How To Sell Art Online? 5 Best Places To Sell Creative Work

Updated on November 1, 2022 in Ecommerce by Alifiya Mustafa

As easy it is to get intimidated by art, as hard it is to sell art online. But if you know the right places and right techniques, you’ll know that it isn’t so hard. There are so many great places where you can sell art online.

In this article, I’ll be telling you about how and at what places you can sell art online.

How To Sell Art Online?

There are so many artists who are selling their art online and living off that sole income. The Internet is filled with potential art buyers and there are thousands of opportunities that allow you to be a part of the niche.

However, it isn’t an overnight job to sell art online. You must put effort, time, and be determined to sell art online successfully. Here are a few things that you can do to start selling art online:

1. Build a portfolio

In order to appear more professional and serious, you must build a strong portfolio. You might be having a few pieces here and there but that doesn’t work. The more organized your portfolio looks, the more professionalism it adds to your portfolio.

Why is it necessary? Well, professionalism allows you to charge more confidently. Trust me, it’s no cheating but it’s brand equity. This is very common in fashion. You might buy a handbag from anywhere, but if you want Gucci, there’s a higher price to pay. Gucci has made its brand so professional, that it can directly charge more off its name than its products.

2. Choose the correct channel

You must find out what are the best channels for you to market your art. See where your target audience spends its most time online. For example, you won’t want to display your artwork on Snapchat as there are likely no chances that the Snapchat users will be interested in buying art online.

Choose platforms that are useful and potential. Your portfolio must also be available on such channels. You may create your own Instagram page and fill your feeds with your artwork. This way, your profile becomes a consistent portfolio while you gain engagement.

Pinterest is another great platform to display your artwork. You may also include buyable pins redirecting the users to your website or to the link where it’s available for sale.

3. Join groups and communities

As said before, there are thousands of artists trying to sell art online. And, just as any other niche, social media is an excellent platform to bring such people closer and build their niche demand collectively. Go over to Facebook or Instagram and join groups, pages, and communities that are relevant to your art business. Such communities allow you to talk about your art, promote your work, and even learn from other artists.

You may also get an idea about what other artists are doing to sell art online. Also, the buyers who are interested in buying art are also part of these groups or consult from such places. Thus, your artwork can get great exposure to the exact people who are there to buy what you’re selling. 

4. Be consistent with your marketing and creations

Digital marketing demands consistency. The more you’re consistent with your posting, the more Google, Instagram, or Facebook will consider you.

When you’re engaged with your audience timely, the platforms like Instagram and FB start to suggest your page/account to the people who might be interested in your content. Posting once in a while can’t bring you the engagement that you need to sell art online successfully.

Also, keep creating your art. Although your art might take months depending on what you’re creating that shouldn’t stop you from talking about it, sharing your inspirations and ideas, and getting engaged with your potential audience.

The idea here is to catch as many potential eyes as possible. And, to catch eyes, you first must appear.  The more you appear, the more you get recognized and you sell art online better.

5. Be patient

Everything is hard and daunting initially. To build engagement, to build a strong portfolio, and to convince people of your price and art – it takes time. You must be very patient if you want to sell art online. Consistency is the key and you must not give up.

It might sound like putting too much time and effort, but trust me, once you sell art, it’ll be all worth it. Also, once you make a sale, you’d realize that more demand is on the way and you may start to build a mini art business out of it. So my best tip is – Be consistent, patient, and professional!

Where To Sell Art Online?

There are multiple places where you can sell art online. To begin with, here are the top 5 places to sell art online:

1. Etsy

Etsy is the perfect online marketplace that allows you to sell unique and vintage items like handicrafts, vintage jewelry, pottery, knits, and of course – Art. It is a paradise for art lovers. It’s open to a unique collection of items and thus has a very unique customer base.

The audience you get exposed to on Etsy is particularly interested in art and vintage items which explains why I call it the perfect place to sell art online. Selling on Etsy is very simple and the support you get from the Etsy community is incredible.

Want to learn how to do it? I’d highly recommend you read How To Sell On Etsy?

2. ArtPal

ArtPal is another great place, especially if you’re new to the ‘sell art online’ thing. ArtPal has no membership costs, fees, commission, or other charges, and you can get up and running pretty quickly. The platform also has a free gallery and offers a free print-on-demand service.

Here, ArtPal makes money from printing and shipping services. However, if you use ArtPal just as an online gallery and handle the shipping yourself then you get 100% of sales and no commission charged.

The only thing that can concern you is the competition as there are more than 1,44,000 artists who sell art online here. But, it is worth a shot because there are artists who are earning from hundreds to thousands of dollars through ArtPal.

3. Artfinder

Artfinder is very popular in Europe but it does have its presence in America too. This place to sell art online has more than ten thousand artists from more than 108 countries! Huge. The bright side of this place is that your art still shows up in searches even after it is sold.

This enables people to find you and they can start following you. There are also multiple filters and options to help your buyers sort what they can afford. Shoppers can set their preferences based on language, currency, and units of measure, and Artfinder adjusts the information to help you reach more people.

Before you sell art online on Artfinder, you must know that  Artfinder charges 33% to  40% commission, saying the money goes to site management, hosting, marketing, and they offer shoppers returns without charging anything.

The seller has to pay a commission on the retail price of the piece, this means that there is no hike in prices because of shipping costs. This can save you a lot of money if you end up selling internationally. Monthly charges and commissions depend on your subscription. The higher the options, the greater the access you get to promotional packages, tags, and fan interactions.

4. Pixapp

For smartphone fans, Pixapp offers a tool to sell via apps. Pixapp works by updating the app with particular artworks as well as photos, designs, and other elements that can be added to shirts, tote bags, phone cases, coasters, or be produced as posters, canvas prints, metal prints, and framed items.

You get to keep  90% of each sale. And, with Pixapp completing the printing and creation means you’re able to make passive income without a lot of effort and the need to sell the originals. Pixapp handles the shipping, customer service, and if there are any returns. Thus, you’re free from the hassle of managing the business. All you do is provide Pixapp with content to sell.

The platform is growing steadily and has an active artist community. Though Pixapp may not be the only place you sell art online if you want to make a living, but it can be a good alternative way to generate some money while you sell on other channels.

5. Amazon

Amazon is the largest online marketplace and as everybody knows, it sells almost everything that’s permitted by law. Good thing, you can sell art here too. As Amazon deals in almost everything it has a very huge, promising, and wide variety of audiences.

It could be a perfect place to sell art online for beginners as it exposes you to a very large audience. I’d recommend that you visit Amazon’s seller portal and learn about their policies, restrictions, and things required to become a seller on Amazon.

Bonus Read

There are plenty of benefits to selling art online. Firstly, you may start your very own small art selling business and generate income. Another major benefit of selling art online is to get exposed to a huge audience on the platforms mentioned above. This isn’t easy when you’re building your audience from scratch.

There are also many other websites where you can sell art online such as ArtFire, Saatchi Art, and Society6. You may also sell art online through social media platforms like Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, and Twitter. Such places also have a great audience interested in art.

In this article, I only covered the 5 best places to sell online but there are a plethora of options that you can explore and start selling art online. I hope this article was helpful to you.

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