I have offering custom art commissions to thank for a huge slice of my success as an artist, especially when it comes to income.
And throughout my years of offering them, it has been one of the burning questions I get from other artists – “how can I start taking custom art commissions too?”
There’s a lot to consider before you take the leap, so here are 3 things that you need to know before creating custom artwork for money.
What is Your Custom Art Commission Offer?
When you first start this can sound scary. Very official business-y.
But it’s 110% necessary.
When you don’t have a defined custom art offer, you will leave clients incredibly confused about what do you actually offer (and your answer should never be “everything” – this is a recipe for disaster), and leave yourself floundering.
So what does it mean to create an offer?
In a nutshell, you are creating a defined package of what you offer.
Creating an offer does NOT mean telling people that you will “create art of whatever they want”.
Creating an offer means you sit down and figure out the details of what YOU want to create, and then present it in a neat and tidy fashion to your fans, followers and potential clients.
An offer can look like:
- 8″x10″ oil painting portraits of dogs
- Flower murals in a client’s home at $X per square foot
- 2’x3′ acrylic pour art pieces on canvas in a color palette of the client’s choice
While there are a million other examples to be used here, they all have a few things in common.
They are all pretty specific when it comes to the subject.
They are all pretty specific when it comes to the medium. And the size.
All of those offers give your future clients confidence that you know what you are doing.
Just starting off and don’t actually know what you are doing? Well they don’t need to know that!
Creating a defined offer off the start line will make your life as the artist so much easier, and give the clients the confidence to say “yes!” to your custom art offer.
Do You Have a Framework or Workflow in Place?
This one is both for you and your client.
Yes, a workflow is something that will be defined and tailored over time as you gain more experience with creating custom art offers.
But having one in place BEFORE you start (even if it is a bare-bones version of a workflow) will make your life SO much easier.
You’ll have a guide to follow for each new step of the process.
And you won’t end up with a nervous client that doesn’t know what is happening next.
Buying artwork, especially custom artwork, is an investment, and in order to create happy customers that shout your praise from the hilltops and bring in a bunch of new potential clients, you have to make sure they don’t get lost in the weeds.
A workflow or framework for your procedure will change that.
How Will You Attract New Clients?
This is a common stressor for artists (all business owners, really) in general, but if you want to have a steady flow of custom art pieces to work on then you are going to have to make a plan to get new clients through the door.
Will you market your custom art offer on social media? How often? What will you say?
Will you market your custom art offer to your email list?
Will you create posters to hang up in your community?
Every artist will benefit from a different plan, but getting clear on what you will do to attract new clients is key.
Feeling more confident in your decision to start creating a custom art offer? You can do it!
With a little planning you can set yourself up for some serious success.
And if you want a little boost with your planning, make sure you grab the FREE downloadable guide, Craft Your Perfect Custom Art Offer Planner.
Want to take an even bigger flying leap towards your (inevitable) success as an artist?
Watch my FREE masterclass training, Scale Your Art Sales.
It’s the online class for beginner artists that are filled with a fiery creative passion, and want to grow an audience online that actually want to BUY their artwork.