Selling your art isn’t just about making great work. It’s also about understanding how to run a business. If you’re putting in the hours but still not making the sales you expected, there’s a good chance you’re making one, or more, of these art business mistakes.
I’ve been doing this a long time, and I’ve seen all of these mistakes over the years. I’ve made most of them. The good news is, they’re all fixable.
Here’s what to look out for and what to do instead.
1. Romanticizing the Art Business
A lot of people dream about being a full-time artist. It sounds like the perfect life. You do what you love, set your own hours, and enjoy total freedom. Yeah right.
The truth is, it’s a business. If you want to make a living from your art, you have to treat it like one.
You need to show up every day and work, even when you don’t feel like it. That means creating new work, meeting deadlines, professional or self-imposed, and staying focused.
You can’t wait around for inspiration. A professional works whether they feel inspired or not.
Being self-employed isn’t fun and games. You’re the artist, the salesperson, the printer, the bookkeeper, the marketer… No one else is going to do it for you. It’s takes discipline, self-motivation, and long hours.
This will help: An Artist’s Life: How to Stay Motivated and Creative
It’s easy to daydream about success, it’s fun, but dreaming doesn’t pay the bills. You need to take action. Planning and talking about your goals is fine, but unless you get your work out there and sell it, nothing will happen.
This artcle tells you more: What is it Like To Be an Artist? The Truth Revealed
2. Choosing The Wrong Niche
Not all art sells the same – FACT
Some subjects are more popular than others. Some fantastic art will garner compliments all day long, but rarely sell. If your work isn’t selling, it might be because you’re in a niche that just doesn’t have much demand.
That’s a hard pill to swallow if you are hoping to turn your passion into your art business.
Certain subjects do well, again and again. Things like local views, landscapes, iconic animals, pets, That’s why you see them in every art fair and gallery. People connect with them and they buy them.
Read this for a better insight: What Art Sells Best?
It helps to start in a popular niche, or target an audience you know well.
Read this: Why You Must Find an Art Niche – and How To Go About it
Focus on how your art can stand out, without being outlandish. Find what makes your artwork different and make it your signature style. This takes time. Your style evolves as you progress. New artists must find their way and adapt to the style and subjects people seem to like.
It’s not rocket science. Once you have a few ‘pot-boilers’ (bestsellers) that sell consistantly, you can afford to break away and please yourself. It doesn’t work the other way around.
If you’ve been trying to sell your art and it’s not working, that doesn’t mean your art is bad. Far from it. You maybe one of the best at what you do, it just means it might not be what most people are looking to hang on their living room wall.
3. Slow Output
If you only make art once in a while, you won’t have enough work to sell. That has always been my problem. I create super realistic illustrations and they take forever.
Creating a few original pieces here and there isn’t enough to build a business. You need to be making art regularly, and for most artists that means publishing prints.
This post is a must-read: How to Make Prints of Your Art: A Complete Printing Guide
In my case I started with 12 prints as my initial collection. That’s the minimum to make any kind of dispay.
This is my niche: 12 Wildlife Art Bestsellers (Use These Subjects to Make Money)
Making more work, and hence more prints, gives buyers more choice. It shows that you’re serious, committed, and professional.
On the flipside, there comes a point when you have too many prints for sale and your sales stagnate. That happened to me.
If too little choice is underwhelming, too much choice is overwhelming. You have to strike a balance.
One last thing; even if you’re busy or tired, try to make art part of your daily routine. I acheive this by drawing while I’m at my art stand. Make it a routine. I’m very pragmatic, I simply treat it as my job and get on with it.
4. Avoiding Self-Promotion
A lot of artists feel uncomfortable promoting themselves. They hope people will somehow find their work and buy it without them having to speak up.
But that’s not how it works.
If you want to sell your art, you have to show it to people. That’s scary. In my experience, most artists are quite shy and unsure of themselves, and I include myself.
You need to put your artwork in front of people, talk about it, and remind them it’s for sale. The more people see your art, the more likely they are to buy it.
In-person events like art fairs and markets are the best outlets, in my opinion. These are great places to build confidence, talk to customers, and get genuine feedback.
If you avoid selling face to face, you’re missing out on one of the best ways to learn what people like and request. It’s the only way to find what works. Forget friends and family, they will never tell you the truth.
You don’t have to be pushy or fake. Just be yourself, present your art, and share your story. People like to buy from artists they feel connected to, but they can’t do that if you’re hiding away. Self-Promotion isn’t an optional extra, it’s part of the job.
Art doesn’t sell itself, you have to do it.
5. Wrong Pricing
Getting your prices right is tricky. If you price your work too high, people won’t buy it. If you price it too low, you might sell more but earn too little.
It’s okay to start with lower prices. In fact, it can be a smart way to build confidence and get some early sales. Once people start buying your work, you can raise your prices slowly and see how far you can go. The goal is to find the point where your work still sells regularly.
It’s better psychology to start low and raise prices than to do it the other way around.
Eventually, you’ll start to gain fans who seek you out for more. When they return and see their lovely art print being discounted they won’t be very happy. It suggest they overpaid and their art isn’t worth much.
Better by far to RAISE your prices.
When a collector returns and sees your art is now more expensive, they are happy about it. It means they previously bought at a bargain price. They are very likely to pay more for another print. But if the new prices are too high, you have the scope of offering a loyalty discount just for them. Everyone is happy.
This is how business works.
Art isn’t like most products, there is no real formula. You charge what the market will bear. Your costs and markup are not the real issue as I explain in these posts:
- How to Price Art Commissions: Your Art Pricing Guide
- How to Price Art Prints: A Practical Guide For Beginners
Don’t compare yourself to other artists who’ve been at it for years. They’ve built up a name for themslves and a loyal following. Your prices can grow over time. Start where you are, and let the market show you the next step.
