I love for artists to have multiple streams of income when it makes sense.
For most artists, relying only on sales of original art doesn’t always pay the bills. Sales can be seasonal. Galleries can close. The economy can tank.
But having more income sources doesn’t automatically make your business more profitable or more resilient. Each source requires time, energy, marketing, systems, and attention.
The real question is: Are your income sources helping you build the art business you want?
What is the difference between an income source and an income stream?
Let’s start with some nomenclature. Don’t tune this out. It will help you think around this topic.
[ Important: These are how I define them with my artist-clients, which likely wouldn’t align with what you find in a business book. ]
An income source is the category name for the creative asset. It’s what someone is paying you for. Think in terms of nouns and bookkeeping categories.
An income stream is how the money comes in from that source. Think: How it moves from one place into your bank account.
Here are some examples.
INCOME SOURCES FOR ARTISTS
We’ll use nouns for these.
- Original artwork
- Reproductions
- Products from artwork
- Licensed artwork
- Granting agencies
- Speaking expertise
- Teaching expertise
INCOME STREAMS FOR ARTISTS
We’ll use verbs here, indicating the flow.
- Selling from your website
- Hosting an open studio
- Participating in an art festival
- Being represented by a gallery
- Landing grants
- Speaking
- Licensing
- Teaching in person or online
Can an artist have too many income sources?
You bet.
Too many artists add income sources because they saw another artist doing it. Or a one-time opportunity appeared in their inbox. Or they want their work to be affordable to more people.
Diversifying income sources is tempting. You might think:
More stuff = More money
More stuff = More potential buyers
Watch it. This logic is faulty.
Some sources make sense together because they are marketed to the same audience. You might promote products and reproductions to the same people in much the same way.
Other sources can become completely separate businesses.
Licensed art is one example. The audience for licensed art is different from the audience for original fine art. You’re working with licensing companies rather than exhibition and sales venues, so the research, relationships, and marketing are different.
You may essentially be running two businesses.
Why is a new income source riskier than a new income stream?
New income streams are usually fine. New income sources are riskier.
Before adding something new to sell, look for another way to sell what you already make.
You might not need a new product line. You might need stronger website sales, more studio visits, another gallery, or a well-chosen art festival.
A new income source can require a different audience, marketing plan, sales process, set of venues, and fulfillment system. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t add one. Just know what you’re getting into.
Too many artists spend too much time on things that have too little return.
You won’t know whether a new source will take off, but you must do your research.
Before committing:
- Read all you can about the source.
- Talk with artists who are already doing it.
- Learn the industry standards and trends.
- Ask what has changed and what is working now.
Anything that takes you away from the work you do in the studio should be vetted with a vengeance.
And don’t fool yourself with promises of passive income. Very little income for artists (or anyone else) is truly passive. Every source requires setup, promotion, administration, maintenance, or fulfillment.
How do you know if an income source is profitable?
If you want clarity, do the math.
Wouldn’t you rather sell one original artwork for $1,000 than 100 sets of note cards that retail for $10 each?
Consider the work required to sell those note cards. You have to market them, process payments, record sales, pack, ship, update inventory, and track what’s left. That’s after paying for printing and packaging.
The math changes again if you wholesale them because you might make only 50 percent of the retail price. Then you need numerous wholesale accounts because it is unlikely that one venue will sell all 100 sets.
If you’re in the note card business, you really have to be in the note card business.
If you’re in the art licensing business, you really have to be in the art licensing business.
And if you’re in the original art sales business, you really have to be in the original art sales business.
Revenue is not the same as profit. And profit is not always your ultimate goal.
When you do the math, include production, packaging, fees, shipping supplies, unsold inventory, marketing, administrative time, and the value of your labor.
Also consider opportunity cost. What are you not making, marketing, or selling while you attend to this source?
Which income sources belong in your art business?
If you already have multiple income sources, figure out which ones are helping you accomplish your business goals.
Ask yourself:
- Which ones are making money?
