Diversification for any practicing artist is a fact in everyday life. If you wish to obtain a huge living as a photographer or fine artist, depending on gallery exposure or freelance customers is often not enough. How To Make Money In The Arts. Luckily, the possibilities for artists to make money off their talent have also grown as the landscape has shifted.
Ways How To Make Money In The Arts? In reality, to attain both artistic and financial success, it is important to think of new ways of monetizing the art more frequently than not. You’ll want to assess your skill sets and what makes you feel relaxed before really jumping in. Perhaps public speaking, for example, is not your thing, but you love demonstrating your creativity. Try to create a YouTube channel where you can express your passion with the public from the safety of home, instead of dragging yourself into speaking engagements until you’re ready.
Whatever it is you want to try, note that as an artist, everything is an extension of your brand and you need to ask yourself if the road you are on will take you to your bigger goals. But, with some innovative ways to monetize your art, get ready to step outside of the box and diversify your revenue sources. 11 Ways to Make Money in the Arts
Sell Prints
To sell prints, you don’t just need to be a photographer. Selling high-quality copies of their artwork will help illustrators, painters, and even installation artists or sculptors. This paves the way for enthusiasts who may not be able to meet an original piece’s price point, helping you to diversify the kind of collectors that you draw.
You can either directly print and sell or just use some of the other online services, such as Society6, that allow artists to sell prints online easily, taking a small commission in return. With your artwork written directly on them, many of these platforms often sell items such as smartphone covers, scarves, and backpacks, enabling you to give something to all.
How To Make Money In The Arts: sell prints
Teach Online Classes
You will want to try teaching online classes if you feel like teaching is your calling. More than ever, people in the artistic community are searching out knowledgeable mentors to help them push their work to a different stage. Craftsmen, painters, photographers, and graphic designers are just some of the artists who, if they are qualified to share what they know, will find a demand for their knowledge.
Some people also convert their teaching into full-time jobs, launching paying subscription programs where people have access to private lessons.
How To Make Money In The Arts: Online classes
Lead Workshops
You may like teaching, but it’s overwhelming to think about preparing a full course. Or, you can simply appreciate the experience of interacting with students in person. Teaching workshops, if so, might be for you. It can be a great addition to your income, particularly popular with photographers, especially if you have a niche like astrophotography or street photography.
Some photographers run destination workshops, like Cuma Cevik, where they lead groups to exotic places and form the trip around a particular theme. Workshops are not confined to photographers, of course. Are you an artist on the street? On how to use spray paint or cut stencils, you might run workshops.
Or maybe you are a hand-lettering expert? Provide workshops on calligraphy and typography basics. Think about your artistic niche and what that is special and unique you can bring. You can also be able to arrange seminars around your travel schedule and make a profit while on the run if you plan carefully.
How To Make Money In The Arts: Workshops
Book Speaking Engagements
If you enjoy public speaking, you might be able to turn this into a lucrative booking speaking engagement side hustle. There’s a demand for innovative minds to share the secrets of their craft, whether it’s for corporate events or as a guest lecturer at universities.
And, in combination with a workshop, this can always run, allowing for a full day of activities. Get started with a brainstorming of some lecture topics and a quick presentation on your work together. Then search for groups that you feel might be involved locally and go from there. Remember, it’s not just arts groups that may be curious about what you’re doing.
You’ll be able to land more jobs by working beyond the box. If you specialize in wildlife photography or scientific illustration, for example, contact museums of natural history or scientific associations that may be curious to hear about the connection between art and science.
How To Make Money In The Arts: Speaking engagements
Sell Or License Your Art Through Stock Agencies
By licensing it or simply selling it directly to a stock firm, you receive royalties from your job. Getty Images will be considered a top option in the field by photographers, artists, and video makers, while Shutterstock is one of many companies that also recognizes illustrations and vector graphics. This can be a constant trickle of earnings that can easily add up if done wisely with excellent service.
