Is Etsy a good online marketplace to start selling your art? What are the essential things to know about as a newbie just starting out on this popular platform? Selling art online is as easy as just uploading your work and waiting for the sale, right? As an artist just starting to make the transition from selling my paintings locally to selling online, I know how confusing and overwhelming it can be to try to make sense of all the information available to us about selling art via the Internet. Even picking a platform to start on can seem like an impossible task. What if we start on one and it turns out to be a huge waste of money, time and effort? And there's so much to wrap our heads around, even beyond selecting a platform or marketplace. We need to learn about online marketing, which is a monster topic in itself that consists (among many other things) of creating a personal brand, building up an audience, learning what works on different social media channels and selecting the one(s) that works best for us, as well as consistently sharing our work/message with the world. We need to learn about taxes and accounting because, make no mistake, as artists we are creative entrepreneurs. If we want to get to a point at which we're creating a consistent income from our work, we need to start seeing what we're doing as a business and not be afraid of stepping into our entrepreneurial shoes. As business owners, we must be willing to consistently step out of our comfort zones, accept that we need to pivot or try something new when things are not working, and not be afraid to invest in different parts of our businesses. For some of us, this may even include looking for specialized courses and/or coaching. Finally, and most importantly, we need to consistently work on our mental and physical well-being because our brands/businesses are an extension of ourselves. The more time I spend working on building up my own business (which consists of many things aside from selling art online), the more I find this to be true. It takes a lot of mental strength and deep-rooted determination to stay persistent with learning and implementing. To show up everyday, even when things aren't growing as fast as you'd like them to. To keep believing in oneself and consistently providing value, even when negativity is thrown your way. I find caring for our mental and physical health is even more important as artists because, not only is what we do so personal, but most of us are working on both our art and all of the aforementioned things alone. We don't have assistants or a team to share our worries (or even wins) with. I share the specific things I do on a weekly basis to stay happy and productive as an artist in my blog post/YouTube video titled 5 Essential Self-Care Tips for Artists and Creatives. Because of all this, I'm incredibly thankful that we have the opportunity now-a-days to connect with other creatives around the world and learn from people who are willing to share their experiences/knowledge. Today, we have writer and seamstress Annabelle Carter Short, who's had her own handmade business for many years, sharing a lot of useful information about selling on Etsy with us. Let's get into her article! The Pros and Cons of Selling on Etsy + 5 Key Tips
Click on the photo to visit www.pexels.com
Many independent artists struggle to start selling their work. Not because they're not inspiring or creative, but because they lack an understanding on how to actually sell their art. If you're looking to make money off your art, consider trying Etsy marketplace for a start. According to Etsy 2018 numbers, the platform has approximately 35.8 million active users, 1.98 million sellers, and over 50 million products listed for sale. With sellers all around the world, Etsy is a marketplace that is well-known for facilitating sales of arts and handmade products. But, what are the advantages and disadvantages of selling your art through Etsy? And, is it right for you? Advantages • It is convenient and has a more accessible set up than building your own website or physical shop. • Through the years, Etsy has worked hard on its branding. It is already trusted and respected by customers looking for handmade goods. This is a huge help for starting businesses that haven't yet built up an audience or fanbase. • Etsy has a blog, forums and a lot of resources for users on everything from product photography, customer care, packaging, taxes, branding your shop and much more. • This platform has a targeted customer base. The audience here is not looking for mass products, and not necessarily for the cheapest ones either. Uniqueness (and quality) is what will sell. • You can open up your shop for free in a matter of minutes and the fees taken by Etsy when a seller uploads a new product, as well as what it takes when a sale gets made, are very low compared to other selling platforms (like Amazon and eBay) or setting up your own e-commerce website. • When you get a sale, the money is transferred to you immediately, as opposed to other markets like eBay. Disadvantages • Etsy has frequent updates and you will need to always keep