Key Things to Know for Selling Digital Art
If you want to make a living selling digital art, you need to know some key things, like how to build an audience online and how to price your art. It’s never been easier for artists to sell directly using online platforms where their audiences are found. You can run your own shop or use an online gallery to help you promote and exhibit your digital art. Running your own online shop and selling your digital art gives you full control and enables you to keep all your profits. Here are some other tips for selling digital art.
Sell prints and merchandise
If you sell digital art prints nowadays, it can be lucrative, but customers may be confused about what they are getting. Digital art can be reproduced without a loss of quality, so it’s great for selling prints. However, selling merchandise that makes your art tangible can increase your sales. Bring your digital art into the real world by printing it on home décor items, clothing, kitchenware or stationery. Customers are more likely to buy products they can display and handle.
Using a “print to order” business model means you only produce physical products once a customer places an order. You don’t have to carry inventory and run the risk of loss of revenue due to dead stock. Reproducing your art on physical products means you can continue to profit from a single piece of work while there’s a demand for it.
You can charge more for limited edition prints
If you sell limited edition prints, it means you will only sell a specific number of prints. You can number and sign them as the artist to add authenticity. The effect is much like a limited time offer. It creates a sense of scarcity and urgency. The limited availability adds to the value of the print, which means you can sell it for a higher price.
You should check out samples of your art prints before they’re shipped to customers. You want to make sure that prints aren’t poor copies of an original, or you will have dissatisfied customers. Working with a trusted print-on-demand company will help you to ensure your prints are of the highest quality.
Create professional visuals
Any online business needs to photograph and present its products clearly and accurately. If you want to sell merchandise, you need to make sure you take clear shots from multiple angles. Zoomed-in shots help shoppers to see details and textures.
Lifestyle photos can help shoppers to picture using your products. Lifestyle photos are great for posting on social media and also help to show scale. Print-on-demand companies will usually provide you with mockup images you can use on your product pages in addition to your photographs or instead of them.
Build your brand as an artist
Your chosen medium and style define you as an artist and will attract a specific group of buyers. Your story as an artist could encourage them to buy. For example, some buyers like to support young, upcoming artists or previously disadvantaged artists.
If you want to sell online, it’s not just your art that matters. You need to learn how to market it online. This means you need to decide on your brand voice, vision and mission. Building up some brand guidelines can help you to maintain brand consistency as you grow your online presence. These guidelines will form the foundation for your own store, marketing materials etc.
Sell from your own store
Selling from your own store allows you to make the most profit from your artwork. Selling your digital art on a platform like Etsy gives you access to millions of buyers looking for unique products like yours. It can take years for you to build up the kind of traffic on your own website that you will find on Etsy.
Etsy offers a step-by-step guide that helps you to set up your store. You don’t need any coding or design skills. You can get up and running quickly and start selling.
All the tools and infrastructure you need to run your store are available on Etsy. You can easily create listings, advertise, use marketing tools, and provide billing and payment options to your customers. This gives you the time to spend creating more digital art.
