Thanks to the Internet, it has become much easier to promote your creativity – just share it on social networks or on thematic resources. But the main thing is that everyone has the opportunity to earn it. The Internet allows artists many options to monetize their creativity. In the article, we will look at 20 ideas on how to make money as an artist online.
One of the main advantages of affiliate marketing for artists is that it allows them to reach a wider and more diverse audience than they would be able to reach on their own. Affiliates have their own followers and networks, which means that they can expose the artist’s work to people who may not have otherwise known about it. This can lead to increased visibility, brand awareness, and sales.
1. Create illustrations for different projects
Graphic illustrations
One of the most popular ways to make money is illustrating various projects. You can draw book covers, design bloggers’ information products, create stickers for social networks and instant messengers.
Finding such orders is easy – just check the offers on freelance exchanges, ad services and specialized sites for illustrators.
2. Sell original works
Not all artists like to draw in order, so for many, the idea of selling ready-made works via the Internet is relevant. To do this, we place an offer on social networks, on special bulletin boards, on our website or blog, or on sites where paintings or handmade goods are sold.
3. Create pattern designs
Patterns are a fairly popular direction in illustration. They are used for fabric design, wrapping paper, stationery, etc.
You can sell your work at Patternbank. This is a huge online database of patterns and textile designs created by designers from all over the world. The main specialization of PatternBank is patterns for textiles. They can be applied to the design of clothes, home textiles, accessories, shoes. PatternBank clients include brands such as MARKS & SPENCER, NIKE, GAP, NEXT and many others.
To become a design supplier on PatternBank, you need to pass something like an exam: you upload 4-6 of your designs for review. If your designs are of high quality and in trend, you will be invited to the team. After that, you will be able to sell your patterns under licenses. According to the terms of the resource itself, if you have posted designs for sale, you do not have the right to sell them anywhere else. That is, you create exclusive prints for PatternBank.
This strict rule is offset by a fairly high level of payout in case of buying a design. From each sale, the author receives 50% of the transaction amount. And how much it is in dollars / euros – will depend on the license under which the design is sold. It is standard and exclusive. An exclusive license means that a print can only be sold on the site once. After the purchase, it is simply removed from the site. An exclusive print costs 300 euros – that is, if you buy it, you will earn 150 euros. And for a standard print that costs 50 euros, you will receive 25 euros from each purchase. There are other subtleties of working with this service, but the essence is clear.
In addition, you can sell patterns on various photo stocks, on ETSY.COM and the “Fair of Masters” – not so long ago, a function for selling digital goods appeared there.
4. Sell stock images
If you draw a lot of different illustrations, then you can post them on stock portals. Many companies are looking for drawings to use in their work. These can be printers, textile manufacturers, publishers, website designers, etc. In any activity, illustrations are needed, including for the design of advertising materials.
depends on your income. Certain topics are more popular and have high sales potential. Others are less in demand. Photobanks themselves will help you decide: lists of the most frequent requests are published on the sites. Vector images are in demand: business, healthy lifestyle, infographics, travel, etc. A good option is serial illustrations. Such pictures are sold as a set, for example: alphabets and numbers, children’s illustrations, calendars, sports, characters (you can come up with some character and depict it in various life situations).
5. Print your illustrations on souvenirs
You can produce souvenirs with your own illustrations: T-shirts, mugs, shopping bags, notebooks, passport covers, various accessories. What is enough fantasy!
You create prints and original illustrations, figure out where you want to place them, and then find a printing house that is ready to fulfill your order. You can sell goods through your online store, social networks, and creative services. Place an order – and send the goods with delivery. You can find partners and sell through them.
6. Blog on social media
Social media is a great way to share your creativity and monetize it. And the main thing for good earnings is to promote your account and gain an audience. You can earn income from your blog in many ways: from the sale of your work, advertising cooperation, the sale of educational materials, etc. And you can also keep an expert blog: make it available by subscription and share unique useful information in it. For example, post your tutorials, creative life hacks, templates, checklists, and other materials that people will be willing to pay for.
7. Posting master classes on YouTube
Videos of the creative process are always very interesting to watch. So why not take advantage of this and earn? Make a video of how you create an illustration, you can explain some points from the drawing techniques. Edit the video and upload it to YouTube. You can make and share educational videos, as well as entertaining art-themed videos.
You can earn by monetizing content and redirecting traffic to your other resources. For example, in addition to free training videos, you can create your own paid course.
8. Creative streams, webinars, live broadcasts
Here is another idea to make money on video content – you broadcast your creative activity online and receive donations for it. You can’t make big money on this, unless you have a very active and large audience.
You can stream on YouTube, Twitch, Amlab.ru and other resources.
9. Advise the creative process or art project
If you draw well and are ready to share this experience with others, you can earn money by providing individual consultations.
Personal consultations are not just a conversation on some artistic topic. It is also a mandatory immersion in the client’s problem, its analysis, answers to questions, your suggestions on how to solve the problems that have arisen.
You can find the first orders through freelance exchanges. Post your ad and wait for someone to respond to it. We have given examples of such services above.
If you establish yourself as a good specialist who will have a constant stream of clients, create a personal website. On your resource, you can tell in detail about yourself and demonstrate your expertise, which will increase the trust of customers in your work.
10. Sell educational materials for artists
Earlier we already talked about the idea of the infobusiness, but now we will dwell on this in more detail. Today it is one of the most promising ways to make money on the Internet. You sell what you yourself have already learned, that is, your knowledge and experience.
You can organize art courses, create educational materials. Now people are ready to invest in self-development.
To succeed in this business, you need to be an expert in your field and have teaching skills. After all, in fact, not every good artist can become a good teacher. Therefore, weigh the pros and cons when deciding to launch your own training course or online school.
You can create and promote the course yourself, but there is also the option to create exclusive courses for learning resources that will deal with advertising. There are many such resources today. The main thing is to find the conditions of cooperation suitable for you.
In the future, having established yourself as a professional, you can release specialized training literature. Publishing houses willingly publish books of popular experts on the Internet.
