Are you an artist working from home, struggling to find a place to sell your artwork that doesn’t eat up all your time?
There was once a time when the massive e-commerce platform exclusively sold books. However, its evolution has been remarkable, and today, it is most famous for selling electronics and producing TV shows. With the vast Amazon marketplace boasting an average of $140 million in sales, it has become the perfect hub to sell almost anything imaginable.
In this expansive marketplace, opportunities abound for individuals of various creative pursuits. Whether you love expressing your art through beautiful decorations or a digital artist creating mesmerizing graphics, there are tremendous opportunities within the Amazon marketplace. However, if your focus is on selling digital products, you might find Etsy, another prominent e-commerce platform, to be a particularly suitable avenue. How to sell Digital Products on Etsy?
Etsy is renowned for its emphasis on handmade, vintage, and unique items, making it an ideal platform for artists and creators. To sell digital products on Etsy, follow these steps:
- Create an Etsy Account:
- Sign up for an Etsy account if you don’t have one.
- Set Up Your Shop:
- Customize your Etsy shop by providing a distinctive name, creating an appealing profile, and adding visuals that represent your brand.
- Add Your Digital Products:
- Opt for the “Sell on Etsy” option and choose “Digital items” when creating a new listing.
- Showcase your digital art, printables, e-books, or any other downloadable content with high-quality images and accurate descriptions.
- Pricing and Payment:
- Set competitive prices for your digital products, keeping in mind Etsy’s listing fees and transaction percentages.
- Select your preferred payment method, such as Etsy Payments or PayPal.
- File Delivery:
- Specify how customers will receive their digital files. Etsy facilitates automatic digital delivery, allowing customers to access their downloads immediately after purchase.
- Market Your Shop:
- Enhance the visibility of your products by optimizing listings with relevant keywords.
- Leverage social media and other marketing channels to promote your Etsy shop and digital offerings.
- Customer Service:
- Uphold excellent customer service standards by promptly addressing inquiries and resolving any issues.
While Amazon dominates as a comprehensive marketplace, Etsy provides a niche focus on handmade and unique items, making it an excellent choice for those specializing in digital art and other creative digital products.”
Continue reading to find out which selling platforms on amazon would be the best when it comes to selling your artwork.
Amazon Merch and Handmade by Amazon
Whether you’re a digital artist or make handmade jewellery, there is definitely an option for you to sell your work on amazon. Amazon offers two different options for artists to sell their work that are both suited to different types of artworks and handmade crafts.
For both Handmade by Amazon and Merch by Amazon you will need to send in a detailed application that has to first be manually reviewed and approved before you can get to selling.
Keep in mind that Amazon is a massive market place and try not to get your hopes up about receiving acceptance the next day. This process can take up to 12 weeks but with the sheer size and reach of the marketplace, reaching over 200 million people monthly, it is definitely worth the wait. Once accepted, you can get to selling right away.
Merch by Amazon
More suited to digital artists, Merch by Amazon is a first party seller option where you can upload prints of photos or artwork. Amazon will take care of all the more practical work from the printing to the shipping of items that feature your design. Artists no longer have to worry about making of new products or recreating multiple artworks but can rather focus on making an abundance of their own original artworks while continuing to earn money on the design long after the original has been sold.
With the size of the amazon market place, and an average of $140 million in sales, it makes it the perfect place to sell almost anything you could possibly think of.
Handmade by Amazon
Who Can Sell on Handmade by Amazon?
With a specific set of guidelines and rules to follow, not everyone will be able to sell their work on Handmade by Amazon. The platform is limited to independent marketers, non-profit organisations, and cooperatives who are working towards common economic, social, or cultural needs.
Some general rules to follow are keep it original and not from a kit, must be handmade, and only hand tools and light machinery may be used. While there are some limits as to what can be sold there is still a wide variety of options to choose from.
What are the Fees?
For those looking to sell on either of these two platforms there is no normal sellers fee of $39.99 but rather a referral fee of a minimum of $1 on every item purchased or 15% of the total purchase. Although this can rack up the cost a bit, it might still be cheaper that the regular sellers fee.
Pros
One of the biggest pros is that there are no hidden fees, what is mentions is what you will have to pay. Not to mention the exposure to Amazons vast customer base. The best part about these options is that it allows artisans to share their work on a more level playing field. The sheer size of the market place and number of customers means your work has huge potential to reach millions of customers.
Cons
Everything has to have a downside but don’t let these cons stop you from selling your work. Firstly, it’s quite expensive with its 15% referral fee on every product. Also there is opportunity for so many people to share their artwork, not everything will be sellable by the standards of amazon. And lastly, it can be difficult to market your brand on a website where there are millions of sellers and products to be sold.
