Selling Art Online: E-commerce Platforms for Creatives

The tools we use in our business become our business, especially when selling art online.

Each time we add a tool to our belt, it will become part of our regular activities. If it doesn’t, we likely have invested poorly. The decision on which e-commerce application you choose will impact the way that your creative business functions. Like many important decisions in life, it can be a hard one to make.

It is easy to get lost in the vast array of information and options that are at our fingertips. This is particularly true in the realm of digital tools. There are over 8.9M apps. Like anything in life, it is hard to find something if you don’t know what you are looking for. A great place to start in making your decision on an e-commerce tool is to evaluate your goals and the business model you are using to achieve them. Our tools are operational decisions. If we do not want to operate in a certain way, we should evaluate this before entering the online creative market.

What am I selling?

In art, an important distinction in our business model comes down to how we see our work. Broadly art sells as:

• an object of admiration like fine art
• an object of appreciation, more akin to (very) limited merchandise
• an object of utility (like decor), produced/sold in mass
• an idea for hire and licensed for someone else to sell.

Each of these types of products has unique business model attributes that can be harnessed to find success. Museum-worthy art is likely not going to be purchased on Amazon, just as a run of one thousand blankets with a printed image will not be sold at Christies. Knowing what product you are selling helps determine which tool(s) will help find the right platform to sell art online.

What resources do I have to sell art online?

A sustainable business requires the judicious application of resources. Business decisions—including which digital tools we use—benefit from taking stock of the money, time, and skills we have to put towards their use.

Money is the most tangible resource to access, but often we neglect to look at the real cash that will be impacted. In the case of digital tools, there may be a variety of fees to consider including subscription fees, processing fees, commission, and more. There are also financial considerations beyond the tool itself including. Should someone else be hired to set up and/or maintain the use of the tool? This includes overseeing ongoing transaction fees, the fulfillment process once the sale is made (packing and shipping), and processing returns (if available). Knowing the dollar impact of a specific tool is critical to growing the business by selling art online.

Do I have the time?

Tools are meant to make us more efficient, and they do, however, they still require us to utilize our time to use them. We have all likely had our frustrations with technology, particularly new technology. It takes time to adapt to a new tool. In e-commerce, along with general time to practice the tool, we need to consider the time cost of set-up, maintenance, fulfillment, customer communication, and marketing. Within the expansive market for e-commerce, tools can either add or reduce the time we have to spend on successful sales. Assessing the time requirements to utilize an e-commerce tool is valuable in making a sustainable business decision.

Do I have the skills to sell art online?

Skills—you either have them or you need to acquire them (education or hire). Humans weren’t born with an innate capacity to run an e-commerce business. There are skills that selling online requires:

• Digital marketing and branding (Using SEO, promoting through online channels, and establishing a brand that conveys value, story or better, myth.)
• Technical e-commerce management (Webmaster for a website or platform, manage connected integrations including payment processors/gateways.)
• Content creation (Produce quality photos and descriptions of work, possibly blogs.)
• Customer relationship management and building
• Pricing strategy (Price artwork appropriately for online.)
• Sales skills (Close sales, handle transactions, negotiate prices, manage payment processors.)
• Financial management (Accurate financial records, cash flow, and tax obligations.)

Some are basic, others are not. There are ways to sell art online that are as simple as sending someone else images and details of your work and other ways as complex as coding the back end of a website. When you select a platform, app, or widget to cultivate online transactions, determine what skills you have (or are willing to invest in) to make it successful.

Ready?

To ensure that you are making a sustainable business decision when you step into e-commerce, it is helpful to think about your intent, start at the beginning—what are you selling? Then evaluate the impact on your resources.

We have compiled research on several well-known e-commerce options for creative businesses to help you make your decision. Let’s start a conversation about this decision. You can also find a friendly community of artists working on their business at our virtual monthly co-working sessions.