How I made my first $1000 on Society6
I was able to reach over $1000 a month through passive income from Society6. I’ve dedicated a lot of time and never-ending experiments to break into the world of art licensing. In this post, I am going to share with you exactly how I sell art online and how I increased my print on demand earnings.
When quarantine started in 2020, I began focusing on my Society6 shop. Over the last year, I’ve managed to create 89 designs, do a collaboration with Parks Project and just last month I made 226 orders for a total of $2053.70.
What is Society6?
Society6 is a print on demand site that allows artists to put their art on products. They handle all of the production and shipping which allows artists like me to have more time to create. Artists make 10% of each sale. However, you can put a higher markup on art prints.
As you can see, I love being outdoors, and working with Society6 has opened up many doors with art licensing.
Here are some tips on how to sell art online and making your first $1000.
Develop a strong portfolio
Realizing artists make 10% of each sale, I knew I could either pump out several designs a day or focus on quality designs with an extreme focus on keywords and SEO.
I experimented with a couple of different art styles and finally developed a style of my own. I played with typography, photography, traditional art, and digital art. My goal was to create a signature style that’s recognizable and could be applied to any theme.
To encourage multiple sales, I create cohesive collections that feature a hero print and coordinating designs. You can use photoshop mockups to help the end-user envision the artwork in their space.
Trend Research + SEO
To create art that sells you have to appeal to an audience and know how to be found. Now this is an in-depth subject and I will make a video specifically on this topic, but I’ll touch on it briefly.
I suggest focusing on a specific niche. I personally love the outdoors so I tend to focus on nature, landscapes, and most recently animals
Once you determine your niche, you need to do some market research. Who are your competitors, what’s selling, what color schemes are popular?
You can do this by using tools like Google Trends, Pinterest, looking at best sellers on not only Society6, but sites like Urban Outfitters, West Elm, or Pottery Barn.
Get Featured
Make original art that stands for something. Try to invoke a feeling or relate to your target audience. Share your process on social media or your blog. I don’t use Instagram as often anymore because my ROI and engagement wasn’t worth it. But I have seen tremendous traffic to my website and society6 from Pinterest.
Two of my artworks were featured on the Society6 homepage which increased my sales substantially. Before getting featured, I was making less than $100 per month.
The goal is to make art that is shareable and also art that people want to put in their homes.
Post New Art Regularly
As I said, I like to be on the go so I’ve been making all of my vector artwork using Clip Studio Paint on the Samsung Galaxy Tab.
I’ve been using Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator for over a decade and it was easy to transition to CSP because a lot of the keyboard shortcuts are the same. I used to have an iPad and fell in love with Procreate like the rest of the world, but I prefer to work in vector format.
To make art regularly, I try to stay inspired by going outdoors and creating artwork based on my observations. I use Samsung Notes to capture imagery and color, then I do some preliminary sketching to generate ideas.
Brittney Lewis
tRAVELING Artist + Outdoor Enthusiast
ByBrijé is where I share weekend travel guides, trip inspiration and my creative endeavors. I’m currently wandering along the west coast painting colorful landscapes. Come along as I share the magic of the outdoors.
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My Print on Demand Journey: How long it took me to make $5K in passive income on Society6
