Yes You Can!

by Kate Dardine

Can you really sell art on the internet?
The answer is yes…IF.

One of the biggest misconceptions artists (for the sake of this article, photographers and other 2-D artists will be lumped together under the umbrella term “artist.”) have is that by having a website, or joining an “online gallery” such as Art for Conservation or other online galleries, that sales will just “happen.” There seems to be a thought process that goes something like, “I put my images ‘out there’ – now all I have to do is sit back and wait for the buyers to buy!” You could be waiting a long time. With all the images “out there” on the internet, what is going to make a potential purchaser find YOUR art?

For those of you who have read my posts before, you know my mantra. The internet is not a magic bullet. Tried and true marketing techniques still come into play. And as much as all of us would like to be able to just create and let “someone else” handle the marketing aspect, the truth is that it is up to you, the artist, to create the buzz about your work that will lead to sales.

So how do you create a buzz? The easiest way is to use social networking sites such as Facebook. I recommend having a “personal” profile for posting events about your life that are NOT necessarily related to art and a professional fan page where you can promote your art. One of the biggest benefits of posting your images on Facebook is the immediate feedback you get from comments and “likes” – you know pretty quickly which images resonate with your fan base and which don’t. In my earlier post, Marketing Your Art With Social Networking, I cover this subject in detail.

The second part of creating a buzz is to get your fans involved. Have a “name this image” contest or post a “daily painting.” Two artists I know have had great success with their daily painting series – check out Kimberly Kelly Santini’s “Painting A Dog A Day” blog and Deborah Flood’s “Painting A Child A Day” blog. Both these artists have done a great job creating buzz and getting fans and friends involved by asking for photo references to paint from. In addition, Kimberly goes one step further by aligning herself with animal welfare organizations and donating proceeds from the sales of her Dog A Day paintings.

Partnering with established non-profits is one of the best ways to get your work in front of buying eyes. For instance, the Art for Conservation online gallery requires all artists to donate a percentage of proceeds from sales of prints to a conservation or social justice organization.
Those who are having the most success on the site donate a substantial amount and make sure the organization who is benefiting is aware of what the artist is doing. They ask the organization to link to their work on the site, and to promote the fact that buying art benefits the organization.

For example, a few years ago, artist John Fawcett created two stunning paintings of the racehorse Barbaro. All proceeds from the sale of prints went to the Thoroughbred Charities of America. Did TCA promote John’s work? You bet they did!

Selling prints of your art through an online gallery site is perhaps one of the safest ways to promote and sell your work on the Internet. Most require purchasers to pay with credit cards, and most, like AFC, will do the printing without charging the artist upfront – their fees, commission and material costs are taken out of the sale price of the print.

Selling original art or photography from your own website can be a little trickier. First, you don’t have the luxury of lots and lots of people finding – or stumbling upon – your work (at least not at first). Second, there is the risk associated with payment. I have a paypal shopping cart attached to my website, and handle most payment that way. Sometimes buyers would rather send a check – and I let them. However, I don’t send out the painting until the check arrives and clears.

My first sale from my website (which I have through Fine Art Studio Online) came about three months after I first put my site up. The funny thing is, I didn’t even know I’d made a sale. I saw the sold button had popped up on a painting, but didn’t have my paypal account set up to send me notification when someone purchased from me. I thought something was wrong with my site! The poor guy waited 3 months before writing me an email inquiring when, if ever, I was going to send his painting. Of course I did right away! Strangely, that is the only sale of an original that I have made from my website that I can’t trace to my own marketing efforts. He truly did just stumble upon my website when he was trawling the artist websites on the FASO website.

So the bottom line is this - whether you are selling your art through your own website or through an online gallery site, the same principals of marketing apply. You must use all your marketing tools to drive potential buyers to your work. When adding new work to my website, I make sure to add in relevant keywords and phrases that someone might use in a search. I use Facebook, my blog, a weekly e-letter, Twitter and occasionally "snail mail" to keep my name and images in front of potential buyers. I also promote my work on two "daily painters" blogs. In addition, I regularly donate reproductions to non-profit organizations.

