Are People Really Selling Regularly On This Site? And If So, What Is Selling?

I doubt that there is any magic answer. Nobody really knows why a few people can make $10K a month. I suspect that such people have been well established as artists by other means long before they got here, and that they are just expanding their success, NOT creating it fresh here.

Yes some people are selling regularly. Some of them visit forum. And what is selling? check this: http://fineartamerica.com/recentprintsales.html and this http://fineartamerica.com/showmessages.php?messageid=2444197

It's hard to actually believe in $10K sales... monthly. Of course it's great and encouraging, but just unreal :)

What is regularly ?
For me it is nearly every month since I did upload much more than in the first 16 month (with free account). Or in other words once per 1000 views (surprisingly exactly for a while).

Arletta, not unreal at all, we have a few doing that and more, every month. They do not come in the forum however, they are out actually advertising themselves and working the business.

Abbie, I'm sure they'are not here, full hands of work! ;) But still for newbe like me it's unreal result to hit. You can read comments under article to see how many people are wondering how is it possible... ;)
Ok, going back to work now and looking for my way :) Have a great weekend all!

i'm hoping my sales will come back, and while i never really made $10k a month, i've made close and usually less than that, but it was a good sallary. the summer is tougher though, especially if your like me and you sell niche items to rich people. many of those are on vacation, and i'm certain the sales will come back. its slow everywhere. i really think the ones that get constant sales advertise at their art shows and gallery's and do a lot of person to person transactions. i've seen event stuff here as well.

the letter was from last year and that might have been one good month he's taken as an example.

i'd be curious what they did sell. i'm still looking for that universal item that many would like. there are just some things i can't do myself. or don't want to copy. like maps and patents.


---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

I sell rather regularly but I also invested time and effort to reach that point. Years of outside marketing and building a large, diverse, quality portfolio.

If you are just starting out you should be thinking a few years out, have a marketing plan and build up your business step by step. Let's face it, there are hundreds of thousands of people who cling to the fantasy of just uploading a few snaps and sitting back and watching the money flow in.

Sales are earned by hard work and treating this like a business - not sitting around waiting for sales to magically appear.

Yeah, but telling to people that it is possible to make $10k a month is like : Hey, you should be an actor, Brad Pitt is making milions :))

Just buy a basketball and you can make what Jordan made. Yes some were already making that before they came here and have established marketing. Some have actually only recently become established and sell largely on FAA. Ok that is the rock stars. What you can do is find a few and research them out. See what they are doing as far as marketing and see if you want to try that.

Top sellers have a product that has a huge market and do it in a very unique style. Sometimes that style is widely imitated.
Then there are the regular sellers. These people have found their market. It may be very tightly niched, but they have made themselves known to them and are easily found. For Joanna and the work she is doing now I think she could easily be a regular seller if she can reach the right audience.
This is my first modern POD site and I sold from the get go. After three years, there has only been a few months when I had no sales. I sell a little of everything I offer but mostly my audience is people who go to sea as workers or passengers or who have business that are related to that. I market to travel agencies, lawyers and investors as well as wives of seaman. Its a tight niche but it works for me if I market. For me keywording and Google work very well. The more abstract a work is the less marketing through searches will work. But whatever method you use you have to get better visibility than what you will get by just uploading here. You can attract in visitors or push them in put you have to be seen to sell.
See my checklist for success in print sales.
http://fineartamerica.com/showmessages.php?messageid=2567813

Some INDIVIDUAL ARTIST companies have 150,000 uploaded photos at FAA ( look them up ) . There are over 100,000 artists at FAA, There are 1.5 Million photos at FAA.

Unless you advertise your WEBSITE address directly, chances for a sale are astronomical at best.

- If you don't have a website ($30/year) and have more than 25 photos uploaded ( example: I have 1,150 + ), your chances for a sale diminish by another magnitude.Then, there are an infinite number of ways to get your work advertised to the outside world.... ( search this Forum )

Of course, your work must REALLY be UNIQUE, sharp, outstanding (art/photos) & correctly tagged in order for buyers to find you, AND consider your work once they land there.This is the one exception to the above numbers. Uniqueness of your work is the key TO SALES ( but BUYERS have to find you in 1.5 million photos FIRST )...

