PSA For Other Artists…

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abstract art, art, art selling, art success, Artist, artists tips, best selling practices, Colorful Art, how to sell art, how to sell art online, how to sell prints, modern art, print selling, selling art, selling art online, selling prints, sharon cummings, sharon cummings art, successful art business, successful art career, successful artist, successful artists

PSA for this blog means Promoting Sells Art. I am focusing on ONLINE PROMOTION.

Everyday someone says to me, “How do you sell so much art?”….”You sure are lucky!” or “I wish I could (fill in the blank) like you.”

The answer isn’t luck, magic or talent beyond compare. No no no. What you have to do is promote yourself. A LOT. This means being on various social media platforms actually interacting with other human beings. Liking their posts, commenting in a meaningful and sincere way and getting your work out there regularly. In means being grateful and saying “thank you” all day long. It means TIME.

“But I don’t want to waste all of that time on promoting. I just want to create. That’s what makes me happy.”

In a perfect World we would spend all of our extra time slinging paint, clicking that mouse or snapping that picture. But we don’t live in that World. The one we inhabit doesn’t work that way if you want to SELL YOUR ART. If you just want to have fun and don’t care if you ever make a single sale, then you are already set. Read no further.

All others:

Understand that I am a CAREER artist…Not a hobbyist. I don’t look down on people that dabble, do this for fun or just have a side hustle. I don’t look down on anyone. Selling my art is my ENTIRE source of income. So the stakes are high for me. I am willing to sacrifice more of my time than others. But I still manage to have a happy healthy life! I maintain a strong marriage, spend time with my daughter, (with Hubby) take care of a 10 acre homestead with 32 animals, exercise daily, go to church several times a week, read and go to my bookclub, hang out with my friends regularly, travel and visit family, travel for leisure a few times a year, AND create for 4 or 5 hours a day and I also do other things not listed. And I do it ALL without griping about the things that aren’t awesome. My life is REALLY HARD sometimes, but REALLY GOOD too. I am genuinely thankful for every day!!!

There are 24 hours in each day and I sleep for a solid 8. I spend about 3 hours TOTAL per day on Social Media…That leaves me 13 hours to do everything else. Yes 3 hours seems like a lot and I would much rather be CREATING during that time. But the REALITY of actually making SALES dictates more interaction on Social Media….Not just DUMPING posts and running away….But actually communicating with other human beings and cross promoting other artists. That is making me sales, growing my audience and getting me to where I need to be to make consistent sales.

EVERY real job I have ever had since the age of 13 required me to do things I did NOT enjoy doing. EVERY SINGLE ONE! Some required discomfort for many hours a day. Some ALL day long. 3 hours of Social Media time not only seems reasonable to me in light of my previous jobs, but I have found that my ATTITUDE has shifted. I decided to make Social Media enjoyable and that has made ALL the DIFFERENCE! Most of the things we complain about come down to our thoughts and beliefs about them. And thoughts can be changed. Try purposely changing your feelings about something. Force it until it becomes real. Most things are not near as awful as you’ve made them out to be and some can be quite lovely if you let them. Sure, there are days I am pressed for time and have to rush through cross promoting and doing any Social Media work, but overall, I am feeling enriched by the INTERACTIONS. I am making friends and learning more about my collectors. I no longer dread it, but look forward to it!

If you want to learn from an amazing group of artists who actively support each other, you are welcome to visit at the following link.

Learn How To Sell Your Art!

F.I.N.A.L.L.Y.!!

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abstract art, art, art marketing, Artist, artist's resources, economy, hard work, selling art, selling art online, successful art business, successful artists, working

When I started this art business, it couldn’t have been at a more oportune time.  The housing market was on fire and people were buying and selling like crazy.  All of that moving and redecorating kept me super busy.  I worked 16 hour days sometimes just to keep up!  My income was only limited by my ability to work and the time needed.  Back then I was only selling originals which meant a lot of physical labor for me.  I definitely paid a price for that, but the profit I was making was out of this World.

