6 Ways To Make Money as an Artist

Do you want to be a professional artist? Consider a few things you can do to diversify your income and earn enough to survive.

1. Join Etsy

One of the best ways to make money as an artist is to join Etsy or similar marketplaces. You can use the platform to list your art and sell it to other people. Etsy allows you to sell digital downloads of your art, or you can ship physical prints to customers.

If you don't like Etsy, you can also sell your art on Facebook Marketplace or other social networks. Then, you can communicate with buyers and find people who like what you make. As you build an audience on social media, you can start selling to them.

2. Use Your Website

You can also set up your own website and sell your art there to make money. Selling on your own website can increase your profits because Etsy won't take a cut of what you make. Plus, you can have more control over the sales process.

On your website, you don't have to worry about pricing restrictions or other limitations. You can sell whatever you want, and you can collect email addresses from your customers. That way, you'll have an easy list of people to sell to when you list new items. And you can control when your items go live, which can help you control when you get sales.

3. Sell Stock Photos

If you're a photographer, consider joining stock photo websites where you can sell your stock photos. You can also sell the images on your website. However, people looking for stock images will probably go to other websites for them. Try researching the Business Insights and Analytics for stock photos.

When you upload the photos, you can determine the licenses you want to offer. Then, people can buy your images for personal or commercial use. Whenever someone purchases a license, you'll make a small cut of what they pay. This can be an amazing source of passive income for photographers and videographers.

4. Offer Custom Services

If you're a graphic designer, consider offering your services to clients. You can design logos and other brand elements for individual businesses. As you gain experience, you'll be able to raise your rates, and it can be a very lucrative way to make money as an artist.

Other artists can also offer custom paintings or drawings. You can work with clients to come up with the concept for the art, and you can create it to their specifications. Custom art can warrant a higher price than what you create yourself, so you can make more money with less work.

5. Teach Lessons

Another amazing way to make money is to teach others how to do the art you do. You can teach art classes in person at your home, at a student's home, or at a community center. Teaching online is also an option, but it can be hard to show what you're doing over a camera.

Alternatively, you can create art courses that you record once and sell over and over. Then, you can teach art online, and you can edit the videos so that they show the different angles. That way, your students will be able to see what you're doing at each step.

6. Create Lesson Books

If you aren't comfortable teaching in person or on camera, develop some art books. You can create written tutorials and include pictures for every step of the process. Sell the books online or pitch them to publishers.

Whenever someone buys a copy of your book, you'll earn some money. Self-publishing your book on your website or through Amazon will earn you more per sale than traditional publishing. However, a publisher may help with marketing, so you could earn just as much from each art book you create.

We've all heard of the starving artist stereotype, but you don't have to fall into that trap. Instead, set up a few ways that you can make money as an artist. Then, you can earn a living doing what you love.