Welcome, fellow artist! Want to learn how easy it can be to sell your artwork online?

Check out the video below, which outlines 7 of my best tips for you when it comes to selling your art online, whether you create paintings, sculptures, ceramics, or anything in between. Plus, heads up, I am Kari Lynn M., a professional artist with a lot of art selling experience, so I got your back when it comes to this stuff!

You can also scroll below the video to read about all of the tips and learn more about how to sell your artwork.

How to Sell Your Art Online

1. Selling Platforms VS Personal Websites

The first thing you need to decide upon when you start selling your art online is whether you’re going to sell through a market (like Etsy) or on your own website. As a beginner, I highly recommend selling through an online market because it will help you get comfortable with the selling process. However, if you’re tech-savvy or have experience selling items online, you can try making your own website, too.

Another downside of using an online marketplace/platform is that there will be selling fees involved. Depending on the platform you go with, the fee can range from about 2-5% or more of your item’s total value. This is essentially a commission fee, though—just like the fee a gallery would take if you were to sell an art piece there.

With your own personal website, you can have more control over how your online shop looks, plus you won’t have to worry about added fees, aside from fees to run the website. You probably won’t get any discounts on shipping labels, though, like you might with some market platforms.

2. Photos Are Everything

No matter where you choose to sell your art online, you’ll need to have amazing, clear photos of your work. And, don’t worry—you don’t have to be a photographer to get them!

Take pictures with any phone camera in a well-lit area with a plain background. Outdoor lighting is best, so try taking them outside or near a natural window. Take a look at the examples below to get ideas of how to take pictures of art.

3. Add a Great Description

Photos are the best way to describe art, since it’s a visual art form, but having a good description can back-up those photos; plus it’s good for SEO (if you know what that is!).

Try include things like your piece’s title, your name as the artist, the dimensions/measurements of the item, and the story behind the piece. For example, if your item is a piece based on a role model in your life, include that in your description. Shoppers like to learn about what makes each item unique, so include every detail that you can.

4. Understand Shipping

Knowing how to ship your art is a crucial part of selling your art. Depending on where you live in the world, you’ll likely have a set number of options for shipping packages. For example, here in the U.S., the most common options include the USPS (U.S. Post Service), FedEx, and UPS.

Understand that shipping rates will vary based on which option you go with, and shipping rates will be higher for larger, heavier items that have to travel long distances. International shipping is also much higher than domestic shipping. Research the options for shipping in your country, and compare rates based on what size and weight most of your art pieces will be.

5. Free Shipping Is Not Free

Now, here’s the kicker… whenever you see “free shipping” on a website, it’s not actually free. Nope, never is. Sorry for the spoiler!

Instead, the price of shipping is usually either covered by the online seller, or it’s included in the total price of an item. Because, y’all, nothing in this world is free.

6. How to Offer Free Shipping

If you’d like to offer “free shipping” (again, using this term in quotes!), you can by just including the estimated price of shipping in the total cost of any art piece you sell online.

For example, if you’re selling a glass vase that you know, based on your research about shipping rates, will cost between $10-18 for you to ship, make sure you factor that added cost into the final price of the vase. So, if you want to make $40 off of your vase, you’ll need to make the total price $50-58 with “free shipping”.

7. Wrap Packages Like a Pro

Lastly, you need to keep in mind that all art is fragile when it comes to shipping—even if you sell items that seem unbreakable. Trust me, I didn’t think a painting made on a wood plank could break during shipping… and then it did. So, be prepared!

Always wrap your items carefully in bubble wrap (and there are paper options if you don’t want to use plastic) and/or tissue paper. It also helps to use the smallest box your item will fit into, but still leave enough room for some packing material. It’s a fine balance between leaving too many gaps around your item in a box and absolutely smothering it so that it does break when it’s tossed around.

Additional Tips to Sell Art

Now, if you’re a painter who wants to practice your skills some more before you start selling your work, consider taking some online painting courses and classes. Canvas Academy offers tons of lessons online, most with downloadable files and guides, a lot like the business plan above!

No matter what “level” of artist you are, you can also check out some of the posts and videos below to learn more tips when it comes to selling your work.

• The Ultimate Free Business Plan for Artists
• How to Sell Your Artwork: 6 Tips
• How to Sell Your Art In-Person

Plus, more tips and resources for artists, especially painters, can be found here on my blog.

Now, happy selling, fellow artist!

–Kari