Guide to Online Artwork Marketing for Artists

To some extent it is disappointing to live in a world filled with opportunities when you don't have the know-how to dive through it and attract clients.

Digital marketing plays a significant role on growing businesses, even those related to art.  It does not come as a surprise how effective it could be to have a strong online presence as an artist. In this regard, it should be noted that social media has been bridging the gap between clients and artists.  The way you promote your artwork online determines how successful you will be in terms of establishing a fan base. 

Here are some tips for artists to promote their artwork online.  Links of several websites offering artwork selling and marketing services are listed at the end of this article.

Determine your options and focus on your goal

Nowadays, social media is a key factor for sellers in general and artists in particular to become popular. Setting up accounts on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc. is the first step.

The only issue with working on social media is that it sometimes becomes a full-time job. That is, not responding to clients' messages can sometimes leave negative impacts on your artwork business.

Limit use of social platforms to one or two and excel at them. For instance, Instagram has recently become the best social media platform for artists to promote their artworks. It's the platform that is specialized in photos; you can easily upload photos and have them spread to reach as many people as you wish. 

Setting up a portfolio of your artwork online is also a great way to promote your talent.Make sure to show off your professionalism online as well as communicating with your followers and audience.

Encourage customers to create user generated content

User generated content is the content created by your customers. Encourage clients who promote your artworks through pictures, reviews, tweets, blog articles, hashtags, etc. so that potential clients dig into your artwork.

Following a poll carried out recently, 92% of clients around the world trust word of mouth than they trust advertising.

Another aspect of this is that you should ask your clients to leave reviews of what they think of your artwork on your website or your social media accounts. You can also hold a contest on Instagram requiring followers to repost a photo of your artwork. One idea could be that the winner will get the piece for free.

Give special offers

Special offers are a trusted way to promote your artworks and attract new clients. That is, if you post a discount code on your Instagram account (in the bio, for example), or if you ask your followers to share some of your artworks for a reward in return, your art will be astonishingly promoted, and you will accordingly draw in new customers.

You don't wish to underestimate the value of your artwork by continuously discounting it, but creating fun ways to attract people is often beneficial to your business.

Share live features

If you are attending an event or setting up an artwork campaign, be sure to share a live post of content updates of the event or the campaign.  This will stimulate conversations about the event or the campaign, and accordingly you will get a lot of responses and reviews to your artwork. 

It is worth remembering that Facebook, Snapchat, and Instagram have the feature of live videos that helps create live content. Such a feature is considered authentic and consequently helps you remain connected with your followers and audience with whom you can share behind-the-scene videos and posts.

Create tutorial videos on YouTube

If you don't like the idea of live videos, you can upload tutorial videos to your YouTube channel. This is an especially good idea if you possess a unique skill or have experience teaching or creating tutorials.

Such videos should mainly be about how to create a piece of art, equipped with the process you adopt to create it. Your videos are meant to keep your audience attentively involved and consequently curious to touch any final fruitful outcomes. 

Create and share blog posts

Another common way to share your experience is through blog articles and posts. Similar to tutorial videos, you'll make your audience involved and connected while reading about your experience and art advice.

Bear in mind that if the reader is wholeheartedly attached to the story of the artwork, they are more likely to buy it. Stories make art relatable and common.

Work on email marketing

Email marketing is probably the most underestimated way to promote artworks; mots artists ignore it. They often resort directly to social media without giving a try to email marketing. However, one issue with only promoting on social media is that people must be present on the platform and in your space to socialize and share experiences. Your photos, posts, and videos compete with hundreds, if not thousands, of other distractions on various platforms. In contrast, email is deemed a direct path to your audience's inboxes.  ArtCall.org's Portfolio sites have built-in newsletter subscription and sending services!

Try to attract the attention of dealers on Instagram

On Instagram, people usually comb through photos and other types of posts while scrolling down. So it's your opportunity to capture art dealers' attention by sharing your artwork photos. 

Instagram is a highly recommended platform for artists looking for such people, because there are many art collectors and agents on Instagram searching for the best artists.

Join the conversation

Finding art related blogs and websites and joining in the conversation via the comments section is a great way to gain additional viewers on your own portfolio website.  

Leave comments that are engaging and worth debate, otherwise the comments could be treated as spam.  Many blogging and social platforms allow web links in comments, which you can use to link back to your own related website and articles.As an example, the artist Ashley Longshore has earned about $30,000 from art marketing on Instagram.

It is better to do something well then everything poorly

A related point to consider is to use the aforementioned ideas to create your own fan base and build your audience online. Start from the platform where you feel most excited and interested. You should be wholeheartedly dedicated to the process you are adopting.

Do not allow yourself to try to do everything, but rather concentrate on what you believe you are able to do perfectly well.

List your artwork on many open artwork marketplaces

Finally, here is a list of artwork marketplaces you can use to list your artwork for sale
https://www.artfire.com/
http://www.pixapp.com/
https://society6.com/
http://www.artnet.com/
https://www.saatchiart.com/
https://www.artfinder.com/
https://www.artplode.com/
https://www.singulart.com/en/
http://www.artpal.com/
 
Sites to you can promote your artwork on, which don’t directly sell the artwork
http://wetcanvas.com/
https://www.pinterest.com
https://fineartamerica.com/
http://artplease.com/
http://ugallery.com/