2 Ways to Sell: How to Make Money Selling Art

All artists, especially Christian artists want to know how to sell their art! I mean come on, without selling your art most artists don't have the ability (or space) to keep making their work unless of course they have another income stream that funds their "art habit". 

So after making and selling a lot of art over the years I've come to the understanding that there are essentially 2 primary ways to sell your artwork as an artist:

• You sell it directly to your clients or
• You pay someone else to sell it for you ie: gallery, designer, strategic partner, referrals

Regardless, SOMEONE has to:

• develop relationships with potential clients
• offer the work in a desirable way
• respond to market trends in aesthetics & presentation
• price the work in a way that's competitive and profitable
• complete the transactions
• deliver or ship the work and potentially install

If you're the kind of artist who only wants to make work in the studio and not deal with marketing/sales, then you must find a good gallery or broker to represent you. Realize this costs - usually 50% of your retail price. However, they are doing most of the work to sell your art. Hoping your work will sell, doing social media only or simply putting your art on one of the hundreds of art websites online is NOT a strategy.

If you're the kind of artist who enjoys selling direct to your clients, then realize you are equally an artist and an entrepreneur. You'll need to develop a marketing strategy with multiple outlets, testing and measuring results as you go. There's no silver bullet. Without cultivating both sides of the equation - being both artist and entrepreneur - you'll live in constant frustration.

Or of course... a combination of both ie: selling direct and utilizing galleries, partners, etc. Over time, you'll discover a combination that works best for you, your personality and your profitability.

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