Selling art might seem intimidating, but it has become more mainstream now than it was maybe a decade ago. If you’re passionate about art or the creative type, it’s time to consider this niche for your Shopify store.
However, there are a few considerations when selling art online. You need to identify and build your audience and learn how to price art competitively. Shipping art is another topic altogether.
The good news is that there is demand for art online! A few years ago, when I started selling online, art as a commodity was never even on my radar—and probably among many other sellers!
However, the rise of digital art and various art forms has opened consumers to collecting art. Indeed, you can sell art and make money by targeting individual consumers who want to showcase their taste for art.
If you want to take advantage of this unique niche and start a business with Shopify for artists, you’ve come to the right place! Learn the ins and outs of selling artwork online before setting up your own store.
Key Takeaways
- Selling art online has seen an increased demand over the past few years, making it a profitable business idea.
- Art business owners can showcase their creativity within the Shopify ecommerce platform, as you can customize your store theme and design.
- Create a brand and visual symmetry to make your art store stand out.
- Choose the products you want to sell using product research tools that enable you to validate market demand and find potential suppliers for your art business.
Getting Started with Shopify Art Store
If you love art or enjoy making art, creating a Shopify store selling art online is a wonderful business idea.
However, selling art is not easy because you want to convey your passion to your target audience, expecting them to share the same level of enthusiasm for your art or different art prints and products.
To ensure you succeed with your art business online, it’s vital to set up your art store for success.
Choose Your Business Model
If you want to sell art on Shopify, you can create the products or curate them. It is possible to do both, sell your art or sell other people’s art on your art online business.
If you choose to sell your own art, make sure you have enough art prints and products. You are the original creator of the art, and only you have the right to sell or reproduce that artwork online or in an art gallery.
The rise of an ecommerce platform like Shopify has opened the doors for creatives and artists to showcase their work.
If you have amassed various artworks throughout the years, setting up a Shopify art store is the best opportunity to make money from your artwork and expose it to a new audience.
On the other hand, you can also curate work from other artists. It means your business is based on selling art prints and products from other artists. You can sell this artwork in print or through licensed merchandise, such as t-shirts and other objects.
Choosing What to Sell
The next important decision to make when starting an art business is to decide what to sell. Various media are available to sell art online, whether selling original art or reproduction. The following are a few of these options:
- Limited edition prints
- Digital downloads
- Original art (or reproduced prints of the same work)
- Licensing
- Merchandise
- Custom art
Build Your Brand
One of the advantages of selling art on Shopify is the opportunity to build a brand. Branding is more critical than ever as an artist because your store is a natural extension of your art.
Focus on creating a brand that speaks to the art you sell online. Create brand storytelling to appeal to the emotions of your target consumers. You can fortify your brand through other business assets, such as packaging and your own website.
Create a Stunning Store
Speaking of branding, you must consider how to create a visually appealing art website. Keep in mind that your target buyers will most likely be art enthusiasts, so they will be discerning about the visual aspects of your Shopify stores.
As an ecommerce platform, Shopify offers free and paid themes, so you can choose what you want according to your brand and the art market.
Utilize the drag-and-drop functionality to build a Shopify website that reflects your brand. The Shopify theme you choose offers various customization options so you can create an artistic experience for your audience when they browse your home page and other product pages.
Customize your store design to match your brand and its products. Focusing on the visual aspects allows you to stand out from other Shopify stores selling art online.
Pricing Your Art
Pricing is a tricky subject and it’s one area where many sellers struggle with most. There is a myth that you cannot make money selling art. However, that statement no longer holds true. Art sells! You have to develop a solid pricing strategy to increase sales.
The best thing to do is perform competitor analysis. Look at other Shopify stores that sell art like yours and evaluate their pricing. If they sell several products for a given price, buyers will pay that particular amount for their art prints or artwork online.
The next thing is to consider the cost of production for your art and other expenses, such as shipping costs and packaging. Make sure you leave enough room for profit.
Use a competitive pricing strategy. Set your prices for your art based on its perceived value, but make it competitive enough that buyers are willing to choose to buy from you over another store.
Get insider tips—download the eBook on Shopify competitor research now!How to Find Art to Sell on Shopify Store
I will share the best method for finding artwork online from other Shopify stores. Conducting a competitive analysis with a product research tool like ZIK Analytics is crucial to understanding the product’s demand and validating sales.
It’s important to use product research tools, as they speed up data gathering that will help you make informed decisions about your Shopify art store.
The first method is to use the Store Finder tool. Once in the Store Finder section, you can find stores that sell art online by adding relevant keywords to the search bar.
You can add as many keywords as you want that would apply to your specific niche or products that you want to find, such as art prints or digital downloads. Therefore, you have to do research beforehand on the specific art market you want to serve to know what products to search for.
For example, you want to sell art prints and digital downloads. You can input relevant keywords on the search bar.
You can exclude specific keywords from the search if you don’t want specific products to show up on your search. An example would be to add ‘glass’ to the search if you don’t want art products with glass materials, as they can be challenging to ship.