- Which have bigger potential?
- Which are sources of frustration or consistent decline?
- Which require more attention than they deserve?
- Which support the work I really want to be doing?
- Which might need to go?
An open studio, for example, may not produce many sales that day. But it might grow your list, lead to future sales, and help you make valuable connections.
You have to take all of this into account before adding an income source, keeping it, or ditching it altogether.
I’m all for artists having multiple income sources. Just be aware that you may be juggling separate businesses, and those businesses may be taking you away from the work you really want to be doing.
The goal isn’t to have as many income sources as possible.
The goal is to understand what each one requires and decide whether it deserves a place in your art business.
Related
In the podcast, I mentioned these artists and their multiple income sources.
This was originally published October 24, 2019 and has been updated significantly with the addition of the podcast.
41 thoughts on “Do you have too many income sources in your art business? (269)”
This is a very timely article since I’m going to be starting teaching and a residency at about the same time, just before the busy show season starts. I need to figure out how to make it all work.
I do have to say that sometimes my less expensive items (coffee mugs, soap holders, etc.) are the gateway to more expensive items. A customer will buy a less expensive item then come back a later date and purchase something more expensive, or at least a few more pieces so I also consider them marketing also.
Lori: That’s great to hear!
I am a fine artist painting in acrylic & mixed media. During the economy collapse, I had just started painting full time! A big YIKES. In 2010 I decided to print notecards from some of my fantasy floral paintings & also make prints for sale. I received a grant from the Charlotte, NC Arts & Science Council for the photography costs which was great so I was on my way.
What I found out was the notecard business is labor intensive & very little if any profit. Many of the shops around Charlotte wanted to be on consignment so I had to keep track of what needed to be replaced, deliver the goods, & many other details too many to remember. I eventually pulled out my remaining cards from the stores even though they were selling because it took away too much time from my main focus of painting & marketing the paintings. And very few people purchase prints in this region.
The positive is that it was a great marketing tool to get my name out there because I had that printed on the back. So I look at it as the same thing as PR because people learned about my paintings & I got name recognition while they paid for the marketing so to speak. I still have a small inventory of cards & I will use those for some promotion in the future.
Just recently I was approached by a company that wants to use those images for their card line in a machine where people choose a card & it is printed & falls through a slot. So I said ok & will see how it goes & let you know. Every card sold I get a royalty & it is in many regions of the U.S. Again, my information on the back of the card so PR perks but no work on my part. And I can focus solely on my painting & marketing to galleries & online.
But I still have a desire to print my art on products & surface design so please someone talk me out of that quickly!
Keep us posted, Joyce. So curious to hear.
I feel similarly about selling note cards! I do offer them (only in my online shop), but at this point, I primarily think of the cards as a method for marketing my art and studio name. I sometimes give packs of note cards as gifts to help spread the marketing reach AND reduce the inventory I keep on hand. Teachers write lots of thank you notes, and I have two school aged kids PLUS an educator spouse, so that’s one area where note cards can easily be gifted! Friends and family are another great opportunity to gift my note cards, because whatever they mail out will be potential marketing to their network of peeps. 🙂
You gotta have note cards! If you can sell them, great. But, as you know, they are much in demand for others to share your art and say “I know the artist!”
Very interesting to hear about your experience, Joyce. I am strongly considering ditching card sales but hadn’t thought about them as purely a PR move — and it’s encouraging that you may have found an outlet for them that doesn’t require a lot of time on your part.
It is difficult to balance and keep all the income sources supplied with pottery. Recently I started teaching classes in my studio and that really put a kink in my pottery production. I sell my pottery at my local farmer’s market among other places. At the market many folks purchase gifts for friends or relative they take back home. I’m planning on offering note cards of my original photos taken in taken here in the mountains as a value added item to increase income with sales. We get a lot of tourists and I think adding these can help. I can see stocking stores with note cards would be much too time consuming and labor intensive.
Linda: What do you think your profit margin would be with the cards?
