At first, selling your artwork is difficult because you don’t have credibility or an established audience when you start out. If you’re an art major or make pieces on the side during the semester, you may be considering how to make some money by selling your work. To get off the ground, check out these helpful tips for selling your artwork.
Get Out There
Though it may sound uncomfortable, marketing your work with others is vital. Try to connect with art professors on campus and ask them about how you can get your work in a gallery show. They may have an in to help you. When you’ve set up your work at a gallery or are otherwise selling it, engage your visitors. Look people who approach you in the eye and express your appreciation that they stopped by.
Engage People
When talking about your pieces, don’t just talk about what’s on the surface. Technique is nice, but engaging people’s hearts is ultimately more important for sales. Talk about yourself. Be vulnerable about your thought process when you were making it and tell them what drives you to create. Ask them about why they come to look, too—if others become emotionally attached to your piece, they’re much more likely to buy it. Try not to view these as cheap marketing ploys. After all, people who connect to a piece of art are more likely to get more enjoyment and value out of it. They may even come back for more.
Appeal to Interests
Try to differentiate your work from others’ by embracing a method or quality that would appeal to a buyer. For example, you can use different types of natural paints to not only make your own unique colors and textures but also to intentionally market your artwork’s eco-friendliness. There are many options for getting creative and drumming up interest.
Tailor Work to Specific Rooms or Uses
When deciding on what to make, another tip for selling your artwork is to think about how a buyer might display it. Making paintings that people can easily hang helps. You can then advertise that a piece would be perfect for a desk, office wall, or home to help people imagine how it would fit in their own space if they bought it.