learning and adapting to change. • Competition is fierce (especially for certain niches like jewelry, hair accessories, printables, etc.) and you cannot rely on the platform's search field to be your one and only traffic source. This means that you have to be very hands-on about sharing your work and growing an audience that you can promote it to. • Though Etsy's fees are a lot lower than other marketplaces like eBay and Amazon, you will have to take them into account, as well as your shipping costs, when you are setting your prices. • Having a shop on Etsy, means you have your shop on someone else's property. According to their Terms of Service, they can choose to suspend or close your store at any point in time if they feel you aren't playing by their rules. This means, you have to take time reading these documents carefully. *Verdict If you're looking to start selling your art online, Etsy is a great option. Through this experience, you'll be able to gain knowledge on the basics you need to succeed online like pricing, customer service, shipping, taxes, and marketing products effectively. A lot of handmade businesses start on Etsy and move on to creating their own website/e-commerce store after gaining such experience and traction. Many of them keep selling on Etsy even after setting up their own independent shops, because they know the unique opportunities this presence can bring them. To start on the right foot, you'll need to put some effort into understanding the platform, and how to maximize your business potential. As mentioned above, the competition is high, but that doesn’t mean there is no space for you. You just need to learn how to make people notice your shop. Here are five essential tips for you.
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3. Editing Your Artwork & Creating Your Designs
Once I have a high quality scan of my illustration on my computer, it's time to open Photoshop and move onto the cleaning/editing process, as well as creating any sort of pattern I'd like with it. If you don't currently have Photoshop, and don't want to pay for the software, don't worry! You can download Gimp for free, which is a very popular photo-editing software you can get online for both Mac and PC. This popular alternative is even used by professional illustrators and contains pretty much all the tools that could come in handy for you as an artist.
In Photoshop, I mainly remove the background from my illustration, do any cleaning necessary (to remove hairs, etc.) and perhaps increase the contrast a tiny bit at times. To "clip" the illustration from the background I like using the Pen Tool, which provides me much more control than the Magic Wand selector. You want to be careful when cutting your illustrations out, because any white spots you leave outside of your illustrations will get printed on the products! I always make sure to re-check my work when I'm done.
Every now and then, I also use Photoshop to manipulate colors so that I'm able to create colorful patterns using only one "base" illustration.
Once I've successfully separated my illustration from it's background, it's time to create an appealing pattern with it! I visit Society6's Pixel Dimension Requirement page to make sure I'm creating my file in the right size before working on my pattern. In this page, Society6 lists out the document sizes (in pixels) needed for each of their products. But don't worry, you don't need to create a separate file for each!
What I do is create a new document in Photoshop with their minimum recommended size of 6500 x 6500 pixels and create my pattern there. This size is covers most of the products on the list and the platform will automatically place it on all the products that require this size or smaller, which saves a lot of time. There are currently only 2-3 products that require a larger size than this and you can create separate files for those if you wish. There are also a couple of products like stickers and t-shirts which you'll probably find need a separate design or layout.
Pixel Dimension Requirements for Society6 Products. Click on image to visit site.
Once I'm happy with my pattern, I deactivate the background layer in Photoshop and save the document as a .png, which allows the background to remain transparent. This is the file you'll upload onto Society6.
Because I know I'm most likely going to have to come back to Photoshop to create separate .pngs for stickers and t-shirts, I leave it open.
Click to visit Gimp's website and download the software.
3. Uploading onto Society6
Opening your shop on Society6 is very fast and easy. All you need is a PayPal account. I recommend giving thought to your Username/URL because you won't be able to change it later and filling out your Artist Bio as soon as your able. Upload a banner and an avatar image to make your shop your own.
Once that's done, all you have to do is click on the button at the top that says "Sell" and you're going to be taken through a very straightforward 3-step process. The platform take a minute to process your artwork when you upload, as it's placing it on all available products that it fits on.
