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E-commerce for Artists

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Selling Art Online - an introduction for artists

Do you want to know how to sell art online - or improve your knowledge of e-commerce for artists?

This site helps you find out about selling art via your websites, blog, shopping carts, auctions, online galleries, online stores, print on demand and email marketing and how to drive traffic to where you sell your art online.

Awarded a Purple Star for Incredible Content

Whether you are an emerging or experienced artist, this site will provide you with a link to information and advice about:
- the law and regulations relating to selling online
- finding out more about tools and webware which can help with ecommerce for artists
- ecommerce and payment systems for selling online
- driving traffic to your blog or website
- reviewing the various sites offering to help you sell your art online
- other matters relevant to the business of selling art online.

Much of the advice is generic and applicable to all artists no matter where they live.  Where information is country-specific, it tends to focus on on the UK. It also provides information relevant to the US market 

If you like this site feel free to recommend to friends and/or add a link to it on your website.

You can find out about...

...just click a link and go straight to that topic

This is the top level menu - there's lots more sitting underneath these section headings. If you scroll down, every time you reach a black box you're reaching a new section.

  1. SELLING ART ONLINE - LAW AND REGULATIONS
  2. Why the rules of engagement are upfront!
  3. WHAT IS E-COMMERCE?
  4. E-COMMERCE SYSTEMS
  5. WHO IS THE CUSTOMER?
  6. WHERE TO SELL YOUR ART ONLINE
  7. SELLING ART FROM YOUR WEBSITE OR BLOG
  8. AUCTION SITES AND ONLINE GALLERIES
  9. MARKETING YOUR ART
  10. EMAIL MARKETING
  11. Selling your art using an affiliate system
  12. Comments and Feedback
  13. More Resources for Artists

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More resources for selling your art

This site is part of the "selling art online" series and is a developing resource of links to suppliers and reviews of the service they offer.

Check out the other sites:
* How to Price Your Art - Resources for Artists
* Print Art on Demand - Resources for Artists
* Online Art Galleries and Stores - Resources for Artists
* Sell Daily Paintings - Resources for Artists
* Email Newsletter Software - Resources for Artists
* Blogging for Artists - Resources for Artists
* Packaging, posting and shipping art - Resources for Artists

You can find all these sites in one compendium site - and one bookmark - How to Sell Art Online

Important!

SELLING ART ONLINE - LAW AND REGULATIONS

Selling art online means you must know, understand and observe the law and regulations for ecommerce. Ignorance is no defence.

Why the rules of engagement are upfront!

There are two main reasons why artists fail to get off on the right foot when it comes to selling their art online

First - it's not that easy to know what you're supposed to know - and then to find out all the relevant details. Hopefully this site goes some way to filling in the gaps. (If you find it helpful don't forget to tell others!)

Second - not everybody does the research to find out what they need to know

This site can't possibly explain the ins and outs of all the relevant law and regulations of all the countries that readers may live in. I've focused on the UK (where I live) and the USA (where a lot of readers live) in order to try and get to grips with the basics.

However you do need to do your own homework. Remember ignorance is no defence in court or the eyes of the tax authorities!

Ecommerce - law and regulation in the USA

Artists MUST take note of all local state regulations relating to selling art and selling art online. A useful principle is to assume a law or regulation applies to you until such time as you find a government website which says it doesn't!

The links listed below are primarily to government sites (rather than articles by people writing about the legislation and regulation). However you should check out dates on all information. What has been true in the past may no longer be relevant.

It's impossible for me to cover all the variations at a local level. Listed below are links to the the main Federal websites which set out the laws and regulations you need to observe

This site does not warrant that all links lead to the most current and up to date information. If you know of more relevant and up to date information, please contact me by leaving a comment and a URL for the site which is provides that information.

Federal Trade Commission: The CAN-SPAM Act: Requirements for Commercial Emailers
# The CAN-SPAM Act: Requirements for Commercial Emailers [PDF]
Explains the federal requirements and penalties for those who send commercial emails, including consumers' right to ask emailers to stop spamming them.
Federal Trade Commission - Dot Com Disclosures: Information About Online Advertising
Dot Com Disclosures: Information About Online Advertising [PDF]

Describes the information businesses should consider as they develop online ads to ensure that they comply with the law.
Online Business | Business.gov
Business.gov is the U.S. Government's official website for small businesses. Business.gov provides access to Federal, state, and local information that helps business owners successfully start and operate while staying compliant with laws and regulations.

Learn rules and regulations for running an online business
U.S. Chamber of Commerce - E-Commerce
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world's largest business federation representing more than three million businesses and organizations of every size, sector, and region.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce addresses several specific issues relating to e-commerce
U.S. Chamber of Commerce - Privacy Issues Overview
Advocate for workable privacy laws that protect consumers without unduly inhibiting e-commerce.

The following are key priorities for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce:
* Industry Self-Regulation Efforts - Business recognizes the importance of a meaningful self-regulatory privacy policy. Third-party online seal programs (BBBOnline, TRUSTe, and Web Trust) foster voluntary privacy measures. In addition, the Platform for Privacy Preferences technology enables individuals to customize their Internet browsers to implement their own privacy standards.
* Data Security and Identity Theft Protection - The majority of privacy bills in the 109th Congress are related to data security and the prevention of identity theft. These bills would pre-empt state privacy laws by creating national standards that require businesses and other organizations to disclose data breaches, restrict the use of social security numbers, and enable consumers to review the data that is being collected about them.
Advertising and Marketing on the Internet: Rules of the Road
Advertising and Marketing on the Internet: Rules of the Road [PDF]
Explains how businesses can comply with truth-in-advertising laws when marketing on the Internet.

