5 Ways to Make Money as an Artist
Ah, the story of the starving artist…we know it all too well, don’t we?
You shouldn’t pursue your dream of making a living as an artist because that couldn’t possibly be a valid career path. It almost sounds like it’s too fun!
(…WAIT. Is this whole myth based off of jealousy??!! I’ll get back to you on that).
The big problem is that we are just not taught how to make money as an artist in school, or really anywhere else.
And the art field is SO huge! There’s a lot less tangibility when it comes to knowing what steps to take to eventually become a full time paid artist when compared to persuing your average corporate job.
You’re essentially becoming an entrepreneur, which is likely not anything you’ll pick up at art school or even in your artsy community.
There’s a HUGE disconnect between artists wanting to make a career from their art, and the education that we are provided in learning how to do so.
Fortunately, artists are slowly learning that there are a lot of new ways of getting your work found these days.
There are new social media platforms every year and more and more creatives are now leveraging the power of the every day people to help promote their art into a viral sensation.
Artists generally tend to not be super knowledgeable about marketing and business, but having some kind of strategy (that ideally plays into your skill set) is critical for success.
Here’s a real life example of how this system affected my art career personally (and another reason I’m so stuck on helping artists thrive) -
I went through school studying illustration, thinking I would illustrate children’s books for a living.
However, sadly (and predictably) they failed to teach us anything about the business of becoming an illustrator, almost until our last year (even then it was very unclear what we were supposed to do first).
At that point, I realized I wasn’t cut out out for that specific art career. Back then, I was not interested in constantly pitching my work to big companies, trying to support myself. It was very cut throat, and I just didn’t have the personality for it at the time.
Instead, I went out on a limb and started my own company, making what excited me and selling it in a way that felt good to me.
Over 10 years later, I could probably do ok in illustration…but I still don’t WANT to do it. Which means I probably wouldn’t do that well because my heart is just not in it.
So you can see why it’s important to follow a path that best utilizes your preferred skill set. You need to ENJOY the process, or you’ll eventually tap out.
With all that being said, here are some specific ways to make money as an artist, and the skills that you’ll need to have for each path you’re considering.
Sell at craft shows
Skills required: Must enjoy small talk with customers and other vendors! Social butterflies will thrive in this environment and make the most of it.
Aaah, good old craft shows. This is where I started out and it still holds a special place in my heart (as much as I trash talk about selling at craft shows!)
Honestly, I love craft shows for a lot of reasons…it just took me a really long time to distinguish the difference between loving attending craft shows, vs loving actually selling at them.
I did this for years and ran through the craft circuit from show to show with all my craft show friends…but after doing it year after year and never quite making enough to make it worth it, I started exploring different outlets of making money.
Although this method wasn’t my cup of tea, it doesn’t mean that it can’t be yours!
Selling at craft shows is great for lots of reasons. It’s not only an opportunity to bring in an influx of cash in a short period of time, it’s also a fabulous way to network and bring in some really amazing opportunities for growing your following and income.
I would even go so far as to say that networking was the main benefit I got from selling at shows for all those years.
Because I had my booth up and my work was available for all kinds of people (and scouts!) to peruse, it made it very easy to start a conversation that led to a collaboration of some sort.
Just a few examples of what happened for me during these shows:
I was offered a contract with a major craft kit company
Multiple shop owners approached me and asked if I would sell in their shops (some were even out of state)
One shop owner bought out the remainder of my inventory of one product at the end of a show weekend
I was featured in the infamous “Daily Candy” because some sneaky scout went by my booth, picked up a business card and took off
I was featured in another vendor’s popular blog
During 100% of these interactions I did nothing other than stand behind my booth and say hello to everyone who walked by!
You never know who will be showing up to these shows (especially the really big ones, so the possibilities are endless).
If you decide to take this route, I have a few suggestions before you brave the storm -
Bring help (or hire help) the day/s of the show. You’ll need help loading and unloading your table, chairs, products, props, and display materials. It can be exhausting and you’ll be on your feet all day socializing…it’s not worth the extra energy and stress!
Befriend your neighboring vendors (especially if you’re selling alone). You’ll need someone to watch your booth if you have to run out quick to use the restroom, grab lunch, or shop around! Prepare to return the favor of course.
Have a way for customers to special order a product in case they want something custom, or you run out of inventory at the show. A simple form to fill out with their contact info should be just fine.
Above all, have fun! Shows are a blast if you can get your system down and make it profitable.
Sell crafts in shops
Skills required: Good email and pitching etiquette. This path is good for introverts because you can focus behind the scenes on direct outreach and making stuff, rather than socializing (as much).
Selling your crafts in stores is another great way to make money as an artist!
There are a lot of levels to selling in shops -
You can sell wholesale or consignment.
You can sell in small boutiques, or giant retail stores.
You can have a super tight relationship with the shop owner, or you can sign a 40 page contract with a retailer and never actually speak to a human except over email!
It just depends on what you’re up for. I recommend trying a bit of everything at the beginning and seeing what you like best.
The hardest part is doing the research and finding which stores would be a good fit for your brand.
You can pitch any old store, but you’re likely wasting both your time and the shop owner’s time as well. Put in the effort to get focused and find shops that are already selling to your ideal customer for best results.
Once you establish a relationship with a shop owner you can continue to pitch new products to them and even come up with exclusive products just for their shop!
There’s a whole world of possibilities.
Wholesale and consignment are the two main ways you can start selling your crafts in stores.
