What do I need to start selling online?

I have a stained glass art business I have restarted after 25 years. I did my first local show in early September but I need to create other outlets for cashflow between shows and follow up sales from shows. I have some ideas of what I need to consider to start up marketing and shipping but I am just sketching together right now. I have a website that I can add the capability to sell from but don't know how other platforms such as Etsy might make it easier. I have to consider logistics and sales taxes for potentially many locations in addition to maintaining a website and marketing which can take a great deal of time away from creating my art and gift items. Does anyone have experience and suggestions for the best way to approach adding online sales while I still do shows? All suggestions are welcome.

Both Squarespace and Shopify offer integrated tools for taxes, shipping, analytics, marketing, customer tracking, SEO, and more. I pay ~$20 per month for the basic commerce level of Ssuarespace and it's worth every penny.

you'll need to decide on your shipping strategy. I always offer free shipping by either including it in the price/absorbing the cost, as customers now expect it, even for large artwork. If you decide to charge for shipping, Squarespace and Shopify allow you to input dimensions and weight for each piece, calculating the cost at checkout based on the destination. Taxes can also be calculated automatically.

I prefer to follow Amazon’s model and not charge for shipping, focusing instead on excellent customer service and a user-friendly site, both achievable with Squarespace or Shopify. Most of my online sales come from follow-ups after exhibitions or art festivals, not through SEO or e-commerce marketing, which is tough due to competition with large companies. Instead, I recommend focusing on local, niche marketing opportunities to drive traffic to your website (cough cough art festivals and exhibitions).

See festivals as marketing tools—while sales are what we're there for, your website should facilitate follow-up purchases for those who saw your work there or elsewhere. If you're serious about fine art, I would avoid Etsy, as it's not the right audience for most of us. I also no longer bother with social media. All my marketing is done in person or through my website mailing list, primarily collected through other venues.

E-commerce success for artists is rare—DrewDoggett.com being one of the few exceptions. Your website should be simple, focusing on making it easy for people who already know you to make follow-up purchases. The more festivals you do, the more traffic your website will get.

Managing inventory is tricky and will likely be an ongoing battle to keep it up to date. Think about ways to streamline the photography of products and inventory tracking. I don't do originals, so not much help there.

Replies

Jonathan Knight Photo October 3, 2024 at 12:35am

Both Squarespace and Shopify offer integrated tools for taxes, shipping, analytics, marketing, customer tracking, SEO, and more. I pay ~$20 per month for the basic commerce level of Ssuarespace and it's worth every penny.

you'll need to decide on your shipping strategy. I always offer free shipping by either including it in the price/absorbing the cost, as customers now expect it, even for large artwork. If you decide to charge for shipping, Squarespace and Shopify allow you to input dimensions and weight for each piece, calculating the cost at checkout based on the destination. Taxes can also be calculated automatically.

I prefer to follow Amazon’s model and not charge for shipping, focusing instead on excellent customer service and a user-friendly site, both achievable with Squarespace or Shopify. Most of my online sales come from follow-ups after exhibitions or art festivals, not through SEO or e-commerce marketing, which is tough due to competition with large companies. Instead, I recommend focusing on local, niche marketing opportunities to drive traffic to your website (cough cough art festivals and exhibitions).

See festivals as marketing tools—while sales are what we're there for, your website should facilitate follow-up purchases for those who saw your work there or elsewhere. If you're serious about fine art, I would avoid Etsy, as it's not the right audience for most of us. I also no longer bother with social media. All my marketing is done in person or through my website mailing list, primarily collected through other venues.

E-commerce success for artists is rare—DrewDoggett.com being one of the few exceptions. Your website should be simple, focusing on making it easy for people who already know you to make follow-up purchases. The more festivals you do, the more traffic your website will get.

Managing inventory is tricky and will likely be an ongoing battle to keep it up to date. Think about ways to streamline the photography of products and inventory tracking. I don't do originals, so not much help there.
Larry Berman September 27, 2024 at 8:52am

You need a way to find potential customers. The best way is to already have a mailing list from doing art shows. At this point, if you don't have the mailing list is to make sure your web site URL is easy for people to remember and have it large in your booth so people can find you after shows.

Larry Berman
https://BermanGraphics.com
https://LarryBerman.com
412-401-8100

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