Starting any small business can be tough, and the art industry is no different. But if you’ve got a passion for creating amazing artwork and sharing it with others, setting up your own art shop could be the perfect career choice for you.
Despite coming with its challenges, opening up an art store means that you can generate an income from doing the things that you love. You can get creative and make money while doing so! You’ll get the opportunity to interact with lots of different people who admire your art and want to proudly display it in their homes.
Opening an art shop is also a great way to get your name out there as an artist. If you have dreams of becoming the next Van Gogh, your art shop is the perfect gateway to becoming a well-known and well-loved artist.
The more people who purchase your work from your art shop, the more traction it will gain and the easier it will become to build a loyal audience of people who love your work. So, if you’re ready to open up your very own art shop, keep reading! Below, we’ve got some top tips to set you up for success.
Steps to Take for Art Shop Success
Starting your own art business can be complicated and it can take a lot of time and effort to build a successful small business. The work doesn’t stop once you’ve opened the doors of your art shop. You must continually work to improve your offerings, build brand awareness, and attract new customers to your store.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed after reading this, don’t worry! We’ve got some top tips to set you up for art shop success below.
Find the right art handler
If you plan on offering home deliveries of your artwork to your customers (such as if you have an online store), finding the right art handler is essential. You’ll want to find an art transportation company that is credible and trustworthy so that your orders arrive safely at their destinations.
Choosing a reliable art courier or art handling company reduces the risk of unhappy customers complaining of damaged items. In turn, you can avoid returns and refunds, and maintain a high level of customer satisfaction, which is a key component in small business success and growth.
Identify your target audience
When starting any kind of business, you need to identify your target audience. These are the people who you are trying to attract to your business and those who will be the most interested in what you have to offer.
Build a buyer persona that covers the specific characteristics of your ideal customer. Make your buyer persona as detailed as possible by including their age range, gender, location, interests, and challenges. This will help you to create the perfect marketing campaigns to attract them to your new art shop.
Be active on social media
Although traditional marketing methods, such as handing out pamphlets and business cards to be on the streets, are still effective, digital marketing has taken over in the last decade or so. Nowadays, most people find small businesses online through social media.
Being active on at least one social media channel will help your art shop to gain traction. Instagram and TikTok are particularly beneficial for artists, and there are billions of active users on these platforms every day.
You can share aesthetically-pleasing images of the pieces that you have for sale or behind-the-scenes videos of your art shop.
Many social media channels have built-in shopping features now, too, so you can sell your artwork directly through the platforms themselves. For example, you can connect your Facebook page to Shopify and you can add your business details to your Instagram account if you have a ‘Professional’ or ‘Business’ profile setting.
Start an art blog
Blogging might seem a little old-school now but it’s still an effective way to gain a name for yourself as an artist. Starting an art blog enables you to share more information about your work and your creative processes. You can also share tips and tricks for other aspiring artists or talk about the ins and outs of building a small art-based business.
Not only will your blog help you to gain more interest in your artwork but it will also enhance your website’s visibility on Google and other search engines. Including lots of art-related terms in your blog content will increase the chances of your website appearing at the top of search engine results pages.
