As of late, I have received a plethora of questions on being an artist, doing events, how to price yourself as an artist and setting yourself in business.
I plan on answering these questions here and on my YouTube channel, so keep the questions coming!
Wincy Glass has a great question. Pricing yourself as an artist can be tricky. Moreover, artists find it hard asking for money for something they love doing.
Thought there are very little to no cost associated to running your Society6 store, once an item is sold, a fee is charged against the royalties you set.
The Cost of Creating
The creation of your art will have the normal inherit costs of art supplies, software (Adobe) and hardware (scanners, computers etc.). These costs should be taken into account when selecting your royalty. The industry standard is 10% of the total cost of the piece when selling at a high volume production. Lower sale volumes will have higher royalty percentages. Society6 is a medium volume production company, assuming you have a healthy amount of monthly sales.
Pricing Yourself as an Artist
Another point to consider is your “perceived” market value as an artist. The more unique you are, the better! If you are starting out, this may be harder to determine. Here are some questions that can help you determine what your value is;
•How long have you been working as an artist? If I am new or have hit a plateau in your career, what is your desired line of work and income?
•Are you affiliated to any brand names? Specific industries? (Per example greeting cards? Beauty? Fashion? Accessories? Book illustrations? Music?)
•What kind education have you received? Self taught counts as education.
•What is your perceived desireability? This relates to more than just popularity, social status or demand for the artist. (Demand for the artist being the highest mark of value). Yet these in tandem can determine worth of your time, the value of your work NOW and the value of your artwork after you pass. Morbid, but true.
Retail Price, Cost and Profit vs Royalties
I feel I need to make sure everyone understands this. If you are making your own product, you need to know the retail pricing – cost =profit formula.
If you are creating an item that will retail at $10.00, and the cost of the materials is $2.00. You are conservatively paying yourself $3.00 for your time. Your total costs is $5.00. You take retail price 10.00 minus your costs 5.00. Your total profit is $5.00. If you are producing your own product, this is a good profit margin.
Because Society6 is a print on demand site, they will pay “royalties” to you for allowing them to use your images on their products. These royalties are set, by you, as percentages in some of their products.
10 to 15% of the retail price is considered the sweet spot pricing for high volume sales. Higher markups yield little sales, but this is something you need to consider when you are defining your ideal client.
Pricing for Your Market
Pricing your goods so “they are affordable for everyone”, can be tricky and works against you in the long run. You cannot be all things to everyone. But knowing who your buyers are will create a spot for you and grow your sales.
Knowing your market, your value as an artist and the kind of client you want to attract will make a world of difference as you enter the artist market.
