How Do People Discover Online Art Sales Platforms?

And that means...?

Hmm. Doesn't add up to 100% so difficult to know how to interpret this. The graph shows around 300% total response so presumably people were allowed multiple answers...
It's a poor piece of research from which very little can be inferred other that the author's inability to present a clear message with any meaningful supporting data.

- Richard Reeve
ReevePhotos.com

I'm a little confused at which contest this is posted in:

a) sellers who are looking for an online platform to sell their art
or
b) art buyers looking for a place to purchase an art print

When I first read the title:

How Do People Discover Online Art Sales Platforms?

I thought it was information for people in (a), but I don't know.

I think Edward was referring to the statistics of Art Sales. Or Art Sites that artist/sellers can sell thier works or POD's
Also getting confused. hahaha...my apologies Edward.

Maybe the point is that nearly twice as many people FIND art site through blogs than through social media.
As to whether this is the same audience, who knows?
Where the BUYERS come from would be interesting...

- Richard Reeve
ReevePhotos.com

I think this now goes for most things. Good stories on my site bring me far more viewers (or those I'm writing about normally) than my sharing things on social media.

Social media is now ranking quite low on my marketing.

It takes longer to write a post or find interesting stories but it has been worth it

Well said Abbie. Now what is not clear in the results is what type of blogs are sending buyers to art sites. The study seems to indicate its news and industry blogs as opposed to individual artist blogs. Which of course makes since as they have more reach then any of our own blogs.

The goal - get mentioned, highlighted or talked about in a leading blog. Good old fashioned PR.

Also note the study is dealing with mostly sales of original work - work offered from galleries through various online sites and auction sites (including ebay and Amazon).

The entire study is online - http://www.hiscoxgroup.com/~/media/Files/H/Hiscox/reports/The-Hiscox-online-art-trade-report-new-version.pdf

Thought - I have to wonder if a big part of the psychology behind buying art is self-discovery. The difference between finding a blog post and discovering an artist vs. seeing a social media "ad" that says nothing more than "buy me - please!".

Certain buyers want to say they discovered a great artist and not feel they were responding to direct marketing. A well done blog allows the buyer to see behind the scenes, see the process and ideas behind the work. The viewer can find out what motivates the artist.

A "look at this" social media post does nothing but display a thumbnail one particular piece.

when everyone finds out that blogs are the answer, then everyone will change gears and make more blogs, which will then wash away how many viewers will look at them because there will be far too many. or far too many advertisers will go there and clog it up with stuff for sale rather than content. then there will be a new thing to chase after. i think the best way to advertise is to diversify yourself the best you can. either by standing out and creating a master piece each time. or by placing your content everywhere you can. just look at coke for a good example. when they first started out they put their names onto everything.

the same is true online. blogs, social, search engines, webpage etc. any place where people are talking. and it can't just be placed on a blog, it has to be talked about, usually by another person with influence. like - check this guy out he has some of the most wonderful artworks for sale. and they list them and talk about them, chat about them etc. if people are just dropping stuff off, they won't be looked at all that much.

to create a buzz like that, you have to have great work that looks unique to everything else.

i never follow studies because in order to have a study they have to look at past events, and once the event as passed, the information no longer relates, because its dated.

people look at buyers like a mystical force but forget that they are buyers too. and you don't need fancy research to find out what you would click on. and if you saw work in a blog, or an ad, or a search find - what are you mostly likely to do?

---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

the real question is - were they looking to buy art? or were they looking at a page and the art wanted them to make the person buy it. because if you were already looking, chances are you did a search in google first, and then found the blog and that was the last thing they remembered. when i do a search i end up with the search results from this place, but not the actual web page it should go to. instead i may find the work on a blog that then leads me here.

but if i happen to be reading an article about some kind of subject and i saw art on a page, would that be enough to make me buy something? for me personally, no. i have to be in the mindset of buying something already.

---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

Of course you have to bring the goods. No amount of marketing will sell crap.

Serious collectors are always on the look out for art. Buying, collecting, showing off their collection is their passion. They are going to hang at sites that fill their need of discovering new work.

Edward,

Thanks for the article. I appreciate such reads.

Abbie,

Well said. I am finding my SM work is for naught.

I wish I was in one of those Paddle On auctions.

Digital art is not selling extremely well currently. That will only get better going forward. I am
not including photography as digital art. There is a difference. Photography of course is art. I am not
disputing that.

I noted paintings sell the best still. That is particularly promising in an ongoing way for abstract painters.

Dave

Mike,

Of course you are right. Google searches are the number one way to sell art online.

I think it has to do with the ages of the audiences. Younger folks on SM dont buy, while older folks
use search engines and would never click on an ad or SM ad to buy anything. I read that somewhere else.

My own experience with who buys on the local level, not art related, parents with wallets, young adults make poor consumers.

Dave

usually a kid would ask - siri where can i get art? then it goes to google. and all they see is a blog.


---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

In the study photography is doing well. It's lower price point allows entry level collectors to enter the market.

Note that digital media means things that can only see seen digitally like video.

Prints (limited edition) were second to paintings.

All in all the study is describing a market one tier above open editions.

Interesting if you look at that graph SM does poorly, not so fast.

