Finding the right price for your art can be hard as an artist as there many factors that impact your sales. You fears that if you overpriced your art, buyers would increasingly stay away and if you underpriced your art, you would not get paid what you deserve. Building a business focused on selling your artwork means finding the balance between what you value at your work and what is reasonable for the buyers. That being said, how do you figure out a reasonable price for your art that guarantees you a profit? Use these five strategies executed by great musicians to help set a price.
1. Know What Your Expenses (And Do Not Avoid Them!)
It’s true, “Art is commerce” as much as imagination. Being an artistic person does not mean you do not have to manage your art as a business. Every need to set expense budgets for their business, you as an artist will also need. Based on a gut feeling of what looks appropriate is not how you should set up your costs.
Areas worth considering are:
- Materials – canvas, paint, brushes, frames etc.
- Studio tools and equipment plus rent if applicable.
- Time (Yes, your time is valuable).
- Marketing expenses (webpage, social media ads, commissions for galleries).
- Packing and shipping costs when selling online or at art shows.
Once you know how much you are spending on an artwork, you can set a price that ensures you make a profit, not just break even.
2. Look into the Competition (Know What the Market is Offering)
Treat your art work like a product in a competitive market. If you want to sell it, you have to understand the market. Here’s how to go about it: Check out your competitors – other local musicians, artists… Look at colleagues with comparable audience experience, style and level. What are they selling their pieces for? Compare prices. Go to one where you want to sell your art pieces to and track what prices they offer, if it is art market. Understand the buyer’s willingness to pay – Is your buyer an upscale casual art lover, serious art collector, or a high-end investor? You are assured that you value your work without losing potential customers when you set reasonable prices.
3. Implement a Practical Pricing Strategy
While there isn’t an “exact” formula to follow, there are several great musicians who have come up with a method which works:
A few calculations must be done to reach the final number that will be displayed: base price, profit margin, and other costs if necessary.
Base Price would be calculated like this: (hourly rate x hours spent) + material costs. Then add estimated other costs like gallery commissions that you expect. For example: Spending twenty hours on a work and valuing your time at $30 per hour comes out to be $600. Should supplies cost fifty dollars, your basic price is 650. To guarantee sustainability, include a profit margin—between 20 and 30 percent.
This method has an advantage of bringing steady prices for services, as well as guaranteeing compensation for profit.
4. Develop a Consistency of Pricing Strategy
Recommended approach is to reduce the risk of confusing customers and devaluating the work. Imagine a collector paying $500 for an item only to discover an identical one for $300 later.
In order to avoid such situations:
- Set small or medium size painting base rates. Small paintings fall between $150-300 or larger ones for $800+. Make these constant else they will vary highly.
- Do not discount your artwork at free will. Instead, if there is a need to, present it as a ‘limited-time offer’ instead of trying to sell at a panic price.
- Pay attention to gallery prices. When selling your pieces online and in galleries, make sure that one item isn’t cheaper in one place than the other.
5. View Perceived Worth as a Multi-expense
Art exists in the term of perceived worth rather than mere numbers. Some artists charge very high prices because they build value impetus around their work instead of expensive materials.
Here are ways to create your work’s value:
- Come up with a captivating brand story. Why do you create art? Which factors motivate you? Buyers enjoy tales.
- Spend money to enhance presentation. Professional frame, dolled-up pictures, and a sophisticated website does wonders.
- Use social proof. If you have enthusiastic supporters whether they’re collectors, galleries, or bloggers use previous sales and testimonials as proof of purchasing your work.
- Restricting access leads to demand. Justifying higher prices can easily be achieved by numbering editions or “only five pieces available” approach.
Trying to convince a buyer that your work is one of a kind and should be desired makes them more willing to pay what it is actually worth.
Concepts of Pricing Art are Complicated
There is a thin line between pricing art reasonably and economically. Do not lower your value too much nor price to higher because these will balance on perception, strategizing, and market analysis. Review your rates and prepare to change them as you, the artist, develop to showcase your talent better.
Five Unusual Pricing Secrets
Be sure to outline all of your expenses; otherwise, you might earn nothing!
✅ Research your industry—in other words, your competitors.
✅ Use a price calculation method but ensure it is fair.
✅ Be consistent; do not deceive the customers.
✅ Create value—this is what your company stands for.
Perfect these steps and you will learn how to properly value the work you produce and earn money doing it.
More Art Business Advice
If this helps, consider following for more tips on securing a job as an artist. From pricing to marketing to selling; let’s pass step by step towards a financially stable artistic life!
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