Online Plug-Ins for the Visual Artsit

Online Plug-ins for the Visual Artist

This post has been created by Brandy Cattoor, an artist form ETSY. Her shop is Fine Art Brandy Cattoor. Check out her shop and read what she has to say about ways to increase views and sales in the art world!

Online Art Galleries

Online galleries are becoming successful and popular. Artwork Network is a well known online gallery, which helps promote your work for a minimum monthly fee. Turning Art is another great site, and is free if the artist gets accepted. Many have also found success withFine Art America or Zatista. All these sites of course require a commission if your work is sold through their site.

Online Art Competitions

Art competitions can be a pain but if successful they can be a great reward both personal and professional. An excellent site I’ve found is Light Space & Time, which hosts regular art competitions online. There are numerous sites for art competitions online aside from this one.  

Online Art Markets:

Believe it or not Ebay has many art buyers. The trick with ebay is to learn how to get your work seen through thousands of sellers. Etsy has a well known web presence (known for its quality and unique products) many galleries search for artists here. I’ve been contacted by Turning Art, and been involved in some juried shows because my work was found on Etsy. If the selling is slow, keep at it. Other good things are bound to happen if your work is good.     

Craigslist

In my experience, as an artist in Colorado, I’ve found Craigslist to be helpful at times. Many galleries utilize this site to help promote juried shows, studio space, art competitions, etc. Some shows I’ve been involved in are attributed to a quick response to a Craigslist ad.

Helpful networks for promoting Art:

The following sites are especially good for promoting artwork because their ability to represent images is high quality and organized. This is a good feature when deciding what sites to be involved in and what not to for the visual artist. In my opinion the more your work is seen the better.

Pinterest

Wanelo

We Heart It

The Fancy

Highly Encouraged Personal Networks:

Personal Blog

Facebook Page

Twitter

Personal Website

Many people underestimate the purpose of an actual personal website when considering other networking sites like facebook, twitter, and a blog. In my experience having a personal website has provided various search results to find my work.

Most hosting sites will allow people to create free websites in order for their name to be part of the URL. For example my site is www.brandycattoor.weebly.com. There are various hosts that provide free websites among many are Weebly.com and wix.com.

The other sites are of course a must because they provide interaction with others and help build your following unlike your personal website can do.

A word on Followers

Give people the opportunity to follow you! Even if you feel slow in starting, it’s just another step in finding the right audience for your work and allowing them to keep tabs on you. Don’t compare the amount of followers you have with another person. Who knows how other blogs or sites got their followers, this could have been by multiple giveaways they hosted. Or some sites help you get more followers by paying a small fee. Just compare your current progress with your past progress and success.