Just retired from 30 years of teaching art. Loved it, but it does not leave much energy for making art except summers. It did give me a rewarding career and a small retirement. All of my artist friends have multiple incomes. You have to. Even Wayne Thiebaud, my teacher refused to give up his day job at UC Davie when Alan Stone offered to support him in New York. Now I have time to work and can do the large works I wanted to do. Just sold a large painting in Paris. Made me happy in a way that many small sales do not. But it’s always good to sell. I am going to make Giclees of my best work and sell them to the local market. Thanks.
Jerry: Really appreciated this: “Made me happy in a way that many small sales do not.” Congratulations on the big sale.
Alyson,
This was timely and thought-provoking for me. I’ve been trying to work on both my ‘fine art’ as well as my ‘licensable art’ and wondering why I feel overwhelmed. I have two websites, two different styles, and two different markets. I also sell prints and products such as phone cases, etc. (not really very actively). I’d been relooking at just focusing on my fine art and then received a big illustration job, which caused me to second guess that thought process. I do feel like it all makes up pieces of the ‘pie’ but trying to focus is sometimes difficult. I think I need to analyze the time spent in relation to the financial gain and then make a decision to go in one direction or the other. I’ve also tried to look at it from the perspective of what I enjoy doing. The bottom line is that I enjoy the variety, but I also don’t want to spend a lot of time on things that don’t help me be a profitable artist. Your stationery example was perfect…because of course, I’ve done that too.
I’ve also been considering consolidating both styles into one website and branding it all under my studio or my name. For instance Lisa Congdon has both art and illustration on her site, but then…she’s Lisa Congdon. My assumption is that she got really good at one thing first and then expanded to the other.
Pam: Yes! Analyze it!
I was laid off in 2012 and have not been able to find another job as an administrative assistant. I have always sold my caricatures and portraits that I do from photographs but I started teaching art in private schools (I didn’t even know that I could without a college degree) but two hired me and I have thrived! It isn’t full-time at either school, only a few hours so I went to senior homes and asked if I could start painting lessons there. Again, very little money but it is some along with the teaching. Then, I added doing painting parties for adults and since there are so many wine and painting operations out there, I had to find another niche market so I do these for charities to raise money. I give 1/2 the proceeds to the charity and use the other half as my salary. Again, not steady but I’ve done about one of these a month since I started this year. So along with the teaching and tiny checks from the senior homes I’m okay, but still need more. I come no where close to when I was working full-time but have done very well and am doing what I love. I live off of multiple incomes!
I’m so happy this is working out for you, TPA. Not everyone can handle it. Sounds like you’re doing a great job at it.
Thank you for a thought provoking article. I expected the incentive to create multiple income streams, yet you clearly pointed out how this can be detrimental to what is most important. I had considered the note card idea, but you are the second person to point out the net profit is quite small for the amount of time required to manage the business side of it.
Susan: It’s great for some people, but not everyone can do the juggling act.
Thanks for posting this. I’m a longtime professional calligrapher who would like to be getting more commissions (I do lots of weddings, plus a variety of other things), but since orders are slow right now, I’m primarily paying the bills by teaching calligraphy. I get a lot of suggestions from people along the lines of, “You should do greeting cards!” as an income supplement. Nothing wrong with that, but they really don’t excite me the way a more involved commission does (like a one-of-a-kind hand-lettered proclamation with hand-painted leaves and vines and illuminated capitals). You’ve just given me a bit more ammunition to insist that there is a better solution, as well as a different way of thinking through those possible solutions (are they designed for the same audience?). Thank you!
Cheryl: People are so well meaning. And often clueless. Thank them for caring and then do what you need to.
I was thrilled when people got in touch to offer my art on their products, and so grateful they made and sent a couple of samples for free (value around $3- $4) so I’d go right ahead and order $50; I’d then pay out for booth halls and shows to sell those items, and then pay more for the insurance, travel and losing a day’s work in preparation. Result – lots of compliments but zero sales. All the $50 items ended up being given to charities so I felt good in that sense but never again….flattery helps your confidence but it don’t pay the bills.