Ecommerce - law and regulation in the UK

Including Distance Selling Regulations and EC Directive

There are two distinct types of legislation that affect on-line retailers.

Firstly, traditional consumer protection regulations apply to all consumer sales made on-line. These regulations are well established, but it is important to remember that they apply to on-line retailers as much as they do to traditional ones.

Secondly, there are regulations designed specifically to deal with problems and issues facing retailers on-line.
(Out-Law.com - Selling online: an overview of the rules)

The Distance Selling Regulations ('DSRs') give buyers:
- A right to know who they are dealing with
- Key information about what they are buying
- An unconditional right to cancel within seven working days, and to receive a full refund
- Protection against online payment card fraud

The Electronic Commerce (EC Directive) Regulations 2002 ('ECRs') also require businesses to, among other things, provide an email address for direct and effective communication.
(Office of Fair Trading - Internet Shopping)

The E-Commerce Regulations require that all commercial web sites make the following information directly and permanently available to consumers via the website:
- the company's name, postal address (and registered office address if this is different) and email address;
- the company's registration number;
- any Trade or Professional Association memberships;
- the company's VAT number.

All of this applies regardless of whether the site sells on-line. In addition, any commercial communication - that is any email or even SMS text message - used in providing an "Information Society Service" must display this information.

Office of Fair Trading - Key information for online retailers (pdf file)
If you are an internet retailer, you may be required to provide certain information and to provide cancellation rights. The list below identifies key obligations. It is not a complete list of legal requirements. Businesses should undertake their own assessment to ensure that they are complying with all relevant law.
The Office of Fair Trading: Advice for businesses (UK)
Understanding the laws that affect you is an important part of running a successful business. This section is a quick guide to the main rules covering how you sell, how you treat your customers and how you compete.
Selling online: an overview of the rules | OUT-LAW.COM
Selling online: an overview of the rules
There has been a steady growth in the variety and volume of goods and services which are available on-line to both businesses and consumers, and on-line selling is increasingly seen as a major way for all businesses to save costs. Almost inevitably, as the practice of on-line selling proliferates so does the amount of legislation governing it. This article provides an overview of the law governing on-line sales in the UK and an analysis of the issues that a business should consider before setting up an on-line sales process.
The Electronic Commerce (EC Directive) Regulations 2002
Statutory Instrument 2002 No. 2013
The Electronic Commerce (EC Directive) Regulations 2002
Crown Copyright 2002
Statutory Instruments printed from this website are printed under the superintendence and authority of the Controller of HMSO being the Queen's Printer of Acts of Parliament.
The Office of Fair Trading: Selling online or at a distance
Advice for businesses about distance selling and selling online
The UK's E-Commerce regulations | OUT-LAW.COM
The UK's E-commerce Regulations. This guide is based on UK law. It was last updated in December 2006.
The UK's Distance Selling Regulations | OUT-LAW.COM
The UK's Distance Selling Regulations
This article is based on UK law. It was last updated in November 2006.
Selling online: structuring your e-commerce process | OUT-LAW.COM
Selling online: structuring your e-commerce process
This guide is based on UK law. It was last updated in January 2005.

More people than ever are purchasing goods and services online. As an online business you have to ensure that you protect yourself and your consumers. The following guide contains some 'recommended' best practice techniques to ensure that your sales process is legally correct and contractually enforceable. This guide applies to sales to individual consumers rather than to other businesses, although many of the principles will apply to both.

There are three stages to the contracting process which it is important to make sure are in place:

* developing and correctly incorporating the terms and conditions;
* actively applying the terms and conditions; and
* concluding the contract.

How to Avoid Prohibited Practices

You MUST avoid being unfair and fraudulent if you want to avoid getting into trouble. But do you know what are the practices which are prohibited?

The Office of Fair Trading: What is prohibited?
Information for businesses about anti-competitive agreements
The Office of Fair Trading: Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008
Information for businesses on the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations
Bait-and-switch - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bait-and-switch is a form of fraud, most commonly used in retail sales but also applicable to other contexts. First, customers are "baited" by advertising for a product or service at a low price; second, the customers discover that the advertised good is not available and are "switched" to a costlier product.
Important!

WHAT IS E-COMMERCE?

Being safe and secure when selling online

Advice and information about being safe and secure and avoiding scams

Office of Fair Trading - How to protect yourself when trading online (pdf file)
The OFT has prepared the following advice for businesses who want to
protect themselves, and their customers, when trading online.
PAYPAL - How to run a secure business - Seller Protection
PayPal offers powerful anti-fraud protection and helpful strategies for staying safe.