Think of playing the Lotto and what are the chances. Of course, due to the sheer number of players, somebody routinely wins. Maybe by betting a dollar or by pool bets.... Which translates into uploading more HIGH QUALITY photos to FAA ( of professional quality and subject matter that would attract potential buyers) - of course some artists/photographers do very well with limited uploads because their work is simply superb. ( may be they have a LOT of TALENT )... bummer !

Yes, It's daunting at best, yet there are 150,000 other artists jockeying for a pole position at FAA. Your best bet is to constantly critique your own work, better it, and participate to the best of your ability ( be inside the ring swinging).... Eventually you will sell. You will then experience a great sense of joy !

Go for it !

Cheers :)

Carlos Diaz
4world2c.com

I would never accept the idea that you have to wait months or a year or two to begin to see results. I stated selling the very first month I stated here and it has pretty much been a steady increase month after month for the 32 months I have been here. The only aspect of that concept I would buy into would be how long it takes you to get a significant number of uploads. And 25 is not the number. Not even close, imho. Unless of course, you are coming in with a famous name and a big following already.

I think it is pretty discouraging to be told that it will take months and even years to see results. It does not have to be that way.

I see people here, in these threads that have been here 2 years longer then me that only have 14,000 views compared to my 450,000 views. It is rather obvious that they are not advertising and promoting outside FAA. It would be a shame if these people are buying into the idea that they have to just sit and wait a year or so before they will see results.

Selling anything is a numbers game. You have to get your product in front of as many people as possible. How long that product has been sitting on FAA has absolutely nothing to do with rather it will sell or not if the right person sees it.

There is also a direct correlation between inventory and results. The more product you have, the more chances you have to sell.

My sales graph and my upload graph are nearly identical, trending steadily up from the first month I joined. The has only been a few months were there has been a hicup in that trend line and they usually are the same months were I backed off on my advertising.

I certainly believe there are sellers doing it...they are the giant heavy-hitters. No different than most other industries/businesses. The vast majority of us here, however, will never see numbers like that no matter how much we market. I have sold four items in four years. But, I just continue to do my best and try not to be envious of those in the stratosphere.

I make many more sales on another POD site.Sometimes several in one day. Why? I don't know. Is it the search? I never market that site.

Carlos Diaz
4world2c.com

Took me a minute but I finally got it! "4 world 2 c" I love that!!


And I love your post as well.

I would only add that there is only one seller on everyone's AW and that is the page people should be feathering in all of their advertising.

" there is only one seller on everyone's AW"

Floyd says this often and every time I read it I nod in agreement. If you market your work outside of this site, you will have much better sales than if you don't. It's critical.

I sell regularly, not a lot but pretty consistently. I have a physical presence in a local gallery that is helpful, I have a solid presence on the web (my own site), I market through social media - and send everyone to either my AW page or my site (where I have an FAA widget installed), and I have built and use an email list for newsletters and sharing new images. I spend about 15 minutes a day on business related social media. Sometimes I am reading and replying to questions, sometimes I'm posting/sharing, sometimes I'm seeking out new people to follow or groups to participate in.

Twitter is brand new for me, I just started working with it in earnest in January. It's a work in progress. I"m frankly not sure how to best leverage it yet. Facebook is another story. I have over 4.5K followers, and I get a lot of interaction with my group. Other artists will tell you Twitter is where it's at, or Pinterest, or whatever. You need to find the venue that works for you and that you enjoy working with.

You have to have quality, appealing work that people want to have in their homes, label, describe, categorize, and keyword it right, price it appropriately, and market it through as many channels as possible. If you do all that, and you get it in front of the right people at the right time, you'll sell. How much you sell depends on all the factors above, and on the market at the moment, and on how much you're willing to put into it all.

Jessica I have had the same experience... I've been selling a few prints a week on another site this year with absolutely no advertising. But their search works differently than FAA - they don't allow anyone more than one or two search results per search page so it spreads the wealth around. On FAA without sales you'll be buried down deep except for images that aren't covered well here.