Then it all came crashing down. The bubble burst!

Like many artists I found myself lost and barely able to stay afloat for many years.  I had thousands of dollars worth of supplies sitting in my studio, but no one was buying much.  I kept creating, but watched so many paintings languish in storage.  I had sales. I worked harder.  I spent more hours marketing.  I decided to start offering prints.  Then I marketed those like crazy.  16 hour days came again, but for less per hour than servers make without tips.  But I kept the faith.  I held on.

So many of my artist friends let go and went back to regular jobs.  I considered it many times myself.  Some got angry and bitter, and I lost a few along the way over petty jealousy (even a small sale could cause snarky remarks).  Others held on tight and stayed the course right along beside me.  We celebrated even the small triumphs together.

I am so happy that we are FINALLY seeing the turn around.  My income is right where I want it to be and I no longer have to kill myself for it!  My prints are selling at an amazing rate and commissions come a few times a week.  I take 2, 3 and sometimes 4 days off each week.

It’s really perfect.  Finally.   Yes, it could all crash again, but for now I will just keep a big smile on my face and keep on creating!

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http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/1-sharon-cummings.html?tab=artworkgalleries

D.O.G. Days Of Summer…

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animals, art for sale, art marketing, art sales, artists, big dog, dog, dog days of summer, dogs, fawn, fawn mastiff, marketing, mastif, mastiff, mastiffs, pet portraits, pets, selling art, summer, Summertime, summertime blues, sunshine, travel, vacation

It’s that time of year again.  Around the second week of July I start to get frantic emails from other artists asking me why the sales have all dried up. Some are so afraid of the lack of traffic and sales that they fear that the online art market has crashed.  These emails come from people who are relatively new to selling their work on the Internet.  Relax.  This is normal. Sure I am still making regular sales, but only at a fraction of what I earn most of the time.  This part of the year it always slows down to a crawl.

Why?  It’s Summertime!!  And folks who have been trapped inside all Winter are finally able to get outside and enjoy sunshine and green grass.  Families go on vacation, prepare older kids for college, go to family reunions and travel a lot in general.  It is not a time for decorating your home or office.  There is plenty of time for that when you are stuck inside 9 months out of the year.  Those in academics do not get paid over the Summer which is something I always factor in since I married a professor.

So what can you do?  I find that this time of year is a great time to do some traveling myself.  I plan trips to visit family and old friends every year.  My husband and I head to the beach as much as possible since it is not crowded and prices are super low.  Studio cleaning is always on the agenda as I love the freshness of organization come busy season.  You can also enjoy the freedom to create artwork that is fun and free from thoughts of marketability.  I have been stocking my stores with new items in preparation for the Fall rush.  It is a lot of work that has no reward at the moment, but I expect it to pay off later.

Join a new site.  Learn a new Social Media avenue.  Take a photography class. Forget about sales for awhile. They will come back.  They always do.  For now just enjoy this doggone Summer!

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Artists: Are You F.L.E.X.I.B.L.E.?

Tags

art, art for sale, art marketing, artist's resources, artists, best selling practices, career, earning a living, fine art america, flexibility, how to sell art, how to sell art online, income, make money with art, making a living with art, making money with art, online art sales, pod, print on demand, print on demand sites, prints, Redbubble, sell art, sell art smart, sell artwork, selling art, selling art online, sharon cummings, society 6

There was an article released yesterday that has a lot of artists in a panic. You can read the article here:

http://fineartamerica.com/newsletters/five-percent-commissions.html?fb_action_ids=10201203263082635&fb_action_types=og.comments&fb_source=aggregation&fb_aggregation_id=288381481237582

I will summarize it for you to save you some effort.  Fine Art America is warning artists that all other Print On Demand (POD) sites are moving to a percentage business model.  By in large, the new payment to artists will be a mere 5%. That definitely sucks.  Fine Art America claims to be one of the few remaining POD sites that still allows a “set your own price” model.  Some sites like Society 6 do allow us to put in our desired profit for some of their products.  Others are set for us. The same is true for Redbubble.  I agree that it is not ideal, but I find benefit to those two sites nonetheless.