TIPS for ecommerce online

eCommerce 101 - TopTenREVIEWS
An outline of steps for getting started selling online
ECommerce-Guide Essentials E-Commerce FAQ - ECommerce-Guide
The E-Commerce FAQ provides information on how to set up and market an online business.
E-Commerce Guide - E-Commerce Payment Processing Beyond PayPal
We offer a checklist of considerations when selecting an online payment processing service and highlight features of plans beyond PayPal and Google Checkout.
E-Commerce Site Optimization Primer: Set Up and Tips
In this article we cover all you need to know to optimize your e-commerce site, from meta tags to directory submissions.
eCommerce Selling On The Internet - TopTenREVIEWS
Near the bottom of Google's homepage is a big number in small print. This number-now over 8,000,000,000-represents the total number of webpages it's searched, indexed and has ready to instantly respond to any online query submitted.

So, how can your website stand out in such an overwhelming crowd? This article covers key points every ecommerce newcomer should know-each vital to getting your website noticed and increasing online sales.
Tips for Avoiding eCommerce Consumer Fraud - TopTenREVIEWS
An eCommerce business can provide flexibility, convenience and often it can be a lucrative experience. However, as an online merchant, you must be prepared for the bad with the good. Here are some tips to protect your business from fraud.....
E-Commerce Trends for 2008 and 2009
It was both a challenging and rewarding year for the e-commerce industry. We highlight the trends and issues that grabbed headlines this year - and promise to do the same in 2009.
  • Trying to Cash In on Social Sites
  • EBay Undergoes Huge Changes
  • Shipping News
  • Customer Reviews and Video Ads/Marketing
  • International Sales on Tap
Tips to Sell Securely - PayPal
As a seller, you can reduce the possibility of disputes, claims, chargebacks, and fraud. Here's how:

1. Overall precautions
2. Before accepting payment
3. Shipping tips
Web Shop Design: Five Makeover Dos and Don'ts
With the New Year underway, it's a perfect time to assess your e-commerce site, both in terms of design and function, and give your Web shop a marvelous makeover.
Etsy :: The Storque :: How-To :: Web Analytics Recap: Seller Chat in the Virtual Labs
Recently, we held a Virtual Lab on the topic of Etsy Web Analytics, which enables sellers to do tracking with Google Analytics. We had a great turnout, with over 100 sellers in attendance. If you were not able to attend, I wanted to recap the top questions and big ideas from the talk.

Dispute Resolution

Paypal - The Seller's Guide to Dispute Resolution
Every once in a while, something goes wrong with an order. But this is a normal, expected part of doing business - and it doesn't have to lead to serious problems. That's because many disputes stem from misunderstandings, which are often resolved with honest, open communication between buyers and sellers.

BOOKS - Opening a web store

generic advice about selling online and creating web stores

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Important!

E-COMMERCE SYSTEMS

There are ecommerce systems and shopping cart systems - with the latter normally being part of the former. Plus there are a variety of payment systems

What systems are involved in ecommerce?

The basic systems involved in ecommerce are:
* the ordering system - the customer needs to be able to pick an item and place an order. This is often referred to as a shopping cart system (think Amazon!)
* the billing system - which creates an invoice for payment by the customer
* the payment system - which must have a high degree of security and and enable the customer to make a payment and for you to receive a payment in a way where everything works efficiently .

You also need follow up systems for quality assurance and problem resolution.

Category:Electronic commerce - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This lists all the wikipedia articles relating to electronic commerce - many of which relate to the systems
Shopping cart software - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Shopping cart software is software used in e-commerce to assist people making purchases online, analogous to the American English term 'shopping cart'. In British English it is generally known as a shopping basket, almost exclusively shortened on websites to 'basket'. The software allows online shopping customers to accumulate a list of items for purchase, described metaphorically as "placing items in the shopping cart". Upon checkout, the software typically calculates a total for the order, including shipping and handling (i.e. postage and packing) charges and the associated taxes, as applicable.
Electronic Bill Payment & Presentment - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Electronic bill payment & presentment is a form of electronic billing in which a company presents (sends) its bills and customers pay these electronically over the Internet.

E-commerce software

E-junkie Shopping Cart for selling downloads & tangible goods
Site Description:
E-junkie provides shopping cart and buy now buttons to let you sell downloads and tangible goods on your website, eBay, MySpace, Google Base, CraigsList and other websites using PayPal Standard, PayPal Pro, Google Checkout, Authorize.Net, TrialPay, ClickBank and 2CheckOut.

For merchants selling downloads, we automate and secure the digital delivery of files and codes. If you are selling tangible goods, we automate the shipping calculation and inventory management. Our shopping cart has a built in sales tax, VAT, packaging and shipping cost calculator.

You can sell ebooks, sell mp3 tracks and albums, sell software, icons, fonts, artwork, phone cards, event tickets, cds, posters, books, t-shirts and almost everything else you want to sell.

E-junkie has no transaction limit, no bandwidth limit, no setup fee and no transaction fee.
Create an Online Store, Easy Hosted eCommerce | Flying Cart
Create your own e-commerce store and sell art online in 5 minutes.

As used by Duane Keiser (A painting A Day) for selling prints of his work - I found it to be a very simple and easy way of purchasing a print

Reviews of ecommerce software

It's best to start with the review sites and look at the options on offer and what they do and don't do.

