It is in the nature of artistic work to pursue its passion and at the same time act freely as possible from financial and economic constraints
Apart from a few established sizes with world rental quantities, most artists should agree that this is often not easy to do. After all, invoices have to be paid, the livelihood wants to be deserved and you don't want to live in existential fear.
For this reason, the economic basis is a necessity. And is it not easier and, above all, to pursue his passion when annoying money worries can be banished out of the head?
Art doesn't have to be breadless
"Brotlos art" are winged words that you meet again and again in and outside the art and cultural scene. There are numerous ways to live well from his creative work.
New technologies arise, the world changes at a breathtaking pace . Proven methods suddenly lose their effectiveness. Not easy to keep an overview here.

photo of Victor Grabarczyk @victor_vector, via Unsplash
For this reason, I would like to summarize in this article for you as well as new, promising options, as you can turn your talent into money this year (update for 2025) and beyond, without risking your artistic claim.
The status quo and the aftermath of the multicises on the art scene
In view of the multiple crises -aftermath of Corona pandemic, Ukraine War, energy price shock, shortage of skilled workers and inflation-many art galleries and exhibitions are still in difficult fairway. At the same time, developments in artificial intelligence and generative AI clearly increasing many artists.
Exercise and after-effects of the corona crisis for the cultural and creative industries
In the years 2020-2022, the German cultural and creative industry suffered greatly from the effects of Corona pandemic- as well as the Federal Competence Center of the Cultural and Creative Industry of the Federation has the economic effects of pandemic on the cultural and creative industries for 2020, 2021 and 2022.
In particular, the performing arts (-81 %), the music industry (-44 %), the film industry (-41 %) and the art market (-39 %) were seriously affected. These numbers again illustrate the difficult situation in which cultural workers are during the Corona crisis. The hoped -for relaxation in 2021 failed to materialize, instead the industry was hit a second time, as the decline in sales of -6.3 percent or -11.0 billion in comparison to 2019 shows.
The economic situation of numerous art houses, galleries and trade fair organizers was also allowed to be classified as critical. Uncertainty was felt everywhere.
Artists and cultural workers in the crisis - protocols of a photographer
The photographer Stephan Lucka had portrayed art and cultural workers during the pandemic to examine their personal coping strategies and solutions in dealing with the failure of their activities.
He devoted himself to twelve diverse examples, including performance artists, cabaret artists, dancers and clowns. These portraits provide a fascinating insight into the individual reactions to the crisis of the cultural industry and their effects on society as a whole.
impressive work shows how creative and determined artists react to the challenges with whom they are faced.
Culture can crisis - how the cultural industry recovered
Despite the turbulent world situation, the most recent years of inflation and multicises, art and cultural events are very popular again, since the audience gradually returns to the halls and is hungry for culture. The challenges of the past few years are gradually taking a back seat, also thanks to flexible leisure opportunities and digitized or virtualized offers.
Galleries, art fairs, stages and concert halls react to this change with last minute tickets, flex subscriptions, virtual offers and improved rebooking options. Minister of Culture Claudia Roth has also introduced the cultural pass that offers young people financial support for cultural activities and therefore benefits the cultural workers.
analysis of the Federal Cultural and Creative Economy of the Federal Cultural and Creative Industry ( also shows how the way from the crisis can work into the future here it goes for download ).
There are numerous innovative ideas that have arisen from pandemic, as well as constructive and future -oriented coping strategies for the crisis as well as well -founded advice on how to actively shape your future in the art industry.
Monitoring Report Culture and Creative Economy 2024 published on February 27, 2025 also proves the recovery of the creative industries with numbers:
- Almost two million workers worked in the NPP. This corresponds to around four percent of the workers in the German overall economy.
- The growth of workers was 2.1 percent.
- Around 1.1 million employees were subject to social security contributions.
- Around 665,000 people were marginally employed.
- Around 238,000 companies were part of the NPPs.
- In 2023, the NPC had around 205 billion euros in sales.
- An average of 858,000 euros could be generated per company.
- Sales increased 5.3 percent in the previous year.
- Most employees worked for the software/games industry, a total of 685,100 employees.