On yet another POD site I set up like 5 images one day and just left it there, but still have more sales there than here lol. I'm nearing 500 images here.

But, for whatever reason, I put more effort into FAA than any of the other sites I'm on despite the difficulty of getting found.

10k is really hard to believe.

Don't wait to get found. Go find your market.

Floyd Snyder

Thank you for the shout out. My false teeth almost popped out and I had to re-arrange my toupe when I saw the mention.....
Here I sit all alone on a Sunday morning, floating around this forum, waiting for a sale.... When BANG! - my mental fishing rod goes wild. Hey, I got a bite on the Forum !

I cautiously drifted to your website and.... HEY ! You are one of those that have exceptional talent...AND YOU LIKED MY POST !!!!

Wait until I tell my Great Grand Children about this...Coincidentally, They visit me over at the Old Folks Home whenever I tell them I made a sale at FAA. Of course, I don't see them much now days....

By the way, If you saw a man drowning and you could either save him or photograph the event...what kind of film would you use?

Well, got to run. Perry Mason re-runs are on.....I got to beat the other geezers to the TV hall.....

Thanks, Carlos, I needed a smile this morning.

My writings are much funnier in Spanish. But I have been here in the U.S. for so long that I forgot how to speak it.

DARN IT. JUST MY LUCK. I already saw the Perry Mason re-run about 40 years ago.

Good thing my mind is still sharp as a tack, otherwise I would have wasted 1/2 an hour of my life.... Time for my oatmeal....

AH, it's all coming back to me now: Buenos Dias !

Have to agree with Cynthia. It takes work, maybe a lot of work, but go find your market.

In much of life there is an adage about an 80/20 ratio. This is where, in many aspects of business, 80% of the accomplishments are achieved by 20% of the people. I have been involved with online marketing, specifically Affiliate Marketing, since 1999 and I believe that "traditional" ratio to be even more skewed. Some say it is now 90/10 but I think it is closer to 95/5.

It takes dedication and work to be in that 5 or 10 percent. Yes, there really are people there.





---------------
~ Bill
~ US Pictures .com.

Toby, I wonder if it's the same site. LOL!

My sales come from promotion in about 30 art groups in Facebook, three fan pages of my own, and an art group. And over 200 groups in FAA.

My Latest sale, not the Best in my opinion, BUT what sells, is what the buyer LIKES. It has no relationship to what we mat want to paint or photograph etc. And though generally I dislike filters or textures etc, did some work on this, the strongest was a Sandstone Texture, and stated that in the description. Also replaced the sky and buildings in Washington which I felt detracted from the Main subject. It was shot late afternoon note the shadows, and darkened even more/ (My attempt at a more somber mood)
Normally only use it in photos of the Grand Canyon, which is basically Sandstone. Have no idea why the decision was made to add it here.


Then there is twitter, and FAA have to believe it is mostly from driving people to my private website in FAA, with 2.1 Million Views in two years.

It takes work, consistent, and very good descriptions of the piece in the page. Once I got over 500 pieces in FAA, spend several hours a sday in promotion. As administrator of up to 18 groups for two years, see a LOT of images without any descriptions, or very poor ones, and THAT is where Google and other Search Engines pick up the Keywords for sorting searches. If you dont get yours into the first six pages, it is unlikely they will be found. One of the Best places to promote your work is in GOOGLE PLUS, build up your contacts there. Join a group of Art Buyers. Google gives precedence in searches to Google Plus. Join Pinterest, know some feel that it is a place where some will steal images. BUT, no where is that more prevalent than on FAA, with the LARGE images posted. When you know how, you can take ANY images on the Internet, and those who will take them, know how... Have the watermark on most of mine, have to put it on others. Wish FAA had a way of doing that in BULK, like with prices. It would make it a lot easier for thousands to get them onto all that they did not put them on.

