10 Things Successful Artists Do Differently To Sell Their Work

Artists face countless rejections and often struggle to sell their work.

You really wish this wasn’t the case, but it is — and the thought of more negative feedback fills you with dread. It’s hard to imagine a better reality when the bills are due.

How can you turn this around?

Selling artists have fine-tuned various skills. They also have unshakable self-belief, resilience and tons of motivation.

The good news is that you too can fine-tune these skills.

Of course, building your art selling muscle isn’t easy. But if you have the drive to put in the work and start being accountable for your actions you will see results.

If it's your aim to get paid for your art, it's vital for you to understand why an artist fails and why an artist succeeds.

Let’s start and look at 10 key points successful artist live by and discover how you can apply them to your career.

1. Take ownership

More and more artists take control of their career and re-define what it means to be a successful artist. They are in control of their career and have turned their talent into a striving business.

What they share is ownership. They take 100% responsibility for their success. They work hard and persevere in the face of what can seem like insurmountable obstacles.

Whatever it is you must do to get your work out there - you will have to do it.

Whatever it is that is stopping you from moving forward - you will have to fix it.

No one else can do these things for you. Improving your current situation requires you to sometimes take scary steps.

Think about it, there will be nobody as good as you or working as hard as you to sell your work.

Your raw enthusiasm will shine through when you talk about your piece. And your enthusiasm will be very contagious to any potential buyer.

2. Be ambitious

We all get 24 hours a day, but do you ever feel like you are not making the most of your day? Will you be looking back on your day and think that time on the sofa watching TV could have been spent better?

Many successful artists have well-established goals and know where they want to be. They are excited by their goals and spent most of their time working toward them.

At the end of the day, they are feeling satisfied knowing they have achieved what they set out to do.

Start by establishing your goals.

You are where you are in your life because of the goals you set.

Goals are full of unlimited potential and if we fail to set ambitious goals we fail to reach our full potential.

Low goals produce sub-par results and ambitious goals lead to improved results.

We are not always able to achieve all our ‘high’ set goals. But the act of trying moves you far closer than if you had set them at an average level.

3. Believe

You want to set a goal that is big enough that in the process of achieving it you become someone worth becoming — Jim Rohn Self made millionaire.

Aiming high is great, but it is as important that you believe your goals are possible. An unshakable self-belief will see you through hard times. Furthermore, it ensures that you don’t lose sight of that goal of yours.

There will be people who will try to talk you out of your vision. They will tell you that you are crazy and that it can’t be done. There will be those who will laugh at you and try to bring you down to their level.

Don't listen to them.

4. Embrace this key to success

No matter how good and skilled you are. No matter how passionate you are about your work. You HAVE TO have an idea of where you want to be and a plan of how you will get there.

Unleash the power of planning for success, plan to sell your art.

Ask yourself, over the next 12 months, what do I need to be focusing on and be achieving to move my career forward?

Do you need to:

• Brush up your marketing skills?

• Produce more work?

• Improve your work?

• Work on your networking skills?

• Create exhibition opportunities?

• Create an online presence?

• Learn about marketing?

If you want to make more sales and improve your current situation you must plan. Decide on everything you want to achieve, create a step by step achievable plan and put it in your calendar. It takes some time to break down goals into smaller tasks, but it is so worth it in the end.

Seeing exactly what needs to be done to get things moving forward is very exciting. Breaking it down in small actionable chunks makes it so much more real and achievable.

5. Show and share

Are you playing hide and seek with potential buyers?

Is it easy for collectors to learn about your work and your process?

You would be amazed at how many artists still don’t have an online presence! Sharing ‘behind the scene information’ allows potential buyers and galleries, to connect with you on a different level.

People want to see how things are made and, in a way, be part of the process. They want to understand how you tick!

Study successful artists. Observe their online presence and check out their social media connections.

Reach out to other people, make connections by joining art debates and conversations. It is easy to join a group, forum or conversation with like-minded people. Ask questions or if you can answer questions.

You get inspired and will inspire others. There is so much knowledge, feedback, and support you can gain from collaborating and sharing your information.

Often, I hear “I don’t like self-promotion and I worry about what people might think about the work I produce”.  In moments of doubt always focus on the benefits you will gain from getting your work out there.

6. Tell your story

I know many of us like to believe that art sells itself, or that the piece you have created tells a story. Sorry to disappoint, but that is hardly the case.

You will have to earn your audience.

You need to give the public a chance to find out more about you, your art and your process. What you tell about your work often has a great effect on how your audience feels and understands your work. Furthermore, it has a straight influence on how your art is valued.

