Selling Art Online

The best thing about the internet is that it gives you the platform to do just about anything. If you're talented in the creative department and wanted to make money selling your artwork, look no further than your social media accounts.

BUILD YOUR AUDIENCE

No matter which platform you choose (or if you choose multiple platforms) to promote your work, the most important part is building your audience. This will take effort, patience and time. Be prepared for slow starts but don't let it dampen your spirit. Post regularly and shamelessly plug in your social media handles - it will pay off down the road. When building your audience, it's important to interact with those you are hoping to score as patrons. Post during your 'work in progress' phase, ask for feedback even if it's just a casual thing, put up items for sale to see how people react- keep your online 'studio' thriving to keep those following interested and to draw a bigger crowd. If you're looking to pace things up, post an ad but make sure to tune the variables to narrow down on your target audience, you don't want Dark Rider Balok to spam your page with links.

NETWORKING AND SOCIALISING

Whether you choose to do it in person or online, it's always important to create your place in the community by getting to know others in the business. This is one of the best ways to expand your horizons because it allows you to meet like-minded individuals, share ideas and tricks of the trade and also open doors to further opportunity. You'll be in the know about upcoming events or programs that can benefit you, have the chance to collaborate or join up with other artists and get to meet potential clients as well.

GETTING THE PRICING RIGHT

This one reverts to the points discussed earlier. With the knowledge you gain from building up your audience and networks, you can get a good idea of how to maximise your returns. In order to be truly competitive in a market, you need more than just talent. You've to be smart about selling it right. This means your pricing really makes a huge difference as do other strategies you apply to bring all the customers to your yard. A little research into what others do will help you get the basic idea but it's only when you engage with your own audience that you can apply a trial-and-error method to see what works best. Post regularly to see what gets responses and play around with prices to see what helps get your artwork off the shelves and to your customers. Encourage even those who don't purchase to give you feedback so you can cater to a bigger audience as you learn.

MAKE APP YOUR MIND

Great photos always help. If your photography skills are a bit rusty, start practising. Make easy editing apps that enhance the quality of the image like Snapseed your BFF. If you're using multiple social media platforms, apps like Hootsuite will help you keep up with all your accounts from one place. Mastering apps you need to create your brand will streamline the process for you so you can focus on putting up good content that pays back.

Good luck on your online ventures!

Nooha Sabanta Maula is an Anthropology major whose anthropologising has made her confused about life. Send her your thoughts to noohamaula@gmail.com