6. Not Understanding Your Customer
If you don’t know who you’re trying to sell to, it’s going to be hard to make sales. A lot of artists focus only on what they want to create and forget to think about who might actually buy it.
But if you want to make a living, you need to understand your target customer.
More in-depth: How Do Artists Find a Target Audience? The Best Tips!
Think about the people who stop at your booth or browse your website. Are they tourists looking for a gift or souvenir? Are they home decorators looking for a certain size or color? Are they collectors who want something unique?
The more you understand their needs, the easier it is to sell to them.
My audience is mainly female and many collect, and love, iconic animals. When in doubt I’ll draw another elephant!
Knowing your customer also helps with pricing and presentation. If your buyers are everyday people with a limited budget, high-end originals won’t sell. But affordable prints or smaller pieces might fly off the table. Matching your work to the right buyer is key.
Talk to your customers. Ask questions. Pay attention to what they like and what they pass over. This kind of feedback is gold. The better you understand who’s buying your art, the easier it is to make work that connects with them and leads to more sales.
This leads onto the next mistake you might be making.
7. Giving Up Too Quickly
Many artists try something once, it doesn’t work, they feel rejected, and they give up.
Maybe they do one art fair and lose money. Maybe they list a few pieces online and nothing sells. It’s frustrating, but that’s a normal part of trading.
Success doesn’t happen overnight.
If you are in the wrong fair, or not targeting the right niche your art will not sell.
I booked a pitch in a famous London craft market because everyone told me it will be a goldmine. It was the worst market I ever attended. I gave it 3 weekends and hardly sold a print. Imagine if that market was my first?
Your first fair won’t be your best. Your first listings won’t get much attention. But if you stick with it and adapt, you’ll get better results. It takes time to figure out what works for you and your art.
Most successful artists fail before things start to click.
8. Ignoring Presentation and Display
You might have great art, but if your display looks messy or unprofessional, people will walk right past it. First impressions matter. How you present your work can make the difference between making a sale and getting ignored.
At art fairs, your booth should be clean, tidy, and easy to browse. Use clear price tags, neat signs, and proper display stands or print bins. Make sure everything looks inviting. People decide in seconds whether to stop and look, so make that moment count.
This will help: How to Present Your Art Prints for Sale in Markets
The same goes for online. Use clear, well-lit photos and keep your shop or website easy to navigate. Poor images, cluttered layouts, or confusing pricing will turn people away before they even see the quality of your work.
Your art deserves to be shown at its best. Think of your setup as part of the product. When you take pride in your presentation, customers are more likely to trust you and take your work seriously.
9. Getting Too Emotionally Attached
It’s natural to care about your work. You’ve put time, effort, and feeling into it. But if you get too attached to every piece, it becomes personal. That puts you in a vulnerable position.
Some artists feel very rejected when a piece doesn’t sell or when someone isn’t interested. But art is personal for the maker, not the buyer. Most customers are thinking about what fits in their space, buying a gift, or what makes them feel good.
- How Do Artists Handle Rejection? 6 Ways to Cope With Critics
- Shy Artists: How to Succeed When You Are Introverted
- How Do Artists Handle Rejection? 6 Ways to Cope With Critics
Your art is not about you, it’s about the buyer.
That is counter-intuitive for many artists. Too many artists are held back by the fragility of their own ego.
If you want to make art your job, you have to treat your artwork as a product. That doesn’t mean selling out. It means understanding that your art has a life beyond you.
Keep creating. The more you produce, the easier it gets to let go. Once you start selling more, you’ll see that making room for new work is actually a good thing, and it becomes easier to let go.
10. Not Collecting Customer Information
Many artists focus so much on making the sale that they forget about what happens after. If you’re not collecting customer emails or finding ways to stay in touch, you’re missing out on future sales.
Someone who buys from you once is likely to buy again. But if you have no way to contact them, that connection is lost. Building a mailing list, or even just keeping a notebook of names and emails at your booth, gives you a way to follow up later with new work, special offers, or event invites.
Even people who don’t buy right away might be interested in the future. If they like your work enough to chat or take a card, offer them a way to stay connected.
Read this for more info: How to Start an Email List For Artists: Beginners Guide
I used a comments book at my art stand and encouraged every buyer to write a few words. These acted as testimonials and as I requested an email, most buyers were happey to keep in touch.
I only sent an email once a month with updates about my new drawings. That was enough to keep my previous customers in the loop and encourage them to buy again.
Sales don’t always happen on the spot. Sometimes they come weeks or months later. But only if you stay in touch.
Art Business Mistakes: Final Thoughts
Making a living from your art isn’t just about talent. It’s about showing up, staying consistent, learning what sells, and treating your work like a real business. Don’t wait for inspiration, don’t hide from promotion, and don’t give up too early.
Understand your customers, present your work well, and be willing to change what isn’t working. Keep creating, keep learning, and take your art seriously. That’s how you turn passion into a career.
If you need more help I have a guide that explains everything. No secrets.
A few more related articles:
- Art Business Names: How to Find the Right Name
- Artist Business Cards: 6 Tips For Artists – From a Pro
- How to Write an Artist About Me Bio: In 4 Easy Steps
- How to Name Your Artwork: Find a Title That Sells
- How to Negotiate the Price of Your Art: Prints and Originals
- How to Prepare For an Outdoor Art Fair: Tips for Success
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Hi, I’m Kevin Hayler
I’ve been selling my wildlife art and traveling the world for over 20 years, and if that sounds too good to be true, I’ve done it all without social media, art school, or galleries!
I can show you how to do it. You’ll find a wealth of info on my site, about selling art, drawing tips, lifestyle, reviews, travel, my portfolio, and more. Enjoy