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In our other previous articles, such as the Ultimate Guide on How to Get Art Commissions and the Artist's Step-by-Step Guide on Selling Art Commissions, we explain how artists can proactively get paying clients for creating beautiful, custom works of artwork for clients.
The best thing about art commissions is that you don’t need to create art and hope it sells. Instead, you only have to create something when someone hires you first - how great is that!
Recently, we received many questions on whether we have any quick tips that can passively & organically generate more exposure for artists, thus resulting in more art commissions & sales.
So, we put together this short & easy guide on a few expert tips on how artists can get more art commissions with a little less effort.
On social media platforms, such as Twitter and Instagram, you are usually given a section to post a website or URL. However, being able to only share 1 link with all the wandering eyeballs that visit your page is limiting and debilitating! Why? Because you should have multiple links for multiple purposes - a link that directs people to your personal website, a link to your blog, a link to another social media page like Facebook, a link to your Etsy page for original art, a link to your MadeMay profile for art commissions, and so on.
People want options. You should give people options. Let them browse all the amazing things you got going on.
Don’t settle for just 1 link.
Linktree is a free tool that gives your social media visitors a list of different links they can click on. Setting it up takes less than 5 minutes, and you can customize the theme too. As their slogan says, “The Only Link You’ll Ever Need”.
LinkedIn, not to be confused with Linktree from the point above. (All these darn “Links”!)
Lots of people lurk on LinkedIn to see what people are all about. The benefit of LinkedIn is that it’s a social media that typically brings in a higher disposable income, which is exactly the kind of target demographics artists need to be working with.
Whether you’re a full-time artist or a part-time artist, showcase yourself loud & proud that you’re a represented artist! People will love to see it and it can generate tons of leads for you.
Print out 100 flyers showcasing your awesome artwork, and pick out 10 nearby stores within a 25-mile radius such as coffee shops, gyms, and pet shops. Mention to the cashier or manager that you are a local artist and ask if it would be OK to place just 10 flyers for 5 days at their store. (We’ve tested this - it works!)
For example, coffee shops usually have a community bulletin board or have business cards & flyers by the sugar & condiments stand. It takes just 1 minute to walk in, ask, place them on the counter, and walk out.
Note: if you’re a MadeMay artist, send us a message and our team will design these for you for free!
While you’re at that coffee shop or gym from point #3, offer to create a free art piece in exchange to have it displayed on the wall for 1 month. For example, if you’re a portrait artist, you can create a portrait painting of their “Employee of the Month”, which will be displayed inside the store for a month.
The important part is to convert that foot traffic into paying clients for yourself. Thus, be sure to add a little card that mentions you’re available for art commissions. For example, “Interested in your own portrait painting like this one? You can see more of my artwork & request your own masterpiece by visiting MadeMay.com/commissioning_art.
The benefit is clear - your artwork conspicuously displayed will draw many eyeballs to it. Although you’re doing one freebie, it will likely result in at least 2 for the month. Depending on how many commissions you can do per month, simply repeat this within different stores.
If you’re looking to grow as an artist & get more commissions from clients around the world, be sure you have fully completed your MadeMay profile as it is optimized for Google! For example, if you’re in Los Angeles and someone nearby searches for “hire artist near me”, then your profile will appear.