If you are an artist looking to earn some extra money, you could have a lot of choices to choose from. You could work as a freelance artist, an online illustrator, or you could decide to sell your art online via Etsy. Of course, only artists are not restricted to the Etsy marketplace. If you think that you are a talented photographer, you could sell your photos over there as well.
If you intend to sell your work online, whether it is an original, a photo, or a print, there are some practices you must be aware of. Selling the artwork isn’t as hard as making rockets. But as long as you follow the guidelines correctly, you will be a step ahead of your peers.
How to Sell Art on Etsy
And now, let’s talk about how you can sell art on Etsy without any hassle.
Invest in Your Art
If you want your art to sell well, you need to invest some funds in it. You could learn some courses to increase our art skills further, buy better art equipment and paints. You could also consider getting a greater workspace with plenty of space and lighting.
All these funds can be either your fixed or variable costs. The more you invest in your art, the more profit you can expect to receive from it.
Post on a Consistent Schedule
When you post new art on Etsy, it’s automatically listed at the top of the corresponding section for a short period. This gives you greater visibility so that customers can notify you quickly.
So, if you want to get this advantage of higher visibility, you should make posts frequently so that the customers who browse through the site notice your art. If you have several artworks to make posts on, it is recommended that you post them over days to maximize your exposure.
Include the Right Tags and Categories
Etsy’s suggested tags are there to help customers look for the art following their intent or keyword. If you want to expose your art to these random customers, you should use these tags and categorize them accordingly. For instance, if you are selling the art of a dog, you could post it under the “animal paint” tag.
Under no means create a “dog” tag of your own and post it over there. Only after you have used up all the required tags or cannot find the correct tag are you eligible to custom make a tag of your preference.
Identify Your Competition
There are probably more artists selling art on Etsy other than you. Their art might be even better than yours. If you want to become a successful Etsy seller, you should first know who your competition is. You can research the top-ranking sellers and take notes from their prices and artworks.
You want to ensure that your price is not too high or too low. Another thing you must take note of is to make sure your art stands out from the rest. You could do this by focusing some attention on producing pieces that reflect your aesthetic and use styles and elements that no one else uses. These small details will help you gain leverage over your competitors.
Build Your Network
If you want to gain more exposure and more customers, you should build up your network. You could attend competitions or promote your art on social media. This will help you gain a fan base while customers who prowl the social Media could use them to buy your piece through Etsy.
Another option you could use is to work under a more professional artist. The senior artist will help you improve on the parts you are lacking and help you meet new people who could end up as your potential customer.
Tips for Selling Fine Arts on Etsy
To successfully sell your artwork on Etsy, you could follow some tips. These tips will help you garner more customers while simultaneously helping your fan base and sales growth to new levels.
- Always stand out from the crowd. You need to think out of the box if you want to create unique pieces of art. To create something entirely new, ask yourself these questions:
- What is my unique perspective?
- How is my work different?
If you think of these questions while drawing, you might make something phenomenal in the art industry.
- Always be informative when you are writing the product description. However, keep things brief since customers do not want to spend hours reading your thesis-like description.
- When you are contacted, talk to the customer honestly. However, instead of convincing the buyers why they should choose your work, let your artwork do the talking.
- Handle things with care when you are preparing the products for delivery. Make sure to label packages with stamps and tags that say “Fragile” or “Do not bend.” You must also tell your customer that the product is fragile and should be careful when handling it.
- State your policies if you have any. Some Etsy sellers have made it a policy to ship every few days or whenever they get an order. If you have some other policies like no returns if broken or no cash backs, you should state them clearly so that the customer is not confused.
Conclusion
If you are done with setting up your account and the art contents you will sell, make sure to price them according to your manufacturing costs. Do not just pick any price only because you would prefer to.
Check if other artists in your line have a similar price range. Only if you have enough sales to take the risk should you raise your price. If you do not have enough leverage, decrease your price humbly.