I`ve been a Deviant for almost 5 years, granted not a popular Deviant nor a very active one for the most part but I lurk.
I lurk the forums alot and for years I`ve been seeing the same topic in the Prints Forum.
"Why don`t my prints sell?"
"Best Way To Market Prints?"
The answer seems so simple to me that I`ve got to say something about it.
98% of Deviants with a print account will never sell here.
The main reasons are ..
1; DA is HUGE!!
The competition is insane here.
Only the very popular artists ever sell their work here.
2; The average Deviant has no money.
I can`t say for sure but I`m willing to bet that the vast majority of people who actually see your art are young people without alot of disposable income.
(This last one is going to garner me some flak but the truth hurts)
3;Digital art doesn`t hold the same status as traditional mediums in the minds of most collectors.
Unwarranted? Yes...but true none the less.
That being said let me tell you how I sell my prints.
I don`t sell them here.
In 5 years I`ve sold one..count `em ...one print through DA.
I`ve sold over a hundred elsewhere and know I could sell more but I`m far too lazy to actually market and promote my stuff consistently.
The answer to selling your prints is to market them where they will be appreciated by people who have money to buy them.
I sell my paintings on Ebay, I consider myself fairly successful within that forum.
I`ll auction a popular painting that gets many people involved in a bidding war.
About halfway through the auctions term I can tell by the bidding activity whether or not the painting in question will sell as a print.
I then upload a digital copy of the painting to the DA printer and at the end of the auction I contact the losing bidders and inform them I`ve just listed a print of the painting they wanted so badly at in my Ebay store.
I sell like crazy this way
70% of them will buy the print as it`s cheaper than the original and it`s better than nothing.
This works for me but there are a lot of other outlets you can use, it just takes a little creative thinking.
Frame shops...always looking for work to show off their wares.
Art shows/festivals....buy a bunch of your best prints from DA mount them wrap them and get a booth.
Local art guilds...any art center in your town has events where they regularly show their locals work .
I`m sure you can think of even more and better outlets, if so post your ideas as a comment on this journal entry.
Other factors involved in the lack of print sales.
Subject matter and style
Are you creating something someone will want?
There are many beautiful pieces on DA that I as an art lover appreciate but your average Joe looking for something to hang over the couch has his own interests.
Market whats popular.
Quality
Look at your work, find someone who does have success selling work in similar style and subject matter and compare.
Does your work have the same qualities?
If not don`t waste your time and money or possibly cause irreparable damage to your creative pysche trying to sell work in a market thats over your head.
Instead work harder, practice, bother those artists you admire to tell you their secrets, master your medium,
Sooner, rather than later you will be putting out the quality of work necessary to catch someones eye.
* I want to add one caveat here.
Please don`t read this and run off to list your digital work on Ebay.
Digital art has never sold well in that forum, it will be a depressing experience.