Further paying and analysis as well as a look at the detailed results of the eleven sub-markets can be found directly from the Monitoring Report Cultural and Creative Industry 2024 , which was created on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection .
New sales channels and earning opportunities for artists
In order to compensate for the elimination of traditional sales and marketing channels for their art , artists, gallery owners and art dealers have new online and long-distance sales . In order to sell their art, paths and methods have developed, from which it can be assumed that they are still viable if the pandemic has long since entered the history books.
Let's take a look at the most popular and most promising opportunities for an artist to earn money with his artistic work today and in the future.
The best ways to make money as an artist in 2025 and beyond
01 original pictures, limited editions and copies (art prints) sell online
This is the most obvious and easiest to be realized. It does not require your own local business or a large audience. Thanks to the Internet, you can sell your art online via various platforms, networks and channels.
You don't even need your own online shop or your own website (although this is useful and recommended sooner or later).
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Here are some of the best points of contact online to sell works of art online and directly to people interested in art:
Artnet

Artnet has built strategic partnerships with renowned auction houses and renowned galleries in order to establish itself as a central point of contact for passionate collectors of contemporary art. These collaborations with leading actors of the art scene make it possible to present a wide range of works of art and art lovers to offer a comprehensive insight into the world of contemporary art.
As a virtual platform for galleries, Artnet acts as a shop window for artists who are represented by these partner galleries. You have the option of asking galleries to present your works on Artnet and thus increase your visibility in the digital space. On Artnet, interested parties can explore the works of the artists either about the gallery list or a special list of artists, which, in addition to current news and event information, also provides information on past auction results and available works of art.
With this innovative approach, Artnet succeeds in creating a unique platform that strengthens the connection between artists, galleries and art enthusiasts.
Artsy

Artsy pursues the ambitious goal of making the boundless diversity of the global art scene accessible to anyone who has an internet connection. Similar to Artnet, Artsy is not only intended for individual artists, but can also be of interest to galleries who want to present their works of art on this platform.
As an online gallery supported by risk capitalists, Artsy is aimed primarily at lovers of contemporary art. With live auctions, extensive information on art fairs and exhibitions as well as the possibility of presenting galleries on the platform, Artsy offers a multifaceted platform for those interested in art around the world.
Etsy
Etsy is a strongly grown and extremely popular platform that started in 2005 and has become one of the largest international online marketplaces of its kind.

She reaches a huge audience, especially for art, handmade and collector's pieces . Due to the large number of artists who offer their works on the website , it can be a certain challenge to present their art correctly, to put it in the spotlight and to address the right buyers. It is due to the sheer amount of works offered that a certain effort and some ingenuity are required to emit from the crowd.
Nevertheless, Etsy offers the necessary tools, marketing instruments as well as a large, active and very helpful community, with the help of which you can sell your works if you are using correctly.
If success does not use directly, you can get important insights with the help of the available analysis tools and statistics in order to readjust various adjustment screws. If you can't get any further, the Community Rat usually knows. Do not hesitate to take part in discussions and regularly ask for help and tips.
The price model is very fair. Only a very small fee is charged for the listing and the sales commissions are also fair. Only the advertising can quickly eat a hole in the budget if you do not go carefully and do not exhaust the optimization potential. Especially at the beginning, it is advisable to test with a small daily budget and then slowly drive it up as soon as you are satisfied with the results.
Etsy is a platform used by many artists to sell their works of art online. You can issue and sell your art on it. However, if we want to successfully sell our works of art, we can make some small gifts as giveaways in the initial phase of the sale to attract more customers.
Small, filigree pins are a great option. A badge with their online shop logo can surprise people who buy their art.
Of course, you can also convert your works of art into badges for sale. You can work with an experienced Badge manufacturer like Pins.net. Pins.net serves people around the world who love individual pins.
Saatchi Art

