Reprinted with Permission by Renée Phillips - If you visit the more than 120 articles I’ve written for you on this website you’ll probably find thousands of sales tips for artists. In the interest of saving you time, I like to occasionally offer bite-size morsels of information with links to further reading. This article includes 10 of The Best Sales Tips for Artists. You may want to pour yourself a cup of tea and relax as you devour them and their related articles, or save this page to return again.

Help Your Customers Visualize a Purchase

If you want to sell art directly to art buyers you must have an in situ page on your website where you post high-quality, accurate images of your art installed in homes, offices, public spaces, hospitals, etc. Potential buyers want to be able to visualize your art in their own interiors relative to scale, balance, color, and other elements.

Begin Your Holiday Art Marketing in September

Don’t wait until November to scramble for last minute holiday art sales. Start by announcing in your email newsletter and social media campaign how your art makes great holiday gifts. Every week or so send an email showing special holiday pieces that may be ordered in advance, especially if you do commission works of art or sell limited edition prints.

You might want to write an art blog post about it or create a separate Holiday Art Ideas page on your website.

Add Details of Your Artwork

If you have a lot of detail or interesting texture in your art that isn’t easily interpreted in your full-scale images, add details of your artwork in your gallery or portfolio section of your website and also on social media. Otherwise, what might be some of the best features of your art may go unnoticed.

If you’re a 3-D artist, don’t forget to supply various views of your artwork.

Consider adding a short video that includes close-up views of your artwork.

Keep Sold Art on Your Website

Don’t remove “sold” work in your online gallery. Identify it as “sold” and mention any other useful information. For example, if you do commissions supply a link to your commissions’ page or F.A.Q.

Informing visitors that your work is selling is a good thing! In fact, psychologically, when the potential buyer sees your sold works of art they will feel more confident in making a purchase and their interest and respect for you and your art will increase.

Beneath your sold piece, you could add a description, such as “The original painting has been sold. It is in the collection of Advent Corp. Limited edition prints of this painting are available. Please visit my limited edition prints page for details.”

Exceed Your Customers’ Expectations

Have you ever heard of the Pareto Principle? It tells us that 20 percent of your clients will bring you 80 percent of your business. So, if you’re smart you’ll pay close attention to that 20 percent. In fact, you’ll be wise to treat them with “white glove service”.

Look for ways to build customer loyalty from the very beginning of your relationship. Offer to hand-deliver the work, give them written instructions on how to care for the art, offer a reduction on their next art purchase, and remember them on their birthdays and anniversaries.

Keep Your Credentials Up to Date

Few things are worse than having outdated About / Biography / Resume / CV / Pages. It’s important to show off your most recent career achievements.  It’s also a good idea to add future events such as upcoming scheduled exhibitions. Also, provide prominent links to this important page on all other pages and your art blog.

And, if you have an Artist’s Statement page remember to update it to reflect your current creative process.

Set Up an F.A.Q. Page on Your Website

Time is a precious and valuable commodity for both you and your potential buyer. Anticipating your customers’ questions will be much appreciated. They’ll know you take the extra effort when you address their inquiries on your F.A.Q. (Frequently Asked Questions) page.

Answers about shipping procedures and costs, turnaround time for commissions, your procedure for working with galleries, agents, and art consultants, are all very helpful. Also, invite visitors to send you questions via email that you could add to the page.

Seek New Venues to Multiply Sales

Don’t get stuck in a rut by only trying to sell in one market niche. Vary your outlets and venues. Many artists have sold their art through a range of different locales such as cafes, doctor’s waiting rooms, furniture stores, hotel lobbies and yoga studios. Or they have connected with interior designers and art consultants for increasing sales. Furthermore, one fast-growing field is the healthcare art market which includes not only hospitals but also medical treatment centers, outpatient clinics, rehabilitation centers, and more.

Learn About Advertising on Social Media

Have you considered advertising on social media but want to be sure you don’t waste time and money? Well, Hootsuite has created a short and informative video that will help you develop a great advertising plan to help you reach your objectives. You’ll learn the best practices for setting up a social ads campaign, from researching your audience and choosing a campaign type, to crafting engaging visuals and copy.

Hootsuite is the world’s leading social media management platform with over 15 million users — including me — and 800+ of the world’s Fortune 1000 companies. Watch their video here “Best Practices for Setting Up Social Ads Campaigns”: https://youtu.be/jpsbCJGGS_U

Update Your “New Work” Page

If you have a “New Work” section on your website, make sure you update this page often. “New Work” should be taken literally and your visitors should expect to see the page revised at least every few months and the “Old Work” moved to another page. It’s good to let potential art buyers know you are continuously producing art. That’s the sign of a true professional artist.

Also, a “New Work” page gives visitors more reason to see what new art they can add to their existing collection and they’ll visit more often. After you update the page post, an announcement on social media and in an email newsletter inviting them to visit the page. The link to the original article post here:  https://renee-phillips.com/10-of-the-best-sales-tips-for-artists/.  

Renée Phillips, The Artrepreneur Coach, helps artists achieve their fullest potential in consultations and coaching. She offers art-business articles and e-Books on www.renee-phillips.com. As founder/director of Manhattan Arts International,   www.manhattanarts.com, she promotes artists in curated art programs and online exhibitions. She is also the founder/editor of The Healing Power of ART & ARTISTS, www.healing-power-of-art.org.  Renée is a member of the prestigious International Association of Art Critics. She lives in New York, NY.