When buyers fall in love with your art, are you making it easy for them to say Yes? In this solo episode of *The Art Biz*, I talk about how to remove barriers in the buying process—those extra clicks, missing prices, or unanswered questions that cost you sales.
Learn how clarity, ease, and trust turn casual admirers into collectors, and challenge yourself to audit your own buyer’s journey.
Remove Barriers to Buying Your Art (237) Read
If your art isn’t selling like it used to—or like you believe it should—you’re not alone. In this episode, I walk you through 6 key areas to investigate when sales are slow.
These insights will help you step back, evaluate what’s working (and what’s not), and move forward with more clarity, confidence, and intention. It’s about perspective, not self-blame.
When the Art Sales Stop: 6 Areas to Investigate (235) Read
In this solo episode of The Art Biz, I dive into the necessity of creating demand for your artwork in order to achieve a certain level of success—stressing the importance of setting realistic expectations, refining your original artistic voice (key!), and nurturing genuine relationships.
I discuss the balance between ambition and practicality in the art market and offer five essential tips to assess and cultivate demand effectively.
Creating Demand for Your Art: Why It Matters and How to Start (ep. 206) Read
Discounting your original work might be unpalatable, but there are reasons for doing so, including the fact that unsold work is taking up space and energy. (Promotion might be a better word than sale.)
In this episode and article, I discuss the psychology and process around having a sale of your art or any products 6 options for structuring it and 3 mistakes you don’t want to make.
The Art Biz ep. 167: How to Have a Sale of Your Art and Feel Good About It Read
Kelly Pelfrey’s goal in 2020 was to replace her $50,000 teaching salary, but she quadrupled that. Her income has allowed her husband to leave his job to focus on his doctorate, feel comfortable about taking maternity leave, and save for college for her children.
In this episode of The Art Biz, Kelly shares her income sources, which are dominated by sales of commissions, followed distantly by releases of small paintings.
She Knows Exactly How Much Her Art Income Will be Every Month with Kelly Pelfrey (ep. 162) Read
One thing above all else can get in the way of feeling successful: Money. So let’s talk about it—starting with income sources. Where does the money come from?
In this episode, I discuss why you might want to diversify beyond originals, how to categorize your income sources, and how to analyze where the money has come from in the past so you can plan for the future.
The Art Biz ep. 159: How Do Artists Make Money? Read
Sarah Becktel reveals how she increased her self-sales income by 400% by focusing on 5 indoor art fairs per year—all juried or curated—with different price points, up front costs, and markets.
She talks about her strategy for selecting the work each one: one is for only originals, another for only reproductions and products, and the third is a mixture of the two. Sarah also shares wisdom for other artists.
Increasing Self-Sales by 400% with Sarah Becktel (ep. 157) Read
We often think of sales as a single step. Either someone buys your art or they don’t.
There’s so much more that goes into making a sale. It’s a process.
We have to adopt a new mindset around sales in order to be successful, and we have to understand what is involved. In this conversation, Miriam and I review her 10-step sales process.
The Art Biz ep. 140: A Sales Process for Artists with Miriam Schulman Read
When Mai Wyn Schantz shuttered her gallery at the beginning of Covid, she hated to lose the relationships she had built over the years.
As soon as she felt it was safe, Mai Wyn organized a pop-up farewell exhibition with her artists. Her goal was to break even, which, as you’ll hear, was far too conservative a goal. Her “little” pop-up was more successful than she dreamed of.
Sometimes you need to throw out the old models for doing business and try something totally new. Maybe you’re bored with business as usual. Maybe the results aren’t as profitable as they were in the past. Or maybe you are no longer enjoying the same ole same ole.
It’s okay to go off script.
Yes, there are traditional practices for showing and selling your art, but it is a little ridiculous to think that those will continue to work in the same way they have in years past. As I said back in episode 96, you have to be willing and able to adapt if you are working toward a profitable art business.
On this episode of the Art Biz Podcast I talk with ceramic artist Patricia Griffin. If you visit her website during certain times of the year, you won’t see anything for sale because she has sold out. Zero inventory. What you will see are items she has sold and an opportunity to get on her list so you don’t miss a chance to purchase the next time her shop opens.
Patricia and I discuss what she refers to as events—the sales of her ceramics she has 3- or 4-times a year that sell out within hours and have led to a dramatic increase in income. She’ll describe the philosophy behind them, the promotional timeline, the collaborations to help raise money for nonprofits, and how the events are a valuable tool for her to cultivate relationships with buyers and potential buyers.
The Art Biz ep. 97: Increasing Art Sales with Online Events with Patricia Griffin Read
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