Make More Sales Being Accessible: Part One

When I first opened my gallery in 2004 I was hoping to sell only original work and although I did sell some originals I learned real fast that I needed to make my art more accessible. Obviously, you can’t please everybody, but there is nothing wrong with having a good range of price points that can accommodate anybody’s wallet.

Here are a few things you can do to make your art more accessible to a broad range of people.

– Offer merchandise that incorporates your artwork. (Part One)
– Offer payment plans for higher priced pieces as well as limited edition prints of your work. (Part Two)

Now, let’s get more in depth. Merchandise by definition is “the manufactured goods bought and sold in any business”. As DIY artists our merchandise isn’t always commercially manufactured because we like making stuff ourselves. The list of merchandise you can make is endless. Here are some ideas to start you off with that cover a wide range of price points for your collectors/customers. I’ll list a few items and focus on one per category.

Accessories: buttons, pocket mirrors, necklaces, key chains, wallets, hand painted cell phone covers, etc.

Buttons: sell for $1-5 – I’ve been selling single 1″ buttons with my artwork on them at $1 each for years. I also put together button packs for $5, which include a set of five buttons. Buttons are great “functional” art. I mean, who doesn’t like a button? They can be made for very reasonable prices. The average price you’ll pay to get buttons made is $30 for 100 buttons. If you invest in your own button machine you can make them for a lot less, but the machine and parts will set you back about $380. Also, you’ll be hard pressed to find a true fan that can’t scrounge up one dollar to help support you and your creations. Remember, it all adds up. For a great example take a look at etsy seller Button Head.

button pack by buttonhead.etsy.com

If you’re interested in getting your own button machine check out Buttonmakers.net. I’ve been buying my own button machines and parts from them for years and they’ve always been super helpful.

Clothing / Wearables: t-shirts, skirts, tote bags, hats, dresses, hoodies, etc.

T Shirts: sell for $10-40 – I’ve seen DIY shirts offered in a wide range of prices, but I’d say the average these days is $25. Shirts are a great way to get your art out there! Getting your art on shirts isn’t as difficult as you might think. You can spray paint stencil on shirts, screen print, heat press, and even bleach your design onto a shirt. Etsy seller Devo Tees makes awesome shirts using a spray bottle full of bleach. Check it.

shirt by devotees.etsy.com

Printed Matter: stickers, postcards, greeting cards, posters, stationary, calendars, journals, books/zines, etc.

Stickers: sell for $1-10 (or just give them away) – I’m focusing on stickers for this category because I personally love stickers and they are great to resell as well as sticking up on your own to promote yourself. I’ve found the best way to sell them is in packs. I currently sell my sticker pack of ten for $5. The great thing about stickers is that you can make them on your own quite simply or get them professionally made. The easiest and by far the most DIY way to make stickers is to hand draw your image on adhesive paper that you can pick up at any office supply store. If you’re looking for consistency you might want to get a stamp made of your drawing and stamp your image right on the adhesive paper or print directly on the paper using your home printer. If you want to step up the quality a little I’d suggest screen printing your image on adhesive vinyl, which has been my personal method of choice for the last six years. (sidenote: my current sticker pack has two designs both printed by Sticker Guy.)

screenprinted stickers on vinyl
(brief description: I fit a lot of images on one screen that I print on a sheet of vinyl. After printing I have to cut the individual images into single stickers. I’ll have to write an in depth post about this process at a later date.)

For the most professional looking stickers you will have to outsource that to the people that do it all day every day. But believe me, you won’t be disappointed. Here are two places you’ll want to check out.

Sticker Guy: get 250 black and white 2.75″ square stickers for as low as $25. They offer lots of other sizes too. They also offer 500 black/red/white stickers for great prices. For other colors and custom sizes you’ll want to check out their bulk rate, which is still a pretty awesome deal, but you’ll have to order at least 1,000 stickers.

Sticker Robot: get 250 full color 2″ square stickers for $60. Be sure to check out their “instant quote calculator” and type in whatever size sticker you want. Like all printing jobs, the more you order the cheaper it gets per item. Their minimum order used to be 1,000, so it’s nice to see they offer smaller runs now.

Check back soon for Part Two of “Make More Sales Being Accessible”. Subscribe to the RSS feed so you don’t miss out!

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