Launch Your Online Art Store: Why Now is the Best Time

In today’s digital age, it’s easier than ever for artists and creatives to showcase and sell their work. Since social media platforms and online marketplaces offer convenient ways to reach a wide audience, many artists start selling their arts on these platforms and contemplate launching their online art store. There’s a strong argument for starting your own online art store while incorporating other means of selling. Therefore, let’s explore why now is the best time to launch your online art store, the benefits of having a personal online space, and how to get started.

Why Choose an Online Art Store Over Marketplaces and Social Media?

This topic has many opinions and it has been discussed a lot in many online forums, here are some of the gains to launching your online art store.

1. Ownership and Control

First and foremost, one of the biggest advantages of launching your online art store is control. Unlike marketplaces and social media platforms, where you must follow their rules, your own online store for artists gives you full ownership of your brand, customer interactions, and sales processes.

2. Personal Branding

Moreover, a personal online art store lets you create a unique brand identity that connects with your audience. You can customize the look and feel of your store to reflect your artistic vision, creating a consistent brand experience that isn’t possible on generic platforms.

3. Higher Profit Margins

Furthermore, marketplaces often take a big commission on each sale, reducing your profits. By selling directly through your online art store, you keep more of your earnings. According to a study by Shopify, artists who sell through their own online stores can see profit margins increase by up to 50%.

4. Customer Relationships

Additionally, owning your online store for artists helps you build direct relationships with your customers. You can gather valuable information on their preferences, tailor your offerings, and create targeted marketing campaigns to boost loyalty and repeat business. Your brand message along with how you carry your interactions with your customers can indeed have a huge impact on your success as a professional artist.

Is There a Perfect Time to Launch Your Online Art Store?

Timing your online art store launch can indeed have an impact. For instance, major shopping seasons like the holidays, back-to-school, and cultural events can drive more traffic and sales. Strategically, aligning your launch with these periods can be helpful. However, the most important factor is your readiness. The digital world is busy all year round, hence with the right preparation, any time can be the perfect time to launch your online art store.

The following are some important steps to go through before building your online art store business:

1. Plan Thoroughly

Essentially, when you decide to become a professional artist, you’re starting a business. Thus, having a business plan is vital. Begin by defining your art practice, setting clear short- and long-term goals, and visualizing your art career. Short term goals could be small milestones like making 5 organic sales while long term goals could be strategic milestones like owning your own fulfilment facility!. This helps in mapping out the steps needed to grow your art business.

Moreover, you can leverage your local community or the online communities to understand the market trends, where and how you should position yourself -from an online perspective-. Last but not least, it is important to understand how different it is to carry your business online as oppose to offline, things like being aware of the legal commitments and fraudulent/scamming threats.

2. Identify Your Target Customer

Effective marketing is the first step towards launching your online art store and becoming a successful artist. Knowing your ideal customer is key to effective marketing. Ask questions about your buyers’ income levels, shopping habits preferences and any geographical insights that can lead your targeting strategy. This information will shape your marketing strategy, which could include email newsletters, art fairs, social media, and galleries but most importantly, make sure to go where your customers are.

This is a continues process, expect to revisit this many times during your early days and you should reiterate on the measures you used to identify your target customers.

Read more about effective marketing strategies for artists here.

3. Manage Finances Wisely

Financial planning is critical. List all business and personal expenses, then plan how you’ll cover these costs. This could involve savings, joint income, grants, crowdfunding, or part-time work. Knowing your financial needs helps you set realistic income goals. Also don’t forget the bookkeeping and taxes aspects, make sure to stay on top of your business finances and avoid last minute planning as it can cost you a lot.

4. Price Your Work for Profit

Pricing your artwork can be challenging. Ensure your prices cover all costs, including time, materials, and shipping. Use pricing formulas and consider offering artwork at various price points to attract a broader audience. There are formulas and metrics to help you charge the right prices for your work, considering factors like effort and time spent and market competition, it is important to iterate on this process and revalidate it as not only does it contribute to the success of the business, it also helps conveys the right message you want to set for your business. Here is a great article about best formulas for pricing your art.

5. Legalize Your Business

Make your business legal by obtaining the necessary licenses. Research the business structure that suits you best, often a sole proprietorship for simplicity. Keep your business and personal finances separate and ensure your business name is unique and consistent across all platforms.

6. Create an Online Presence

Online presence is a big topic, we discuss it in details in a separate article here, but -for the sake of this one- a strong online presence is essential. Building a professional website with high-quality images, clear contact information, and a personable About section is one part of that work. Moreover, you need to find a way to present yourself to people online, be available where people engage with artists online and present your work and services appropriately.

Here is a warning from experts, use social media strategically to reach your target audience without spreading yourself too thin. Don’t get caught up in the social media algorithms-game trying to follow the trends and that could lead to burnout and disappointment.

7. Stay Organized

Running an art business involves managing inventory, sales, client contacts, exhibitions, and more. Tools like Artwork Archive can help you stay organized, track your progress, and save time, allowing you to focus more on creating art. If your art could be sold digitally, you can also eliminate stocking inventory and dealing with storage and printing costs by employing a Print on Demand provider like Prodiji. You can connect your store to the POD provider of your choice and not worry about manufacturing or shipping. We discussed how to use Prodiji in details here.

Picture by Artem Stoliar

What to Expect as You Launch Your Online Art Store

Launching an online art store is an exciting venture, but it takes planning and effort. Initially, you’ll need to invest time in setting up your store, creating high-quality images of your work, writing compelling descriptions, and setting competitive prices. As you launch, be ready for a learning curve as you navigate marketing, and customer service.

Challenges and How to Overcome Them

Technical Hurdles

Many artists worry about the technical aspects of running an online art store. Fortunately, online art store tools like Olasty, a plug-and-play online store builder for creatives, are designed to make this process easier. Olasty offers simple tools and templates specifically for artists, letting you focus on your creativity while the platform handles the technical details.

Marketing and Visibility

Building an audience from scratch can be challenging. Therefore, utilize, email marketing, blogging, video creation and collaborations with other artists or influencers to drive traffic to your online art store. Consistency and persistence are key. Here you can find 8 ways to market and promote your art online.

Time Management

Balancing the creative process with running a business can be tough. Thus, set a schedule that allows for dedicated time to create art and manage your online store for artists. Automate processes where possible and consider outsourcing tasks like shipping or bookkeeping. This is a process and it is expected to take sometime before you nail it, but be conscious about it and try to monitor your progress in that aspect for better outcomes on the longer run.

Types of Online Stores for Artists

Your online art store can be as unique as your art. For example, consider specializing in a particular niche or theme, such as abstract art, landscapes, portraits, or digital illustrations. You can offer various products, from original paintings and prints to merchandise like T-shirts, mugs, and phone cases. Consider using Print on Demand providers and remember being a specialist is always recommended as you have a better chance to compete and flourish.

Leveraging Seasonal Trends

Align your product launches and marketing campaigns with seasonal trends to maximize sales. For instance, you could create holiday-themed artwork or offer limited edition prints during peak shopping periods. Not only does it bring more sales, it also promotes your store as the go-to for seasonal shopping.

How Olasty Can Help You get there faster?

Olasty is a plug-and-play online store builder designed specifically for artists and creatives. It simplifies the process of setting up and running an online art store by doing the technical aspect of it, allowing you to focus on what you do best—creating art. With Olasty, you can easily choose how you want to sell your art whether sell them digitally, through a POD provider or offer original artwork without getting bogged down by technical details.