Have been promoted all my groups and others that I Belong too also. There are links to click in them for Twitter and Facebook

Also am on Tsu, where you post once and it goes to Facebook and Twitter, three strikes on one pitch. ;) Tsu now has almost 5 MILLION members, all with extra FREE money they make on Tsu. Have made bit myself. Slow at first, but when I hit over 3000 Friends and 1500 followers, it picked up...( now increasing at about 700-900 a month) On Facebook for years have less than 800... You wont get RICH on Tsu, thats not what its about. But, In three months of promoting our Artwork there, made much more than enough to pay for my FAA Website/membership... That does not count the pieces Ive sold by posting there, instead of on Facebook and Twitter Separately...
http://www.tsu.co/GrandCanyonPics if you want to take a look....

Encouraged the members to click them at least once a month. With 2800 members in ALL SEASONS Landscapes, EVEN if only 10% clicked them or the one for Email, plus posting 40-60 a day in Twitter myself. That builds TRAFFIC..

As one person mentioned, a lot of images available in FAA can make a difference. As Ive been taking photos since 1936 have a LOT converted all may slides to digital, all Negatives, than have been taking over 5000 image a year with digital since my first Digital Nikon... BUT, still have less than 1000 online have about 860 according to the bulk price changer, thought I saw 900 elsewhere, dont know what makes the difference.

Tsu is a pyramid site. Just so people are aware.

I have been here since May and I have had no sales.
I am a new here and I do not market. Maybe that must be the reason or my artworks are not what people like.

10K is not hard to believe....My first paycheck from FAA was $61.00 and I never got commissions back then from FAA. In 5 years I now make nearly 10x that a month on average. Most of it is a direct paycheck from FAA, but some of it is also people who find me on FAA and commission real paintings. If they say they found me on FAA it counts as FAA income to me. I am extremely close to 10K and once FAA said others are doing it...I said to myself....How can I? And I got to work! I have been building my social media and blog following like mad for the past few years and it is definitely paying off. I am also marketing in the real world more too. I sell FAA products on Etsy and recently one of my FAA prints on Etsy netted me a 10K commission for an original by the Executive VP of Hewlett Packard. So last month as a result of FAA (directly and indirectly) I made that 10K mark and then some!

I will not say it has been easy. It has been a HUGE commitment that goes above and beyond a regular 9 - 5 job. There is stress for sure! It is tons of marketing, but also tons of creating. I am constantly working on new series and new images to appeal to a much wider audience. I have not pigeonholed myself with one thing. Nothing wrong with that, but if you want a certain income, you might have to think outside of the box to get it.

But it can be done.....Do not doubt that!

I tend to think that the 10k'ers are individuals that most people know and are searching for because they are looking for that niche, like Anne Geddes or else (like someone above said) a clearing house of images from multiple artists.
I do agree with Martin Capek's brilliant analogy using Brad Pitt above.
I am hoping that Abbie will chime in and confirm if there are individuals selling their own art that are not corporate identities like Anne Geddes or those selling for multiple artists (or retro re-pops), but I am not holding my breath.

I always feel invisible in here....Nancy...I am almost there! And I am not Anne Geddes by a long shot!

Sharon, I have the same feeling often: invisible.

You mentioned Boundless the other day and it's funny that something I first posted there sold for the first time as a duvet cover today.

In fact, so many of my product sales are old artwork that I have considered removing, but I guess that is not a good idea after all.

Chuck....I have digitally remastered a lot of my old artwork and it sells well! Art is often trendy....but it can also be timeless. If something sells...keep it! And if you want more out of it (larger sizes) consider digitally remastering them!

Thanks, Sharon.

Now that there are products, I guess it's time to start scanning old negatives again.

Nancy, no, one definitely is a straight forward normal artist, not a famous one.

I'm afraid I agree with Martin, who said, "Yeah, but telling to people that it is possible to make $10k a month is like : Hey, you should be an actor, Brad Pitt is making milions :))".

I just took a peak at Anne Geddes' website because she was mentioned as one who might be making the huge bucks here. I see that she has refreshed her style. I once thought that work like hers was getting a bit passe, but she's changed with the times. And, as long as people keep having babies, she's got it cornered, imho.

Abbie, thanks, that is good to know!

