1. Myspace.com

No matter what opinion you may or may not have about Myspace or about social networking sites in general, they are a great way to get your work seen and to meet like-minded individuals for networking, collaborating, exhibiting etc. And it's FREE! So get yourself a Myspace profile first thing and start uploading pictures of your artwork on it.

2. Flickr.com

Create a free flickr account and start posting photos of your artwork on there TOO! And join groups of artists, make friends, get yourself known in this community. How will anyone ever see your artwork if you don't SHOW it to them? Exactly. So do it.

3. Google Search

There are hundreds and hundreds of social networking sites which you might be interested in and which might be just perfect for the kind of artwork you are trying to promote. So search on google for things like "social networks for artists" or "social networking sculptors" or whatever groups you're trying to find and see what you get!

4. Deviant Art (deviantart.com)

...is probably the largest online art community that exists. I think it's also the one that's been around the longest and still survived the fickleness of web users. DEFINITELY create a profile on there immediately. You'll see some AMAZING artists on there. And there are also people who post jobs on there, freelance work, short term and long term and regular payroll-type jobs as well. It's a goldmine of opportunity for an artist. Plus you can get endless inspiration from the amazing works of others you'll peruse.

5. eBay!

Everyone knows about eBay. You've probably used it here and there. But maybe you never thought about selling your artwork on there. But it can be a very rewarding method of promotion of your work. It may take a while (possibly months) to really establish your clientele, but with diligance you can do just that. I know of several people who make a decent living JUST selling their paintings on eBay. True. So yeah, it's a bit more risky because you have to pay a few cents to list each item and it IS possible it wont sell and you'll lose those few cents. But it's also possible that with continued effort you'll hit pay dirt.

6. Etsy.com

Etsy.com is a slightly less well-known site than ebay, but it's quite well-known in the artist community. This isn't an auction site, it's like a giant shopping cart for artists and craftspeople to show and sell their work. And like eBay, I also know artists who make a decent living solely from their Etsy shops. Definitely worth a look, and less of a risk than eBay because your item doesn't have to come down and be re-posted within a certain amount of time if it doesn't get bids. Because there ARE no bids!

7. Business Cards

Oh dear, if you don't have business cards to promote your art, please make some IMMEDIATELY. The cheapest and easiest way to do this is to go to Vistaprint.com. You can use their templates or upload a design of your own. There are really cheap versions and less cheap versions but it's all relatively cheap. Don't neglect this one, seriously. You have hundreds of conversations in a week. How many of those conversations would have led to art sales if you only had a business card to give them at that time? Well, you'll never know. But at least NOW you can make sure you're well-armed with a piece of promotion to help people remember you in the future.

So there you go. 7 different ways to promote your art and/or make money as an artist. Art is like any other business. It doesn't promote itself, even if you think it should. In an ideal world great items would promote themselves. But we don't LIVE in an ideal world. We live in a world with commercials and billboards and a bizillion messages being pounded into our heads at all times to buy this and buy that. And it's the constant repetition of these messages that gets items sold. So remember that. It's time you start getting something back for all your hard work and creativity, don't you think?