How to Sell Your Artwork Online

The art world can be tough to break into. Even highly talented artists often struggle to find an audience and market their work so that they can make a living off their passion. However, ecommerce is lowering the barriers to entry and making it easier for aspiring professional artists to sell their creations online. If you want to sell your artwork on the web, here’s what you should keep in mind.

Find an online home for your art. This should be obvious, but people can’t buy your art online if they can’t find it, so you need to put it out there on the web. Some artists choose to set up their own website, but if you don’t consider yourself tech-savvy or just don’t want the hassle of maintaining your own site, consider setting up an account to sell through an online marketplace like Sheepbuy.

Photograph your art. Art is a visual medium, so it should go without saying that you need great photos if you’re going to sell it online. You may want to invest in a fairly high-quality digital camera rather than just using your phone, and you may also want to use an image editing program like Photoshop to adjust things like the color saturation and sharpness.

Write SEO-optimized descriptions. If you’re not experienced with search engine optimization, never fear. The main thing you should keep in mind when writing your description is what search terms people who might be interested in your art are using. Think in terms of phrases such as “watercolors for sale,” “art buyers,” and “buy art.” Your descriptions also need to flow well and be free of grammar errors and typos; it never hurts to have a friend proofread them before you post.

Take advantage of social media. Visual social media platforms like Flickr, Pinterest, and Instagram are great tools to get your art in front of more eyes. Work on engaging others on these sites by posting images of your artwork, following people with similar interests, and commenting on the content of other users. You can also use Facebook to create a business page for your art ecommerce site, and Twitter to share updates about projects you’re working on or new pieces for sale.

Offer great customer service. As with any business, you’ll need to provide your customers with a great experience if you want to sell your artwork. Make it as easy as possible for customers to purchase pieces with only a few clicks, and also include easy-to-find contact information so they can get in touch if they have questions or delivery issues. Make sure to respond to customers in a timely manner, and ship your artwork as soon as possible after an order is placed.