I like Fine Art America and am currently making an amazing income with them. I am making more selling prints through FAA than I ever have for my entire print career.  But what I have learned with online selling is that all good things can come to an end.

So are you flexible?  One thing is constant in online art sales and that is change.  Things WILL change.  Sites that are booming today may go belly up tomorrow.  But there are always new business models to take their place. Years ago I was on a site called Boundless Gallery.  It was the BEST art site going for years and I made a TON of money with them.  It was perfect and all of the best selling artist were very happy.  Then they changed their business model and I saw the end coming.  Instead of bitching and moaning about the inevitable failure of a terrific site, I made sure I was FLEXIBLE and I branched out into new territory.  I tried different things until I found a few ideas that worked.  And those same ideas that worked back then no longer do.  But new ones have taken their place.

I have NEVER been without steady income in spite of things like eBay changing to a model that completely demoralizes artist.  I got off of that horrible site.  Boundless Gallery died a quick death and I survived.  Other sites have come and gone too.  The housing market crashed and I STILL made a great income every single month.

Why?

I remain flexible.  I do not panic and worry about the future.  I simply keep creating and marketing myself.  I focus on the tools that are available to me today and I use the hell out of them!  If new tools are offered in the future, I will use them too.  I will always find a way to get my work out to the people that desire it.  Always.  The selling platform doesn’t matter to me as long as I am willing to market myself.

If Fine Art America changes their current business model to artists disadvantage, it may be that I set up my own print shop in my garage.  I have enough space and enough money to invest in my career.   I’ve been poised for this for the last 3 years.  I already KNOW how to market myself!  Or another site might come along that is even better.  I am ready to bend and adapt.

For now I believe FAA is the best POD site out there.  I hope it STAYS that way!  If you have not tried them, have a look: http://www.fineartamerica.com

As an artist, I implore you to constantly be willing to change.  Do not stay stuck in “one way” mentality as it will be your downfall.  There is so much out there for us!

2013 An Intermission…

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2013, 2014, anniversary, art, art prints, Artist, auld lang syne lyrics, Family, friendship, fun, good fortune, good news, happy new year, january, joy, life, love, marketing, new year, paintings, photography, positive affirmations, positive energy, positivity, prints, romance, selling art, sharon cummings, success, successful artist

 

I am interrupting my regularly scheduled blog to make a reflective post today.  Yes, my blogs have been scheduled for the past two weeks because I felt it was more important to spend time with my husband, family and friends.  I took an intermission.  I scheduled rather than leave each day empty because I’ve had a lot to say in 2013 and I felt some bore repeating.  From all of the great comments, retweets, shares and likes I have received, I know it was the right choice.   

For me 2013 was an amazing year both personally and business wise.  There were a lot of changes and in retrospect each of them were positive.  Sure I made some mistakes, but there is no success without some failure.  

One of the changes I made was to focus on marketing my prints.  For years I resisted selling prints with the mistaken belief that it would somehow cheapen my original work.  I have discovered the opposite to be true.  While my prints sales continue to increase, the sale of originals remains steady at much more appropriate pricing.  I no longer feel like I am under appreciated.  I can live off my prints and create for the sheer joy of it without a single worry about selling originals or commission work.  I can now explore photography and digital work with great passion that is undiluted by constant struggling for sales.  This is a great place to be as an artist!

Personally, I have had to let go of some negative people who were keeping me from being my best.  A few friends and even some family members no longer have a place in my inner circle.  I am what they call “middle aged”…..And I find in this second half of my upcoming life that I plan on being a lot more selective than I have been in the past.  Mistakes will be forgiven, but abuse will not be tolerated in any form.  With this said, I have finally found a wonderfully small yet supportive group of artist friends who consistently promote my work, share experiences and send me love/support when needed.  And I do the same for them.  In 2013 I learned that with a better attitude, I can attract better friends.  I have also renewed my relationships with my sister and brother and have found great friendship, love and support there as well.  I celebrated 10 years with my wonderful husband in a romantic getaway that restored and invigorated us.