Next, you'll have to fill in a title for your work, as well as tags and a description. A tip here is to put yourself in the buyer's shoes. Instead of typing in a subjective title for your artwork, think about what words visitors actually type into Society6's search bar when looking for products. Be descriptive, create a five word title, use up all the available tags, and create a good little paragraph.
Finally, the fun part! You'll be taken to the last section, in which you'll see your design on all sorts of awesome items. You get to decide which to deactivate if you wish. I highly recommend taking time to look over every single product to ensure that your design is at an optimum size in each. All you have to do is click on each item and shift your design's size/location.
As you scroll down the Create Products page, you will see what products require a separate .png file. I usually need to create a separate file for stickers, as a sticker page has to have fewer elements and they have to have a good distance between them (stickers have a white outline around them that shouldn't overlap). I also create separate patterns for t-shirts that are usually more vertical and contain less elements than my initial pattern.
Create whatever .png files you need and upload them separately onto individual products by clicking on those items.
Finally, hit Publish and, in around 15 minutes, your products will be up on your shop!
Back-end of Society6 store. Placing artwork on products.
*Next step! Market your artwork!
No matter how amazing your artwork is, if nobody knows about it, you're going to have a hard time making sales. Don't be afraid of putting your work out there!
While Society6 does a great job attracting shoppers to their site, their marketplace is saturated with incredible artists that have been on the platform a very long time and have formed a history/reputation for themselves. All of us need to go through that and have to accept and learn to enjoy the phase we're in.
If you're serious about selling your work online, I suggest optimizing your social media accounts so that you give your audience a clear idea of what you do and offer. Pick one or two and keep them professional. Refrain from sharing personal things and stick to uploading pictures of your creative process, your favorite tools, what you find inspiring, links to useful articles that your target audience would find helpful, and share your new products!
Visit Society6's blog to find great tips for getting your work out there.
While Society6 does a great job attracting shoppers to their site, their marketplace is saturated with incredible artists that have been on the platform a very long time and have formed a history/reputation for themselves. All of us need to go through that and have to accept and learn to enjoy the phase we're in.
If you're serious about selling your work online, I suggest optimizing your social media accounts so that you give your audience a clear idea of what you do and offer. Pick one or two and keep them professional. Refrain from sharing personal things and stick to uploading pictures of your creative process, your favorite tools, what you find inspiring, links to useful articles that your target audience would find helpful, and share your new products!
Visit Society6's blog to find great tips for getting your work out there.
Pros and Cons of Society6 (and other similar online shops)
I hope you enjoyed this post and learned something new, or got inspired to go and create something for yourself. I wish you tons of progress and enjoyment in your artistic journey! :)
Thanks so much for popping by today!
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Are you confused as to how other artists manage to stay in a productive creative flow and can't help but feel jealous when seeing incredible new artworks others are constantly sharing? Do you want to make a living from your art someday, but doubt whether you'll have the courage, character and determination required to succeed? Does criticism and/or lack of support make you feel so low, that you want to stop creating altogether?
If you're set on becoming an artist, and you're constantly feeling any (or all) of these things, it's imperative that you start working on yourself, alongside your artistic skills. This is going to be absolutely essential for you if you ever want to achieve lasting success.
Being an artist is tough. Not only are we entrepreneurs (which means we work a lot, wear a ton of different hats and have to be willing to push ourselves out of our comfort zones every-single-day), but we also have to consistently create quality work that people will want to buy. Work that, in most cases, is created by us and us alone. Work that is pretty much a piece, or extension, of ourselves. All of this makes it necessary to stay strong if we're intending to make a living from our passion.
In today's blog post/YouTube video, I'll be sharing the top five things that I make sure to do on a weekly basis in order to stay healthy both mentally and physically as an artist. Since I started doing these things consistently a few years ago, not only have I been able to make much faster progress, but I'm also able to enjoy what I do much more and have been able to improve my self-confidence to a degree that I'm able to myself out there in ways I never thought possible.
