How To Sell Your Art Online
Documenting, Publicizing and Selling are the three categories in which most of your tasks will fall when marketing your art online. I've discussed the first two in previous blog posts, in this entry, I'll discuss the third category, selling.
Selling Tools
PHOTOS. The quality of the images and artwork description can make or break the sale. It's the primary input that the potential collector uses to decide whether or not to purchase the work. In addition to the main photo of the art, which is not cropped, make sure to include a detail photo, a photo of the side or edge of the work, and a photo of the piece on the wall or in a room.
If you intend to make a living at selling art, invest in some decent photography equipment. A prosumer digital SLR like the Canon 60D or newer 70D will capture images that will sell your art more quickly. You don't have to go first rate on the lighting; an inexpensive kit comprised of two soft boxes with stands and 500 watt photo bulbs, should do the trick. For more info on how to photograph your art, refer to these articles:
DESCRIPTION. An informative, brief description of the technique, media used and surface quality of the work should be combined with a couple of sentences about the inspiration behind the work. The more pertinent information about the piece, the more secure the buyer will feel with making a purchase. Don't underestimate the power of a good description. Often I write it from a first-person perspective.
RETURN POLICY. A liberal return policy gives an added level of security to the buying experience that my tip the scale in favor of making a sale, but I do not reimburse the customer for return shipping. I've experienced less than a 1% return rate, so offering a money back guarantee has not been a problem.
PERSONAL INFO. Always include a friendly photo of yourself and background information as well as a more in-depth artist statement. The potential collector likes your work and will most probably like you. The art purchaser wants to feel connected to the art and the artist.
Selling Strategies
FIND THE RIGHT VENUE. Currently, there are an abundance of web sites from which you can sell your work. I suggest using a mix of third party representation and self-representation (selling your work directly to the customer). Some galleries require exclusivity per individual piece, some require complete exclusivity, and others don't require any exclusivity. I currently am not working with any galleries that require complete exclusivity. If I found one that sold enough painting at a high enough price to make it worth my while, I may reconsider that position. One of the galleries in which I sell my work, Ugallery, requires exclusivity per work, meaning I can't exhibit any of the paintings displayed on their site anywhere else. They sell enough of my work to make that possible, so I comply happily.
I work with commission-based galleries. I've never paid a fee for representation. Be wary of online galleries that charge membership fees. It's one thing to pay for an eBay store or Etsy listing when self-representing your art, but it's quite another to pay a gallery to display your work. Galleries that sell work on commission are proven to sell work, or they would not be in business. Fee-based, or vanity galleries, can stay in business with the income from the artists' fees and don't have to sell work to keep the lights on.
Most online galleries that are worth their salt require a submission from the artist, and they don't accept every type of work. If you get rejected on your first go around, don't fret, you'll find the a gallery that is suitable for your type of artwork. Make sure the photos of your work show what it is really like.
THE RIGHT KIND OF EXPOSURE. Many artists that are new to marketing their work may be concerned with overexposure; others don't even consider the concept. You should be concerned with where and how you market yourself. I am at a point in my career where I am very visible online, so I get offers to join the latest and greatest web site almost daily, so I have to say no to most of them. On the other hand, I've gotten some great exhibiting, selling and speaking opportunities from people that have found me on the internet. It's important to get the word out without being annoying and to consider your current relationships when starting new one.
One trick is to create enough work to allow you to sell across several venues without over saturating the market. I tend to create “collections” that are matched to the level of collector that visits the online gallery in which they are featured. For example, smaller, lower-priced work for a lower-end web site.
PRICE TO SELL, BUT ENOUGH TO SUPPORT YOUR WORK. Certainly pricing medium and large paintings at $50-$100 hurts the online market for the rest of us that are getting a realistic price for our work, but creating an artificially high price for work that has no sales history is not helpful either. My online sales five years ago were for 25-50% lower prices than my current sales, but these increases have been supported by the amount of work that I sell each year. That said, even in the beginning I wasn't afraid to ask $1500 for a large painting (that size of painting now sells for $2000-$6000). The complexity of the individual artwork should also be considered when pricing.
STRATEGIES AND GOOD BUSINESS PRACTICES. However you decide to price your work, it should be consistent across all venues and selling platforms. My work on eBay is priced the same as it is at a prestigious gallery show. However, potential collectors can negotiate a discount “behind closed doors” via eBay messaging. The same is true of galleries both online and offline; they often discount a piece up to 20%, or in rare cases even more, to make a sale. What you don't want to do is undercut your gallery or online representation by going behind their back and offering to sell the same painting directly from the studio to one of their customers for less. Good representation is well worth whatever commission they charge, and good business practices will advance your career as an artist much faster. I want my representation to make as much money selling my paintings as is possible, so that they can continue to market and sell my work well.
Fulfillment
Fulfillment happens after the sale, when you package and ship the painting. I always include a very nicely made Certificate Of Authenticity, as well as a note, business card and flyer. Packaging materials can be found at Uline.com <
http://www.uline.com>. I make my own padded boxes using 1/4” roll foam and corrugate box tops, as well as flat sheets of double-ply corrugated cardboard.
I always keep the customer updated on any developments as I ship the painting and offer to answer any questions they may have. After a couple of years, you'll find that your previous collectors can be a treasure trove of new sales, so give good customer service to retain your patrons for years to come.
Read the previous posts in this series:
Bio:
Somewhere on a bridge or a hotel balcony, you'll find Warren Keating capturing footage of unsuspecting figures walking below. Later, in an Encino studio, you can find him pouring through frame after frame of video footage to find the perfect moment of weight shift, swing of the arm or tilt of the head, which he feverishly paints, covering large canvases with thick paint depicting an overhead view of a person in transit. A native of New Orleans, Keating has exhibited internationally, and his work been purchased by hundreds of collectors in North America and Europe. His latest series, Overview, which combines video and paint, was selected as an LA Times Calendar pick and won awards at juried exhibits at Long Beach Arts, the Visual Arts Society of Texas, Dallas and TAG Gallery, Santa Monica. A solo show of his work is opening at Gallery 825 in September 2013.
Links:
http://www.WarrenKeating.com blog: http://www.WarrenKeating.blogspot.com YouTube: http://www.YouTube.com/KeatingArt
http://twitter.com/KeatingArt
http://pinterest.com/warrenkeating/boards/
http://instagram.com/warren_keating
Read the previous posts in this series:
Bio:
Somewhere on a bridge or a hotel balcony, you'll find Warren Keating capturing footage of unsuspecting figures walking below. Later, in an Encino studio, you can find him pouring through frame after frame of video footage to find the perfect moment of weight shift, swing of the arm or tilt of the head, which he feverishly paints, covering large canvases with thick paint depicting an overhead view of a person in transit. A native of New Orleans, Keating has exhibited internationally, and his work been purchased by hundreds of collectors in North America and Europe. His latest series, Overview, which combines video and paint, was selected as an LA Times Calendar pick and won awards at juried exhibits at Long Beach Arts, the Visual Arts Society of Texas, Dallas and TAG Gallery, Santa Monica. A solo show of his work is opening at Gallery 825 in September 2013.
Links:
http://www.WarrenKeating.com
blog: http://www.WarrenKeating.blogspot.com
YouTube: http://www.YouTube.com/KeatingArt
http://twitter.com/KeatingArt
http://pinterest.com/warrenkeating/boards/
http://instagram.com/warren_keating
- See more at: http://katevrijmoet.com/blog/how-use-social-media-sell-your-art-online/#sthash.4xOMZ9ty.dpuf
MENU