Oh no! Sorry this happened to you, Karen.
I’ve seen a huge leap in my business since I started teaching online and it feels GOOD to know that I can make real money by painting. It’s a challenge to find time to teach, paint and market my work but because these different aspects of my art business support each other, it’s been a great career move.
I’m so happy to hear it’s going well, Angela. You understand the pitfalls and you’re working through them.
Your articles and advice are always on the money and I feel like they were written just for me. I also enjoy reading other artists’ comments. Thanks for the gift of your blog each week.
Aw. Thank YOU for being here, Miriam. I did write it just for you. 😉
i started selling prints of my paintings three years ago and it has become very successful. I have noticed; howev, that sales of original work in the same venue as my prints have dropped off. Have you encountered this phenomenon?
Michele,
I was told 2 decades ago by a gallery owner not to put prints & originals together because people will go for the cheaper thing, but then decide they are unhappy because it is not as good as the original-so it leads to customer dissatisfaction…
It’s great to read everyone’s input here and thanks to Alyson for always being right on with her blog posts. I’m looking at two primary areas, teaching and selling large original art. I get easily distracted and think that I’d like to license my work or that I’d like to sell prints. Now I am going to stay focused and get this going in the right direction. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences. I really appreciate it!
Oh, Pam, you give me too much credit. I’m not always right. I’d like to think I am, but others are happy to point out the holes in my arguments.
Nice post Alyson.
This definitely rang true with my own experiences. Years ago I was trying to peddle prints of my paintings. I would do this at art fairs, craft-shows, etc. What an exhausting experience. To print/ frame/ organize/ pack up/ and set up a 2 day (weekend) show would require close to 40 hours of work. Then I had to pay for my booth-fee and hope the weather was good and people would keep their kid’s cotton candy hands off my merchandise.
What an exhausting experience. I was probably making about $8/hour when it was all said and done and that would be a good weekend. I would sale an original painting here and there but It was few and far between.
I guess I was looking for exposure and hoping to “get my work out there” but I quickly learned that folks whom make a $20 impulse buy at an outdoor art show don’t generally purchase original works for $$$$.
It’s a hard lesson to learn, John. Did your profits go up?
Yes Alyson, my profits went way up and just as importantly my aggravation went way down. Art is always one of those inconsistent businesses in my own experience but the amount of profit I earn off a single original painting now off about 20 hours of work is equivalent to a profit made of approximately 40-100 prints sold @ 100+ hours of work. It’s been a no-brainer for me at least. My philosophy now is to create an extremely high end work of art and sell only to extremely high end clients. I offer nothing in between and nothing for “average folks”. High end all the way.
YES! So worth it to get rid of those frustrations.
Such a helpful article, thank you – I have the same dilemma, so this article has helped clarify the muddle in my head. I create, market, and try to sell 2 different subjects – realistic animals and spiritual art, under the same name and website, but with no structure as they clearly have different audiences, which require different shows/platforms etc.
I avoided doing any shows as I couldn’t decide which, unable to afford both kinds, so doing nothing is bad too. I paid out for sample products in each and as the guys above said, I ended up giving them to good causes.
Both subjects are close to my heart, and I get the same positive feedback from each audience and they each take the same time to create, but I know I have to decide to choose one, and devote to it, I’ve had this problem for 10 years (!!) and am no further on, just lots of sporadic and lucky bits and bobs in each subject along the way.
As they say “Find something you love and give it your heart”.
No wonder I have been so frustrated. Not only having health issues but the time I can muster is wasted like a hamster on a wheel. Ive got to focus more and just do my painting and marketing, which is plenty right now. Marketing isn’t easy for me either. It’s too left brained. LOL
Ive done the prints, the cards, on and on. Yes it is a headache and time consuming. But I will do it if a client requests it. Like cards of their dog that I painted for them. I don’t make much if any at all but I agree it is good PR and I love to make my collectors happy! I also send my cards out to one’s that are ailing, or at Christmas time. I have done paintings and cards just for the season. Has my website and name so finger’s crossed. Focus Focus Focus! And getting stronger health wise. Thanks Alyson! Cheral
Great article!