It wasn't always like this though, and I'm getting very personal about my past today, which is something I very rarely do online. I do this with the hope that some of you out there will resonate with my story and really grasp how important prioritizing self-care is if you want to reach your goals.
I want to keep creating art until I'm a little old lady, and I hope that you also intend to keep inspiring and awakening others through your art for as long as possible.
It is my objective with this blog (and my YouTube channel) to help aspiring artists improve their skills and pursue their passions. However, we cannot give our all at any task if we're unwell mentally and/or physically. Not to mention, many of us artists are inherently sensitive, which is even more of a reason to stay aware of our wellbeing and set systems in place to ensure that we're not exhausting ourselves.
Artists have had a bad rap throughout history for living in excess and having erratic personalities. I'll have none of that! Whenever tragedies that artists (from all fields) have partaken in come into my mind, I also remind myself of all the others who have led happy and fulfilling lives.
“An empty lantern provides no light. Self-care is the fuel that allows your light to shine brightly.”
-Unknown
Before getting into the tips, I'm going to share a bit about my own personal struggles with you. I truly hope that if you feel scared, lost, uncertain or incapable of making it as an artist, this helps you understand that by working on yourself, you'll be creating that solid foundation you need in order to become the artist you've always wanted to be.
If someone had told me five years ago that I would be here, putting myself and my work out there in front of so many people and building my own art business, I would have never believed it. I was there, too, feeling all of those things and doubting whether I was ever going to do anything significant with my life.
For the longest time, I ignored my health and even abused things. I didn't even give thought to how my habits could have repercussions and was completely oblivious about the underlying issues that were causing my negative attitudes and self-harming behaviors.
I ate very poorly (or not at all), drank a lot (alcohol was the only thing that seemed to relax me), and never ever exercised. Mentally, I felt detached from others around me, numb to certain things in life that others considered important, and on edge all the time. I felt simultaneously stressed and exhausted. I went through pretty low points at which I felt completely lost and confused as to what I was supposed to do with my life.
I was jealous of people around me that seemed to function so well and didn't understand how they could do that when trivial things affected me so much. I wanted nothing more than to be able to relax and enjoy life like others seemed to be able to do. There were some days that were easier than others, but for the most part, I felt like there was something wrong with me. I won't even start getting into the disgusting, pesky little habits that I started developing to due nervousness.
This went on all throughout my teenage years to my mid-twenties.
It all changed when I had to go to the E.R. for the first time in my life due to a severe abdominal pain that wouldn't allow me to stand up straight. I'll spare you the details, but I was in bed and unable to move for about two weeks, in a pain unlike anything I'd ever felt before. It got to a point at which I was unable to breathe properly because it hurt under my ribs when I did.
Needless to say, the whole experience scared me a lot and I decided to make life changes.
I realized I was pushing myself way too much and that the stress level that my current job was causing in me was just unsustainable. With all this in combination with my total and utter lack of self-care, something was bound to happen sooner or later.
Self-portrait by Erika Lancaster (2018). Oils on canvasboard. *Find links to art supplies I used in the "My Art Tools" section of this website.
I started doing tons of research and learning all I could about everything health related. In small increments, my life habits started changing. I began eating a lot more healthily, exercising several times a week, drinking more water, limiting alcohol and junk food, etc. I also started reading self-help books and actively sought information from psychologists who helped me understand more about anxiety disorders.
A lot of things became clear to me at this point in regards to past physical ailments, nervous habits and my mental processes. Once I knew what was happening and why, everything changed. My monster now had a name and I started learning strategies to implement so that I could live my life without letting it affect me to such a degree.
I still have a lot of work to do and realize that some of these things are going to ride along with me throughout my life. However, I've embraced my weaknesses as parts that make me myself. What matters most is doing what I can to continue moving the needle forward every-single-day and working on becoming a better version of myself.