Saatchi Art has a huge audience and draws millions of art -related visitors to his side every day. It is probably the largest international online art gallery and an art marketplace that can get worldwide attention.
In Saatchi Art, visitors discover an incomparable selection of works of art by artists from all over the world for every budget, every style and every room. Access to experienced curators is also outstanding. Their approved works of art appear in special collections that appear weekly. Registered artists can also work with an art consultant via the platform to receive personal recommendations.
There are extremely many young and just up -and -coming artists in the ranks of Saatchi Art.
Singular type

Singulart is an international online art gallery based in Paris. The online platform was founded in August 2017 to support artists in the digital transformation of the art market and to sell their works to collectors from all over the world.
In the meantime, over 45,000 works of art are offered in the online gallery, in over 45 countries, and more than 81 nationalities are represented.
Empower artists! is the motto of Singulart, whose founder started to make the art market more international, more transparent and open. Artists are to be supported in the digitization of the art market and responsible in the sales process.
Artsper
Artsper is also a growing international online gallery for artists.

However, we spoke to several active artists there, whose experience with Artsper was rather disappointing. At the beginning, the platform seemed promising because it offered artists the opportunity to become internationally visible. However, high membership fees, 30 % commission on sales and the pressure to book expensive advertising measures, made it difficult to succeed as a free artist.
The visibility gave up more from the financial means than from art quality. In addition, there was little transparency: Instead of curating the best works, the work of artists who invested the most in advertising were apparently preferred. Additional restrictions in the conditions meant that these artists ended their membership there. The change to another platform brought them faster successes and fairer conditions.
In summary, artsper can work, but is comparatively expensive and opaque - for realistic sales promotion for freelance artists, we cannot recommend the platform for these reasons.
Amazon Handmade
What not many people know: Amazon has its own marketplace for handicrafts, where you can sell your art, handmade handicrafts, individually manufactured accessories and more.
You can sell drawings, paintings and works of art. Amazon Handmade does not charge any list fees. There is only a fee of 15 % per sale.
To profitability: According to the 2022 State of the Seller Report by Jungle Scout , 33 % of hand-made sellers have achieved profit spans of over 20 %.
Shopify
online shopping platform Shopify offers more design freedom on your online presence . However, you have to subscribe to your website hosting services, which leads to monthly, recurring fixed costs. This service is less suitable for occasional sellers, but is increasingly worthwhile with increasing sales.
With Shopify you can design your own online shop window, set up a complete e-commerce shop and advertise your shop via social media to reach a larger audience.
Fine Art America
An important online marketplace-albeit primarily geared towards the US audience. With a mixture of a more traditional gallery model with print-on-demand offers.
Fine Art America you can not only sell original art, but also have the option of having your creative work printed on everyday products such as hats, shirts and cell phone covers on this platform. The platform and its partner take over the pressure and the order processing for you.
Artfire
Another marketplace where art, handicrafts and other handmade articles can be sold is Artfire .
Millions of online buyers frequent this website daily, so their works have to be competitive and stand out.
Calculated on Artfire via listing fees and sales fees. There are different packages to choose from and you can upgrade at any time.
U gallery
U Gallery is essentially an exclusive high-class art gallery that is operated online.
This creates potential for a greater range and one addresses customers worldwide. The concept and the implementation are unique in this form, since all artists and works of art are examined without exception by a team of experts and the offer is therefore handpicked.
In order to be presented on U gallery, the artists have to go through an application process. If you are selected and recorded, the price achieved is shared with U Gallery when selling art.
02 Own online shop
The Internet has revolutionized the way art artists can sell their works. Corona pandemic has fueled the trend towards online sales again.