I have so much great work and camaraderie planned for 2014.  Everything is in place for me to have the BEST year of my life!

My hope is that each of you reading this blog can reflect back on the passing year and see the good in all of your experiences.  That even in the negative you can find the good lesson.  I wish that each of you look to 2014 with optimism and grace.   Happy New Year!

Should old acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind…..

3 P’s – The Art Of Selling Art

Tags

art, art career, art selling, Artist, artwork, career, creativity, facebook, google +, google plus, hard work, how to promote your art, how to sell art, how to sell prints, learning, original art, patience, perseverance, photographers, photography, pinterest, practice, print selling, prints, promoting, self promotion, self representing artist, selling art, sharon cummings, skills, social media, strength, stumbleupon, twitter

http://fineartamerica.com/featured/inner-strength-abstract-painting-by-sharon-cummings-sharon-cummings.html

If you are an artist or photographer who has a dream of making a career out of your craft, you will need three things:  practice, promotion and patience.  And you will need them exactly in that order.

Practice means that you will be painting a lot of paintings.  Many will be thrown right in the trash because they just didn’t work out.  Photographers will be taking many photos in a single shoot only to find that none of them work or if you are lucky one is good enough to list for sale.  You will try new things that will either be total flops or lead you to something really cool and interesting.  You will invest money that seemingly never pays off.  These days I sell about 5 prints a day on average from the various POD sites I am on and about 2 originals per week. The majority of what I am selling now is work I have created in the last year.  Since I have been selling my art professionally for over 10 years this means that I am a much better artist today than I was back then.  I have removed 100’s of images from my portfolios because as I practice and improve, I realize they aren’t my best work anymore.  If you have just started creating photography or any kind of artwork within the last 2 years, I guarantee you that you need a lot more practice before your work will sell really well.  If you look at the famous creatives most of them never sold early work while they were producing it and many never made a dime from it at all…money was only made after they were dead.  In the Internet age we have so many opportunities that they never had.  So keep creating regularly.  The more you produce the better you will become and eventually sales will start rolling in.  Babies do not come out walking and neither do artists.  We crawl first.

While you are busy perfecting your art, there is a key ingredient to success that cannot be overlooked.  Much like creatives of yesteryear we have to have someone believe in us and “get us out there” in order for our work to sell.  For them it was luck and chance by being discovered by the right person at the right time.  These days that someone is ourselves.  You must believe in your work and be willing to share it with the World.  Social Media provides us with instant access to millions of people from the comfort of our own studio computer, laptop or phone.  We can connect to a mind boggling amount of followers with a few clicks.  As an artist or photographer who lists on online galleries, if you are not using ALL of the FREE social media sites available to us, you are completely missing the boat.  This post would be way too long for me to delve into all of the ins and outs of Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Pinterest, StumbleUpon, etc. but there are tons of free resources online to get you started.  Check out the link to my social media in my blog and see what I am doing.

Once you have the discipline to create new work on a regular basis and you are willing to put in some hard work promoting yourself what you are left with is time. It takes time to become successful.  Patience will be your best friend for awhile.  A year ago today I was only selling about 1 print a week and 2 years ago only 1 a month!  Now it is 5 a day!  But that did not happen overnight.  It took about 2 years to get moved up in searches and it took about 6 more months of creating new and better art than I was used to producing and HEAVY social media promoting to see the magic start.  And I am still learning and improving myself.

Not everyone is cut out for the kind of hard work and perseverance that an art career requires. But if you can commit to at least 3 years of constant creativity and as much promotion as time will allow, you can definitely find your market and succeed!

