How to Sell your Art and Get Hired for Freelance Jobs

Self Promotion and marketing is every artist's nightmare. How to do it, who to contact, how to sell it, who to sell it to, how much to sell it for and so on.

 

Whilst there isn't a cut an dry formula, there are quite a few things I can teach you in promoting yourself and your work to hopefully garnish a couple of sales or to get you hired. 

 

1. Choose your best work first 

I'm sure you are very proud of all your artwork and want to display it and sell it all, but you must follow the rule of 10. Choose top 10 of your pieces to be displayed when promoting yourself to a potential client, employer or when selling your art. Quality triumphs quantity each time and is a sure way to a sale. 

 

2. Presentation 

There are many artists and prints out there, you need to create a meaningful connection between your art and the buyer. Brand Yourself...who is "your name"?. Create intriguing context around you, provide your bio, facts, accolades and talk about your work process. Promote yourself on artist communities such as illustrationVAULT, Pinterest, DeviantArt and ArtStation, and provide the audience with a way to contact you. The more exposure you have the more in demand your art will be as everyone likes to brag about the artist and pieces on their wall. There are many websites that sell your art, illustrationVAULT will take your submissions and place them on our store which will automatically provide you with the exclusiveness, so contact us and expose your work to others today. 

 

3. Be the customer 

Put yourself in the shoes of someone contemplating buying your art. Look at your art with a critical eye, what would it look like on someone's wall, can someone enjoy the art for what it is?. Beware of logos, website URLs, graphic borders, watermarks or other elements that won't appeal to most people. I personally like signatures as long as they aren't overtly in your face. Ensure you can sell your prints in at least 2 sizes, always offer a less expensive option, this will soften the blow to the wallet. Speaking of wallets, always remember to work in large resolution, you don't want to offer a print only to have it blurred when it's blown up. 

 

4. Promote yourself all over the web 

Tell your friends and family about your prints and artwork, post links to your artwork across the internet, Facebook, twitter, write articles, blogs to get yourself out there and create awareness about your artwork. There are many opportunities to promote your art prints online. Don't be shy! . Remember to upload all your artwork and add videos on illustrationVAULT.com to ensure you're automatically considered for our Magazine Featured mentions. Email your friends and family: I know it's difficult to conceive, but not everyone is on social networks. Reach out and email someone, letting them know about the limited time free shipping is a great time to do so. Groups: Use Other website's groups and forums to promote your artwork. If you submit your art to suitable groups, they are likely to be seen by group members and watchers who might consider buying it! 

 

5. Offline promotion 

Taking it offline has its benefits, it can cost money or time but you'll get instant gratification most of the time. Find out where art exhibits are held, take your art to school, share it with family, friends, or take it to a coffee shop or in front of a mall. It only takes one person to spot you and give you a break....Consider turning your artwork into promotion products such as calendars, postcards, magnets, paintings and more. Remember in the end, your work won't show itself, there are thousands of artists out there making a living as artists, I am one of them and there are certainly many on illustrationVAULT as well. If you have any tips of your own or questions post the comments below.