image source: rawpixel.com, via FreePik
Building an online shop can be the perfect way to pay people who are interested in their work to buy their own works without paying any commissions or fees to gallery owners or marketplaces. It is associated with some initial effort until your own shop is, but the effort is worthwhile in the long run in any case.
In addition, there are now numerous online shop systems and website builder that can be used without programming and web design knowledge and with little effort :
- Wix
- Shopify
- Squarespace
- ECWID
- Big Cartel
For professional artists, a separate shop or at least your own website and indispensable. This is the only way to make yourself in the long term regardless of gallery owners, marketplaces and algorithms.
If you don't your own website , it may be a good idea to create one to sell your work online. As soon as everything is set up, link your online shop with all your social media accounts so that it achieves the greatest reach.
In addition to this, you can still sell, sell and sell your art on online marketplaces such as Etsy, Artfinder or Saatchi Art, on which artists present and sell their art. But always give your fans, customers and buyers a small additional incentive to buy directly on your website (e.g. with vouchers, discounts, extras, goodies, etc.) to bind them directly to you.
By selling your work online, your art can be financed with just a few clicks. However, the sale can be overcome, especially if you take care of the shipping of your art. Ideally, you will find someone who can take on these tasks for you so as not to lose the focus of your art.
In addition, not every work is suitable for online sales. Fortunately, there are other options that you can consider and explore in order to obtain financing for your art.
Advantages:
- Complete independence
- Indispensable for a professional performance
- Excellent for bundling all of your sales and marketing channels
- Important for long -term customer loyalty
- Online shops are easy to set up and enable you to present your works of art in a professional light
- If you have a business, you can guide customers to a virtual place where you sell works of art online
- You do not have to pay commissions to galleries, exhibitions or marketplaces to highlight your works of art
Disadvantages:
- In order to carry out an effective digital marketing campaign that brings customers into their online shop, financial resources are required
- A sufficient inventory of works is required for shipping via an online shop to offer your customers selection options
03 Sell works on art exhibitions
This is the most prestigious way . To be honest, not every artist can boast. Long exhibition biographies are a sign of recognition and popularity in the art world.
If you are lucky enough to have an agent, you can probably earn an entire annual salarair by selling a few pictures for you at an exhibition.
However, note that you need a good and trustworthy agent who does not claim 80% of sales revenues. So check who binds.
If you are in the happy position of having good connections to the world of art and exhibition, you can get by without an agent. However, this requires a lot of networking, and she may have to visit numerous exhibitions from other artists before getting a foot in the door.
It is certainly also a typ request. Would you like to concentrate fully on your art or are you a convivial, jovial journeyman that is easy to make and maintain Contact Us e? Your choice should be made according to your individual preferences, preferences and talents. A flat rate is not very effective here. You know yourself best.
It is currently still to be added that art exhibitions, while the world are still fighting with the Covid 19 pandemic, are sown rare. If you are in a region in which restrictions have been largely lifted, you can stretch out the sensors to search for galleries that will soon be realizing or at least planning for exhibitions.
04 order work
This method is for stress-tolerant . It has been popular at all times. Everyone wants to give their own portrait or someone a hand -painted or lovingly drawn portrait.
Customers differ in character, their demands, requirements and their solvency. These are individual projects and the prices vary depending on the desired work and budget of the customer. Even in terms of deadlines, there are big differences: Sometimes time hardly plays a role, then it has to be at very short notice or even overnight.
This makes it difficult to plan in time and economically as an artist.
But here is an idea:
You can offer order work that is easier, such as greeting cards or posters and tickets for special occasions and public holidays. You can find order work, for example, on legendary pages such as Deviant Art , which is still one of the largest online art communities in the world.
Conduct 05 offline workshops
the most pleasant in my opinion . Gathered groups of adults and/or children and regularly give lessons. From time to time you can also organize painting events or painting trips and give workshops.
A change of wallpaper, getting to know new interesting people and the satisfaction of teaching and seeing grateful students motivates and diversifies this type of activity.
This method may be difficult to implement at the beginning because you will find a room, buy materials, put together groups and do a lot of administrative work. But with the right approach, the investment pays off in several ways.
With this approach, you are unfortunately always limited in terms of earnings, since you cannot guarantee that all workshop places will always be awarded or the number of participants is limited anyway. In addition, you may not be able to offer lessons and workshops every day.
arts, this method is also ideal for performing art and music (instruments).
Create and publish online art courses
The conception, creation, publication and marketing of online art courses requires a lot of resources at the beginning and can take a lot of time until the market launch.
For this you first need good film equipment and lighting to take high -quality video recordings. You should also know how to record and edit videos.
Of course, you can learn all of the autodidactic-with the help of online tutorials-or by attending payable courses. In order to create high -quality content - which is now almost expected by potential customers - it is advisable to contact professionals who can help you organize, implement and post -production the shooting.
Everything you still have to do is take care of the content.
The online course is in the box? The next question is where to publish the online course ?
Nowadays there are many ways to publish videos and online courses online . Starting from your own website, to publishing and video platforms such as YouTube, Vimeo & Co. to large international course provider marketplaces called Udemy or Domestika .


