How to Sell Your Art: Q&A

I recently posted about my limited time art sales model.  I got lots of great questions on my Instagram post on the topic and I'm going to answer them here.  If you missed that post, my preferred art selling method is to offer weekend updates every month or so, and limit availability the rest of the week.  That way I can batch all the tasks--making the art, photographing the art, creating product listings, launch the shop, then manage the orders and do all the shipping.  It makes me far more efficient and creates a favorable urgency and scarcity for my audience. I have seen many, many creators successfully use some version of this model. 

Before I get into the questions, I wanted to mention that the limited time art sale model has actually been happening for artists for forever.  The pre-internet model had established artists spending a year or two creating a body of work, which was then displayed at a gallery in a solo show, where people could purchase. A very typical rhythm is a solo show every 2 years. Another way this works is with art or craft fairs.  Artists present their work, and the event is live for a limited time!  The shoppers need to get your thing while you can.  The limited availability iis by no means a brand-new model.  I don't think artists need to be open round the clock like 7/11 or the 24 hour grocery.  It's just too much. 

Increased Sales by 700%!?!?

First, a really interesting comment.  This is from Kolbie at @thewritingdesk.  If you don't follow her you should check out her page--she's an amazing watercolor teacher and she's winning at social media!  She says that she didn't sell her work for years (even with a big social audience!), but then she tried the limited collection strategy and increase sales by 700%.  She adds that she finds it easier to only have to worry about shipping for that one sales week. 

Let’s Get Technical 

Natalie Jeanne wanted to know some specifics!  She wants to know how I shut down my store.  I'll get technical with you for a second.  I use Squarespace where I can make multiple pages. I have a painting page that's always available, but the art that lives on the page will be sold out for 90% of the time.  I have a banner that communicates my shop update rhythm. currently it says, "Shop updates monthly", and has a opt in button in case people want to sign up to be notified.  (Building an e-mail list is KEY to this strategy by the way.) I leave my favorite, sold art up there so that people can get an idea of what types of things I offer and the pricing ranges.

 When I'm ready to get the next launch ready, I create a private page where I create the product listings and add my new paintings.  When all the details are correct, I'll mark them "coming soon" and move them to the shop page (after removing the old work).  Then I can let people know that the preview is ready.  I usually do this a day or two before launch. Then when the sale concludes (usually on Sunday night), I put the unsold work into an unpublished page until the next launch.

What About Unsold Art? 

Cami and Brenda both asked what about the unsold pieces?  Do you make them available at the next update?  Great question, I heard this a lot.  And yes.  I keep the store stocked for the weekend.  If there are still available pieces when I conclude on Sunday night, I pull them and drop them in a private tab for use in the next update. 

There are some paintings that just don't sell.  I'll try them for 4-6 months if I still like them, and then I chalk it up to “super good information”.  For me, people prefer bright colors.  I like taupe and grey just as much, but I have found that it is harder for me to sell that color palette.  For someone else with a different audience, it might be the exact opposite.  If you are a professional artist, it's important to remember, you are in a relationship with your audience.  You are offering something to them, and they will offer you very decisive information in the form of their purchasing behavior.

 After 4-6 months of a work not selling, I either retire the piece, or repaint it, or hold it for my studio clearance events that I do once a year or so, which is the only kind of sale I ever do, although I frequently offer "almost perfect" art that got dropped or dinged or something.

Sales Rhythm 

Color sorceress mentioned her normal social posting and sales offer rhythm.  She says as she presents new work on social, it makes sense to also offer them for sale.  I personally show my work (new and old) all month long.  But I do not find that saying "dm me for purchase" or "It's available on my website" drives many sales.  This might be just me; other artists might have a different experience. When I get closer to an update, I might post something like "Hop on my mailing list to get a preview!" Did I mention having a mailing list is one of my most important CTAS (that's Call to action)?  I could write a novel on that one, so that will be a future post! 

Getting “Salesy” 

Macro Cosmix had a great observation.  Mac says, it probably helps my overall reach when I don't try to sell all the time because they noticed that my IG reach drops on my "selling posts".  This is 100% true.  On a shop update weekend, I will post more than the average, maybe 3 or 4 posts a day.  And I do that because those posts drive immediate sales.  BUT those "selling posts" also get far fewer likes and engagement than my usual posts. I think people just don't see the need to engage with advertisement.   I have personally found that the second I write anything "salesy", people don't engage.  So, it's far better to provide beautiful images and art-a-tainment for 90% of the time.  

 I had quite a few people as if this method would work with prints and photography. Yes, and yes. There literally isn't any one art product collection I can think of that wouldn't work.  I don't think it would work as well if you don't have a series or a collection to launch.  If you're just like, hey here's all the random stuff I made this month… I think you'd struggle.  

I saw a couple more questions about people with a small audience.  The thing about the shop update model is that it gets better the more you do it.  So, the first update may not be that successful.  But the 6th update is likely to be a lot better because people would be used to it. 

Hope these answers helped! If you want to dive in to my advice on how to really get going selling your art online, check out my free mini-course Five Pillars to Selling Your Art Online!