Tony Moffitt on How to Sell Your Art

Today I'm plugging a relative newcomer to the blog scene, at least for me. Tony Moffitt's Art World is dedicated to helping struggling artists like us understand and benefit from good marketing techniques, and the site includes a lot of interesting interaction in the way of comments.

I needed this, because I frankly find the whole business of selling art a total wash-out - frustrating and unfathomable. I sold regularly on eBay for a few years in Australia and again when I first came to Canada, but when sales dropped off here, I stopped listing, figuring I'd exhausted my customer base. The trick is NOT to stop listing. If we paint because we must, we should also be prepared to market ourselves, exploring every option with dogged tenacity to get those sales up. Now that I've found Tony (or rather - because he is a good marketer - he found me) I believe I will jump back into the melee again. I'll reconsider my strategies with not only eBay, but Etsy, ArtFire, Zibbet, ArtWanted, ArtFlock, and ArtQ - all sites where I currently list my paintings, but where I show very little interest in them. Ho hum, I think, nothing's selling, so why bother? I'm an artist, aren't I? What do I know about marketing?

Well, I'm starting to realize that it's time to think about these things. It's also time to produce some new paintings, even if the old ones haven't sold. No doubt people do get tired of seeing the same old scenes - goodness knows, I'm tired of them myself. I'm going to work harder at positioning and correctly pricing my art. I am going to involve myself more with what's going on at these various sites. I'll think of myself in more corporate terms, as if I am a shareholder in my own public offerings.

My friend Squeakie Stone never seems to lose his enthusiasm, never stops painting, and sells extremely well. I'm going to steal some of his energy, and get back to it. Thanks for being there, Squeakie.

And thank you, Tony. I have no idea where your blog will take me, but so far you've opened my eyes to a new way of thinking about the business of art. We must remember that it is a business...

In the meantime, I will show just one of my pictures here with each posting, just to remind you that I am a painter, despite evidence to the contrary. I know you've seen them all before, but too bad. This is my art, and I'm promoting that fact.

This painting "Fall Quilt Sale" measures 16 inches by 12, acrylic on gallery-wrapped canvas. It is available for sale at my Etsy Store.