Today, at 33, I can honestly say that I've never been in better shape, I've never been happier or more productive, and my life goals have never been clearer to me. If I hadn't made the firm decision to take better care of myself, and made mental and physical health a priority, I would have never gained the courage and confidence to be here now.
Self-Care Tips for Artists and Creatives:
1. Take care of your body. It does a ton for you and it's the only one you've got.
As artists, we tend to sit and hunch over a lot. Not only this, but a lot of us tend to get into our work to such a degree that we can work for hours on end. Some of us start to develop back pain or even carpal tunnel or tendonitis due to the amount of hours spent working.
It's absolutely imperative to set daily working hours and take breaks throughout your day to move and stretch. If you're anything like me, and get so into your work that you forget to even drink water, I recommend setting an alarm once every hour. Prioritize movement, no matter what.
Schedule in specific days to exercise every week. It doesn't really matter what kind of workouts you choose to do, just make sure that you do them. If exercise isn't something that you currently do, start slowly and incrementally. I'm a total fan of fitnessblender.com and have been working out to their videos for years now. I highly recommend you check them out if you want to exercise in the privacy of your own home, for free and with minimal equipment. They provide all sorts of workouts for every fitness level so there's really no excuse!
*Disclaimer: I'm not being sponsored in any way. I really do love FitnessBlender and use the website every-single-week.
I'm now at a point at which I work out intensely at least five days a week doing HIIT workouts, kickboxing and strength training. As an artist, I focus on keeping my posture strong and staying limber.
I'm not going to tell you how to eat, but please be aware that what you put into your body has an effect on you at all levels. If you eat poorly, your brain and your body aren't going to work the way they should be, which leads to lower levels of productivity. I limit my intake of junk food and am always aware of whether what I'm eating/drinking is something that will nourish my body and make me feel good.
Finally, make sure you're sleeping enough. Sometimes we may fall into thinking we'll be able to make more progress if we stay up late burning the midnight oil, but the fact of the matter is that once we're tired, our work is going to be mediocre at best. Unless you can get away with waking up very late and/or you can ONLY get creative at night, you'll be much better off going to bed at a good hour and getting back to work once your rested and refreshed.
FitnessBlender website. Click on image to go there!
2. Take care of your mind. Do whatever you have to do to stay sane in this crazy, crazy world.
Just as important as taking care of your body, you should also make time to stay as balanced as possible mentally. For me, this means writing out my feelings and thoughts every single morning, and making sure I'm doing "brain-dumps" throughout the day in list-form, especially if these ideas could be useful for my work. It's hard for me to shut my brain off, and these two exercises are absolutely essential for me to do on a daily basis.
I highly recommend writing, as it's a great way to declutter your creative mind, organize thoughts that could be useful and let out the ones that could be bothering you.
Taking care of your mind could also mean starting your days with 10 minutes of meditation, taking a walk mid-afternoon to clear your mind, or sitting down for dinner with your partner to talk about your day.
I love waking up early and being able to take my time getting ready for the crazy day I know I'll be having. If I don't have that quiet time for myself at the beginning of the day, my entire day will suffer. I have adopted the habit of writing morning pages after waking up and I also do my best to have another quiet moment to myself before going to bed to be thankful for everything I have.
As an introvert, having time to myself is absolutely essential for me to recharge. I don't feel guilty about missing social gatherings if I don't feel up for it. I tell others about this and am completely unapologetic about it!
The alone time each of us needs varies, but I really think that even the most extroverted people should make time for introspection and self-analysis. And wherever you're at in the spectrum, if you feel that you need help, never hesitate reaching out to others. Sometimes even doing research on your own is very helpful, as it allows you to understand that there are others out there feeling the same way you are. Reading self-help books is something that has helped me understand anxiety and I no longer feel broken or alone.
Here are three great books that I read this year:
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3. Review short term/long term goals (personal, work and interpersonal). All of them are important!
Most people go through life without really giving thought to what they truly want. They settle for what's expected and let life happen to them instead of fighting for their dreams to come true. This is a surefire way of feeling unfulfilled and unhappy.
