Are you an artist that’s looking for ways to make money with your creativity? Here’s a guide on the smart and simple methods you can use to make money as an artist.
As a creative person, you can use to talent to create an additional stream of income. There are many options you can use to achieve this.
A recent survey carried out by LinkedIn revealed that 34% of professionals are interested in their jobs because they are happy with them while 22% are in their dream jobs.
If you are an artist and you want to make your dream come true by turning your passion into a paid job, here are some proven ways you can use to make money as an artist.
1. Sell Art on Instagram
Instagram is the leading social media platform where art lovers and artists can promote their crafts. It is a great platform for newbie artists to showcase their artworks without being limited by the big names in the industry.
Instagram allows you to easily connect with customers that are willing to pay for your work irrespective of where they are in the world.
However, you can only make money with your social media followers (especially Instagram followers) if they engage with your posts. The more popular your Instagram account is and the more they engage with your posts, the more artworks you will sell.
So if you want to gather more followers for your brand, Instagram is a good place to start.
SEE: How to Make Money with Instagram
2. Sell Your Designs on Sellfy
If you are good at graphics design, then you can make money as a digital artist. There are different active and passive income streams that you can use to increase your earnings.
You can sell vector designs on Sellfy to make money as an artist. In addition to earning a living, it is also a great way to achieve your creative dreams.
There are different things that you can sell on artwork. They include illustrations, character designs, icon packs, logo designs, and other types of templates and graphics.
You’re not limited to only art as an artist; you can also make money from selling music, knitting patterns, ebooks, and lots more. The best part of selling on Sellfy is that you can upload a product for sale within 5 minutes.
Website: sellfy.com
3. Sell Wall Art
If you are a painter, designer, illustrator, sculptor, or graphic artist, you can make money by selling quality copies of your work. You can turn your art into a source of income by digitizing your artwork through photography or scanning.
You can also use graphic design programs, such as Adobe Illustrator, to create printable posters. The following ideas can be used to sell your wall art:
- Sell digital copies of your wall art on Sellfy while the customer handles the printing.
- Use print-on-demand websites that will help you print and ship your posters.
- Sell your artwork on Etsy (here’s a guide on how you can make money on Etsy for more ideas).
- Create a shop on Facebook or sell to your social media followers.
- Sell photographs on your portfolio website.
4. Sell Merchandise with Your Craft
One of the easiest ways to make money as an artist involves partnering with a print-on-demand or drop shipping service provider. This way, you can print your art on different products.
Such partnership will help you print, package, brand, and ship your custom products to customers.
Some print-on-demand services that you can use include Printful, Sociery6, and Zazzle amongst others.
Here are some merchandise that you can sell with your art:
- Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Birthday greeting cards
- Wedding invitations and party decorations
- Mugs, phone cases, and other gifts
- Diaries, planners, and journals
- Home decors
- Hoodies, t-shirts, and kids’ clothes
5. Teach Art
You can also make money as an artist by teaching art online. Setting up a webinar or online class is not easy but you can subscribe to some classes to understand how they are organized. You can also use platforms such as How Now or Skillshare.
For more ideas on how you can make money as a teacher, check out this guide.
SEE: Proven Ways to Make Money with Tutoring
6. Sell Ebooks
If you have a blog, then you can create and sell art-related ebooks to the audience you’ve built from blogging. It is easier to sell to people that know you and are also interested in what you have to offer.
So, it is important to portray yourself as an expert so that your followers can trust you and buy your product.
7. Sell Your Paintings at Art Exhibitions
This is a prestigious way of earning as an artist. If you have an agent, selling just a few paintings can earn you the budget of an entire year. You need a good agent that is not greedy to be successful with this method.
You can showcase your paintings at art exhibitions without an agent if you have good connections. This may necessitate you to attend other artists’ art exhibitions so that you can network with other artists in the industry.
8. Organize Offline Workshops with Other Artists
This is one of the most enjoyable ways to make money as an artist. You can gather children and adult groups and offer lessons regularly. You can also travel and organize workshops for artists.
This may be difficult to do in the beginning since you need to find a venue and handle lots of administrative functions.
But when you implement the right approach, the effort will be worth it. Unfortunately, your earnings may be limited through this method because you are not guaranteed to fill the workshop venue.
9. Create and Sell Online Courses
You can make money with online courses as an artist. This may require lots of resources when you need to launch your course since you need to buy good lighting and filming tools. You also need to be adept at shooting and processing videos.
