8 Ways Artists Can Generate Additional Income Streams

{Image from Karin Dalziel on flickr}

Unless you’re making lots of dough and thrilled with your earnings, you should add different income streams to your business plan. The more ways that you offer your product and services, the more money you’ll make.

Many artists make the mistake of spending hours on their original art, selling it for less than they should, and not offering any other products. For some really famous artists, this might work out just fine. But if you’re not famous, these additional income streams can mean the difference between living from sale to sale or making an income that allows you to take time off, travel, and spend more time with your family.

Are you thinking that additional revenue means additional work? You’re actually wrong. Yes, in the beginning it’ll take more work to build up these other areas, but once you have them mapped out, it’ll be easier than trying to make and sell each individual piece of art.

Let’s put this plan into action:

1. Make prints of your original art. You might have lots of fans of your work who just can’t afford it. If you have low and high price points, more people can buy your work. Prints increase online sales. Some people hesitate to buy original art online. They want to see it in person first, but many customers report that they’ll buy a couple prints and then buy an original through an online venue once they’ve developed trust with the artist.

2. Incorporate your art into other products. There are lots of websites {i.e., zazzle.com} where you can turn your artwork in t-shirts, coffee mugs, postcards and more. This is another way to offer different price points to your fans.

3. Make jewelry from your art. There are tons of tutorials on the web that teach you how to make necklaces and rings from your art and websites that give you all the information you need like photojewelrymaking.com. Want inspiration? Check out the jewelry that Tim’s Sally makes using her original art.

4. Sell your products on multiple websites. Many artists have an Etsy shop, but their products can get buried due to the enormous amount of sellers on that site. It’s important to also have your own website {or at least a blog} where you can direct interested customers straight to your Etsy shop.

5. Teach locally. Have a page on your blog or website to let people in your area know that you’re interested in teaching your skills. You could teach classes or give individual lessons to people that live in your area in your studio at a premium price.

6. Teach online. To really make money from teaching online, you first have to establish yourself as an expert. This means providing free content such as simple how-to articles, photos of your work, and basic art techniques. After you’ve established your expertise and have a following of subscribers on your blog, you can put together a class with simple video software {I highly recommend Gideon Shalwick’s FREE rapid video blogging ebook} and sell it over and over without teaching it more than once.

7. Write a book or an ebook. You know a lot about your form of art, right? Why not write it all down and include lots of beautiful pictures of your work, and sell your knowledge. This isn’t easy, but it will establish that you’re an expert in your field, get your work in front of lots of creative people, and continue to generate teaching experiences for you.

8. Consult with other artists. Once you’ve done the previous seven things, other artists are going to want to know how you did it. Charge an hourly rate to consult with up and coming artists to help them establish their expertise and make money.

Pick one thing from the list above and add it to your current business plan. Continue to do this until you’re thrilled with your level of income.

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