So you have done the hardest part of all - being creative and you have gotten good at it. The next part is the tricky business of presenting your work and offering it for sale on the internet. There are entrepreneurial strategies which are specific to entering and harnessing the potential of the online marketplace. Much of it is relative to setting up shop in a real-world setting, yet here I will list eight exceptionally important things you must do to achieve prosperity with your creative work online.
- First of all you must have technological acuity. It is essential for doing business online that you are comfortable with the internet and your computer. Also get used to using digital photo images. From taking the photo, to using image editing software - digital photos make the biggest impact when all a customer can see is what is online. Also keep digital photos as visual records of your completed work. This may serve as a point of reference for if you need to do something similar at a later date and also is very valuable to have on hand in case of theft. Social media will be something else imperative for you to familiarize yourself with in order to start a buzz of people commenting about and sharing links to your available online work.
- Accept this truth - the more places you appear on the internet the more easily your work can be discovered. Of course, some places are more ideal than others and so your main focus should be on those. Just keep in mind the internet is a vast arena where many other creatives also sell their works, so get all over it.
- Know who is your most likely customer base - you need to know who is probably going to buy your work. This data is necessary when choosing keywords and, by association, putting your items in the best online location. One way to research where to sell is to find sites where others sell a similar style of work.
- Get used to talking about your work. Practice with friends and family, do interviewing (mock or real), participate in forums or social media groups with similar interests. Read niche articles, posts, zines etc and after a while you will get the idea of the basic language and terms - but only you can offer your story. Communicating your personal relationship with your work creates more value and appreciation. Practice this online by typing in a compelling description to accompany each listing. This is a great way to stand out from the crowd! Learn more about how to approach doing so in this article, The Art of Selling Art.
- Go out of your way to take care of people in ways that will exceed their expectations. This makes a huge impact with online customers who already have lessened their hopes for great service due to being removed from in-person transactions. Surprise them and increase your reputation which will usually lead to referrals and repeat sales.
- Price fairly, based on quality of materials, level of skill and amount of time put into producing work. Try not to draw a foregone conclusion that you are a celebrity and can bump up your prices just because you have had a show or won an award. Sticker shock will not do you any favors. Keep the traditional supply and demand concept in place to help determine when to push up your prices. Be ready to explain how you determine what to charge as well.
- Keep documentation on what you do. This way you can easily retrace steps to repeat what works best and also identify things that do not. This includes analyzing what links are visited the most and what type of marketing and back-linking is bringing the most visitors to your store.
- Have patience and persistence. The best way to accomplish big things is to break the larger tasks down into simple steps. This is how you combat becoming overwhelmed, as there will always be multiple things to take care of at the same time. Your online store will require regular attention, so make sure you keep it up and and create a schedule for doing so.
Taking strides to incorporate into practice these eight factors will improve your chances for success. As an artist who has already created the products what is left is for you to master these key elements. Doing business online is rewarding and worth the effort and I hope you enjoy much success.
2 comments:
Very good article. Great things to know when starting out.
Thanks for reading and sharing your opinion. Much research has been done and I will continue to see what is working for artists I know and work with.