, get your books? Or do they have to call your brother’s cousin’s ex-wife to get your phone number (which they won’t do anyway)? Selling your art requires creating an easy way for your customers to buy from you. If you want to sell art online, having a web presence is the fastest way to make that happen.
Handling your inner critic and the resistance it spawns so you can deliver your art to the world.
Do you hear a voice in your head telling you there’s something wrong with your art? That voice that sounds like a high school teacher or maybe your dad or a critical friend? Every artist has one, and learning how to work with it is crucial to continuing to do your art and overcoming your trepidation about marketing.
Mastering the business side of selling art so you can be in charge of your success.
It’s perfectly okay if art making is your hobby, but if you want to build a business around selling your art, you will need to do some basic things before you begin. You might need to register as an LLC (limited liability company). You might need an EIN number from the IRS. You will definitely need a bank account. These tasks aren’t typically fun or glamorous, and doing them can seem overwhelming, but the good news is, it’s not really that hard if you know what to do.