I am focusing on originals for sale on my soon-to-launch website. I am definitely not interested in producing and inventorying prints..(ahh…clarity!) however, I can see the value of offering prints with a POD service online.
After researching, the leading contender is fotomoto. – It seems to be the only service that keeps people on your site rather than directing them away. It seems popular with photographers, so the quality must be on the higher end.
I haven’t tested them yet, has anyone here gone this route? I still imagine even with good marketing that print sales will be minimal, but it does provide an entry point for the casual buyer who could grow into a collector.
I loved your quote Claire…and it is so hard to choose but just pick one! It’s only for now, for a while, say for a season or a year.. You don’t have to leave the other aside forever 🙂
Warmly,
Marli
Marli: Most of my clients who do online prints use FineArtAmerica. Others use Art Storefronts.
I wish I had even ONE stream of income! seems to be all expenses
Oh no!
I agree that multiple income streams are necessary to be a full-time artist and I have three major ones with subsets under each:
Fine Art/Commissions – I generate the most income by far with my custom pet portrait business. Clients contact me via my website at http://www.johnkeelingpaintings.com. When I launched my site five years ago, I did with the understanding that it was the “price of admission” for being a freelance artist these days. I rarely sell my work on the site, but it is a great tool for connecting me with clients. I have work in local galleries as part of group shows, and have recently started participating in Plein Air events.
Licensing – I was approached by an artist agent last year and signed with her agency. I’ve been working A LOT to build my licensing portfolio and I believe that this will potentially become my most lucrative income stream OVER TIME. To put in perspective, to date I have only received a very small amount of income (several hundred dollars), as it is all royalty-based. I’m eager to see what the 3Q and 4Q this year bring in from my first licensed product in the marketplace.
Teaching – For years I was asked if I taught lessons, thinking it was something I SHOULD do, but hadn’t made the effort. I’ve been exploring this for two years now. It actually can be the easiest money with the lowest investment. I’ve sought out a range of opportunities, from private lessons to a nine-year-old to a group of seniors I teach once a month at a local Senior Living Community. I’ve given watercolor workshops with a fellow artist at neighborhood Community Centers and Galleries. This summer I started offering one-day workshops here in my home studio and garden.
Another thought… for me, the outdoor art show venue hasn’t been a profitable option. Sure, I can sell a lot of prints, but the sale of an original work is much less frequent. And by the time you add up the expenses (display materials, travel, lodging, etc.) it was often a wash.
Speaking of prints, one of my best business decisions was to invest in a professional quality scanner and printer. I started with supplying prints to my local west elm store for their “KC Local” program, after doing several pop-up events there.
This leads me to something I’m passionate about and believe is a key to success… relationships! I work hard at building and maintaining good relationships with people and places that can help my business grow.
I agree and disagree at the same time and here is why. On the one hand I want to sell my “serious” fine art. This is where I want to excel and be known. On the other hand, it’s expensive and I don’t yet have the audience or venues that I need. What shall I do?
Besides “keep creating” of course, it means I have to find other income producers at lower price points. The options I have chosen for this are three Print on Demand services. 1) Greeting Card Universe, which is limited totally to greeting cards and they are VERY fussy – which I consider to be excellent training. 2) Society6, who, while they do offer a plethora of product types interests me solely because they have such things as “framed art prints” and “framed mini art prints” and a few other similar decorative options. And that is what I am concentrating on with them. 3)Zazzle, who have their own plethora of products and they make designing easy (although their navigation is frustrating as all get out!) and more importantly, product divisions (i.e., collections) easy to build and easy for buyers to use.
Will I do shows? Maybe some local ones. Will I seek physical venues? Absolutely. Will I teach? Not at the moment.