Sharon, congrats to your work and your sucsess! A combination of artistic talent and hard boring marketing work, I guess.

Thanks Lutz...Yes A LOT of hard BORING marketing work! I don't like it, but it is the only thing that has ever worked for me.

What about the Collections? Having one's work listed there in multiple collections is a big advantage! All these tips for marketing one's work doesn't address the fact that on other POD sites one can sell very well without any marketing. Go figure!

Right Sharon, the thing is, one needs to be talented to manage sucsessful marketing too.
It is not enough to "take the plunge" and do the boring work... It takes as much creativity vibes as you need for creating the artwork, I guess.

I've been informally tracking a number of photographers through the recently sold page and can tell you that based on that research there are definitely people here averaging at least $5000 a month. They're probably making more than that as the page doesn't report all sales or revenue from framing.

The trick to volume sales is to produce work that a majority of people will like, and ideally, not many people do.

Everyone likes sunsets and flowers for instance, but the shear volume available means that there's little likelihood of getting a return on the time and money you'd have to invest in producing and marketing them.

The 10k number I think predates Ms. Geddes coming here.

Right David...Same for dogs and puppies. Everyone likes them, but their is so much competition. So if you are going to do dogs and puppies, they have to be uniquely different from everyone else's.

I am not a big fan of collections. I would never click on them. I like big pictures that catch my eye and find the collections to clutter the page and quite unappealing. The collections tend to have many of the same artist and at a glance look bland because it's all the same. Not sure it's an advantage since I'd never click on them myself. And yes, I buy a lot of art!

keep in mind that the 10k group can easily be the stock companies that are here. they have the numbers anyway to support sales like that.


but finding that interesting item that applies to many is hard. mr maps has his stuff, blueprints and the like are a universal, but you can't just make one. whatever you do has to come naturally or that will show up in the finished work.


---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

I'm afraid I'll never understand the art world or art marketing. I see people selling very amateurish art, even downright childish and for more money then I offer mine for yet I very rarely sell anything. I have yet to sell a single print on FAA and I don't see any evidence that's likely to change in spite of my "marketing" efforts. I'll admit I don't do a ton of marketing but I do something every day but what little measurement I have indicates I'm sliding backwards rather than going forward, but then without any sales I don't really have any concrete way to measure whether what I'm doing is getting me anywhere or not. That's the most frustrating thing, putting all this time into something without knowing whether it's working or not. Sorry about that, I'm in a pretty down mood today and had to vent a little.

Regarding the stock companies, I see stuff turn up in recently sold occasionally but aside from celebrity photos, I really think most of it looks too generic and dated to be big sellers.

Thanks, Abbie. You always seem to chime in and I can only imagine how much time moderating all the discussions takes
(and for the ray of hope you have supplied).

Thanks for sharing your research, David Smith!

Don't be discouraged, David King. I love your paintings, especially the cars and trucks. If you painted a dark green Olds circa 1950 with the Saturn-ish globe logo on the front, I just may have to buy it from you!

That's the problem with painting cars and trucks, most automotive fans want something very specific and I'm not interested in doing commissions. And my other interest is landscapes and that's a very saturated market. JC's "Abilene" theory doesn't really work for my landscapes either because even though they are based on scenes in Northern Utah they are not of readily identifiable landmarks or locations, though I still mention the specific locations in my tags and descriptions. I keep thinking I should probably take an indefinite break from the art business, I don't really understand it and it only serves to frustrate me.

BTW, the 1950 Oldsmobile is one of my favorites, can't say that I'll ever paint one though.

maybe you can narrow the window down and paint quaint scenes. bird houses. a dozen mailboxes on a fence, a scarecrow, autumn scenes with pumpkins. those idyllic scenes that people like. in the case of country - you don't need a location, its better that it doesn't. universal is better. however it should be themed. like i would concentrate on autumn and winter.

so can have colorful trees, grown produce, corn on the side, pumpkins and so on. and winter where everything is still and peaceful. summer doesn't have enough color in it, and sprint won't look like much unless you do flowers.

abandoned barns, fences, and so on, with the weeds growing around it, i can see also being a seller.