During the month of January, I turned what is normally a pretty slow sales month for me into one of my best sales months ever - by promoting my studio sale of older works, studies, and slightly damaged paintings. I am also promoting my Painting A Day project - 52 small (up to 6x8") studies in roughly 52 days. Since I know a good portion of my fan base is struggling in this economy, I am keeping the price of these paintings under $60. My fans are happy - they can get an original piece of art, and I am happy having a cash and energy flow!

Lest you think that all I do all day is paint and promote my work, think again - I do all of this AND work 32 hours a week at Fine Print Imaging. If I can do it...so can you.

Conversations Equal Sales

by Kate Dardine

My last post was all about getting people to come to your site, wander around and look at all the beautiful images. Now, how do you turn lookers into buyers?

According to Clint Watson, creator of the Fine Art Studio Online websites, the only way you sell art is through “connecting with real people and having conversations with them.” (Clint worked in a high-end gallery for many years before starting his own company – so he knows a bit about selling art.) “Well,” you may wonder, “how am I going to have conversations with people when I can’t see them – and am not even sure they are out there?”

You know the old saying – when there is a will, there is a way? Assuming you have the will, here are a few ways to engage in “conversation” with the viewers on your website.

Tell stories about your work.
I know, some of you are saying, “my art speaks for itself.” Trust me. It doesn’t. Now before you think I’m dissing your artwork (heck, I haven’t even SEEN it!) let me explain. Yes, the image has to speak for itself to attract the viewer. It’s color, composition, values, style have got to first grab the viewer and drag him or her in. But on a website, unlike a gallery, there is no gallerist to walk over and start a conversation with the viewer. You’ll have to do that with your written word. You don’t have to write a dissertation – in fact, you’ll want to keep it short. But you’ll want the words to tell a story that leaves the reader wanting to know more.

For example, I have a painting called “Healing Path.” I used Native American symbols in the painting. In my description of the work I wrote, “Many symbols, some personal, some Native American, were used in the creation of this painting. Titled "The Healing Path," it was painted at a time when my horse was sick and traditional western medicines weren't helping. If you'd like a detailed description of the symbolism used, please contact me and I'll send you info.” I can’t tell you how many contacts I received from people wanting to know the meaning of the symbols, wanting to know how my horse was, wanting to tell me their stories about using alternative healing methods. And guess what? I answered each of those contacts and...each one joined my mailing list…and three bought paintings...which leads me to:

Send out an email newsletter to your list on a regular basis.
I generally send mine out once a week. I keep the letter short, but provide insights into my creative life. I include a photo of the latest painting I’ve completed, and usually try to tie my “story” in to the painting I am showing. For instance, I recently completed a painting of a dead starling. The “story” part of my newsletter talked about my reticence to paint something dead, and how that was a metaphor for the very human fear of death and change and the unknown. I also wrote about how facing that fear was both freeing and empowering.

I usually mention a couple of other paintings, providing links to the images on my website. I also put “newsy” items in the newsletter – paintings that have sold, shows I’ve been juried in to, awards I’ve won, etc. And every once in a while I offer a special discount to my newsletter readers – and let them know they are the only ones getting the discount. I also, with the client’s permission, put in testimonials from people who have purchased a painting. I might give a short review of a book I’ve read or a movie I’ve seen. And I provide a short intro and link to my latest blog…

Start a blog!
My website through FASO has one built in, but there are plenty of free blog hosting sites out there. This blog is hosted by Blogger. There are a number of good sites out there that can help you get started writing a blog, and so I won’t go into detail here. Here's two to get you started. "How to Write Killer Blog Posts" and "How to Write Great Blog Content". Essentially, you want to think of your blog as another touch point, another place to start a conversation. Of course all the writing in the world won’t do you any good if you don’t have any readers – which is why I use social networking to drive readers to my blog.

In my next blog, I will share some of my experiences selling art through the internet – the good, the bad and the ugly!

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