It is not 2% but 32% of people find art sites through SM. The chart chops off the 30% in the graphic.

And there is a mix of word of mouth and SM that is hard to factor properly. Word of mouth is very high up there.

Still conversions from SM are lower. Google and blog conversions are at a higher rate.

Separately, I was asked if I wanted gallery space yesterday morning. I declined. I have slept on it and decided to
talk it over again with the gallery owner. Just called her. I will get foam backed prints locally, possibly two to four and
put them up in her gallery if she is interested.

Oh and Edward I plan to make a video later this year depending on when I get to around 20 works or so. I have 11 currently. and
I have a great piece of PD music selected already. I will put it up on YouTube.

The gallery owner that asked me to show my work with her is planning a digital gallery in the coming months. We have already discussed
late last year my having a video addition for that gallery.

I need a much more focused approach. So articles like what you posted are very helpful.

Dave

Abbie,

If you have not read this article......For Sean and company.....

What kind of authentication do online sellers have to provide?
Remember the days when a physical signature on an actual object was essential? It was only four years ago that a specialist from Swann told me that certificates of authenticity from online edition companies were essentially worthless and that every collector wanted to see evidence of the artist's hand on the actual work. Well, no more. According to this study, 83 percent of buyers said they would require a certificate of authenticity before buying a piece of art online.

Edward.

I have completed reading the article from top to bottom. I see what you mean by tier one art.

I dont like much of it. A lot of nonsense. But what does the public know?

Paddle's stuff, I went down some of the list, what a load of it.

Just my preference I like art to be accessible. Beethoven only made abstract music. That is all music is, abstracts.
Yet most of what he made is highly accessible. Stravinsky made Atonal music by the ton, no one out side of a few
academics will ever care.

Dave

As usual, I find myself agreeing with Mike.

Edward's distinction between digital media and prints is critical. We sell prints. Digital media is video and the like. I have seen sales and interest increase steadily over the last three years. I think more and more people accept digital work as a fine art print medium with no hesitation.

Cynthia,

I am hoping to see my career as an artist also build over time based on what is going on out there.

Prints it is. Also not tier one. I'd rather have accessible art.

Dave

I have a blog. I can honestly say it doesn't seem like it makes one bit of difference in my sales. My sales have always been the same with and without the blog.

--Roz Abellera

Sales, what's that? I've only been on FAA for a few months but I've trying to sell online for a couple years and have been blogging for nearly four years. I've seen no evidence that blogging is helping me sell anything, though I've seen my images on my blog show up a lot better in the search ranking lately, that may have something to do with links to my art on FAA from my blog. I'm not sure the kind of blog that study is talking about is the kind of blog most of us do, also it seems to be more about upper level art, not POD, though I'll admit I didn't read every word, these kinds or articles bore me real quick, and I'm sure if you search you'll find articles that contradict much of the data in this one. I almost feel like the more I read about art marketing the less I know. I agree with Mike, art marking at the POD level requires a shotgun approach, though I'll admit I've only just started to load that shotgun.

"I feel like the more I read about art marketing the less I know"

Darn tootin'. It's a moving target. And it moves fast!

The study is dealing with buyer who buy authenticated, limited edition level artwork. True collectors want investment value (rarity), are willing to pay more for it and buy more of it - i.e. have a collection. Its not the same market as open edition prints.

Like I've said already, the blogs they are talking about are established voices in the art world.

It sounds like there is a lot of investor capital chasing returns that will never materialize.

Selling the materials, ala FAA will be the best long term business no matter what the market wants as long as the printing company is stable and finds the right balance of cost and quality.

The percentage who find things through search is probably much higher than what they report because search can lead directly to the purchase or a blog that leads to a site to purchase.

I think any gallery should have an online component. Prints by artists for sale in store and then a kiosk or something in the store where people can view more of the work, order online and then get the artist to sign it at the gallery if desired or some other added value that distinguishes what they gallery offers from just buying a print online or even from the artist.

blogging is only as good as the content is. if you trade recipes or help animals, or people, it will be more popular than what your eating right now, random thoughts or your vacation to the beach. that's why blogs are hard to do. you need to have something interesting to talk about and get people to see it. only thing is - you need time and energy to do that. that's why the artist with a blog may not do as well as a person who blogs for a living. you have to constantly add new content to get people to stay there. i don't waste time with blogs, vlogs or any other kinds of logs.

while i didn't bother reading the article, was this for original art? or POD - because those are totally different markets.


---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

My magazine sells people. The interviews have created sales....the articles have attracted attention. I offer sidebar adverts here and people do click through but I am unsure of any sales ratio on those. I do share on the magazine facebook page and I know that a couple of people have seen a rise in sales due to that..... However those are only people I have RSS'd through so they are seen regularly

You do have to write good posts or say something about the art or the person. You have to allow people to get to know you and stop hiding or being lazy

It took me 2 years to get 1stAngel really known but I have since been contacted by people like the BBC and Saatchi to add posts so it is worth it.

My own personal blog got about 2 visitors regularly and that is because they are friends and I did not write good posts.

It is all down to what you put in is what you get out. Put nothing in and there is nothing to gain

"while i didn't bother reading the article" - so why should we bother to read your comments?