Selling art online can and should be a business.
There is a lot of belly-aching and complaining among artists at just about any online art sales site. Usually the gripes are about something the “site” is not doing that hurts the artists’ chances of sales success – or – something the site should be doing to help the artists achieve sales success.
There was recently a long thread about how poorly the site’s internal search is set up. The is always (these threads crop up periodically) griping and finger-pointing and very little in the way of constructive ideas. There was a detailed response by a moderator and this is likely the most salient sentence in the entire thread over at the Fine Art America forum/discussion group. (Originally stated by Abbie…)
If you’re in the business of selling art, then you have to treat it like a business…”
To that I am adding important concepts to help achieve that goal. Like having a good breakfast is the foundation of a healthy lifestyle, having a foundation in “the basics” provides a healthy start to your online art business.
Do these. Seriously!
- Read the Terms of Service (TOS).
- Become familiar with everything in the admin interface (at Fine Art America the admin area is called Behind the Scenes). If you do not understand something there, THEN ask questions, usually in the forum.
- Accept responsibility for your own actions.
- Act and present yourself and your work professionally. (Grammar, spelling, punctuation are important.*) To do less hurts your credibility.
- etc…etc…etc…
Let me repeat: Accept responsibility for your own actions.
* If language skills are not your forte, do not be afraid to ask for help. A friend, neighbor, and even online sources can be of assistance.