This site is not going to try and keep on top of all the options so much as point you in the direction of places where regular reviews are undertaken

Comparison of shopping cart software - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The following is a comparison of the features of various shopping cart software packages available.
Compare E-commerce Software reviews and best prices on Review Centre
E-Commerce Software, Compare Web Software Reviews and Find Cheap Prices at Review Centre
eCommerce Software Review 2012 | Best Web Store Builder Software | eCommerce Website Design Software - TopTenREVIEWS
Compare the best ecommerce software available. Side-by-side comparisons of features and prices of top rated web store builder software. Easily see which ecommerce website design software stands above the rest. Read professional in-depth reviews and articles helping you choose the best ecommerce soft
Shopping Cart Software Review 2012 | Best Shopping Cart | Shopping Cart Website - TopTenREVIEWS
Compare the best shopping cart software products, side-by-side comparisons of their features and tools. Easily see why and which shopping cart software product stands above the rest. Read professional in-depth product reviews and articles on how to set up an online shopping cart. Shopping Cart Softw
Google Checkout: store gadget
The Google Checkout store gadget allows you to quickly and easily create an online store using a Google Docs spreadsheet. No complicated coding or technical tasks are required. You can get your first online store up-and-running in under five minutes
E-Commerce - Reviews and Price Comparisons from PC Magazine
PC Magazine provides up-to-date coverage and reviews of e-commerce software and services

What is an e-commerce payment system?

Online merchants can use a variety of payments systems. These include:
* normal credit and debit cards
* e-cash
* e-cheques
* mobile payments
Third party providers - such as PayPal - can also complete online transactions on your behalf.

You can buy ecommerce software to enable you to sell art and process payments

E-commerce payment system - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
An e-commerce payment system facilitates the acceptance of electronic payment for online transactions. Also known as a sample of Electronic Data Interchange (EDI), e-commerce payment systems have become increasingly popular due to the widespread use of the internet-based shopping and banking.

Ecommerce payment systems

Online Payment, Merchant Account - PayPal
PayPal is the safer, easier way to make an online payment or set up a merchant account.
Google Checkout - Merchants
Site Description:
Sell more. Spend less. Grow your business.

Every online merchant has two goals: sell more and spend less. Google Checkout%u2122 is a new way to process transactions that helps you achieve both. Customers who use Checkout can buy from you quickly and securely, using a single username and password - and you can use Checkout to process their orders and charge their credit or debit cards.
Payment Gateway to Accept Online Payments
Payment gateway enables internet merchants to accept online payments via credit card and e-check.
2Checkout.com - Merchant Account / Credit Card Processing Alternative
Site Description: Instant credit card processing services accounts for merchants with internet businesses. Only $ 49 Set Up Plus Transaction Costs.
Artspan Blog Using PayPal to sell art online
I've discussed in Marketing to Your Niche Online the value of using PayPal to sell your own art. PayPal is a secured service that allows to your customers to pay for goods and services online with a credit card.

This protects you from bad checks and allows for expediency in the purchasing process: something that can only help your art sales.

News about the ecommerce marketplace

E-Commerce Payment Processing Beyond PayPal
We offer a checklist of considerations when selecting an online payment processing service and highlight features of plans beyond PayPal and Google Checkout.
Important!

WHO IS THE CUSTOMER?

TOP TIP: Do you know who buys art?

Fans, friends and followers are many and varied - and the ones which actually buy art may not be who you expect

If you want to succeed at selling art online then you need to understand something about who are the sort of people who like your art.

REMEMBER - People who make art often like to acquire art. Never ever forget the artist could be a potential customer as well as somebody you talk to online in forums, groups and when commenting on blogs.

Think of ways in which you can create and sell art which are artist-friendly.

HOWEVER.....People tend to be polite. Lots of nice things might get said about your art. You can start believing all the nice words when you find that the people who say them actually start buying your art

BOOK: Fans, Friends And Followers

Building An Audience And A Creative Career In The Digital Age [Paperback] by Scott Kirsner (Author)

Scott Kirsner shares a real world approach to building an online community for all those operating in the arts online. It spells out how to be creative and use the power of the web.

This book hit the spot! It shot to the top of the Amazon charts and stayed there for a long time. The follow up Kindle edition is now doing equally well
Fans, Friends And Followers: Building An Audience And A Creative Career In The Digital Age

Fans, Friends And Followers: Building An Audience And A Creative Career In The Digital Age

by: Scott Kirsner

Amazon Price: $11.00 (as of 02/15/2012)Buy Now

Product description (abbreviated): An essential guide for filmmakers, musicians, writers, artists, and other creative types. "Fans, Friends & Followers" explores the strategies for cultivating an online fan base that can support your creative career, enabling you to do the work you want to do and make a living at it.

This book is also available in a Kindle edition

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

Important!

WHERE TO SELL YOUR ART ONLINE

Your options for where to sell your art online

Options for selling art online include selling:

* from your own website

* from your own blog

* via an auction site on a third party site

* via a gallery page on a third party site

* via an online store on a third party site

* using email marketing to alert your mailing list

* use an affiliate system where other people get paid for selling your artIn relation to third party sites, you need to check carefully what is the scope of their operation.

HOWEVER....
you won't make online sales simply because your artwork now appears on the web. You need to make sure you're on a site (whether it's your own or that of a third party) which gets good traffic and includes people who are interested in buying art.

