How to sell Art prints : Getting Started
Whether you are an artist or a photographer, you might want to sell prints. The idea is to use your high quality digital image, painting or photo, and to print it on a canvas with a support so that you can attach it on a wall for decoration. This is a good way for your fans to support you, and they get something real and of good quality in exchange.
This article is a Getting Started : I will quickly cover what you need to know before you actually start selling prints.
3 ways to sell prints
- Use a dedicated website.
A What?
The easiest, fastest way to sell prints. A lot of e-commerce websites allows you to become a member of theirs. Usually for free, you create a profile page, and this is from this page that your fans will be able to buy prints.
Why?
This is for you if you aren't a developer and do not want to manage your own website. Indeed, managing a website can be very time consuming. Here, all you have to do is upload your images, and the company behind the website will do everything else: taking payments, producing the print and shipping.
But...
The website will take a commission on your sellings (around 3.5% on each). You are dependant from the website. It's a 50/50 deal: by marketing your profile page, you advert their company and domain name.
OK, how?
Register to the website, configure your profile, create your products with your art. This is really simple, all you have to do is focus on your art.
- Create a website using a template
A what?
A template is a website creation tool for people who want their own website without touching a single line of code. Some examples of templates: Wordpress, Shopify.
Why?
The template will help you set up your website quickly: creating the shop, taking payments. Some templates even allow you to directly connect your shop to a print on demand service. This is also called drop shipping.
But...
Not every template is free. Some require a subscription, especially shop templates like we need. You have to find a supplier for your prints, and make sure the prints are shipped correctly to your fans.
OK, how?
Choose and learn a template.
Choose a web hosting platform. Web hosting costs around 5$ per month.
Find a domain name for your website (most hosting platforms also sell domain names). A domain name costs around 10$ per year.
Create your website with the template. You will probably need a commercial extension in order to sell your prints.
Find a supplier that creates and ship prints. You can connect your website to the supplier if you want the process to be automatic.
- Create a website from scratch
From what?
Create your website starting from zero, or almost. You will need some knowledge in web development.
Why?
The only limit is your imagination. You create the design, the structure of your dream site. No need for a paid template, no commission fees on your sales.
But...
That's a lot of work. It requires experience, time, and organisation.
OK, how?
Choose a web hosting platform.
Find a domain name.
Choose a way to accept payments. For example, a solution like PayPal is great because they handle the security of the transactions, and offers things like refunds, subscriptions, and more.
Use an SSL certificate. You don't want your users to get their details stolen. You can see a website uses SSL with the green padlock on the left of the url.
Find a supplier that creates and ship prints.
I tried to give a little overview of the ways you can use to sell your own prints. So you can start thinking about it! I didn't go into details, the article is already long, so I will probably write more on the subject later. You can ask me anything in the comments!
From : https//cyatophilum.com