Print on Demand also requires work and patience

I started selling visual art on the internet, uploading my photos to Imagekind. They weren't that great, but not so bad either. We all start somewhere and we improve through practice any skill.  After a better camera (still point and shoot but 10.1 megapixels instead of 3.x), in 2008,  I thought that I'd start to get monthly sales.  I did, but now where I thought I would. 

I like Imagekind and I know they offer museum quality prints and they also offer cards and even prints on canvas however their image search doesn't work very well so having your artwork found at random isn't that likely. To succeed there and at Redbubble (which also offers T-shirts and Calendars), you need to promote your own artwork and refer people to make the purchase.

In this post, I'm including 3 artworks that just sold at my Imagekind gallery. You see that patience is important. Additionally, I want to mention that there is really no relationship between the number of comments and what sells. I have never sold any of my works that have many comments and the works that have sold have had no comments at all. What is cool, and what you want on your wall are very different concepts.

White Iris. by Christopher Johnson
This artwork is one of my first photos from 2007! You never know what will sell. You can see I wasn't that bad. Several years later someone bought a print. What if I had deleted it like so many people do?
There is no need to remove good artwork. If you are proud of your work that is good enough. You'll also notice that there is no signature on the work. I started adding a digital signature to my flower artwork much later. There is a lot of debate on whether or not you should sign your artwork. I'll later write an article about my thoughts and add it to my visual art blog or visual art site.



White Geraniums 4 by Christopher Johnson
This one is from a long mixed color series I created in 2010.

What about work? Yes, Print on Demand is hard work even if is something we enjoy. To be successful selling art online and actually live off of your earnings would probably require adding several new artworks every day for a couple years and then at least one a day after that. I still try to keep my artwork fun. If I'm not inspired, I'd rather write articles or blog posts.



Single White Oleander 1 by Christopher Johnson
This one is also from 2010 and also from a long series although most of them were pink.

Patience is a virtue. The truth is, it is hard to become an overnight success. Most people who seem like it actually have put consistent effort into their activities even when they were not making any money or even supported by their family!

1. Make a plan to work every day toward your goal focusing on productive activities like new artwork, graphic design, or adding your artwork to products.
2. Make some effort to promote your work online even if you are just sharing links on social websites or a blog. You'll be surprised how many people say they didn't know you did what you do even after all that! You may not have money for an advertising campaign, but at least you'll get some feedback from your friends online.
3. Keep it up!  Don't stop with the first 10 or 100 work and say too bad it didn't work.  Keep adding new works. It doesn't matter if you are a visual artist, graphic designer, or book writer. Don't give up! 
4. Thank people for giving you feedback on your work even if you don't agree with them.  Don't be a snob. If someone gives you a constructive comment, thank them. Don't argue about it. Ask questions for better understanding.  See if you can improve. No one likes to give feedback just to be argued with!  You'll most likely lose a friend that way or at the best they just won't give honest feedback anymore.