You can drive traffic to where you sell your art online by:

* using a blog specifically for sales - this can link to where you have the artwork set up for auction and/or have an ecommerce set up for doing business online

* using a blog to generally promote yourself as an artist

* use social networking sites/services (eg Facebook/Twitter) to promote relationships with potential buyersIn relation to all selling activity you need to avoid practices which are outlawed and/or illegal and you need to ensure compliance with all relevant legislation and regulations. Remember ignorance is no defence!

Finally you need to be aware of the potential for fraud and take appropriate steps to protect yourself.

This information site generally follows the format of the options listed above

TIPS for art marketing and selling art online

A few tips for marketing your art online - plus more advice below.

* Get a good photograph of your art which represents it accurately. Make sure it's lit so that colours and/or texture read true. Do NOT make your photos look "better" using Photoshop! If your item has three dimensions make sure your photos also show it from a different perspectives. If you have the space on your ecommerce site, try showing how your drawing or painting looks on a wall relative to a piece of everyday furniture.

* Provide a detailed written description of the item you are selling. You should state: dimensions (in inches and metric); media used and any aspect about them which represents added value (eg is it archival standard); how the artwork is presented (g. unmatted, matted but unframed, framed); how your artwork is wrapped for transport. Do NOT make any claims you cannot evidence.

* Define your price and what it includes It's a good idea to research your selling price by reviewing comparable artwork online first. Look at the experience and status of the artist as well as the artwork. Be clear as to whether the selling price is includes/excludes shipping costs

* Make sure you provide all relevant and legally required information about yourself on your selling site. Depending on where you live this can include your mailing address. An email address and/or a telephone number that your prospective buyer can contact you on provides extra assurance that you are who you say you are.

* Consider options for payment Besides identifying offering options for the payment of money (eg PayPal, credit card, physical cheque or money transfer) that your are comfortable with, consider whether you might also want to offer a staged payment scheme or a discount if more than on item is purchased. Be sure to indicate whether or not payment must be received before the artwork is shipped.

* Detail any options as to how an item is shipped and the normal days required to deliver. You should provide a description of your standard mode of shipping, how long items tend to take to different places. Indicate clearly whether the cost is included or needs to be calculated and billed separately from the item for sale. One option is for the seller to provide the packing and the buyer to choose, arrange and pay for the mode of shipping they prefer. The latter is probably more appropriate for larger, heavier and more expensive items where loss or damage is of more significance.

* Make it clear who should insure the work in transit. If the buyer needs to insure the work in transit then the buyer needs to know this.

* Identify your policy on returns and how complaints are handled. Some vendors find that a "no quibble" offer in respect of all artwork returned intact and with no damage within 28 days - at the expense of the purchaser - often secures a sale. Remember no matter how good the photographs are, until the purchaser receives the art they can't tell whether they like it or feel it represents good value for the money paid. Postage is the cost of a "look see"! Detail what matters, if any, will be considered outside the 28 day period. Be aware that your item needs to be merchantable and "as described" and the purchaser may have a legal claim if, for example, it deteriorates - even if this is outside your returns period.

* Be business-like and courteous to all your customers. Some will want you to jump through hoops - but you don't have to! Decide what you are prepared to do to secure a sale and stick to this. If the buyer is not happy on the basis of reasonable information supplied and options offered the buyer does not have to buy. Be clear what constitutes "a contract of sale" and what both parties are obliged to do. It's helpful to detail this in a friendly way on your sale site. Don't omit details which matter.

Internet Art Marketing Basics: How to Create Your Own Plan of Attack
The point of today's article will be choosing "quality" over "quantity" when it comes to marketing your art online. I'll be giving five steps for making your chosen method work, and hopefully you'll walk away with a better idea of how to create a personal, internet art marketing strategy
Making a Mark: What should artists do about marketing their art in a recession?
....anything which impacts on homes and stimuli for changes in decoration (like house buying and selling) and the amount of 'free' money which is around to spend on and invest in art is likely to have a very major impact on sales of artwork

Plus, let's face it, at the end of the day unless you're involved in high end investment art, most of the art which is bought is actually purchased to decorate a home whether or not the artists who produce it would like it be called "decorative art". Which means both galleries and sales can be very vulnerable to economic shifts. It's just not the sort of thing which people buy when their financial status is uncomfortable or possibly under threat.

So what are the alternative options for artists? "Fight or Flight" is a dilemma for both investors and those marketing art at the moment.
Art Market Trends - Art in a Weak Economy
ART MARKET TRENDS - ART IN A WEAK ECONOMY
November 3, 2007
Making a Mark: Making art and selling art - communities of interest for artists
The issue of selling online has become more critical for artists with the very rapid onset of a recession. It's now an option that more and more artists looks at as they try to diversify the ways that they can get their art in front of potential purchasers. After all, what's the point of focusing only on galleries if the galleries themselves are also finding it difficult to keep afloat?
Five super-simple tips for selling online
Five super-simple tips for selling online
Prepared by Anda and Vanessa of Etsy.com (www.etsy.com)
"Portfolio Presentation Tips For Attracting Bloggers" by RedBubble | RedBubble
'Portfolio Presentation Tips For Attracting Bloggers' by RedBubble

Selling Art Online - Relevant Blogs

These are all blogs which have blogged consistently about selling art online in recent years. All have content worth reading and referencing - and one of them is mine!