---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

also... increase your prices and sell it on all products. not everyone wants a print. don't assume you'll get sales because you marked it lower. i found i got more sales increasing the prices. if your seeing so-so images sell for more money, its time to increase yours.

---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

Doesn't "Universal" = saturated market? Just because someone sells an inferior product for more money doesn't mean I can raise my prices, it just means they are better at marketing. My markup for the smallest print is the most common amount on FAA, some of the best sellers on FAA have the same markup.

A friend of mine used to sell his B&W photos on the side walk outside of Central Park. After a time, more and more people would ask him if he had images in sepia. He would dutifully tell them no and why he felt the images should be in B&W. It took him a couple of month's for it to sink in, and once he started printing sepias his sales tripled. If you want to sell, you need to give the customers something that they want.

It really does help to not be an "art purist". For years I refused to sell prints because I thought it would devalue my originals. People begged....I said no. But when I finally decided to give it a try, the opposite happened. My originals sell for a ton more now and I benefit from huge print sales too. So glad I didn't stick to my guns!

yes and no. universal is something that anyone might find cool and interesting enough that they want one. a flag, a globe etc are universal. not everyone wants a sunset, but they may be neutral on a small town scene some place in europe. what i do is specialized and niched. its hard to figure out what a universal is.

if your proud of your work, you should increase the price. just because you saw it sold, doesn't mean they didn't buy it themselves, in any case, increase your prices. don't worry about the best sellers here. many sell on many sites and can do it by volume. only increase your own work, and really, if your not selling now, what do you have to lose?


---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

" I see people selling very amateurish art, even downright childish and for more money then I offer mine'

Ya, and how long have you been seeing me say that and how often do you see people load up and dump all over me for saying it! lol

and that artist thing hold true for selling things on bags and such. your not a sell out because you want it on a bag or something. the more things its on the better. a person buying your bag, may have a friend that wants the same as a print.

---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

Another thing I've done to increase my profit is when someone asks for an "original" of a digital work or cannot afford an original of a painting...I explain, but offer them a hand embellished and hand signed print. I charge extra to do this for them and many have paid it. They feel good because they got something more "valuable' than just a regular print. Just throwing that out there in case folks have not thought of this....

I can name more than a few "regular" artists that I see selling multiple times a day. I don't know their markup but even with a small markup 10x$30x30days = 9K.


There are more than a few artists in the forum that make a couple grand plus a month on here.

JC

It's easy to estimate the markup. Just look at what the artist charges and subtract what FAA charges for the print. Obviously it doesn't take into account frame sales commission and some of the materials charges, but it should be pretty close.

Oh, you can look at exactly what the markup is for other artists. (Look under pricing details.) I just don't have any desire to take the time to do so with the best sellers though I will check now and then what my head to head competition is marking up. One charges a whopping 7 bucks for a 48 inch print. Another charges 1 dollar for the smallest size.

Wow this was a great discussion! Thanks everyone!

I am pretty sure that I am not going to devote the time it takes to market myself as some suggest because I have a lot of other things to do and I don't have a partner helping me with anything, and besides, I suck at evaluating my work! LOL!

my artwork is a bi-product of my spiritual life, and so therefore very unique and personal - so chances are it won't sell, but I try anyway.

I did get the paid FAA site because I am having a big show in Boulder, CO next month so I wanted to make prints available. I have been working on selling my work for at least 15 years and I have been making art professionally for 25 years. I have been making art since I was a kid… over 45 years...

But - truthfully - I can't do the marketing thing the way the big time people suggest. It just drains the blood out of me - so - I guess I posted the question, just to be reminded what other people do to sell their work - some people do a lot and others have the luck of the draw -

I have a job in retail which is what it is - and it has an "artsy" quality to it. I have other interests and I have other things that have to come before me being an artist - but I continue to make the art - and nowadays I am looking at other ways to get rid of the art than by selling it - because if it's not going to sell it needs to go out into the world in other ways - i might have to donate it or give it away at some point as it stacks up.

