8 tips to increase art sales
This month’s career advice question comes from @tarniamageeart, who asks: How do I make my work more commercial as I am now displaying a consistent style? Great question! To start off, I want to acknowledge that your focus was finding your voice as an artist and building up a body of work before jumping into sales (which is awesome!). I could write an entire article on why developing your unique style should always be an artist’s first step, but for now, I will simply say that it makes the process of starting to sell your work so much easier in the long run. Now let’s dive deeper into the question!
Up your photography game
Throughout the rest of this article, I’m interpreting “commercial” to mean salable rather than creating art intended for use in advertising. So, one of my first suggestions is to pay attention to your photography. Take high-quality images of your work or hire a photographer to do this task for you. Have clear, crisp shots of your pieces including ones of the full artwork cropped to the edges and ideally also detail images that capture colors and textures accurately. Take it to the next level by having photos of your work in context ready as well, whether you physically shoot them hanging on a wall or in a space or you create mock-ups digitally. I’ve said it before, but your images really can either make or break you as an artist. Especially when selling online, but even when used for in-person exhibition price lists or other printed collateral, your images have to show off your work as best as they can to catch the attention of your potential buyers.
Invest in materials
Thinking along the same lines, have you thought about the materials you use in your work itself? Are there any opportunities to upgrade so that when people view your work in person, they’ll know you’re worth investing in? You can immediately tell the difference between an archival fine art print and a flimsy poster and I’ve unfortunately purchased the latter believing it was the former based on the artists’ description. You can probably guess that I never purchased from them again. Don’t think that your clients won’t notice or care! Avoid this type of disappointment by being specific about what they’re getting from you and by working with quality materials meant to last (unless having an ephemeral quality is part of your art). This is not to say that you have to spend tons of money on the most expensive paper or brushes, however. Do be mindful of your budget and make improvements incrementally as your sales grow over time.
Frame or add dimension
Next, I’d suggest offering framing or whatever the equivalent would be for your three-dimensional works. By anticipating your clients’ needs (i.e. a way to display your art in their home), you make it easier for them to decide if they want to buy. It can help a potential client actually imagine how a piece will look in their space when it is being sold ready to hang. My only caveat here would be that you ideally have a frame that can be changed just in case the buyer prefers a different style or color. If you’re not able to frame your works in advance, then you can say that you’d be happy to coordinate custom framing for your collectors after a sale or offer works on paper matted instead. This option is nice because it still allows a customer to choose their own frame but cuts out an extra step for them.
Optimize sales channels
Beyond the artwork itself, if you want to sell more, make sure that your sales channels are optimized. Do you have a webshop set up versus people having to ask you about prices, go back and forth negotiating until you agree on an amount, and then wait for you to send them an invoice? Although art isn’t usually an impulse buy, you don’t want to drag out the sales process and risk your potential customer losing interest along the way. Is your art available on more than one platform? Besides maintaining your own website and social media accounts, you can reach a wider audience of art buyers by showing with galleries or by listing your work on online marketplaces. Be selective about which platforms you work with as the more you list your art on, the more organized you’ll have to be with remembering what from your inventory is available where. You will also want to be aware of which ones require exclusivity.
Research
Do a lot of research on pricing before selling to make sure you’re in a range that fits your work and target audience. Hopefully this one is pretty self-explanatory!
Offer art variations
Selling to boost your income or make a full salary can take time to build up to so many artists opt to also offer fine art prints or other products with their work on them (think Printist, Printful, Society 6, or Redbubble). These options aren’t for everyone, and you should look into what your cut will be as it might be low and therefore not worth investing your time into, but they can help diversify your income streams and alleviate the pressure of only relying on selling your originals.
Commissions
While this isn’t a fit for all artists, offering commissions can be a way to generate additional sales and make deeper connections with your audience. Knowing that they’ll get a piece in the style they love but that it will be customized for them can encourage buyers who were previously on the fence about making a purchase. Just plan in advance how much extra you’ll charge for this service and set boundaries for the amount of creative direction you’re willing to take as well how many revisions you’d do, if any. I’d also suggest thinking about how many commissions you can realistically take on at a time.
Tell people your work is available
Finally, always remember to tell people your work is for sale! This sounds like the silliest piece of advice, but scrolling through artists’ Instagram accounts, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen a comment like “is this for sale?” or “how can I buy this?” Now, sometimes the artist did give clear directions in the caption or bio that the customer simply didn’t see, but other times they forgot to note this crucial information! In this case, even if you manage to close the sale with the person who commented, it’s likely you’re losing other potential clients who didn’t take the time to ask. I’m not saying you need to have “buy now” or “dm me to purchase” in every caption or on every sales page of your website, but using a variety of calls to action strategically throughout your marketing channels will help boost sales overall.
This wasn’t part of the question, but I think it’s also important to mention that none of my tips spoke of changing the style or subject of your work based on what you think will sell. I promise there’s a niche for every type of art! And although I already wrote about this in a previous article, I’ll also reiterate that finding success with one style of work doesn't mean you have to do that forever just for the sake of consistent sales and pleasing your clients or your gallery dealers. You have to trust your intuition if it’s time to move on to something new. So with all of this in mind, I hope you feel armed to launch into sales successfully and with confidence.
Cheers,
Alicia
As always, thanks so much for reading! If you have any additional questions or comments, feel free to reach me on Instagram @puigypics or @pxpcontemporary, and you can check out my website www.aliciapuig.com for all of my other writing and projects.
