Happy to be a part of this community! I am an independent musician - not a graphic designer!
I am in the process of starting a channel offering help and advice for creative artists (graphic designers, photographers, videographers, musicians, etc) on how to use digital marketing techniques to build an audience and sell their artwork.
I am trying to get a better understanding of the typical problems that people in these industries face when trying to either build a following, or sell their artwork online.
So, my question to you is…
What is the biggest problem you face when marketing/selling your artwork online?
Thanks so much, your answers will help me to help people like you follow their dream
There are countless websites, which creates a needle-in-a-haystack situation where any one designer’s website gets lost in the crowd. So the big problem there becomes finding ways to draw in the right kinds of visitors who might need what we have to offer. Unless a designer can find ways to land on the first or, maybe, second page of a Google search, the website is essentially invisible.
There are also lots of freelance sites that get lots of traffic from potential clients. Most are crowdsourcing/contest sites where designers sign up and compete for projects. The trouble with these sites is that they always end up as a biding war where unsophisticated clients hire bottom-dollar designers to produce mostly substandard work. In the end, everyone loses except the owner of the crowdsourcing sites who rake in profits from it all.
Hi Just-B - thanks so much for your response! I can see that being a big problem; standing out amongst the noise is one of the most difficult things to do when promoting yourself on the internet!
One of the best ways (probably the best) to ensure traffic flow to your site is to run targeted adverts (Google AdWords, Facebook Ads etc.) - I understand that these cost money and can be difficult to figure out—especially for promoting artwork—and so are often frowned upon. I’ll be working on developing some artist-relevant methodologies!
The freelance bidding-war is something I hadn’t come across before - thanks for the info. Not yet sure what a solution could be for that…
This may not be your typical answer, nor the one you want to read, but in a word … anonymity.
I work hard for the separation between church & state. I’m not one of those fame mongers who like to get up in the lens/print every minute of every day. I like to present my work(s) and move on. My creativity slums in many disciplines and I find that I want to be ‘clean’ enuff to walk away.
I have a manager that I trust… she’s awesome. She fronts most everything that I do. I’ve produced work in architecture, industrial design, fashion, food, candy, typography & graphics, code … and most recently I’ve finally been able to finance my move into creating my first shorty (short film). I’m in love with this latest project … it’s been a longtime coming! It’s all about the moving force the inspirational force that can move at ease … for it’s own self severing primal means and survival … within us all and bring us to our knees or raise us up beyond the clouds! Working title … Lords of Graphite. Google it and see some early prototypes …and again my real name is nowhere to be found … yay!
To me, creativity flows into a person … it pauses for awhile … then moves on.
Might come back … might not.
STAY HUMBLE.
Did you know that one of world’s greatest artist of all times had over 2 dozen names? You know him as Hokusai … perhaps seen one of his works … The Great Wave off Kanagawa.
I am an independent musician - not a graphic designer!