7. Use the 30/70 rule

Let’s look at the stripped-down version of what an artist’s job consists of. It will become clear in an instant, that there is so much more to it than being creative.

Artistic inclination and creativity are not enough. Some people lack the drive or ability to work hard. This would make it difficult to sustain the intensity of art school and the time that follows.

Artists need to be competent in many areas, you are pretty much expected to:

• Create an intriguing and thought-provoking body of work

• write bestselling books

• be your own boss

• be your own business

• build a brand

• create your network

• establish a social media presence

• be your own agent

• be your own label

• be your own marketing department be your own accounting department

• be your own salesperson and order manager

• and much more….

All this requires time and skills way beyond the actual production/creation of art.

So, it helps to be clever with your time.

Use the 30/70 rule.

30% of your time should be spent creating art and 70% of your time and effort should be spent focusing on your career. Apply the same creativity you use for your artwork to your career.

8. Sell out

Musicians put their musing online. They explore streaming and video distribution channels. They put their work out there to achieve the most exposure for their brand and name.

The same principle applies to your art. Distribution is key if you want to get your name in front of more potential buyers.

There are many artists who have used social media to their advantage and got rich and well known along the way.

Ross Tran is a visual artist with a successful YouTube channel. He started his channel Ross Draws at the end of 2011. His videos have millions of viewers. He continues to grow his channel and his opportunities — conventions, signings, gigs. And with every opportunity, he is earning more money to create more art.

Kevin Lu bought his first camera in 2012. Within a year he had so many followers on Instagram that he was able to quit his job as an engineer. Today, he charges brands up to $3,000 for a single post.

These artists represent a new breed that blends artistic skills with business skills. They are artistic go-getters. They seize dreams and leave legacies of excellence.

These artistic go-getters don’t rely on industry insiders to help them get their work out there. They get their own television show or record deal. They have built their own audiences that translate into big bucks. They are utilizing social media platforms like Vine and YouTube to the max.

In a world where fans expect content to be free, brands are stepping up where consumers have not. There is no such thing as a “sell-out” because these brands who pay the artist are enabling them to make art.

9. Use this approach to greatness

Talk to fellow artists or industry experts. Talk to artists who are where you want to be and ask them how they have made it. Ask them to be your mentor. If they decline, ask somebody else.

Ask, Ask, Ask. Somebody will be willing to show you the ropes and tell you what worked for them and what did not. This will enable you as a younger artist not to have to reinvent the wheel every time you do something.

Use the internet to your advantage, network and join industry-specific forums.  Connect with curators, art collectives, and creative individuals from around the world.

 By doing so you will build a network that will support your career.

I get it that many artists don’t like the idea of reaching out to other people. But if you want to get on, you must make the right connections with the right people. Remember it only takes a few people to make a career.

Either

you engage with the art world, give it your all and stand out from the crowd.

Or

you spend decades making tiny amounts of money. Wasting time sending newsletters to your non-existing mailing list.

10. Get better at getting better

Artists doing well are confident. It's the type of confidence which grows with knowledge. They are educated and have an understanding of the art world.

Educate yourself. It is true that you will gain confidence from gaining an understanding of the art world. It’s easy to stay in the loop by reading and listening to the art talks.

Good sources are:

• Art newspapers

• Art magazines

• Ezines

• Gallery newsletters

• Blogs

• Social media platforms

Be open to learning new skills and commit yourself to redefine your existing skill set.

The best way to improve is by setting consistent, incremental goals. Think about it, if you dedicate only 10 minutes to learning every day you gain knowledge. By doing so will improve your current situation and move closer towards your goal.

Reaching goals takes planning and commitment to never-ending improvement. Mix this with a dash of determination and discipline and you have a solid foundation to grow.

Every single artist can succeed. Stop feeling overlooked, underrecognized and underpaid. Stop feeling sorry for yourself and start doing something to change your situation.

We must put an end to thinking of artist as unfortunate Bohemians who struggle at the lowest end of society. There is a new breed of successful artists who are earning good money from their artwork.

Making a living from your creative talent has never been easier.

If you are creating good art and you are getting it out into the world then you are going to get attention.

Have the audacity to make a good living from your art by taking 100% responsibility for your success.

Imagine, if you upgrade one of your habits to one of the 10 points you have just read.

You will have set up a solid foundation to succeed.

You will have moved closer toward your goals of monetizing our art.

You will have an exciting career ahead of you.

And you will have realised that the key to earning money from your art is closer than you think.

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