Selling Art Online

Anna Afshar watercolor

The Art Biz ep. 167: How to Have a Sale of Your Art and Feel Good About It

Discounting your original work might be unpalatable, but there are reasons for doing so, including the fact that unsold work is taking up space and energy. (Promotion might be a better word than sale.)

In this episode and article, I discuss the psychology and process around having a sale of your art or any products 6 options for structuring it and 3 mistakes you don’t want to make.

The Art Biz ep. 167: How to Have a Sale of Your Art and Feel Good About It Read

Acrylic painting of tropical fruits in bright colors artist Julia Hacker | on Art Biz Success

The Art Biz ep. 132: Not All Online Galleries are Created Equal with Alex Farkas

Plenty of online galleries will happily take your money in exchange for “exposure.” UGallery has a different model. They are paid on commission, so they do whatever they can to see that art sells.

This isn’t a commercial for UGallery. Instead, I want you to be aware of people and companies who are working hard for artists and doing things the right way.

The Art Biz ep. 132: Not All Online Galleries are Created Equal with Alex Farkas Read

Scarf by Trudy Rice

Giving Art and Artist Merchandise

Are you giving art this holiday season?

You always run a risk giving art as a holiday present if you don’t know the recipient will truly love and want to display it.

However, many artists have merchandise with their art on it, which can be more appropriate for gift-giving because it’s utilitarian.

  • Mugs
  • Calendars
  • Note cards
  • Scarves
  • Ornaments
  • Journals

What art are you giving this year?  What do you have for customers to purchase for gift-giving?

Please leave a comment with the following:

  1. A description of your gift.
  2. A link to where we can see it. Double check to make sure the link works.
  3. Your Instagram handle so I can help you promote it.

Giving Art and Artist Merchandise Read

The Art Biz ep. 58: Adding E-Commerce to Your Website with Lynn Goldstein

Twenty years ago it would have been unthinkable for me to suggest that artists add shopping carts to their websites. Above all, it was crazy expensive to do so at the time. But also it was considered a bit tacky.

Boy have things changed! Not just since Covid, but even in the decade leading up to where we are now.

Online shopping carts are affordable and easy to implement, and the vast majority of the population is comfortable buying online—even buying art online. Some even prefer the online experience.

Then there are the galleries. Many of them struggle to make sales (again, even before Covid) and haven’t quite gotten the hang of social media. They were the last of the art world to come into the 21st century way of doing business.

But now even galleries are selling online, with mega-dealer David Zwirner leading the way in 2017.

Why wouldn’t you make it easier for people to buy directly from you?

That’s what Lynn Goldstein thought, too. She built a shopping cart for her website earlier this year. And the sales rolled in immediately after the March launch.

To date, Lynn has sold 18 original paintings and about a dozen reproductions directly from her site, and I wanted to find out how.

It must be said that neither Lynn nor I are not experts in all of the options you have for shopping carts. I wanted to share Lynn’s experience and, above all, her results.

Listen in if you’re curious about how she did it.

The Art Biz ep. 58: Adding E-Commerce to Your Website with Lynn Goldstein Read

Why Your Website Isn’t Generating Sales

Your website is for generating sales and opportunities – even if you don’t sell directly from your site. You’re using your site as a digital portfolio to sell galleries and other venues on the idea of your art.

There are numerous factors as to why some art sells better online than others. Perhaps the work is more “popular” or more affordable. Or maybe the artists use their lists and social media more effectively.

Without taking those things into account, there are four errors you should correct immediately if you would like more sales and opportunities. Each is a step toward making it easier for people to buy.

1. You make people click multiple times to see the art.

If your website hasn’t been updated in years, you might have an old template that makes people click numerous links to see your art. It’s time for a major overhaul.

Can you imagine walking into a gallery and not knowing what they sell? If you’re sending people to your site to see, appreciate and, perhaps, purchase your art, you’d better show it to them on every page.

That’s right: every page. Your website has acres of virtual real estate that needs your art to make it attractive to visitors. Use it!

You never know where people will land on your site, so see that the art is the main feature.

2. You don’t make it clear what you’re selling.

Would you install your art in a space without a label next to it? No!

Would you want anyone else to install your art without acknowledging you as the maker? Absolutely not! You’d probably get miffed (and rightly so) if someone did.

And, yet, many artists are showing their art online without giving themselves proper credit. A credit line looks like this.

©Your Name, Title of Artwork. Medium (be specific), size (H x W x D inches/cm). Photo credit if necessary.

You can see the above format in use under the featured images on this post. Yours doesn’t have to follow this exact configuration. You can vary the sequence and punctuation as long as the credit line includes each of those elements and as long as you are consistent.

Potential buyers more easily imagine the art in their space and lives when they know specifics. You not only need to be clear about medium and size, but also about matting, framing, and anything else that would be included.

Take photos of the art in situ, or installed in an office or home environment to help people

Why Your Website Isn’t Generating Sales Read

Master Your Subject Lines in 49 Characters or Less

Email messages are the steam engine behind much of your marketing these days. They’re cheap, they’re fast, and . . . they’re completely ineffective unless recipients open them and act on the message.

Recipients are tempted to open messages, in large part, based on what they encounter in the subject line.

Your subject line is almost more important than the content of the email. If the message is never opened, you might as well have not sent it.

To the point: The purpose of your email subject line is to get the recipient to open the email. It’s not a space-filler and should never be an afterthought. You can’t take a subject line for granted. Follow these 7 tips for better subject lines.

1. Make it personal.

Think about your subscribers and readers. Which ones are your strongest prospects? Which are your loyal collectors?

Write directly to these people as you’re crafting your message and your subject line by opting for the words You and Your over Me, My and Mine as much as possible. Write to them in a conversational, authentic tone.

The words You and Your are powerful. Did you notice how many times I’ve used them in this article? I’m writing to you, not for or about me. Examples of You-centered subject lines include the following.

  • It won’t be a party if you’re not there
  • Can’t wait to show you the 3rd photo from the left
  • Picture yourself sipping wine and looking at art

2. Be specific.

Don’t use the same subject line for every email to your list. If we see the subject line News from Diane Jenson’s Studio every month in our inboxes, we begin to think it’s the same message over and over again.

You want readers to know that there is unique content in each message. Using the same subject line for every email masks the value of the individual messages.

If you’re promoting a particular event in your email, use the location of the event in the subject line.

  • Just 1 of 82 artists in Breckenridge next weekend
  • Chocolate and art in New Orleans Nov 5

Or use the title of a specific work instead of simply acknowledging “new work” in general. These two examples use titles from real-life artwork.

  • Cake on Cake—the fat-free version
  • Dazed and Confused? There’s a painting for that

3. Use numerals instead of text.

The number 50 has more of a visual impact than the word fifty. Note, however,

Master Your Subject Lines in 49 Characters or Less Read

Bundling To Increase Your Income

A few weeks ago I had a sale of my audio products. I didn’t discount the products themselves. Instead, I bundled them together and added bonuses. If you’re open to creative solutions for selling your art, consider having a bundle sale instead of a discount sale of your products.

Bundling To Increase Your Income Read

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Your Artist Mailing List: Rethinking + Assessing

Get a transcript of episode 182 of The Art Biz (Rethinking Mailing Lists for Artists) followed by a 3-page worksheet to evaluate the overall health and usage of the 3 types of artist lists.

Where can we send it? 

To ensure delivery, please triple check your email address.

You’ll also receive my regular news for your art business.

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