If you are a freelance photographer, either a professional or an amateur, the last thing you think about is how to market your prints. You might do any type of photography — street or landscape pictures, contemporary or classic fine art, architecture prints, or any other kind of photography — and never think about selling fine art photography as your business. If it is to be a business, you need to start considering it and make the first steps in this direction.
Nevertheless, without a considerate strategy and plan for marketing and selling your art prints, you won’t be able to be successful. You might upload your images for sale on an open platform like Pixels.com for example. But just imagine how many other photographers do exactly the same thing. That is why your promotion strategy is vitally important to let you stand out from the crowd.
In this article, we would like to advise you on where to start and how to market and sell your fine art photography for the most benefit possible.
USEFUL STEPS FOR MARKETING & SELLING YOUR DIGITAL FINE ART PRINTS
You do not need to get an academic degree or even take a photography course to start doing this part of your business. You need to join the community of photographers who sell their photos online or develop your own recognizable website. Defining your personal style is also a good place to start before you get your prints seen and bought.
Let’s have a more thorough look at how to do your fine art photography sales and make them as beneficial as possible.
START MARKETING YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY VIA SOCIAL MEDIA
Social media sites like Facebook and Instagram are great options for starting your marketing campaigns, even if you do not have your personal website or blog yet. Get accounts established there, remembering that all your followers are your potential buyers. Use the different advertising options provided by these platforms to make your edited photos recognizable and increase your exposure.
Ask your friends and colleagues to like or follow your page and share it with their acquaintances. Let everybody know that you are selling your fine art prints and word of mouth together with the ads in the social media will quickly spread. You can also start interacting with people who are potential fine art photography buyers interested in your work. Answer their questions or write short photography-related posts informing your potential customers that you have created a new piece of artwork. This can be a bit time-consuming, but it can result in positive outcomes.
HOW TO MARKET PHOTOGRAPHY VIA YOUR PERSONAL WEBSITE OR BLOG
It’s not a secret that, if you have your own website, you get more control over the interactions with potential customers. Of course, it will take more time and effort, but it will be beneficial in the long run. You can either utilize your own domain name to establish a store or create an online store on such reputable platforms as BigCommerce or Shopify. These platforms require small fees while others, such as Wix, provide free templates to get started. Choose your templates, which will integrate payment processing and order forms. You can buy a domain as well to introduce a paid service for more selling options.
If you cannot develop your website yourself, you can hire a development company to create a photography website according to your needs. The developer can also teach you some basics on how to maintain the website, integrate the keywords for search engines and keep your website optimized.
You can also create your personal blog where you will be able to show your fine art stock photography and write some interesting articles on photography. Your potential customers will be able to email you and ask for more information or shipping details if they need them. Such a convenient payment service as PayPal is appropriate for receiving payments.
CREATE EMAIL LISTS AND MARKETING CAMPAIGNS
As you gain blog followers, you can start creating email lists for further communication. It does not matter much whether you have your own website or use social media or other websites to introduce your images. You just need a place where you can communicate with your potential buyers. A place where you can receive emails from them and send them newsletters and notifications about your new pieces of fine art photography.
You do not have to share all the new pieces with your followers, of course. Give them just enough to stay in touch and get interested in what you are doing. People should see you as a real person and like you and everything you do. If you have a blog, keep them informed about your new ideas and let them see you behind your art.
You can also collect the email addresses via a giveaway or raffle, by using Facebook or local contests, everywhere you can to make people remember you. These small marketing campaigns are sure to boost your sales and provide you with a lot of benefits.
USE LOCAL OPTIONS
To find the new market for photography, you can also develop an interest in what you are doing at the local level. You can offer to hang your artwork at the local coffee shop. You can also go to art galleries and ask them if they can accept your photos as exhibits.
You can offer your prints to local businesses that can use your business cards with fine art images for further promotion. A local restaurant or retail outlet may want to have your photos on their walls. They obtain free artwork and you get a free advertising option. Or go to the local libraries and offer to make a display of your photos on a monthly basis.
The option of placing your fine art photos for sale in local fine art stores should also be considered. Such shops will charge you some fees only if your artwork is sold. Leave your business cards so buyers can refer to you directly if they are interested.
You can expose your fine art prints at an art fair. That is the place where you can network with different enthusiasts of fine art photography and your colleagues. Start by finding out how selling your photography at the fair works, the terms of such cooperation, and possible fees at art fairs in your area. Bring some of your prints with you and let them be sold immediately. You can also leave your business cards and flyers to the organizers. This is also a great chance to get email addresses and other contacts of your potential buyers. Offer people to sign up for a raffle to win your print.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Do you really want to start selling fine art photography? Then there is a lot of hard and interesting work in front of you. We think you’ll find it is a rewarding experience.
Communicate with your potential clients as much as possible. Let them know you and what you are doing. Get noticed via small marketing campaigns. Focus on the sources and means which you can manage easily.
Of course, you will need to invest a lot of time and effort in all this. Don’t rely on selling fine art photographs as the only means of living. Take it up as a hobby first and then you will see that you will start selling your work both online and offline and your business will grow. You will be delighted knowing that your pieces of art decorate people’s homes and offices. It’s a great feeling of success — so get busy and try it now.
Author Bio: James Baxter is a professional ghostwriter, online marketer at photo retouching company, and blogger, who loves sharing his experience and knowledge with readers. His hobby is photography and traveling, so he has already been to 35 countries.