Selling wholesale is great because although you are only getting 50% of your retail price for a bulk order of your products, you are guaranteed to make money right off the bat.
Before you start selling wholesale, make sure that you have all your ducks in a row and that it is financially worth it for you to actually go through with. (For example, make sure you have gotten the supply cost for your products down as low as possible so you can actually profit!)
Selling consignment is a little different and there are other risks involved. Depending on the terms of your agreement, you might end up with a broken or damaged product after months of them trying to sell it unsuccessfully, and no money to show for it.
For certain products it makes sense to sell consignment. For more products, it really doesn’t. Do your research before jumping into this field of selling.
Sell crafts online
Skills required: Tech skills! (unless you can afford to outsource everything) Writing skills will take you far here too. Less IRL (in real life) socializing, but virtual socializing can always help.
Also, FYI: as much as you may think you HAVE to be using social media to be successful online, you actually don’t. There are lots of other ways to grow your brand online. Just FYI.
Selling your crafts online is not for the faint of heart. It takes a thick skin, a ton of patience (especially if you are just growing your following), and a lot of trial and error.
It’s a lot of work, and it’s not for everyone.
However, the major benefit of selling online is that if you can become successful, you’ll be able to have a massive amount of freedom that will allow you to work on your own time while doing something you love (not to mention work from anywhere in the world!)
Whether you’re selling from an online marketplace, using social media, or your own website, there will be a lot to do, and always a ton of updates to tend to.
You’ll have new products to list, sales to promote, and of course all the online marketing you’ll need to do to get people to find your shop and products! (kind of important, right??)
If I haven’t scared you off yet and you think that this might be your path, (if you’re serious about this, strap in!) then definitely watch my free workshop which will give you a lot more perspective of what’s required to succeed in this creative path.
In the workshop you’ll learn the 3 things I recommend having in order to create a sustainable and profitable online handmade business that can help you build a part-time to full-time income.
It’s not as easy as slapping up a few listings on Etsy and waiting for the sales to come in. In fact, that’s a surefire way to get frustrated and give up quickly!
If you want to learn how to make money as an artist online and you have big goals in mind, don’t waste any time and get started selling the right way from the start.
So, watch the workshop, then check out this very important blog post I did all about finding your niche and this post that will share the most important thing you’ll need in your soon to be craft business.
Teach your craft skill/process
Skills required: Patience, good teaching skills or be good at breaking things down into smaller, easy steps. Decent social skills.
Another way to make money as an artist is by teaching your craft process to others.
I know this is not a path of interest for a lot of artists, but there are some of us (myself included) that enjoy teaching others about our creative process.
If this is you, listen up because you have skills that people are looking to pay for! My craft business TOOK OFF the second I started teaching craft workshops.
There are a ton of marketplace sites that can help get you started in this direction, although I would recommend only leaning on those at the beginning, and you can make money fairly quickly.
If you really want to put in some effort, you can make some serious money by pitching your craft workshops (virtual or in-person) to big corporate companies.
Many companies have a quarterly budget that include a set amount per employee for events. You just have to convince them that you should be the one to collect that $$$ :).
If you’re less interested in teaching workshops but you still want to share what you know, blogging or doing weekly/monthly tutorials is a fun and amazing way to create a loyal online following and make a lot of money as well.
This method will take a little more time to see monetary results from (6 mo-1 year), but it’s worth the wait. I’d suggest building this on the side while you have another income stream to support you.
That way you can start growing this (eventual) stream of passive income while still making money and being comfortable.
If you know what you’re doing, you can create passive income through affiliate marketing, selling craft related digital products, or promoting your crafts and services through your blog.
My blog has made me thousands of dollars over the years, and it continues to snowball and grow every month with little effort now that I know how to attract my ideal clients and customers.
Collaborate with other artists
Skills required: Good for social butterflies and introverts alike, this is a good happy medium because you can customize each interaction depending on what you’re up for.
This is one of my favorite ways to make sales. There’s just SO many options and you can get really creative with it.
The idea behind doing collaborations is that you’re kind of cross-pollinating your audience with someone else’s. You can do this in a million different ways depending on what you’re selling, how you like to make content, the needs of the person you’re collaborating with, and what sounds fun to you!
Examples of a collaboration might include a giveaway, a blog feature, a joint craft project, or a workshop. The options are truly endless.
These are just a handful of possible ways to make money as an artist and you can easily mix and match these to come up with the income plan of your dreams.
This is just one of the strategies I teach my clients inside of Handmade & Paid. It’s how I initially grew my email list from 300 people to 1200 in just a few months and started making a lot more sales.
Consider this option if you love working with other artists and enjoy working on side passion projects that keep your creative.
If you are wondering how to make money as an artist, there are hundreds of different paths you can take to do so. No way is right or wrong, it all depends on what feels right to you.
You should be EXCITED about getting your work out there, so make sure you’re always considering your strengths, making sure every move you make feels right, and pushing yourself to keep moving forward, no matter what obstacles you come across.
Most importantly, never let any one person’s opinion or social construct influence your decision to pursue a life as a professional artist.
Millions of us are out here grinding and succeeding, and there’s space for everyone, no matter how ‘saturated’ you THINK the market is (that’s some b.s. btw).
I hope this post was helpful in giving you a little confidence boost and helping you decide which path might serve you best when starting out on your creative journey.
And remember, these are just a few ways to move forward, there are tons of other ways to make money as an artist! (Wanna see a Part 2? Let me know in the comments!)