How To Make Money In The Arts: License your art
Write An Ebook
You may want to try your hand at creating an eBook if you enjoy writing more than creating video content. There is no lack of guides that you can make as an artist, whether it’s providing advice about how to use a particular medium, teaching the fundamentals of composition, or giving your niche a specialist approach. If you write about underwater photography or the fundamentals of studio lighting, your experience would be useful and able to pay for other creatives.
How To Make Money In The Arts: Write an Ebook
Become An Influencer
You will note that you will begin to be approached by brands for sponsored content if you are savvy with social media and build up a strong following on your Instagram. Most fund their way across the world, especially valuable for travel photographers, by joining forces with hotels, airlines, and travel boards looking to advertise their services in return for sharing incredible photographs of the location.
It’s not just travel photographers, though, getting in on the action. Artists also partner with various businesses, from art supplies to fashion labels, and share with their fans the outcomes of their work. Aren’t you sure whether to charge for sponsored content or how to communicate with brands? There are resources out there, including Influence. co, AspireIQ, and iFluenz, that can help match you.
How To Make Money In The Arts: Be influencer
Writing An Art Blog
True, artists are typically more interested in visuals than words. But nowadays, thanks to online courses and guides, anyone can become a novelist. Besides, the blog can be richer than words in imagery. For instance, if you teach a specific painting technique to your readers, the texts would only have to endorse the visuals and clarify the actions depicted.
By blogging, there are many ways to gain extra money. Affiliate marketing, paid ads, creating commissioned reviews, and promoting your other products via your blog are some of the most popular ones.
How To Make Money In The Arts: Start a Blog
- What A Blog is and 8 Tips To Start a Successful Blog
- What is a Blog and How You Should Start a Blog- A Simple Guide
Start A Youtube Channel
How are you going to make money from this? Advertising and affiliate fees can be lucrative revenue sources, in addition to the fact that potential buyers can find your work via a well-thought-out blog or entertaining YouTube videos. Eric Kim, a street photographer, runs a highly popular blog that attracts traffic, enabling him to market his workshops and eBooks better.
You can also receive commissions by recommending the items and equipment you enjoy using if done correctly. As for YouTube, it is no secret that the website has turned the biggest stars into millionaires. But the fact is that to start earning, you don’t need millions of opinions.
If you plan to monetize your videos, this simple calculator will help you assess how much you can gain and a look at individuals teaching how to draw on YouTube will give you some ideas on how you could exploit your site.
How To Make Money In The Arts: Youtube channel
Applying For Grants And Competitions
Grants for artists are provided by many international programs, local governments, or non-profit organizations. These are targeted at either helping emerging artists, fostering culture, or solving a specific issue. Local establishments often need real pieces of art to decorate new buildings or give an event a pleasant touch.
How to apply to these programs?
“Try a quick online search such as “artist grants” or “artist competitions”. You may add your particular nation, state, or city to narrow the search down. You will probably find that you are eligible to enter and receive cash or other prizes in at least some competitions or programs, and the opportunity to demonstrate your work.
Also, on social media and your artistic or technical circles, such as the university, artist association, or NGO, be sure to monitor the news.
How To Make Money In The Arts: Grants
Earning Passive Income By Selling Wall Art
By selling high-quality prints or copies of their work, painters, illustrators, designers, graphic artists, and even sculptors may earn money.
There are 2 methods on how you can transform your art into posters of top quality:
1. Using professional photography or scanning to digitize your artwork
2. Using Adobe Illustrator or another program for graphic design to create printable format posters
Any thoughts about how wall art can be sold:
- Offer digital copies on Sellfy, leaving the client with the printing hand.
- Using one of the print-on-demand websites to print and distribute posters for you.
- Give your art to your followers on social media or set up an online shop on Facebook
- Set up a shop on Etsy, one of the largest international art and craft sales sites.
- Sell pictures from your website portfolio