Making a Mark: sell-art-online
Making A Mark - all the posts tagged "sell art online"
EmptyEasel.com: Painting Tips, Artist Reviews, Selling Art Online and more
Welcome to Empty Easel, the online art magazine with practical advice, tips, and tutorials for creating and selling art.
Art Biz Blog
Art business blog for marketing, promotions, and general business help for artists. From Alyson B. Stanfield.
Art Print Issues by Barney Davey
Barney Davey's News and Views on the Business of Fine Art Prints and Giclees. Practical information visual artists can use to learn how to sell art prints and giclees.

Sell original art - including daily paintings

companion sites in the "selling your art online" series

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Pricing, Selling and Shipping Art Online

companion sites in the "resources for artists" series by makingamark

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Important!

SELLING ART FROM YOUR WEBSITE OR BLOG

Selling from your own website and/or blog

You can choose to sell from:
* your website - a generally static site
* your blog - a dynamic site. Items posted will become lost from view
* a dedicated blog set up specifically to sell your art

Two artists who have systems set up which work very well are Duane Keiser and Julian Merrow Smith

Some artists choose to use blogs to sell:
* "daily paintings" - if this term is used credibility is enhanced if postings are at least very nearly on a daily basis
* small works - this is often a size which gallery artists don't sell in their B&M galleries

TIP! Remember that pricing needs to be consistent between different places where you make sales.

You need to be able to account for the difference in price otherwise you may attract sales in one venue at the expense of cannibalising sales elsewhere. In principle, the element related to commission charged by a gallery should become a windfall for all work sold by the artist - or it will look like you are undercutting your gallery - or suggesting they have hyper-inflated prices. This does not make for a healthy relationship!.

So can you explain the price difference between:
* framed and unframed works of the same size?
* matted and unmatted works of the same size?
* different sizes of artwork - sold in different places? (eg large works in a gallery and small works from a website or blog)

A team blog shares many of the same characteristics on an online art gallery and will be covered in that section

Selling ACEOs online

How to Sell or Trade ACEO Art Online | eHow.com
How to Sell or Trade ACEO Art Online. Collecting, selling and trading ACEO art (Art Cards Editions and Originals) is as easy as buying and selling anything on eBay -- and it has the advantage of a specialized market. Here's how to turn dr...

CONTENT TIPS: Getting people to subscribe and visit

Making a Mark: How to improve your art blog
This post is about how to improve your art blog. Recently I gave some advice to a successful artist who wanted to use her blog as part of her marketing of her art but wondered why she wasn't getting much of an audience for her blog. For those of you who would also like to improve your blog profile and traffic and/or use it to market your art, you'll find that this post develops the themes in some of the advice I offered. Some of my advice comes from having managed a major marketing operation in the past and the rest comes from having blogged most days for the last 20 months!

If you're blogging just for the fun of it - that's great too. If you'd like more readers and more people to comment on your blog you may also find some of the following comments to be useful pointers
Problogger - How to Sell Niche Products With Your Blog
How to Sell Niche Products With Your Blog (using a craftsperson with two blogs as an example)
Making a Mark: Will you be a success if you blog your paintings daily?
Discusses the characteristics of people who do well and achieve success in selling daily paintings online.

Tools to aid online selling by an artist

Find keywords based on your site content.
Test keywords you'd like to use

Google - Search-based keyword tool
The Search-based Keyword Tool provides keyword ideas:
* Based on actual Google search queries
* Matched to specific pages of your website with your ad and search share
* New to your Adwords account (typically excluding keywords matching those already in your account)
You can either check out the way in which you have described your artwork - and then create keywords or you can check out the value of different keywords - which can help with titles for web pages and blog posts and core text.
Google - Keyword Tool for Keyword Ideas
Keyword Tool: Use the Keyword Tool to get new keyword ideas. Select an option below to enter a few descriptive words or phrases, or type in your website's URL. Keyword Tool Tips
Free Keyword Suggestion Tool From Wordtracker
Use the free keyword suggestion tool from Wordtracker to help your website rank higher in the search engines.
SEMRush.com SEO tool to keyword and AdWords research.
SEMRush use 25 million of most popular and expensive keywords to analyze Google search results. And we do this regularly. SemRush can show you keywords for any domain that ranking high enough to be in top 20 results or buys AdWords.
SeoDigger.com
SEOdigger is an interesting tool where you can enter your domain (or competitor's) and find out which of your keywords rank high enough to be listed within Google's top
#1 Keyword Software & Keyword Tool for Keyword Research & Tracking
KeywordSpy currently operates in USA, United Kingdom, Australia and Canada. Through this keyword tool and keyword software, you can perform advanced keyword research and keyword tracking to study what your competitors have been advertising

