20 Tips to Sell more art on Etsy

Extraordinary Etsy Tips for Painters

1. Persistent and consistent: Keep adding new art regularly to your Etsy shop. Where attention goes...success flows.
2. Customer service: Be responsive to buyers and answer their questions. To save time, create a question/answer bank for yourself on Evernote.
3. Develop your own unique style: You must be able to offer something different than what other Etsy shop owners are selling. Embrace your own voice as an artist. No one likes a copycat.
4. Tell your story: The most successful pieces speak to the person purchasing through your personal stories ultimately translating into more sales.
5. Be patient: It takes time to get noticed online so don't expect overnight success.
6. Don’t undersell yourself: Do a little research to see what prices other sellers have on their artwork and verify their selling history to see if they are actually selling items at that price. Try to stay consistent with prices on the same size artwork (all 8x10s should be the same price). Yes, even if you like one painting better than another.
7. Best selling print sizes:  Blenda and I have found that 8x10" and 11x14" print sizes sell the best. We always sign our prints, but don’t include a certificate of authenticity since customers rarely ask about them.
8. Pretty packages are part of the Etsy experience: For an added personal touch, with every purchase include a postcard with your art on it. Give your packaging special attention to detail. Let the buyer feel like it's a big surprise as they unwrap their new art purchase. And don’t forget to be a consumer of Etsy, too. You can pick up a lot of tricks when you see how other artisans handle their Etsy shop.
9. Check out Blenda Tyvoll's Instagram feed and Facebook to see how she promotes her art.

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artist Blenda Tyvoll in her Portland studio

Blenda lives just outside of Portland, Oregon, and considers herself a “late-bloomer” when it comes to being a full-time artist. Once her children left home, she went back to school to earn a bachelor’s degree in art and interior design from Marylhurst University.

Like many of us, she was told you can’t make a living as an artist. Well, in spite of naysayers, Blenda makes a living from art and has been a professional full-time artist since 2005, with her signature mixed media paintings of trees, flowers and birds.

studio of top-selling Etsy artist, Blenda Tyvoll

Blenda continuously draws inspiration from her surroundings. Memories of the vivid colors and bright sunshine she experienced as a young girl living in Madagascar continue to inform her color palette. Moreover, she draws inspiration for subject matter from the natural surroundings of the Pacific Northwest where she now makes her home. In addition, she credits Skip Lawrence as a major influence, where she learned there is no right or wrong way to painting.

Blenda credits Etsy for her numerous opportunities in art licensing and more because set designers and agents spotted her art when sourcing on Etsy. Since Blenda’s Etsy shop continuously ranks among the top 400 art sellers (according to craftcount.com), I knew she would have some extraordinary Etsy best practices to share with you.

Other blog posts you might like:

• Why handcrafted still matters
• Artist Chats

Now I want to hear from you… What are your questions (or tips) for selling art on Etsy?