Other popular platforms for online courses are Learnworlds and Teachable . The minimum packages on these pages start at around € 29 per month. Minimum packages are a good starting point, but they are restricted in their functionality and may not be satisfied with everyone. With serious intentions, you should better expect the triple of this amount on average.
Creating and publishing an online course is one thing, but it is far from being done. It can still be an arduous way until the first sale.
Promoting and selling new courses is a complicated task. The same principle applies here as with pictures. If you already have a large audience or fan base and are familiar with marketing and sales, then you can quickly get things rolling with relatively little effort.
If this is not the case, you should better place your online courses on already known and popular platforms, such as Udemy or Skillshare .
In addition to an existing huge audience, the advantage of these extensive platforms is that content and courses can be published and advertised very quickly and technically without problems. A monthly fee is usually due for this. The disadvantage lies in the high competition of providers that you have to assert yourself against.
All platforms have different conditions, but in general they are quite similar. As a rule, they take their share of their price sales (sometimes also in connection with a monthly basic fee).
As soon as your course is published on one of these platforms, it is available for all users. If there are already many other courses on the platform, the question arises how to highlight it.
In addition to publishing content, the platforms usually offer advertising services for an additional fee in order to make courses more visible to potential customers.
07 Publish video content on popular platforms
There are big video platforms such as YouTube , Vimeo Tikok popular under the very young audience , to name the most prominent examples.
You can earn money for calls on YouTube. First you have to have more than 1,000 subscribers to monetize your own YouTube channel with advertisements.
Another good idea is to create Patreon
Furthermore, you can earn money with Tikkok via user support. As soon as you have 1,000 subscribers, you can go live. You can then support other users with gifts in the form of stickers. These can later be exchanged for real money.
However, it is not as easy as it sounds. It means being constantly active and regularly producing trendy high -quality content. The initial effort to work out your own fan base can also be lengthy and very time -consuming.
With the high competition on these platforms, you need good stamina in addition to creativity and originality.
In addition to video content alone, this is also great platforms to generate valuable feedback, reviews and partner marketing for your own art and services and keep your content up to date.
08 earn money as a freelance illustrator
You can google on the Internet and find a book publisher, for example, to send an initiative application as an illustrator with your portfolio.
You can also register on a freelancer website and publish your portfolio there. Perhaps you will be noticed by potential customers and are offered interesting projects.
Platforms such as upwork and freelancers are popular freelancer platforms that have extensive categories and services. However, note that there are many other freelancers who offer the same or very similar services. Therefore, the competition and consequently the price pressure is quite large.
But that's not all.
Your price-performance ratio must also be competitive. One thing that you can do before setting up your profile is to browse the art and graphics categories in order to get a better idea of what is offered and what it costs.
In order to achieve an interesting price level, you should be able to stand out from the crowd, to collect positive customer reviews for time and to keep your performance constant.
Do not underestimate recommendation marketing. Every satisfied customer is the best and most effective advertising you can get.
09 publish a textbook on the subject of drawing
Drawing is a very popular hobby among young and old. You can put together easy instructions for drawing or different drawing techniques.
Then you can create a digital version of it that can be downloaded for a specific amount.
The best thing about it?
Your book does not have to be about techniques and theory. You can also put together an art book with your best illustrations or paintings.
Many self-published (keyword: self publishing ) eBook authors contact Amazon to sell their books on Kindle.
Lifelong learning and studying is part of the usual career and career for many artists. The need for further training and personal development is therefore high in the creative universe. You can therefore also go the classic way : find a publisher and publish the book together.
This option is not so easy to do, but the development of an eBook and the achievement of sufficient sales and attention can ultimately also lead to you get a publication contract with a publisher.
10 create patterns for fabrics
You can create beautiful, stylish patterns and upload them to pattern design or pattern bench and maybe even some large (fashion) house is buying this illustration. There are several ways to sell patterns on pattern bench.

