How To Promote Your Digital Artwork: The Key Steps To Success

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By Kaleigh Moore Might 23, 2023

Many people love artwork. We love accumulating it, viewing it, even shopping for it. Comply with the numbers, and also you’ll see that artwork hasn’t gone anyplace; it’s only a bit extra digital than it was.

Perhaps “a bit” is an understatement.

Digital artwork gross sales have skyrocketed in popularity since 2020. On-line artwork gross sales have been hovering slightly below $5 billion earlier than the pandemic. Then they skyrocketed to $7.8 billion the subsequent yr and over $13 billion final yr.

A much bigger digital artwork market means extra alternatives for digital sellers. However that also leaves a problem for aspiring artists.

Now, they’ll need to be taught the brand new skillset of digitization. What are the conditions to constructing a following on-line, and which platforms do you have to use to assist construct your viewers?

Promoting digital artwork on platforms

Platform choice begins with a easy query: what do you need to promote? What’s your chief medium?

Laptop graphics? Crypto artwork? Digital work? Bodily artwork you digitize?

In case your medium is digital pictures, your platform shall be completely different than if you choose blended media. That’s why you shouldn’t choose a platform till you realize what it’s you need to promote.

When you do, you possibly can flick thru the most well-liked artwork platforms on-line:

Bēhance is a high artwork platform for each discovering and sharing artistic art work. Design, pictures, and videographers all name it dwelling. It’s nice for artists who monetize, because it doubles as a platform for promoting tutorials and customised artwork providers.
Art Station additionally incorporates a sturdy market of visible art work, in addition to a store for purchasing and promoting prints. It developments towards popular culture art work like video games, motion pictures, and different media.
Dribbble is available in on the skilled facet of issues. Should you fancy your self an expert artistic designer or branding skilled, it may be a fantastic place to place your portfolio.
Deviant Art options the biggest on-line art work gallery of all. It doubles as a portfolio and a spot to purchase or promote digital art work.

In fact, it’s also possible to use platforms like Etsy, Design Cuts, and Pink Bubble to promote your designs in different kinds, like bodily merchandise.

Crucial problem right here is discovering the platform that matches your pursuits. That’s the place you’re going to fulfill your viewers.

Need to take advantage of the platform you select? Listed here are some ideas for getting began:

Construct up a powerful portfolio. You might even need to do work free of charge. However many artwork lovers will browse these platforms on the lookout for artists with sturdy portfolios. You could know your potential, however your viewers gained’t see it until you possibly can show it in a tangible portfolio.
Purchase your individual area. Should you plan on making promoting digital artwork a long-term factor, you’ll want your individual viewers. You possibly can finally use platforms like DeviantArt to construct consideration—however a site as the house of your private model.

When you’ve explored a bit and constructed up a reputation for your self, it’s also possible to think about constructing your individual monetized neighborhood.

Platforms like Patreon or Purchase Me A Espresso are helpful for artists who need a “patron”-like expertise. You possibly can create personalized artwork giveaways and different exclusives to encourage this viewers to give you the regular earnings it’s essential frequently reinvest in your work.

When you’ve planted your flag, the subsequent step is easy.

You want folks to take a look at it.

Easy as it’s, executing this a part of the “promoting digital artwork” blueprint can take some time. As an illustration, it’s possible you’ll work in your artwork for years earlier than you discover it gaining any kind of traction.

However as you develop as an artist, there are some things you are able to do to advertise your work and earn a residing on-line. Let’s take a look at just a few of them:

Promote NFTs, or digital artwork as NFTs. Non-fungible tokens have been a serious a part of what skyrocketed digital as much as new heights in 2020 and 2021. Individuals like these as a result of NFTs are like shopping for art work together with its “receipt,” making them unique homeowners. You possibly can promote your art work by creating NFTs that draw consideration to every little thing else you’re doing on-line.
Providing commissions. Most of the digital platforms above, like Dribbble, are nice for each planting a flag and creating your portfolio. As you provide customized commissions to purchasers, you possibly can create art work that ultimately builds word-of-mouth for what you do. Within the meantime, you’re onerous at work—however you’re additionally incomes earnings.
DIY How-To movies. Ever watch a sped-up watercolor portray video on TikTok? Or observe somebody on Instagram since you noticed their behind-the-scenes story as they created a digital artwork piece? Then you realize the facility of “How-to” movies to draw extra eyeballs to your work.
Social media communities. Some individuals are wanting for artists such as you; you simply need to know the place to search out them. Determine social media communities (like r/Artwork on Reddit) the place folks need to see what you’ve put collectively. The important thing right here: all the time add worth, relatively than ask for subscribers or followers.

It doesn’t damage to have your individual neighborhood, both.

Take the instance of BOMONSTER. BOMONSTER’S artwork makes use of a scratchboard, the place he takes an Xacto blade to a blackened board to scratch out the white highlights beneath.

It’s an ideal match for his chosen viewers: scorching rod, truck, and bike followers.

BOMONSTER had digitized his art work early on, however discovered that his chosen technique (PDF attachments in emails) was solely touchdown him in his clients’ spam folders.

As an alternative, he used AWeber to create sign-up kinds and seize his clients’ electronic mail addresses for his publication.

And he isn’t afraid to “pitch” himself, both. Should you’re working in your first 100 subscribers, you might have to do the identical. BOMONSTER’s AWeber type highlights the varieties of emails he sends, together with a piece on “What makes my artwork completely different.”

There, he provides visible examples so people who find themselves get a preview of the artwork. Whether or not he knew it or not, he was following most of the steps you simply learn—constructing a portfolio and a following over time.

He’s upfront (sure, he is attempting to promote you artwork), however seamless in the case of making gross sales. He makes use of AWeber’s options that may flip emails into miniature galleries so folks can browse the prints.

Promoting your art work on-line

Should you don’t know the place to begin, choose one of many platforms and begin constructing your presence with the “borrowed” viewers that comes with it.

Over time, as you construct your portfolio, you can begin highlighting your art work by yourself web site—which ought to embody a landing page with AWeber that allows you to promote your self, seize viewers consideration, and start constructing a supportive neighborhood.