With introspection comes getting to know yourself, and with getting to know yourself comes discovering what you truly want in life. This alone will bring you a ton of clarity. Once you're there, it's important to give thought to your specific short-term and long-term goals in order to set the necessary steps to get there. No matter where you're currently at, prioritize those goals.
A while back I wrote a blog post titled Time Management for Artists: My Secrets for Staying Consistently Productive, which I highly recommend you check out if you feel like you're wandering aimlessly through life. I provide a free workbook to help you set your personal, work and interpersonal goals, as well as ideas for scheduling your week to ensure you're making progress each and every week.
For me, it was imperative to learn to say no to the things that didn't align with my goals once I had set them. I realized time is the most valuable resource I have and I don't want to waste it on activities or people that aren't going to help me get closer to them. It may sound harsh, but we absorb the negativity and positivity from those around us. As creatives, we should strive to be around people that are positive, have big ideas like we do, and lift us up.
As you work towards your dreams to come true, please don't forget to celebrate each and every small victory that comes your way!
4. Schedule time for organization and adulting. Keep your working area as safe and inspiring as you can.
Unless you're a clean freak, have people that help you with homely chores, or don't have very much going on in life, I'm willing to bet that your home and/or working area tends to get cluttered and messy pretty fast. Most of us are directly or indirectly affected by the environment we're in, which leads to being more stressed and less productive.
It also leads to more accidents, wasting time when we're unable to find things we need, and it can also lead to more serious health problems depending on the type of artwork we create. So make sure you're staying as organized as you can, and always follow safety instructions when using materials that are toxic.
If you paint like I do, always work in well-ventilated areas and use gloves so that potentially harmful substances don't come into contact with your skin. If you can, check out brands of art products that are doing their best to provide non-toxic paints and mediums like Gamblin!
I like scheduling in at least a bit of time each week to take care of cleaning, organizing and other administrative tasks so that things don't pile up (literally and in my head). It may initially seem like a waste of precious time but I assure you you'll be saving time in the long run.
As artists, we do what we love for a living, and keeping our studio organized and inspiring to work in really helps keep things as enjoyable as possible.
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5. Schedule time to disconnect from your work. Make time to socialize and set aside time for activities that relax you.
As artists, we spend a lot of time alone. It's important to make sure we're nurturing the relationships we have with people that are important to us. We can't let the connections we have with amazing people fizzle out OR keep ourselves locked up to the point that we miss opportunities to meet other great humans.
No matter how introverted we may be, we need some degree of connection with others in order to feel happy and fulfilled. Treasure the relationships you have with those amazing people in your life.
Finally, make sure you're doing things that relax you and bring you joy. As an artist, I'm sure creating art was initially something that brought you a great amount of pleasure. However, if it is now work for you, I would suggest looking for activities that allow you to disconnect for a while. I enjoy going to the movies, planning a dinner with friends or reading a good book.
Remember that the best ideas come when we're actually living our lives and not stuck in our studios!
Photo by Zachary Nelson at unsplash.com. Click on image to go to original source.
Become a Patreon community member to get access to:
-Real-time drawing/painting tutorials with full walkthrough commentary
-Downloadable outline drawings, reference pictures and supply lists
-Weekly sketchbook prompts to help you stay consistent and progressing your art skills
-Direct feedback from me
-Instant access to a growing vault of original reference pictures that you can use for your own art
-Special thanks in YouTube videos and opportunities to get your work shared
-Live Q&A sessions
-Live classes on Art Fundamentals and Monthly Creative Assignments
+ much more!
*Click below to learn more!
That's it for today, everyone! I hope you found this blog post helpful and that you start making your mental and physical health a top priority. I promise you that your work, as well as every other aspect of your life will greatly improve if you stick with it.
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is a participant in the Shareasale.com Affiliate Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Shareasale.com partner companies.
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