How to Sell Your Art Online: Live a Successful Creative Life on Your Own Terms [9780062414953]

Overview

An essential guide for every kind of artist that teaches them how to skip the gallery system, find their niche, and connect directly with collectors to profitably sell their art.

For years, galleries have acted as gatekeeper separating artists and collectors. But with the explosion of the Internet, a new generation of savvy, independent artists is connecting with buyers and making a substantial living doing what they love.

How to Sell Your Art Online shows any artist how to make a successful living from their work. Cory Huff dispels the myth of the starving artist and provides the effective business strategies necessary to make artistic creations pay. He helps individual artists find their niche; outlines the elements essential for an effective website; and provides invaluable advice on e-mail marketing, blogging, social media marketing, and paid advertising—explaining how to tie all these online activities into a successful art business.

Most importantly, he shares the secret to overcoming the biggest challenge artists face when self-marketing: learning how to tell their unique stories. Every artist has a reason for making art, but can’t always find the right way to express it. Huff provides exercises artists can use to clarify the intellectual and emotional process behind their art, and teaches them how turn that knowledge into stories they can tell online and in person—and expand their reach through blogs and social media to build their art marketing.

Drawing from the stories of successful artists, thoroughly describing how art is sold today, and providing tips on how to build connections personally and electronically, How to Sell Your Art Online illustrates the countless ways artists can take control of their creative careers—and sell their work without selling out.

This book provides a complete roadmap for taking control of your creative career, including:

• Build a Thriving Art Business: Learn effective, real-world business strategies designed to turn your artistic creations into reliable income.
• Master Online Marketing: Discover how to build an effective website and leverage e-mail, blogging, and social media to connect with buyers.
• Find Your Niche: Use targeted exercises to clarify the unique story behind your work and attract the collectors who are looking for you.
• Connect with Collectors: Move beyond the gallery system with practical advice on how to build direct relationships with people who want to buy your art.