Blog posted on: 09 October 2009, by tim

Lots of artists, illustrators and designers use diginate.com to produce poster prints which end up on display at exhibitions, galleries and craft fairs. In the current economic climate it's more important than ever to market your work effectively, especially if you rely on print sales to make a living.

Here's three ways to sell your original work online, which you can implement quickly and easily, without leaving your computer:

Sell your prints on etsy.com

Etsy is the online equivalent of a massive craft fair. The site is jam packed with individuals selling handmade items, art prints, jewellery, clothing and lots more.

It's really easy to set up a profile on etsy and start selling your prints immediately. Creating a listing costs $0.20 per item, and you'll pay a $3.50 fee when the item sells. Etsy has a massive community, which is jam packed with hints and tips for running a successful etsy store.

Sell your prints on eBay

Everyone knows how eBay works, but had it occurred to you that you could use it to sell prints of your work? Why not sign your prints, create a limited edition, or frame your prints to add value. As usual with eBay, having great photos will help your work sell, and it's worth investing in a premium listing if you really want to make an impact.

Set up your own online store

This is the most labour intensive method of selling your work online, but also can be the most rewarding. There's lots of easy site builders out there, or you could use a customised Wordpress blog to build a simple site. Alternatively, get hold of some web design software such as Dreamweaver and do it yourself.

Once you have built your site you'll need to register a catchy domain name. Use a hosting company such as 1and1 to register your domain name and host your site.

The easiest way to implement online shopping and handle credit cards is to use PayPal. They have a basic shopping cart system which you can easily integrate into your site.

The key to making your online sales a success is promotion. Try launching your own blog to help promote your work, and befriend other bloggers in the same area who'll be happy to mention you on their blog. Google Adwords is an easy way to drive traffic to your website or etsy store, and press releases will help get the word out there.

Make sure you add a link to your etsy store, ebay store or website on your email signature and business cards, and throw promotional materials in with orders. To save time and money you can also have us ship your print directly to your customer, so you'll never need to leave the house!