Useful articles about selling art online

articles and blog posts

Making a Mark: Selling art - online art websites, tracking marketing data and a new survey for artists!
This week I've had approaches from three brand new online gallery sites, who have all seen my work, have all been impressed and who all want to host and sell it for me! What did I do? Run around and jump for joy? No, I looked at the sites, marked all the e-mails as spam and binned every one of them - which is why apart from the latest one this morning I don't have the names and URLs of the individual websites to hand. Why did I bin them? Let me explain - and bear with me, it's a longish post but you will find out about what I know about
* the simple economics of an online art gallery business (the sort that sends me spam e-mails)
* what you need to know to asses the value of a site you give money to
7 Tips for Selling Art Online: How to Help Buyers Find your Artwork
Selling art online can be difficult, but you'll definitely sell more art if buyers can find your artwork on the internet in the first place. Use these 7 tips for selling art online to help bring art buyers to your portfolio or art website.
Selling Art Online: Information on Where (and How) to Sell Art on the Internet
Need help selling your art? EE has tips for how to sell art online, reviews of art-selling websites, and online art marketing advice. Learn what art buyers want, how to price your art, and which online art galleries you should use to successfully make art sales online.
Art Biz Blog: Selling Art Online
Art business blog for marketing, promotions, and general business help for artists. From Alyson B. Stanfield.
Kevin Kelly -- The Technium - 1000 true fans
A creator, such as an artist, musician, photographer, craftsperson, performer, animator, designer, videomaker, or author - in other words, anyone producing works of art - needs to acquire only 1,000 True Fans to make a living. A True Fan is defined as someone who will purchase anything and everything you produce.
Web Analytics Primer: Five Metrics Demystified
Don't know your Site Overlay from your Bounce Rate? Don't worry, Google Analytics evangelist Avinash Kaushik breaks down five basic analytics metrics that will help you boost the bottom line
Important!

AUCTION SITES AND ONLINE GALLERIES

Online Art Galleries, Auction Sites and Stores

Online Art Galleries - Resources for Artists

Any number of services want to help you to get your art online - but do they actually work and which is the best? If you're trying to find out more about online art galleries and print-on demand services this is the site for you!

If you're considering using an online art gallery or print-on-demand service then doing a bit of research upfront can reduce disappointment later. Unfortunately, unlike their offline counterparts (who provide customers with independently audited data), it can be very difficult to get marketing data about the efficiency and effectiveness of these companies.

On this site you can find links which help you to:
- find out what services a site can offer
- identify where you can get your artwork printed on demand
- read reviews about different sites
- see for yourself what the traffic trends are for the sites you're considering
- compare the costs of different packages
- see how effective a website is at attracting traffic and buyers

Do bear in mind that the business model for many of these gallery sites is to get as much money off the unsuspecting artist as possible. They're not actually much bothered about whether or not you make any sales - and they aren't going to help you get a sale. Plus you still have to get traffic to your part of their site. So look at what's on offer and question who's getting the best deal out of any contractual relationship.

Selling art online - Resources for Artists

companion sites in the "selling art online" series

These sites have links to
* all the major sites offering auctions,
* online galleries and/or stores to sell original art and/or
* daily paintings and/or print of demand art

Where data is available, charts are included of the number of visitors each site got each month in 2008 - plus how long each visitor stayed on average. Why not check them out - you may well be surprised when you see them!

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Art and Business - Resources for Artists

More sites like this which offer advice, information and links to yet more websites which can assist you with your art career and selling art.

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Important!

MARKETING YOUR ART

You still need to get people to the site where you sell your art - whether that's etsy, eBay, an online gallery or your website.

So you have to market your art and create traffic which travels to the site where you sell your art. Which is why artists started to develop blogs.....

BOOKS: Marketing Art and Selling Art Online

books on Amazon

If you browse Amazon for books about selling art online you'll probably find an awful lot of books and audio books/CDs which are no longer available

You also need to bear in mind that both the economy in general, the art economy in particular and the range and scope of tools for selling art online are changing all the time at the moment. What used to be tried and trusted recipes for success in the recent past may no longer work in today's market.

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Blogging for Artists

companion site in the "resources for artists" series by makingamark

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TECHNICAL TIPS - Driving traffic to your blog or website

Making a Mark: Keywords, site descriptions and meta tags - how search engines find your website and content
This explains about:
  • keywords and meta tags and why they act like signposts and are important to your website and blog
  • how a search engine works
  • why a site description is important
  • why it's important to check your meta tags for title, site description and keywords - and why it's a good idea to use labels and categories for your blog posts
  • how to decide which keywords to use
Making a Mark: How to find and change key words
This post follows on from the one about Keyword, site descriptions and meta tags - how search engines find your website and content. It concerns itself with:
  • How to review/revise page descriptions and keywords for individual pages in SiteKreator
  • How to use Google Ad Words to identify keywords
  • How to use keywords in Blogger
  • How to use keywords in Squidoo
How to Increase Traffic to your Art Blog by Describing your Artwork for Google
Blogging is a good way to promote your art online, but only if you do it the right way. To help, I'm starting a new series called SEO for Artists, and today's article will explain how to describe your artwork for Google.
Making a Mark: How to add a sitemap to your website
Does your website get the traffic it deserves? Do you have an xml sitemap on your website? Can the Google and Yahoo bots crawl your website and add its pages to their index of webpages?

