*Rant alert* If it's for sale - say so!

Just a quickie post, on something I've noticed recently.  Artists and makers, who post photographs of gorgeous work,  that is actually for sale, on social media, without .... saying it's for sale, or where it can be bought!

Now, we artists are all a bit silly about money.

We feel like we're being all spammy and sales-y when we mention the dirty, dirty moolah.

There's a lot of strange shame around putting a price on art.

Problem with this is, darlings, if you want to do the art that you love full time, and make as much art as you possibly can..... You. Need. To. Charge. For. It.

Unless you have a wealthy benefactor, and they are in short supply I think.

Dirty Moolah is what pays all your living costs, supporting you and enabling you to make more art.

There's nothing noble about wasting your hours in a job you can't stand whilst your easel stands idle.  Those are hours you could be spending making wonderful art which enriches the world.  But so many artists would rather do this than just put a price on their work.

Sure, if you have a job you love and art is part of an already rich, awesome life, then dirty moolah needn't come into it.  I don't really sell all that much artwork right now, because my job and vocation are running The Art House and leading people to more creative living.

But, that's not the reality for many artists. 

If you are having to do another job that isn't really what you want to be doing, just to fund your art habit, you may want to consider changing how you think about it.  There are some good resources out there for those who need help with the business side of things, which I'll grant you doesn't always come easily to artistic types.

One I recommend highly is Leonie Dawson's Amazing Life & Biz Academy (which I suggest signing up to soon as she's about to make it even more awesome and I can't imagine the price staying that low for much longer!).

She also does, if you don't want to join the Academy, a Business Goddess eCourse which I took last year was great, perfectly aimed at a non-businessy businessperson like myself!

If you do want to sign up for Leonie's fab stuff, please use my magical affiliate link as I do (full disclosure) get a commission on new signups for this.  


But I would, in all honesty, recommend Leonie commission or no - it doesn't make sense to me to recommend anything I don't completely think is fabulous.

I also recommend, for funny and down to earth business advice, Marie Forleo.  This video from her is great to address some of the worries we have around money.




I love her silly videos :)  I also am, after watching this, going to start calling money 'fun tickets' 

Why not pop over and take a look at what the Amazing Life & Biz Academy has to offer?

That, by the way, was what's called a "call to action".

The first rule of sales is to have a 'Call to Action' - telling your potential customer what you want them to DO if they are interested in what they see.

So, at the very least, on a photo of your artwork you could use the caption 'Visit my site/shop at www............ to see more' or, 'If you would like to order this item, please email me at ......'

It's not spammy or scammy at all, it's just honest and actually helpful to your customer.  See, lots of people WANT to support you!

The second rule is, make it as easy as possible for somebody to buy your stuff.  Don't send them on a wild goose chase, put a link straight to a sales page.

If somebody has already clicked on a photo of your work, chances are they're at least thinking about buying it.  Or sharing it, so that other potential buyers can see it.

So, in the caption of your photo, put some good details down.  I suggest including:-

- Title of the work.
- Your name.
   (this should be watermarked on the photo, too, along with your website, in   case the photo gets shared without the caption).
- What the work is made from (media).
- A short story about the work, if you have one, or what it represents or is inspired by, or how you made it.
- Size of the work.
- If the work is for sale or not.
- Where it's for sale - with a nice, easy, clickable link.
- If it's for sale, include a call to action :)

There are two schools of thinking about putting a price on at this stage.  I'm inclined to say no, let people hop on over to your online shop to find out the price.  That way, they can also browse what else you have on offer, and choose something more in their price range if they can't afford the original thing they saw.

It's really up to you, how you approach this.  I personally don't think drawing people to your site with a little tasty taster of what you offer is as naughty as all that.  

The main thing is that you never make your customer have to ask you if something is for sale or not, or how to go about making a purchase, or make them go hunting for your site or shop.

So, beloved artists, please take this advice.  Give your work a chance to be seen, enjoyed and purchased by never again posting work that's for sale, without including the proper details!

Brace yourself for another call to action......

If you want more support in your journey to earn some juicy moolah for your art, join me on 16 March for a live event, the very first Butterfly Tea Party, where I will address some of the things you need to do AND answer questions.  Sign up here.

Did you like this post?  Then share it along!  Sharing and connection is so delicious.

If you liked this post, please join my mailing list, hunny bunny!  Gosh, it's so easy.....

I won't pass your email on, you can choose how much you hear from me and can unsubscribe any time you like.

Don't forget to check out my free goodies to help you with your creative journey.

You can also link up with me on Facebook and Twitter.

Would you like me to guest post for your blog, or write a guest post for mine? Please get in touch!