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.

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.

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.

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!”

Oh no!

Marli: Most of my clients who do online prints use FineArtAmerica. Others use Art Storefronts.

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. 🙂

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