You can sell your designed prints for non-commercial use, the commercial use or the premium exclusive use, in which the buyer acquires ownership of the design after purchase.
In this case you will receive a one -time fee, which is usually higher so that the buyer receives the exclusive rights to use the pressure.
In the non-exclusive categories, you are entitled to a 50%commission on all sales that are made via Pattern Bank.
Give 11 paid live streams
You can still earn good money with paid streams, webinars and live broadcasts If you have a sufficiently large audience, even at a low price. You can use platforms to play out your streams such as Demio or Vimeo .
In this way, you are able tutorials , workshops and webinars live and have the opportunity to interact directly with the spectators and to receive immediate feedback or content inquiries. In this interactive and dynamic way, you design your stream more interesting or informative.
But that's not all.
Your live streams can go from an art course to "Ask me everything", to coffee gossip or a session with tips and tricks. If you are an active social media influencer, this method is a great way to advertise your different pages and offers. There your participants can then step with you for projects in Contact Us or buy your works of art directly .
Mustafa Jannan reveals how video courses and live workshops work in the following article: Successful online courses: A guide for beginners .
Perform 12 paid personal consultations online
Paid personal 1-to-1 consultations and individual training with tools such as zoom are very popular these days. You can carry out art consultations and use your expertise to help others find or show how you can use art to beautify your home or offices.
Many potential customers may not have access to an art expert who can advise you on the purchase of works of art or when ordering individual works of art, or you even need help with your own art projects and would like an expert opinion on techniques or the procurement of materials for your projects.
13 Concept art / concept art for games and gaming industry
Another sought -after and well -paid way to make money as an artist is to draw graphics, scenes and sketches for games (keyword: Concept Art, Character Design, Fan Art ).

You can create your portfolio under Artstation , for example, where you can be noticed by such mogules in the game industry such as Blizzard, Ubisoft and others. Publishing and sketches and digital designs on Deviantart or Instagram helped many artists to make orders in the game industry.

