Building a Valuable Art Business 
from Home is Now a Reality

When the pandemic hit, photographers and artists braced for impact.  
It turns out,  it has resulted in the biggest advancement the art industry has ever seen.  The news couldn't be more positive and exciting. 

Building a Valuable Art Business from Home is Now Possible

When the pandemic hit, photographers and artists braced for impact. It turns out, it has resulted in the biggest advancement the art industry has ever seen. The news couldn't be more positive and exciting.


As we all know, the pandemic has impacted every industry.  However, for artists and photographers -- the ramifications have been surprisingly positive. 

On the downside, countless art shows, fairs, and gallery openings have been cancelled or postponed. Even after they re-open, it is likely that social distancing mandates and general fear of large gatherings will greatly reduce their attendance. 

Therefore, for the foreseeable future, we can no longer treat these as a reliable source of sales.

Art galleries had already been closing down across the country in great numbers, and this extended period of inactivity certainly isn't going to help.

From this perspective, things might have looked bleak. But there is a massive, massive silver-lining here.

First, the photographers and artists who have a proper online art-selling strategy have been thriving for the past year.

That's right.  Not just surviving – thriving.  Here's some data that will put this into context:

  • Wayfair's home decor sales have doubled, sending their stock soaring.
  • Sotheby's in London reported a stunning 46% increase in bids in online auctions
  • Google Trends shows surging interest in search terms like "buy art"

Right here at Art Storefronts, our members collectively sold 141% more art in 2020 than they did in 2019.  In 2021, sales are up 153%.  The best part -- artists and photographers are doing this right from THEIR OWN WEBSITES!

Many have been making sales shortly after launching their website and implementing an effective marketing strategy (discussed more below).  For example:


So what can you do to get these results, too?

At a high level, it means you MUST have an effective online art-selling strategy. 

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.

The artists that either dismiss the online market, or hope that galleries will come back, or think that art shows will come back and be as profitable as they used to be -- are looking backwards rather than thinking forward.

According to experts, the pandemic "lockdowns" have accelerated technology adoption by 10 years.  As a result, online retail sales have exploded.  Think about it.  Out of necessity, people of all ages purchased goods and services online that they never thought of buying online prior.  

Within this, something profound has happened within the art industry.  

It is something we experienced first-hand, alongside the 3500+ photographers and artists we work with.  Not by sitting on the sidelines as observers -- we have gotten in the trenches, doing day-to-day marketing with them.  It began when we started helping our artists to run live art gallery shows online.  

Yes, just like having a Friday night gallery opening in your city or town, but online and right from their homes.  Immediately, they were a huge success.

What do I mean by success?  Here's an example.  We ran one of these showcasing 15 pieces of art by artist Mathieu Laca.   We sold over $12,000 of art within 5 days.

This was amazing for several other reasons too.  First, this was old inventory, and we sold it all! It wasn't even close to Mathieu's best stuff.  Second, buyers from all over the world attended and made purchases.  After all the promotion, there were thousands of people worldwide who saw his art show.

This was amazing - but do you want to know what was the most profound aspect?  It was the organic feedback from all of the art buyers, and those who attended these online shows.  You can see it in the comments as the shows go on.  People talk about how entertaining it is, and how much fun they are having.  

On video, you are able to show the art up close, from all sorts of different angles, while discussing your inspiration behind it.  The experience is actually fantastic -- it is as close to real world as you can get.  The proof is in the pudding - people are buying.  We are not talking cheap either - pieces are selling for thousands of dollars.

Take a moment to realize how significant this is.  You are now able to do from your home what would normally have required an art gallery with a physical presence.  People from all over the world can, in a sense, virtually "walk" into your art gallery when you are presenting on live video.  They are in the store with you.  They get to meet the artist directly, and they get to see the products up close and at all angles -- and they get to do it from the comfort of their own homes on their own digital devices.  They don't have to make time for an event, or convince their spouse to go to a gallery show.  Attending art shows is now easier and more convenient than ever before, which means people will be attending more of them. Incredible!

Now that we have executed on dozens of these -- as with any new marketing strategy -- there is always "tradecraft" involved to do it right.  For example, there are things you need to do pre-show, during, and after from a marketing standpoint.  We have already built out a step-by-step playbook for it, and the artists and photographers that we work with are already using it.  We will be updating it weekly as the learnings continue to roll in.  

But let's get back to the bigger point:

The fact that photographers and artists can run their own international art gallery business right from their homes is an advancement that will forever change the art industry, and for the better.  

It means you can now take full control of your destiny, and position yourself to finally make the most money from your art.  This is the key to generating consistent income.  

Furthermore, anyone with a computer and a phone can do it.  It can be a part-time business, or full-time.  You aren't paying rent, so you can go at whatever pace you like.

Overall, what does all of this mean?  

It means that running an art gallery business online is now the most effective and efficient way to build a profitable art business.

So given this, what is the next logical step for every artist and photographer?  It's simple.  

You need to properly equip yourself to run your own art gallery business online. 

Fortunately it is not that hard to do so.  But what is the easiest way?

First, its important to know that photographers and artists — who already took the online market seriously — have been running their own art gallery out of their homes for the last 5 years.  

Many of them have been selling over $100,000 a year. 

But now — with the ability to run successful live art shows right from their house — this home-based art gallery business model has serious rocket fuel behind it.   Given the advancement of successful live art shows, coupled with no geographic limitations — it means the size of the market you can now capture is exponentially larger than it was before.  

