LOCK PLEASE
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gaaahhh long post ahead. i'm sorry. i got carried away. some of it might be stuff you already know/do. i'm just throwing everything out there.
yeaaah that's why i pretty much don't do freebies anymore either! i've noticed people try to butter artists up with something like "omg! i love your art! i would totally buy some from you!!" then are never heard/seen again until the next freebie board... it's happened to me more times than i can recall. i'm not going to give you free art for complimenting me but thank you for the compliment anyways. don't think i didn't see you just copy-paste that on another persons freebie board
i think freebies are ok if you're experimenting, but for the most part i would keep away from it. you're providing a service to people. something that they cannot do themselves! you deserve to be paid for it. it's a bit difficult because subeta's buying market looks so small. couple that problem with the amount of great artists on here and you have a bunch of people flocking to only a few particular artists. however, buyers are always looking for new/fresh styles! there are bound to be people who love your artwork and wouldn't think twice about paying 8 dollars for one.
✧ my biggest advice is to have a lot (maybe 6-10) examples to show that you can keep the style and quality consistent. try it out on a variety of characters. really push to show that you are flexible and can work with a large range of animals! (like winged, reptilian, aquatic, fuzzy, etc.) maybe even make a couple examples based off of specific pet colors on here like glade/storm.
✧ YOU set the price and the worth of your work. if you want 8 dollars then you charge 8!! hell, i raised my painterly chibis from 6 to 8 then to 20 because it takes time to do them. business has slowed down, but i feel much more driven when someone commissions me for one because i know i'm charging the price i'm comfortable with. i had little to no motivation to make a 4-7 hr piece for 6/8$.
✧ i'm on the fence about this, but maybe think about making a billboard? i haven't had much luck from making my own, but it still gets your work seen by others. always start out with your best examples as the first slide! gotta hook them in. i'd say my average is 30 clicks per 10,000 views. and out of those 30, maybe 1 person actually posts. so.. eh. i could take them or leave them.
✧ start a tumblr art blog if you haven't? tag 'subeta' in art examples with a link to your shop? that's worked out for me a couple times. also know the dimensions of tumblr photosets to properly display your work on the dashboard. tumblr looooves to mess up images if they aren't the right dimensions. here is a tutorial on photosets on tumblr. like i said, you could already know this, but i'm covering the bases just in case.
✧ think about the importance of the presentation of your artwork in your shop. if you haven't done so, i highly suggest using icons of the artwork that are clickable to the bigger, full-size image! doing so creates a nice, neat shop which is immediately pleasant to look at. try to begin your shop with examples instead of text. also keep text short and to the point. catchy shop names/titles are kind of important as well.
✧link everything together..everything!! be as available as possible. links in your signature, links on your lookup, links on your tumblr, links on your dA. connect everything together! it has helped me out : )
i've actually been thinking of ways to involve/encourage people in my art group to buy more. the only thing that comes to mind is some sort of a "stamp card" thing. like they purchase 5 commissions from me and get the 6th one half off (or some sort of reward with art like a free refined sketch. i don't know if i'd offer a full blown free piece) idk. just something that says "thanks for supporting me and my art!" it's always nice to show you care and appreciate them :) i know i need to do it more often. still churning ideas around in my head though.
right now things might be weird and slow because the ping groups are somewhat broken. do you have your own art group? i can't notify people that my shop slots are empty because the ping only sends out to me for some reason! i'm relying on people just "walking" into my shop at this point. it really sucks. the ping group artsale works for some, but not all. ugh
anyway, good luck. your style is lovely and i'm sure you will have customers come around. if any of this has helped then i am very glad, but if not, then...still glad because someone else might stumble upon it and find use of it xD