3 P’s – The Art Of Selling Art

Tags

art, art career, art selling, Artist, artwork, career, creativity, facebook, google +, google plus, hard work, how to promote your art, how to sell art, how to sell prints, learning, original art, patience, perseverance, photographers, photography, pinterest, practice, print selling, prints, promoting, self promotion, self representing artist, selling art, sharon cummings, skills, social media, strength, stumbleupon, twitter

http://fineartamerica.com/featured/inner-strength-abstract-painting-by-sharon-cummings-sharon-cummings.html

If you are an artist or photographer who has a dream of making a career out of your craft, you will need three things:  practice, promotion and patience.  And you will need them exactly in that order.

Practice means that you will be painting a lot of paintings.  Many will be thrown right in the trash because they just didn’t work out.  Photographers will be taking many photos in a single shoot only to find that none of them work or if you are lucky one is good enough to list for sale.  You will try new things that will either be total flops or lead you to something really cool and interesting.  You will invest money that seemingly never pays off.  These days I sell about 5 prints a day on average from the various POD sites I am on and about 2 originals per week. The majority of what I am selling now is work I have created in the last year.  Since I have been selling my art professionally for over 10 years this means that I am a much better artist today than I was back then.  I have removed 100’s of images from my portfolios because as I practice and improve, I realize they aren’t my best work anymore.  If you have just started creating photography or any kind of artwork within the last 2 years, I guarantee you that you need a lot more practice before your work will sell really well.  If you look at the famous creatives most of them never sold early work while they were producing it and many never made a dime from it at all…money was only made after they were dead.  In the Internet age we have so many opportunities that they never had.  So keep creating regularly.  The more you produce the better you will become and eventually sales will start rolling in.  Babies do not come out walking and neither do artists.  We crawl first.

While you are busy perfecting your art, there is a key ingredient to success that cannot be overlooked.  Much like creatives of yesteryear we have to have someone believe in us and “get us out there” in order for our work to sell.  For them it was luck and chance by being discovered by the right person at the right time.  These days that someone is ourselves.  You must believe in your work and be willing to share it with the World.  Social Media provides us with instant access to millions of people from the comfort of our own studio computer, laptop or phone.  We can connect to a mind boggling amount of followers with a few clicks.  As an artist or photographer who lists on online galleries, if you are not using ALL of the FREE social media sites available to us, you are completely missing the boat.  This post would be way too long for me to delve into all of the ins and outs of Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Pinterest, StumbleUpon, etc. but there are tons of free resources online to get you started.  Check out the link to my social media in my blog and see what I am doing.

Once you have the discipline to create new work on a regular basis and you are willing to put in some hard work promoting yourself what you are left with is time. It takes time to become successful.  Patience will be your best friend for awhile.  A year ago today I was only selling about 1 print a week and 2 years ago only 1 a month!  Now it is 5 a day!  But that did not happen overnight.  It took about 2 years to get moved up in searches and it took about 6 more months of creating new and better art than I was used to producing and HEAVY social media promoting to see the magic start.  And I am still learning and improving myself.

Not everyone is cut out for the kind of hard work and perseverance that an art career requires. But if you can commit to at least 3 years of constant creativity and as much promotion as time will allow, you can definitely find your market and succeed!

Finding Balance

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abstract art, abstract art for sale, art, art for sale, art marketing, Artist, balance, balanced career, buy abstract art, buy art, career, Chinese symbols, efficency, Family, focus, hard work, health, healthy, peace, selling art, sharon cummings, success, successful art career, successful artist, time management, working, working moms, yin and yang

http://fineartamerica.com/featured/perfect-balance-2-yin-and-yang-stone-rockd-art-by-sharon-cummings-sharon-cummings.html

