Creating a marketing strategy plan for your artwork can be a little bit scary when you’re first starting out as a professional artist.
After all, it’s here in the market place that’s a true test of your skills, knowledge and business acumen!
To succeed, you need to be a fantastic artist and an entrepreneur. This means having an understanding of key marketing strategies, sales techniques, accounts and more – even if you don’t want to.
This is all an essential part of running your professional art business and you need to become a master juggler in order to be able to cope with the demands on your time and energy.
Art Empire wants to help you get started on your journey to becoming a successful professional artist and entrepreneur with this list of key art marketing strategies that you should try to sell your artwork.
Visit art events & exhibitions
As an artist, you may have attended or been inspired by a number of events or exhibitions over the years.
It’s no secret that there’s a thriving artwork party scene in almost every art community, so make some friends, find your people and work your way in there to become known amongst your peers.
These events are prime networking opportunities for artists to meet and greet other artists and all of their useful connections.
Their passion for creating something beautiful is just the same as yours so mix and mingle to your heart’s content in this enjoyable way of developing your marketing strategy and building your reputation.
Get your artwork featured at a gallery
Gallery curators are very particular beasts. Their job is to create something visually dynamic with the different styles of many artists that will attract people to their gallery.
On the plus side though, this means they’re always looking for the next big trend or piece to add to their very specific collection.
Finding galleries with artwork that’s similar to your own and proposing your artwork as an addition to their collection can be a great way to get your creations in the spotlight.
If you manage to achieve this then whoever visits that collection will be able to view your work alongside a number of other known artists – no matter where the collection travels!
Promote your art using a website
Fascinating people online with your own online gallery can be a great way to gain more attention and make more sales.
There are a number of things that you can do to create a captivating website that will attract admirers from across the globe, this including creating a diverse portfolio of artwork and doing some search engine optimisation.
Websites can serve as a central hub for your art business and with most people completing purchases online, it’s well worth putting in the time and effort.
Social media for artists
Social media is a powerful tool that you can use to extend the reach of your business.
Billions of people from across the world use social media every day to find visually stunning photographs, paintings and imagery – They could be looking at yours!
Set up a business page on different social media platforms then start posting about your artwork, your inspiration, your business, you or anything else related, to build an audience that is interested in your work.
There are thousands of useful hashtags*, groups and pages where you can post your artwork and access even more people who may be interested in your work.
The best part is, social media, for the most part is FREE! – so take full advantage by making this part of your marketing strategies!
Café art culture
Over the last five years, the café culture across the world has exploded!
This is great news for artists looking to get their work noticed. Why? Because, cafes are brilliant places to present your artwork to the general public.
A lot of cafes offer wall space for a cost or a percentage of the profits when you sell your artwork.
If it’s a popular café that attracts your sort of people then why not take the chance? Even if your piece doesn’t sell, this is a great way to build your local reputation – You never know who may walk through that door!
Online shopping platforms
Another key art marketing strategy for artists is using referral sites and online shopping pages such as eBay and Etsy to promote and sell your work.
Online platforms such as these are great places to get started selling artwork if you don’t already have a website, and even then, they can be very useful for additional sales or referral traffic.
All you need to do is set up a seller page, post your product information and you’re ready to go!
Selling artwork has never been so simple! However, it is a competitive market place out there, so it can help to learn some specialist tips and tricks for how to sell your artwork on referral sites.
Feel free to view our guides below to help you get started:
Creating key art marketing strategies for artists
There are so many different ways that you can attract people to your artwork, all it takes is a good plan and commitment to building your business.
However you decide to market your artwork, make sure that you trial and test different channels in order to find the best key marketing strategy for you.
What works for one person, doesn’t necessarily work for another, so remember to adapt accordingly and progress your business with the same care that you put into your artwork.