I have done that before a few times with bodies of work that I could not sell - I gave a body of work to my family. I gave a body of work on long-term permanent loan to friends here where I currently live - that's a solution…

I keep on putting it up and out - as well… and I am grateful for all the specific suggestions people gave - I will try some of them for sure… and I will search the forum too!!!

Thanks everyone!

Joanna

Maybe the ones making $10,000 a month are the ones FAA chooses to give favorable visibility over everyone else. But, I'm dubious about those claims. I like the reference to Brad Pitt in the earlier post. Every industry trumpets the very few who make a killing -- like real estate sales, day trading, Amway, etc. A more realistic view would be to understand that this will be a supplement to your day job. Consider anything you make frosting on the cake. The odds of being able to quit your day job for this are slim.

I believe some artists have asked that they not be included on the recently sold page. They are selling like crazy but we'll never know it.

"" If you don't have a website ($30/year) and have more than 25 photos uploaded ( example: I have 1,150 + ), your chances for a sale diminish by another magnitude.Then, there are an infinite number of ways to get your work advertised to the outside world.... ( search this Forum ) ""

It may be that I misunderstand this quote, but EVERYONE here who is a paid member has a personal website...

We promote ONLY that one. Hold you cursor over your name, and choose "behind the scenes" and you can click on your personal website...

IF you promote it only, those who see it see only your work. IF they do a search, they find only your work.. If you promote the one on Fineartamerica.com and they do a search they find everyones work.... We have NO other website, but promote this link only.. http://thegrandcanyonartists.artistwebsites.com/index.html

Personally spend three hours a day promoting. in about a dozen social networks..... Using an addon called Shareaholic in the Firefox Browser....

You really dont need any other website. Used to have one I paid $100 a year for, gave it up after five years of NO sales and FAA does more for me..

" I see people selling very amateurish art, even downright childish and for more money then I offer mine'

Ya, and how long have you been seeing me say that and how often do you see people load up and dump all over me for saying it! lol"


Many LIKE that style of art, I know an artist who has been deliberately painting with a "childish" style who sells more than I do...
Instead of resenting it, I applaud them, style is style and each artist needs to develop their own to satisfy their creative feelings...

Like some say, if you need $10000 a month, and can only sell 10 paintings a month, you need to charge at least $1000 for the originals regardless of the size.
In a Gallery we have our work in, there are Originals the same size selling from $775 to $7000... Personally Id rather sell ten for what we charge, than one for $7000.

Its all about advertising, if you have TEN paintings in clients homes, you are getting ten times the exposure. Like from time to time, though we sell one card for $9.95, will run a special for a limited time selling 10 0r 25 cards at a price where we get about the same profit as on ONE card... Cause we know our website is on the back of each card... and those who get them may then buy prints... Many shopping centers run specials where they make NO profit, to get people into the store. THEY know they may buy many more things as they walk through it...

Exactly my point Bob and Nadine.

We should not be so judgmental on other people's art or on what other people buy.

I will use Grandma Moses as an example so as not to be calling out anyone here.

For the most prat, I do not like the work. Sure, there are certain pieces that I do like and like a lot. But most of it I do not.

Does that mean it will not sell and that others may not even like it let alone love it? Obviously not.

What each individual artist or buyer thinks is bad, childish, amateurish or and really horrible art is meaningless!

The only opinion that counts, is the person that puts their money down and buys the art.

And a whole lot of what others think is bad and unsellable, sells every day, all day long, all over the net, through galleries and everywhere art is sold.

People need to stop worrying about what other people are selling or how much other people are selling and worry more about what they themselves are doing. Those are the only sales that count.

Thanks Bob and Nadine - I have learned a lot from what you say here. And everyone else. Joanna

10k is easily doable....easily. I was darn neared halfway there one month, and I only have 130 images.

That was not my norm, but someday it will be.

Easily?

David K,

Selling pics of farm equipment to farmers....is like selling trips to Paris to lovers.

I think that is what Thomas is saying. Thomas?

Dave

David K, I think getting there is hard, but once you're there, 10k a month is easy. :)

I do like your attitude, Thomas. I'm headed for that number myself. I have more art to make and marketing to do, but I'll get there.