4 Tips For Selling Your Work Online
Samples I made for the Balfour & Co Geometric Weaving Course
One thing that sometimes confuses the people who discover Balfour & Co for the first time is that none of the tapestries and rugs featured on our Instagram are for sale. They are all samples created for teaching purposes. While I try to make that clear in the caption and bio, we still get our fair share of sales enquiries and DMs!
I share this with you to illustrate that selling your art online is actually much more straightforward than it seems. People always want to buy things that are special, unique and eye-catching - even in the middle of an economic downturn.
I first began selling my own woven work over at Christabel Balfour in 2015. Right now I’m taking a step back from selling to figure out the new direction for my work. But I still wanted to write this post to share what I’ve learnt over the course of seven (!) years selling art online.
One of my early tapestries, photographed by Yeshen Venema in 2016
Tip No. 1 - Photograph Your Work Properly
I know, I know, this basic stuff, but you’d be surprised how many makers miss out on this - and I’d include myself in this! After all, making things is what you love and product photography is boring. It’s much more fun to move onto the next project and leave your previous works languishing in a pile under your desk (ahem).
When it comes to photographing your work, you should aim to shoot several different types of images.
White Wall - You need white background shots of your work finished and hanging on the wall. These should be in natural light if possible and should show the colours accurately. Make sure your work is centred and you have a good margin of white wall space around it.
Styled Interior - Use your home, studio or someone else’s space to show how your work looks in an interior context. This helps customers understand the size and proportions of your work and how it might fit in their own homes.
Social Media - You can re-use the images in the last two categories for social media, but I also recommend shooting images that you plan to use just for Instagram. These should be eye-catching and simple enough to look good in a thumbnail on your grid or explore page. You should also shoot 5 second clips of your work as well that you can reuse for TikTok or Reels.
When I was first starting to sell my work, I booked several shoots with Yeshen Venema, one of the UK’s leading craft & design photographers. He has an excellent website with free resources for designer makers, as well as masterclasses and digital guides.
One of my early rugs, photographed in 2016
Tip No. 2 - Make It Easy To Find You And Buy From You
Social media is the bane of many creatives’ existences, and I get it- sometimes it really sucks. But platforms like Instagram and TikTok are also amazing ways for new people to discover your work. And if you want to make money selling your work, you need to make it as easy as possible for people to discover it!
This means posting regularly and consistently (at least once or twice a week at minimum) and curating a feed that gives new customers an immediate sense of what your work is and what you are selling. If you’re struggling with social media, I highly recommend Sara Tasker’s Insta-Retreat which is full of enormously helpful advice on instagram specifically and branding/marketing in general.
Once people have found you, the next step is to help them learn more about your work and buy it from you. The best way to do this is by having a clear, easy-to-navigate and up-to-date website.
Lots of makers use Etsy in the early stages, but I have always found their layout and interface confusing, and their fees extortionate. When I first started out I used Big Cartel, which has a very simple e-commerce layout that can be updated easily from your phone. You can also use Shopify or Squarespace.
If you sell work in batches at set times of year, or you work to commission, make sure there is a clear way for customers to sign up for your mailing list or contact you with enquiries.
Make sure you check how your website looks on mobile, iPad and desktop, and that all the links are working properly. Again, your goal here is to make this process as friction-free for your customers as possible.
My first two products- smaller framed tapestries and larger rugs
Tip No. 3 - Offer Different Products At Different Price Points
Now pricing your work is a tricky topic and everyone has different opinions and ideas on how it should be done. Making things by hand is time-consuming and therefore expensive. When you’re starting out it can be nerve-wracking to charge an amount that actually covers the cost of making, and generates a profit.
My advice is to have a range of products at different price points. The larger, time-consuming pieces which are unique one-offs should be the most expensive. Alongside these you can offer smaller hand-made pieces, prints, greetings cards and other products which are priced accessibly. That way you’re not relying on one or two big pieces selling, and your followers with limited funds can still support you by buying something small.
For more advice on pricing, I highly recommend the Design Trust website. Think carefully about how you price your work, and don’t undersell yourself! It’s better to wait and sell at the right price than sell too quickly and cheaply.
Exhibiting at London Design Fair in 2016
Tip No. 4 - Show Your Work In Person (Not Just Online!)
My final tip for selling online might be a little paradoxical - exhibit and sell your work in person. When I first started out, I organised exhibitions in my friends houses and in coffee shops, submitted work for group shows and paid for stands at craft and trade fairs.
Exhibiting in person brings your work to a wider audience who might not find you online. But they may see your work and visit your website, follow you on Instagram or sign up for your newsletter. Showing your work and interacting with people while doing it helps build confidence in what you’re creating. Sure, some people don’t get it (shout out out to the guy who asked me if my tapestries were place mats at my first exhibition in 2015) but lots of people will be positive and encouraging.
Furthermore, exhibiting in person is a great way to photograph your work in new settings, and gives you more opportunities to share it on social media. It’s always easier to post when you have something to post about! And it gives people who’ve found your online a chance to view it in person.
Selling your work online can be daunting at first. But don’t let perfectionism stand in your way, and don’t be afraid to start small. I sold my first tapestries to my friends and their parents (and my parent’s friends!) and took photos on my iPhone. Now here I am, seven years later.
The most important thing you can do as a maker is just keep showing up, keep sharing your work, and most importantly, keep making.
If you enjoyed this blog post, let me know in the comments or drop me an email at christy@balfourand.co - I’d love to hear from you!
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