There are paid or free online lessons that will teach you how to do these. You can hire the service of experts to create top-quality content and organize your shooting.
After creating your course (such as a drawing course), you can post it on different websites and pay monthly fees. Some of the websites include Kajabi and Learnworlds. The minimum packages on these websites are about 29 Euros per month.
10. Create Video Content
Platforms like TikTok and YouTube can be used to showcase your video content. You can make money on YouTube from views; however, you need to have at least 1,000 subscribers.
You can also make money on Patreon by getting support from subscribers.
In addition, the user support you get on TikTok can also help you increase your earnings. Your users can support you with stickers that you can exchange for money.
It is not that easy but you can get the result you want from actively producing quality content.
More so, you can also do affiliate marketing for different art products and services.
11. Become a Social Media Influencer
If you have a large social media audience, you can make money as an artist by acting as a social media influencer.
As an artist, you have followers that follow you because of your craft. So it will not make any sense to promote products that do not relate to art.
When you do so, you may lose your followers’ trust. Through social media, you can make money as a brand ambassador for art products since those are related to your audience’s interests.
To get the best results, you need to grow your audience by engaging them with great content. Use the ‘story’ features on social media to let your followers have access to behind-the-scenes events.
The posts can include a clip of you painting or offering art tips.
SEE: How to Make Money as an Influencer
Can You Make Good Money as an Artist?
Yes, you can make good money as an artist through art jobs, showcasing your work in art magazines, and working at art galleries. You can also network and work to find clients.
If you focus on running your business efficiently, you can earn a good income from your craft.
How Can You Know if Your Art is Good Enough to Sell?
It is crucial to understand that sales do not depend on how good you think your artworks are; it’s more about how interested your prospective buyers are in your work.
If you are getting more likes, comments, and followers, then your art is good enough to sell. In a nutshell, making art is not enough; you need to create artworks that will generate sales.
How Do Freelance Artists Get Clients?
If you are a freelance artist, you can use the following ideas to get clients:
- Have an updated and clear portfolio
- Market yourself through word of mouth
- Create content for others
- Create a blog and publish your artworks
- Update your LinkedIn profile
- Network with other artists
- Keep your art-related social media accounts updated.
SEE: Legitimate Ways to Make Money Fast
How Can You Make Money as an Artist on Social Media?
Irrespective of the channel you choose to showcase and sell your artwork, social media is still the best platform to promote your products and network with potential clients and other artists.
Marketing your products on social media can be a full-time job, but the effort is worth it.
The most popular social media platforms that you can use to make money as an artist include Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and YouTube. It’s up to you to find the channel that suits your craft and aligns with your goals.
Here are some tips you can use to earn income on social media as an artist:
Create High-Quality and Interesting Content
Always upload top-quality images, videos, and other relevant posts on your social media accounts. This will separate your brand from the crowd. Focus on adding value and educating your followers so that you can gain their trust.
Build a Following by Posting Consistently
You need to always put yourself and your works in the eyes of your followers so that you can build a reasonable following.
Use Paid Ads to Generate Traffic
Paid ads make it easier to get more targeted traffic and also boost your posts. This gives you more exposure and helps you sell more of your art products.
Link Your Social Media Account to Your Portfolio, Blog, or Website
By linking your social media accounts to your website, you will be able to direct your potential buyers to your website. This can make it easy for them to learn more about you and your work.
FAQs
Can you survive as an artist?
Yes, you can survive as an artist. Although it may not happen overnight, it is possible to live a high-quality life through the income you earn from your artwork.
What is the most popular form of art?
The most popular forms of art include painting, photography, prints, sculpture, and works on paper.
Why do most artists fail?
Most artists fail because the lifestyle they expected is not what they met. Art involves being disciplined, being self-motivated, and having a good work ethic. Unfortunately, most artists feel pressured and insecure while trying to live these lifestyles.
Conclusion
Although the ideas shared in this article may seem overwhelming, don’t be discouraged. Most of those that make money as artists felt the same way when they were just getting started.
Equip yourself with the necessary skills by following the best blogs in your industry and learning from artists you admire. Also, pay attention to what they do and how they do it. One of the most important things to learn is how they market their crafts.
If you are ready to make money as an artist, you can start by selling your products on either Sellfy or Etsy. These platforms are popular and also have a huge audience.
You can also create and sell your art-related courses online to earn more income.
If you’re interested in earning from online courses as an artist, here’s a guide on how you can create online courses like a professional.
Thanks for reading.
