How to Successfully Sell Your Art & Photography Online

How I Learned to Successfully Sell and Market my Art and Photography in Online Galleries

 

Marketing and selling my fine art and photography was a challenging experience for me in today's world of competitive arts marketing. Brick and mortar galleries were only accepting established artists. I had read about selling artworks online and how the online gallery market was rapidly growing for artist around the world.

Sure selling my photography online sounded like a good idea. After all, buyers could see my photography twenty-four hours a day and it could open my art to a whole new network of international buyers

After all, it was Degas said: "art is not what you see but what you make other see" and the internet could certainly provide the eyeballs I need to expand my art sales market.

I saw a discussion in one of my fine art LinkedIn group that mentioned a free review and objective evaluation by a leading art marketing agency. So, I sent my portfolio and website to BestArtMarketing@gmail.com and for a free “objective” review.

I received many valuable tips, resources and suggestions from the agency. They suggested I post one hundred of my photos in the ten online galleries that they recommended. I also learned that the online galleries they suggested were free as the galleries are paid by their monthly subscribers. What surprised me is that the artwork stay online in the gallery indefinitely!

The results were amazing. Almost immediately, I got some sales and saw a large increase in visitors to my fine art website

Surprisingly, the process of selling my photos online was easy.

Here's how it works: the buyer saw my photos in the online gallery, paid for the artwork  by PayPal, I then contacted the buyer about shipping and sent my photography unframed and rolled up in a tube  within a week.

I even listed my photography with a few POD (Prints on Demand)-type galleries that the Agency suggested. I learned that these galleries are a new trend. In a POD gallery they do all the work-printing, framing, mailing, collection of monies and the artist simply gets a check. Their commissions are between 30-40%, but the "good news" is the artist simply gets a check or PayPal deposit.

What surprised me was the online market is  that its not about selling the "original" prints, but instead, the prints are "signed" copies or giclees prints. If you do the math, in the world of selling online, you could sell fifteen giclees in one year in the ten online galleries for say $400 each ($6,000) versus selling the one original for say $1500 to $2500.

 So, it is a numbers game. The average number of view of each photos online is around 125,000 views one month-certainly alot more than in a traditional gallery. Hopefully many more views results in more sales and collectors of my work

Speaking of numbers, I have retained the Marketing Agency www.MarketingArtSolutions.com to maintain my art in the galleries. I want to exhibit as many images as possible. For around fifty dollars a month, their experienced staff will continue to post and exhibit my artworks with top quality tags and descriptions

Of course, as the agency suggested, the challenge is to turn the one-time buyer into a regular collector of my artworks.

That's a challenge I welcome.

For once I am ahead of the game and 2014 is looking like the best yet.

A newsletter from the agency has also helped my keep in touch with the latest online art marketing news and trends.

To receive copies of the newsletter (or submit your art or photography for representation to the agency) as I did, simply send an email to: bestartmarketing@gmail.com

The world is waiting! Why not get started on a path for success?