It can be difficult to find balance in your life when you have so many demands pulling you in different directions.  Family, friends, work, health, etc. all need a place.  I create and list a lot of work and many have asked me things like “Do you sleep?”  I get 8 hours a night. I also market my work heavily and some have wondered how on earth I do it.  With experience, I have become extremely efficient at marketing.  I am also pretty handy with the camera and scanner.  I do most things quickly….I always have.  Patience is not one of my virtues!  I not only run a thriving successful art business, I also grow an organic garden, care for my daughter, care for animals and cook/prepare 95% of my own meals (Celiac).  I shop for my family, clean house and exercise every single day.  I go to dinner parties, family gatherings and art shows.  I play Scrabble.  I do not have extra hours in the day.  I am just big on balance and scheduling.   I do not allow myself to get distracted in web surfing or reading endless posts on Facebook.  I stay focused.  I have time slots for my work and I stick to them.  This ensures I have time for what is important in life.  I eat on a schedule too.  By keeping all that I do in priority when I am working on them or experiencing them, I never run out of time.   If I am at the park with my family, that is what I am doing and thinking about….not work. If I am working, that is my focus.  Some things you cannot help coming into your life to throw you off, but I have found that MOST of what keeps us from using our time wisely is useless.  How many cat memes have your read?  How many political posts? Farmville?  Tweets about what you had for lunch?  Do you sit on the toilet and get lost in a magazine?  Do you watch T.V.?  I don’t. That is how I do it…I do not waste time, so that I have plenty of it for everything I want in life!

Life’s Currents…

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abstract, aqua, art success, artwork, buy, canvas, changing for the better, circles, contemporary, for sale, friendship, fun, glass, happy, hope, life, life changes, look, love, modern, mosaic, paintings, peace, prints, red, renewal, selling art, sharon cummings, spiritual, spirituality, stained, stained glass, stones, success, whimsical

Life is a funny thing.  It is sort of like a huge ocean with many currents pulling you in varying directions. Sometimes you get into a bad current…an undertow that pulls you into places that do not nourish your soul. For me Ebay was such a place.  I started my art career selling on the site.  Don’t get me wrong, I love it when I want a cheap curling iron or collectible pez dispenser, but it is no place for me.  I never felt good there. Luckily, life’s currents have also pulled me into good directions.  I was able to move on from garage sale mentality many many years ago and see my value.  I moved into a place of fulfillment in my work. I enjoy my collectors now in a way I never have before. I build personal relationships that last year after year. I make new friends too through the sales of my prints and originals.  It feels so good to be in that upward flow into life. As I have been undergoing this revitalization I have also had to deal with loss. The loss of some friendships which were not healthy for me.  Friendships that were laced in resentment. So today I am feeling a surge of vitality….a load let off my shoulders.  A renewal!  And speaking of revitalizing. Recently I discovered I was able to digitally remaster some of my very early works so that my collectors could collect super large prints of these paintings.  I have always wished that I would have had a better camera back in the day as my photos of these are very small.  But thank’s to Photoshop I can share them again to a new audience.  Enjoy more here:

http://fineartamerica.com/featured/currents-red-aqua-art-by-sharon-cummings-sharon-cummings.html

P.S.  A big shout out to all of my new Australian fans who have been visiting my blog like crazy the last 24 hours.  Welcome aboard mates!

Sticking My Neck Out…

Tags

affirmations, animals, art, art for sale, Artist, artwork, buy art, faabest, monet, nature, paintings, ponds, prints, self improvement, selling art, sharon cummings, turtle, turtles

 

When I first started selling my art, I remember being very insecure.  It felt so vulnerable and raw to list a painting for sale.  The fear of rejection was high.  The thought of complete failure was ever present.  But I decided it was worthwhile to pursue my dreams even if no one ever bought a single piece.  Fortunately for me I got my art online when it was all new to everyone.  There wasn’t a whole lot of competition and sales came easily.  That was a relief!  But what I found was that each and every listing still felt dicey.  I was always “sticking my neck out”.  You would think that with 10 plus solid years of consistent sales that those feelings would fade.  That as an artist I would have complete confidence in my work.  That every piece would feel like a winner.  It isn’t so.  To this day, every time I list new work I am waiting to exhale….

You can help me breath here:

 http://fineartamerica.com/featured/colorful-turtle-by-sharon-cummings-sharon-cummings.html