The coronavirus is impacting every industry.

How is it impacting the art industry?

Given that festivals have already canceled, major sporting events, and the fact that the governments across the world are promoting “social distancing” can only mean one thing — you can no longer rely on selling art in-person. 

The usual art shows taking place this year will (and likely next year, according to experts) have been canceled outright.  When they do open up again, their attendance will likely be greatly reduced.

Retail establishments are suffering greatly. Art galleries included.

Art galleries have already been closing down across the country in great numbers, and this certainly isn’t going to help.

So what can you do? The bottom line is that you MUST have an online art-selling strategy. 

And not just any strategy, but a really, really good one. This is no longer optional. This is no longer a luxury that you can play around with, maybe you get it to work, maybe you don’t.

This is no longer something you can dismiss as “art doesn’t sell online” even though there is no factual basis for it and has never been (the reason you haven’t sold art online is because you either don’t know how, or you have been doing it completely wrong). 

Selling art online is something that must be taken seriously, and right now, while you still might be able to gain an edge. 

The photographers and artists who listened to the market and made a serious effort to build their online art business a year or more back are thanking themselves. They are in a great position to succeed. Especially the ones who also sell a lot of art in-person — they are lucky, because they already took the steps to diversify their business. 

Those that did not take this seriously need to move quickly. And they will. That said, there is something extremely positive about this unfortunate circumstance. First, “social isolation” means that people will be spending more time online, on their phones and computers, than at any other time in history.

Online usage is exploding right now. 

All consumers are online right now, shopping for what they want and need, because the alternative way of shopping is no longer viable. People are buying things online that they have never bought before. Every family is spending more money online than they ever did before. Ecommerce sales are reaching new heights. Therefore, the best thing you can do is properly position yourself to participate in it.

Second, running a home business as a photographer or artist happens to be a completely viable home business. 

Relish in the fact that you are not a restaurant, you are not a physical art gallery, you are not the type of retail business that is getting crushed during times when people can’t leave the house. These two factors make it a very interesting time to be a photographer or artist. 

While everyone will feel the economic impact, you are actually in a better position than most entrepreneurs and you should be thankful for it and figure out what to do with it and quick. Photographers and artists everywhere are trying to step up their game online. This means the online overcrowded marketplaces are going to get even more crowded (you should be avoiding those anyways). Competition is going to increase.

 So naturally, you are going to need to be a level above the rest.

So, how do you do it?

Right now is the time to analyze and audit your current online strategy -- which starts with your website (this is going to be the centerpiece of your business during this time) -- and make sure it is up to par.

First, do you even have your own art gallery website to sell from?  If not - you are going to need one.

Second, your website needs to be a "proper" art gallery website --
one that is equipped with very specific features that turn visitors into art buyers.

This is extremely important, because buying art online is a process that's filled with roadblocks.

A would-be buyer only needs to hit one roadblock, or have one unanswered question,
to get frustrated or distracted enough to leave.  Instead of making the purchase on the spot.

That's why the most important job your art website has is to give buyers the means to answer those questions.
To overcome any roadblocks.

Examples of Typical Buyer Questions that Stop Sales in their Tracks

Now any sales problems you're experiencing start to make a bit more sense, right?

Simply having a website where your art is for sale isn't enough. 
If your website isn't designed specifically to sell your art...it won't.

How do you bridge the gap? By implementing the critical art-selling features.  

By following what the biggest online art sellers have been doing on their own websites for years, to sell billions of dollars of art.

Here are the 5 most critical features any effective art website must have.