How to make money as an artist

In his book The $100 Startup, Chris Guillebeau makes selling your work sound so simple, and it is.
“To start a business, you need three things: a product or service, a group of people willing to pay for it, and a way to get paid.” The key part of this statement is the word “Business.” To sell your work, you have to think like a business, not an artist. Keep your overheads low, sell for more than it costs you and reinvest that revenue to get to the next stage.

The following is an excerpt from my book “The Art Startup” available now on Amazon and Kindle.

The Art Startup: 8 steps to launching your art career.

The Art Startup is a no-fluff, step-by-step field guide for artists who are tired of spinning their wheels. Whether you’re a painter, photographer, illustrator, or creative misfit, this book gives you a clear plan to go from hidden talent to confident creative entrepreneur.

Buy on Amazon

Start simple.

I made my first sales on eBay. eBay was a great way to start because I learned many things. I learned that people will buy my work. I learned how to package my paintings for shipping. I learned how to ship. I learned what customers expected and how to exceed those expectations.
I also learned that eBay and PayPal took 20-30% of my sale.
After vomiting, and once I had gained enough sales and experience through eBay, I used the money to invest in a website. The site cost me $200 for the year. I figured if I could make $200 in sales in the first year, that would be OK. This was one of my goals.

As it happens, I made around $800 that year and invested the profits into the website for another year. Investing in my own website was a smart move. Even though I only had a small amount of money to invest in a website, it would allow me to make more sales with less cost and give me a place on the internet to begin calling home.