If you scroll below, you will find a list of stores specializing in selling art on Shopify. You will also find other pertinent information relevant to each store, such as the store creation date, their social channels, the number of active products, sold products, and the store’s revenue.
Now, you can browse these stores, and if any seller catches your attention, you can click on the Spy icon to explore further and get more product ideas for your Shopify stores.
One store that we can look into is called Artlines Design. This is an example of an art print used in merchandise, which in this case is a t-shirt print.
The store was created in June 2019, and it offers various options for car tees. The average price for its products and designs is $29.99 per shirt. It also offers other products, such as wall art and mugs.
A competitive analysis shows that this store has 2,971 products on its website. Its total sales in the last 30 days are 6,575, and its revenue is $156,651.
These numbers are highly encouraging for anyone considering selling art online on the Shopify platform.
We can see this store’s top-selling products with ZIK Analytics’ store finder tool and sales tracker. Their best-selling item is the Mazda RX-7 FC T-Shirt, which was sold 95 times for $29.99. The total revenue for this product is $2,849.05.
Now, it’s time to start looking for potential suppliers for this product. Click on the Box icon next to the product details.
You can find many options on Aliexpress, so let’s look at where this product can be sold on your Shopify website.
This Aliexpress product is sold for $6.26 and offers various color options and sizes. Meanwhile, the store’s listing shows that the product is available for $29.99 with several color and size variants.
If you choose to sell this product in your store, you can earn a profit of $23.73 per sold item.
Let’s examine another store as an example of how to sell art on Shopify. We will focus on the store ArtHouse Co, which is based in Australia.
According to the website, this store specializes in fine art curation and custom framing. They offer all kinds of artwork online, such as abstracts, aerial photography, coastal art, architecture, celebrities, and more.
If we analyze the store’s sales insights, we can see that it has 4,419 active products on its website. Its total sales in the last 30 days are 5,169, and its revenue is $670,068.
Their best-selling item is a print of Downtown Manhattan, which was sold 30 times for $129 each, earning the store $2,591 in revenue.
We can explore potential suppliers for this product on Aliexpress by clicking the Box icon next to the product details.
I found this similar print on Aliexpress for a considerably lower price of $2.27. However, remember that the above store example offers custom framing, so make sure to factor that into the price difference when you develop a pricing strategy for your Shopify store.
However, if you use Aliexpress’s price points and what is listed on the store, you can earn a profit of $126.73 for each sale.
This approach gives you an idea of how to find potential product ideas if you are selling art online. Plus, you can validate the sales for that seller to ensure you can make more sales for your art business.
Tips to Increase Sales for Your Shopify Art Store
Follow these tips and marketing tactics to sell art on Shopify successfully and increase sales.
- Explore other sales channels for selling your art online. While building a website on the Shopify platform is important, you should focus on expanding your horizons to include other sales channels, such as social media. This will make it easier for you to reach your target audience and increase visibility for your products.
- Market your art brand. If you create your art, you must stand out with branding. It lets you distinguish your creations from other artworks online while also adding value to your artwork. This gives you better traction in pricing and enhances the perceived value of your work.
- Use content marketing and other marketing strategies to increase visibility online. You can create optimized blog posts about your artwork or develop engaging content, such as video tutorials or a behind-the-scenes look at your collection. Leverage social media and the internet to create excitement for your art online.
- Make your Shopify website stand out visually. Your store is an extension of your art brand, so putting your best foot forward is crucial. Maximize the customization options available on your Shopify plan to create a store that is uniquely yours, even when you are using a free Shopify theme.
Final Tips When You Sell Art on Shopify
If you are passionate about art, starting an art website is exciting! You finally have a platform to showcase your creations or curated art. However, do not forget that this is a business whose primary goal is profit-making.
Employ the marketing tactics and strategies listed above and use product research tools. The latter empowers your business decisions when selling art because you have access to data insights that drive your decisions.
FAQs
Is Shopify a good platform for artists?
Yes. Several businesses specialize in selling art on Shopify. The Shopify Theme Store offers many artistic themes, and apps on the Shopify App Store enable art sellers to customize their stores to suit their target audience and products.
How much does it cost to sell art on Shopify?
It depends on your chosen Shopify plan. You can start on the Starter plan for as low as $5 per month, but you can upgrade your plan as your store grows.
Can I sell my digital art on Shopify?
Yes, Digital products, including digital downloads and art, are allowed on Shopify. Double-check the prohibited items to ensure your products are allowed on the platform.
Can I sell printable art on Shopify?
Yes, you can sell printable art on Shopify, but note that it requires a digital downloads app to make that possible. You can find many options for this on the Shopify App Store. These apps simplify the delivery of downloadable links to your customers.
What is the most profitable way to sell art?
There are various ways you can make more money selling art. One is to sell original artwork since it commands higher prices and value. Another option is to license your artwork since you can generate income for every print that requires using your licensed artwork.
And finally, do not limit yourself to selling art on the Shopify store. You can also sell art on other sales channels, including social media.