The game industry is huge and again and again new developers appear who are looking for artists who help them visualize their ideas and fantasy people.
Some of the most popular games are now equipped with conceptual art that was found on art station , and many artists have become very successful with the production of art for games and have even been offered full -time jobs from large game developers.
Thanks to their amazing talent and devotion, these artists are very well known in the industry and advise them: they may also have the potential to achieve this!
14 stock photography
Stock photos are the version of the photo industry of the popular motto "Do what you love, and the money will follow you". Let's be honest, nobody will park a briefcase full of money on your doorstep as soon as you register with an photo agency.
However, these platforms offer a unique opportunity to be paid for the work that you may have done free of charge in the course of creating a breathtaking photo website to present your talent.
Below we would like to give you a few small but valuable tips on how to make the best of these platforms. Would you like to immerse yourself in this world? Here are the most important things you should pay attention to when you learn how to successfully sell stock photos:
Tip 1: Select the right pictures
When choosing the photos you want to upload to the picture agency, think of the potential customers for your pictures. For example, if you believe that one of you on the cover of a magazine would work well, make sure that you share a vertical and no horizontal version. If you see it as the background of an advertisement, leave enough space so that the creative team can insert its content into your composition.
A good way to find out which images could better do in which format is to research the type of images used by brands. If you check publications, websites and advertising boards, you can find out whether there are any patterns that you all have in common.
If you are still not sure afterwards or believe that a photo in more than one format could work, you can upload several versions of the same image to maximize the likelihood of sales.
Tip 2: Note the rules
Have you ever heard of the saying: "It is better to ask for forgiveness than for permission" ? Well, nothing could be further away from the truth when it comes to stock photos.
In fact, the express permission is one of the most important things you should consider. Stock photos must not show any recognizable brands, logos or people who have not released their image rights. If your recording contains one of the first two, you can remove it with Photoshop. For people you have to ask you to sign a model release form.
Many photographers have found on the hard tour that it is not just a visible face that makes people "recognizable". Other characteristics, such as B. unique tattoos also fall under this condition.
Tip 3: Select the best photo agency / platform for your photos
The selection of the agency or the platform with which you want to work can be quite overwhelming, since numerous platforms have to be considered. However, they can all be divided into two main categories: Microstock and Premium stock .
Microstock agencies accept amateur photos and have a lower entry barrier. Although the price you pay per picture is quite low, it is important to note that most buyers work with these platforms. Examples of Microstock agencies are iStock , Dreamstime and Adobe Stock .
The large stock platform Depositphotos falls into this category.
Nowadays it is quite possible to make money online by selling your content. In fact, publishers, advertising agencies, designers and bloggers from all over the world buy hundreds of pictures of specialized websites every day that offer this service. The Stock platform Depositphotos is a way not only to sell your drawings in no time at all, but also to achieve a passive income.
Imagine you make a really interesting picture that represents the concept of profit or happiness that is by definition a timeless concept, a so -called "evergreen", ie it is always up to date.
In this way, your picture has a real chance of selling yourself again and again without having to change or adapt.
So if you are a creative image designer, you should consider selling https://de.depositphotos.com/
Premium image agencies require higher qualifications and therefore it is not so easy to sell their pictures from there. However, the payment for the photos is usually significantly higher than with Microstock. One of the most popular premium image agencies is Getty Images .
Another big difference between the two types is exclusivity. Microstock agencies have no requirements and allow you to sell your pictures on each platform, while premium stacking agencies require you to make your pictures available anywhere else.
Tip 4: Understand the photo notification
The photo notification may be the most difficult part in learning to sell stock photos. Microstock agencies don't actually offer many options, but if you choose to sell on a premium stock platform, you have to know two types of licenses: Royalty Free and Royalty Managed . The agency chooses the type of license for each image based on its uniqueness.
Royalty Free (RF) can be used indefinitely and the price depends on the size of the file. For this reason, you should always upload the highest possible resolution.
Royalty Managed (RM) are individual licenses and the price depends on the use.
Tip 5: Find out who bought your pictures
If one of your pictures is sold for a considerable amount of money, you will probably be curious about who used it. Knowing this will not necessarily teach you something about how to sell stock photos, but it can increase your motivation and work miracles for your online marketing skills.
The photo agency cannot show you the exact use, but it can give you the name of the company that the picture bought. If this is not satisfied with your curiosity, you can try to contact us by email and ask if you could share the final use with you.
15 Connect to other artists
You can work with other aspiring artists and organize an exhibition together or network with artists who are already known and active in the art scene.
Social media platforms are a great way to facilitate such collaborations and get some advertising for your own media appearances where the audience can find and view their art.
Cooperation with artists can also be carried out via joint projects , such as: B. Community wall paintings or charity events. Such projects can also be financed online via crowdfunding and it could certainly bear your name as an artist.
16 Try it with street sales
If you really want to do your best, try selling your art on the street. To do this, you can set up a stand where you draw on request or paint or sell finished works of art directly from the spot.
Choose a busy area, e.g. B. a popular tourist destination, a busy shopping street or a cultural district. Similar to a musician who is traveling as a street musician, you can do it with art.
Many artists have become known for passers -by through the sale of art on sidewalks or the drawing of portraits on site and even went viral on the Internet.
As long as you do not hinder pedestrians, have the required approval or do not violate urban laws, you are free to try road art sale. A funny, entertaining, varied and exciting way to share your art with the world.
17 Create your own blog
Blogging is a popular and successful method to market yourself, your talent and her art individually and obviously. The interlinking of portfolio, insights into the creative creative process behind art and personal descriptions and stories will ultimately turn interested readers and readers from prospective customers.
You can use free versions of blogger platforms such as Wix or WordPress to get started immediately. Joomla , Jimdo and Tumblr also established themselves well in the creative industry.
Blogging requires a lot of dedication and resistance to remain relevant and to maintain the interest of your audience. See it as a long -term strategy and do not expect visible success too quickly. Good thing wants to have a while here.
In terms of thematic focus, you can publish content about your art, insight into your professional (or private) life, advisory articles, instructions and tutorials. A good mix of texts and media content such as pictures, audio and videos usually proves to be ideal. Most blogger platforms also offer shop extensions to offer finished works for sale directly via the blog.
Additional monetization of the blog can also be done via so-called affiliate marketing ( Affiliate Program with companies and brands), sponsored posts and product advertising . Look for art-related partner programs on affiliate networks or online, in which you can participate in order to offer your audience an additional benefit and achieve passive income from advertisements and promotional items.