As such, photographers and artists now have the ability to build far bigger art businesses.  It will also be easier for the little guy (or the part-timer) to earn more than they otherwise could have before.  Over the next few years, we are going to see some truly amazing things happen.

So, what are the main upsides to running your own art gallery? 

We will cover that now, and then tell you exactly how to equip yourself — so that you can do it too.

The Upsides to Running Your Own Art Gallery

graffiti artist studio

First and foremost is the financial opportunity. As we mentioned earlier, there are full-time artists selling over $100,000 per year from their own art galleries. There are also stay at home moms and dads who sell $5,000-10,000 per year. These are not small sums.

Running your own art gallery online is providing artists with the largest financial opportunity and upside potential when compared to any other alternative sales channel. This alone should be enough reason to take it seriously.

Second, it is easy and low maintenance to run. Once you launch the art gallery, aside from updating it with new products, you have nothing left to do but marketing to get people in the door and facilitate orders. If you sell prints, can be handled automatically with print-on-demand.

Furthermore, it doesn’t matter if you are busy or you don’t want to put in much work. You can spend whatever time you want on the art gallery business. You’ll get out what you put in. If you want to make more money, put more time into marketing. If you are happy with your income, do whatever you please. It doesn’t matter either way because the ongoing costs are so low, it costs you less than a steak dinner to keep it going. Which brings us to our next point.

Third, launching an online art gallery is inexpensive and the ongoing costs of running it are extremely low. This means anyone can do it – regardless of your experience or success level as an artist. Full-timers, part-timers, and hobbyists. This benefit also means you can keep your art gallery running for many, many years all while you continue building it into something significant like these other artists have. This could take one year or several years; it doesn’t really matter.

Fourth, you will have an unlimited market size. Translation: anyone, anywhere in the world can buy from you, and you can market directly to anyone. What most artists don’t realize is that when they sell to physical retail art galleries, or when they exhibit at local fairs, these venues are limited to the local clientele that can be physically present at these locations.

It’s a limited market. This is one of the biggest downsides of the traditional way of selling art. Furthermore, this limitation is not resolved by uploading your artwork into other gallery websites online which contains hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of other art pieces. That’s not your gallery – it’s another company’s gallery. An art gallery website that represents anything and everything, and tries to be everything to everybody, will never focus on you and your specific market.

Fifth, you will command higher prices. When you sell in the online art galleries, your only hope is that people stumble across your artwork, alongside all of the other artists competing against you with the same subject matter. Even when this happens, the sale becomes more about price than anything else. The visitor is able to price shop you against everyone else in your category. It’s a terrible situation.

In contrast, when you run your own art gallery, your sales come as a result of a deeper connection and meaning that you have with your buyers. When you are able to market to them directly, and perform romance marketing, your buyers get to know you and the meaning behind your pieces. They connect with you and your creativity, and almost feel like they know who you are inside. When this happens, buying your art is more about how you make them feel.

Price becomes a far lower priority. People will pay far more money to hang something on their wall that makes them feel good versus something that only looks good. Which brings us to our next point.

Sixth, you control the customers. When you sell through other people’s art galleries (both offline and online), you usually don’t get to know who the customer was, you usually don’t get their contact information, and you either are restricted from or have no way of approaching them to sell them more. This entire concept is at odds with the most basic fundamentals of what makes a business survive and thrive.

The strength and value of a business always comes from the size and scope of its customer base. When you have no control over your customers, you can’t push for referrals and repeat business, which means you have little control over the long-term success of your business. This puts you in a very vulnerable position in the long run.

When you run your own art gallery, you have a direct relationship with your customers. You can continually bring positivity into their lives with romance marketing. Rather than being disconnected, you’ll receive a more consistent flow of positive feedback that will feel amazing and energize you to create more.

You will also see that their connection with you is something they will spread to others on their own accord, if you just let them. Your audience size, and your customer list, will grow like compound interest as a result. You will earn repeat sales, and sales will become more consistent. In a couple of years, you will have a real business that is stable and reliable.

So How Does Art Storefronts Fit Into This?

art storefronts about
We help artists and photographers run their own art galleries, online.

In simple terms, Art Storefronts provides an art-gallery business in a box. We give you everything you need to run your own art gallery online, and we make it as simple as possible to do.

First, we provide you with a proper art gallery website that provides the finest experience possible for your art buyers, so that you convert the maximum number of visitors into buyers.  Since all we do is focus on the art market, our websites have hundreds of art-selling features that make a real difference and that you won’t find anywhere else.

Second, we provide you with a marketing plan and ongoing marketing consulting to help you get customers in the door.  Marketing is our secret sauce, and if you read reviews about us, it is one of the most cited reasons that artists say they love to work with us.

Who Is a Fit?

Wondering whether you are a good fit for Art Storefronts? Here are the types of people we are working with: mathieu laca testimonial

  • Full-time artists and photographers
  • Part-timers who currently have another job, who want to make extra income with this as a side business.
  • Stay-at-home moms and dads, who just want to make an extra $10-20k per year.
  • Any artist who wants to live their dream, who wants to make the most efficient use of their time, save themselves years of trial and error, and start doing things the right way from day one.

In a time when your ability to participate in the offline art market has become limited, your online business has become crucial.

Ready to start selling more art? See why thousands of artists and photographers are using Art Storefronts to run their own art galleries online » 


Art Storefronts Is the All-In-One Art Business Solution

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Your Own Website

Best-in-class software built from the ground up specifically for photographers and artists.

Back Office Tools

Spend less time on paperwork, and more time creating.

A Marketing Plan

Skip the frustration – we'll teach you what's actually working for photographers and artists.

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