Some of the questions all artists looking to make an income from their art are asking are these:
“How DO I make money this year?”
“What income streams should I be using from my art?”
“What should I focus on, what should I avoid for now?”
“Is this even possible?”
In this blog I’m going to share the 10 income streams I think will work well in 2023, so you can build a profitable art business.
Your job will be to choose the best one for you of course!
10 Income Streams For Your Art In 2023
1. Sell original art online
This might sound obvious and that’s because it is.
If you’re a painter then selling originals will give you the largest profit-margin (if you have them priced correctly of course).
Whether you do this yourself or find a third party site to list on…
IF you give this all your focus and attention and you have a lot of work, this can be great for you.
2. Sell limited edition prints online.
Ideal if you have a smaller collection of higher priced work and you are already selling…
For those who can’t afford your originals, having a limited edition print is ideal.
Who doesn’t love a bit of exclusivity?
Keep the print run low and sign and date each print of course.
Depending on your printing process you can still make a good margin on the print; even though you’ll need to outlay up front.
Of course you’ve already created the original, so this is extra income.
3. Sell open edition prints/posters POD.
Probably the more popular art product at the moment.
There are various ways to generate prints, from your home printer, to a local printer to using a third party POD company.
This can make your original artwork go further, but can also be seen to de-vale it.
Sometimes you can create purely for the prints and not even sell the originals.
The profit-margin will be lower, so you’ll need to sell high volumes.
4. Sell your artwork onto products POD.
Once you have an image that is created and scanned or photographed then why not look at POD on products.
This is a great way to get your designs seen by more people.
Imagine having your artwork on bags, clothes, stationary, tech covers, bedding and more…
Again your margin is low, but as you build things the more you sell , the more money you can make.
5. Create digital downloads.
The opportunities are endless here.
This will suit someone who has some design skills, and is familiar with the Adobe suite (or similar).
Create simple posters, stickers, calendars, filling-in pages, etc.
Anything that someone can download and print from home.
6. Get your art licensed.
Some of you will love this idea, as it takes you away from selling direct to the public, now you create the work and pitch to companies instead.
There’s no quick win here, but having a solid portfolio or work, a clear niche and brand will help you enormously.
The opportunities are great, again if you focus on building this up.
7. Get illustrating.
In a similar vein, creating work for books, or magazines can be very rewarding.
You can often end up working as a fee-lancer too, which could possibly provide some financial stability.
Illustration is on trend right now, so if this is your thing, now is the time to focus down on this.
8. Create art workshops.
This is perfect for those that would like to share their skills, but aren’t ready to commit to a full online course.
You can do this face-to-face or virtually using platforms like zoom.
It’s a chance to teach one topic and find out what else your audience would like.
These are quick to put together, easy to market and should provide you with a good profit.
9. Create online art courses.
The next step up for those wanting to teach a wider topic or your whole process.
More of a time commitment up front, but definitely worth it down the track.
You’ll need to have good online marketing skills to sell this effectively though.
10. Create an art membership.
Once you have a keen audience, the next step in the teaching line would be to create a membership, either using specific software or something like Patreon.
The downside is you have to create new content each month.
The up-side you’ve just created residual income for yourself!
This is a great model for stability, but only commit when or if you are ready. You’ll need some support to help you with this.
Conclusion:
I hope you are inspired to choose one of these 10 income streams for your art this year and you commit to it wholeheartedly.
The thing to remember is this:
It doesn’t matter which one you choose, you can make money from any of these, so long as you FOCUS on making one thing work fully first, before adding in another one.
Check out this video over on my YouTube channel where I talk in a more holistic strategic way about getting set up to make money as an artist:
20 Best Ways To Make Money As An Artist In 2023