After just completing the exercise to rewrite my page descriptions and keywords plus create a sitemap and deliver it to both Google and Yahoo (phew!!!) I thought I better write about it now - while I can still remember what I did!
Blogging for Artists - Resources for Artists - How to increase your subscribers and get your content to them
This is a collection of posts about increasing blog subscribers. People wonder why they don't have subscribers. It's generally because they've neglected to include a bit of webware which registers subscriptions and then makes sure that people get your content every time you post - via RSS feed and feedreader or via e-mail direct to the inbox

Make it easy for people to read your blog - offer them subscriptions options and then deliver your content to them.
Two Tried and True Methods for Drawing Attention to your Art Blog
an explanation of two methods for immediately drawing attention to your blog posts: the first is pinging and the second is simply smart social networking.
Problogger - How to Optimize Your Blog for Search Engines
Darren Rowse of Problogger - a professional blogger - provides an extensive guide to how to optimize your blog for search engines
Making a Mark: Unique vs. repeat visitors - and the impact on sales
How many repeat visitors do you get? Is the number increasing over time? Do they bring you repeat business if you use your blog to help you market your art? This post looks at site tourists versus repeat visitors and their impact on sales.
Making a Mark: Contact details: how can I send you an e-mail?
Today's Techie Saturday post is about e-mail addresses on websites:
* advertising your e-mail address;
* leaving your e-mail address; and
* avoiding e-mail spam.
Important!

EMAIL MARKETING

How to avoid being called a spammer!

Email Newsletter Software

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Email marketing for artists

How to grow your email marketing list at the same time as avoiding being called a spammer

MAKING A MARK: How to avoid being labelled a spammer
This post provides 15 top tips for how to avoid being labelled a spammer - plus some links to sites which provide more information and advice.
HTML Email Newsletters for Artists | ideas for promoting and selling art from the lazarus corporation
Explaining how to design your HTML email marketing newsletters to promote your artwork, music or writing
How to Grow Your Mailing List - Here’s One Artist’s Story of Success
As artists we're often told that a comprehensive, in-house mailing list is the greatest asset we can have to sell our art. Unfortunately, actually adding people to a mailing list seems to be one of the most difficult things for artists to accomplish.

Selling your art using an affiliate system

Affiliate Programmes for selling your art

Instead of paying a gallery to display your art and secure a sale, you could enable others to secure sales on your behalf

Issues to think about include:
- the need to think about the 'fit' between affiliate and art
- affiliates need to know that they will get paid if they introduce you to a potential client
- galleries won't release the details of their client list to you - for fear you'll go direct to the client and cut them out next time around. So how does this work for affiliates? Should their be a repeat fee for any future repeat sales to the same client?

Want to Sell More Art? Try Marketing Your Art Through Affiliates
About a week and a half ago I came across what I think is a very smart art marketing technique used by Chris Bolmeier. It isn't necessarily a NEW technique in the online world, but up until now I haven't seen it employed by individual artists online, and I think it's worth a mention.
Art Biz Blog: Podcast: Get people to sell your art for you
Alyson Stanfield outlines how artists can use an affiliate programme for selling their art (links are included below)

An affiliate program can reward your fans and encourage them to promote your art. [4 min. 16 sec.]
Extras These resources are mentioned in the podcast:Chris Bolmeier shares her guidelines for her affiliate program.John T. Unger uses E-Junkie affiliate links and has extensive instructions.
How To Earn Money Selling My Art Guidelines | Chris Bolmeier Art
.....after looking at how professional bloggers promote products by affiliation on their blog, I decided to add an art affiliate program on my blog. This is the current state of the program and with time I will tweak it to see what works best. The first piece of art I'm selling under this program is from my post a couple of days ago - Painting of the Day, Sell My Artwork!
How To Earn Money Selling My Art | Chris Bolmeier Art
The original post introducing Chris Bolmeier's idea of selling art through other people
John T. Unger Firebowl Affiliate Sales Program: John T Unger Artist's Portfolio
Part of what makes the success of my business thrilling for me is the fact that I've been able to expand and help others at a time when everyone else is forced to cut back. I'm ready to expand more, and that means I can share more as well. So I've set up an affiliate program through my E-junkie shopping cart to make it easy for you to earn monthly payouts by helping me to promote and sell my work.
Become an ArtBizCoach.com Affiliate and Earn Money
Art marketing resources to help you sell more art. An example of how an affiliate programme works (but not re selling art)
Affiliate Program Directory - Art
Examples of affiliate programs for artists - take a look at how other people do it
Learn to sell your art online - Online Arts Marketing - review of e-junkie
E-junkie also includes an affiliate program that you can set up with any product. This allows you to pay a commission to people for selling your product. You determine which products are included in the program and you also decide if you want the seller to receive a percentage of the sale or a flat fee. Once you set it up, E-junkie handles all the rest of the details for you.
Marketing your Art Online: Introducing a New Kind of Artist's Agent
a new tweak on the concept of the artist's agent!

The Art Business - book for artists

books on Amazon

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Making A Mark

Artist and author Katherine Tyrrell draws and writes about art for artists and art lovers.

Topics include: artists, art exhibitions, art blogs; art history; art techniques and tips; art business and marketing; art economy and making a mark with pastels, coloured pencils and pen and ink.
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Disclaimer

Please note that I am not engaged in offering professional advice and I take no responsibility for and have no liability in relation to your reliance on any of the information offered by the sites listed here. I'm just sharing what I've found. Most of the people writing on the internet are sharing their experiences and offering their opinions. It's up to you to make sure your research is thorough enough for your purposes. If you need professional advice then I suggest you contract with the appropriate professional.

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makingamark

I'm an artist and writer who enjoys sharing information about art.
I'm also a member of the Giants 100 Club. Find out more about me in Who is Making... more »

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