We believe there are many ways to earn money online from art – which is why we have been posting this series of articles on affiliate advertising for artists. Earning money as an artist on the internet does not only have to be from selling art. There are multiple methods - writing books, teaching online art courses, art consulting, freelance designing, and much more. Lets not forget all the things some artists sell besides their art, including art catalogues, calendars, ACEO’s, books, etc. Promoting art affiliate programs is simply another way artists can make money from online efforts.
This post is meant to share some valuable tips and advice for promoting affiliate products and making money online from them.
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Affiliate advertising is not for all artists.
If you are a gallery based artist, and only use your art blog for talking about your art and updating fans about your progress, then we recommend you NOT get into promoting affiliate products at your art blog or website.
This could be a turn off for some of your art collectors. If this is something you would like to experiment with, then we recommend creating a separate blog on a favorite topic – something you are passionate about.
If your art blog covers a variety of topics, such as art promotion, art techniques, and more – only then should you consider advertising something else besides your art.
Only advertise at artist website resource pages and art blogs.
If you have a website or art blog, some people may be curious about the art products you use, or the books you have read. Signing up for affiliate programs from some of these, and advertising them can be a way to earn extra cash from your recommended art products.
Instead of plastering advertisements all over your art site, which would certainly be a distraction for visitors viewing your art, create a specific resource or support page, and include a listing of art related links there. To be more effective with your sales, write a couple paragraphs about the product, why you recommend it, and your experiences with it.
As for art blogs, the sidebar is an optimal placement for banner advertisements. The closer you place them to the top of your blog, the higher the click through you will have, since most people do not scroll down.
By far the most effective method for affiliate promotion at art blogs is writing product reviews and including relevant referral links inside posts. Art product reviews will be covered in a separate post in this series (subscribe to receive this article by RSS or email).
As for including affiliate links inside posts, only mention them when it is relevant to what you are saying. Make sure it is a product that you have actually used or experienced, so you can give honest, personal incite.
NEVER Spam Affiliate Links!
It perplexes me why some people feel the need to spam their opportunities across the web, when it is much more effective to just present the product in a honest way.
Spamming is counterproductive, and most affiliate programs have their own policies against it, with the major penalty of getting banned. If an affiliate company does not have a spam policy, most certainly do not join it!
Always purchase the products you review and promote.
By purchasing, you can provide trustworthy reviews from your own perspective. State your own opinions and what you like – and dislike about the product. An unbiased review will be responded to more than a review just stating all the benefits.
Avoid scams and get rich quick schemes
Some people in error categorize all types of affiliate marketing as get rich quick schemes – nothing could be further from the truth. Get rich quick schemes may claim they have a product, but the emphasis is on the money making part. If you become involved in affiliate marketing, remember there is no shortcut to making money.
Choose your programs to promote wisely based on reputation and helpfulness, and make sure they are related to your audience’s interests – and always keep your reader’s interests as top priority.
Only advertise affiliate links based on the topic of your blog.
For art blogs, and blogs containing art promotion topics, there are plenty of art related affiliate programs on the web. We have already covered some of them in a previous post, and include more below. If the topic of your blog is something else besides art, it would be counterproductive to promote art related affiliate links, since most of your audience would not be interested in it.
The same goes for art blogs. Do not promote unrelated products that have no relevancy for artists and art collectors, (for example, weight loss products). Though a rare person may be interested, the majority of your audience could be turned off from your art blog, even if you have very good content.
Promote products which solve a problem.
The majority of the articles at Artpromotivate cover informative topics that tackle problems artists face – how to promote art online, how to sell art, and more. Most online searches are for how to do or fix something - many people go to the internet for help.
When you realize this, you will know what products to promote, based on the topic of your blog. If your blog has art tutorials, maybe you can find an art course (how to draw or how to paint) to promote.
List of Recommended Affiliate Programs for Artists
- The Goal Wheel for Artists, etc. – 35% commission – click affiliate link at top of that page to signup.
- ArtBizBlog (I’d Rather be in the Studio, etc. – 40% commission)
- Smartist (25% commission – signup on this page)
- DrawPJ (15% recurring commission – details about the DrawPJ aff. program here.)
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