These affiliate pages include, for example, Amazon Partnernet, Awin, CJ, Creative Bug, Blick, Mightydeals and Creative Market .
However, it is not as easy as it sounds. It means being constantly active and regularly producing trendy high -quality content. The initial effort to work out your own fan base can also be lengthy and very time -consuming.
Aleks Bleck from Northernfinance is particularly successful on YouTube and, for example, has one or the other tip ready to build a passive income.
18 participate in art competitions
It may be a bit like playing the lottery, but if your work is impressive enough or a zeitgeist is particularly good, you have a chance to win. Just google for online art competitions and you will find a wealth of options.
Before you register, make sure that you read the conditions of participation carefully and pay attention to all warnings that point out something suspicious. Some art competitions require a participation fee and seem dubious, but there are many in which participation is free of charge and quite worthwhile.
Art competitions are also a nice notch on your board when you win because you can use the recognition to promote your personal brand. Art competitions also keep you busy, drive you to improve your skills and motivate you to become a better artist in general.
19 art at trade fairs and festivals sell
Book a place on your local farmers' market, a festival, a major event or an art fair to exhibit your works of art for sale.
There are many people at these events and they are very likely to achieve a few sales or at least receive a good portion of attention.
Be sure to distribute business cards and flyers so that potential customers can find their social media accounts quickly or have their Contact Us data ready if you want to buy from you at some point.
Markets and folk festivals usually apply unique and handmade products. You can give your art a new direction by specifically addressing or taking up the topic of the festivities and, for example, painting materials on upcycling or selling sustainable craft items.
Even Christmas markets are always a good opportunity to provide relaxed people one or the other special gift idea.
20 stay on the ball and do not give up
It is no secret that it is not easy to sell art - especially in the short perspective. Fortunately, they have now got to know some promising opportunities to try it out.
Consistency is the key in every company form and you must continue to perfect your craft and improve again and again. The better you are in what you do, the higher the quality of your works, which in turn means that more people will be interested in their art.
It is also a good practice to use more than just one channel to make your art known and use different platforms to be noted, to achieve sales and make your talent into money.
As you can see, the Internet now opens up a huge number of options for artists. The main thing is that you know where you want to go and choose a niche and become good in it.
Think about which topics you inspire and in what style you like to work. It is important to understand how much time you are willing to invest in order to make a decision on this basis.
However you should choose, it is important that you continue to work and work on your own style and individual technology.
There are thousands of artists, but only one like them!

Owner and managing director of Kunstplaza . Publicist, editor and passionate blogger in the field of art, design and creativity since 2011. Successful conclusion in web design as part of a university degree (2008). Further development of creativity techniques through courses in free drawing, expression painting and theatre/acting. Profound knowledge of the art market through many years of journalistic research and numerous collaborations with actors/institutions from art and culture.