Profit, Pricing and the Starving Artist

When I started making jewelry and opened my Etsy shop, I suddenly fell into the “starting artist” mindset. As a total novice, I had zero self-confidence and wasn’t sure if anyone would actually by my charms. And as a frugal-minded person, I wasn’t even sure that I would pay the prices I was charging. Isn’t that sad?

20130321w_metalwerk02As creatives we tend to shortchange ourselves when it comes to setting pricing for our products. That’s because art is so subjective. See, if you’re an engineer or a technically-oriented professional, you have pay scales you can use to set your pricing, but for artists, it can feel like a guessing game.

Thankfully I’m learning from others who have gone before me. If you’re struggling with what to charge for your artwork, here are some resources that can give you that boost of confidence you need to get what you’re worth:

Learn How to Charge What You’re Worth & Get the Fees You Deserve!

And if you’re just starting out, I recommend learning as much as you can from the experts. Here’s a comprehensive guide to setting up your craft business the right way.

The Crafting Business Guide

ProfitableCraftsPackagePrice your products for maximum profits – and maximum sales!

The Profitable Crafts Mega Package is the definitive guide to showing you the ropes to starting, running, and marketing your own successful craft business.

Written by craft business guru Maria Vowell, the Profitable Crafts Mega Package is four volumes packed with as much information as is humanly possible about making money with your crafts – showing you the fastest and easiest way to get your profitable craft business off the ground.

As an artist, Etsy has been so helpful in growing my business. Here’s a great instructional video I watched in Etsy’s Online Labs:

The Art of Pricing for Profit

  • How do you price creative work so that it’s personally, commercially, and financially sustainable?
  • How do you price creative work so that you’re able to create more and grow your business with integrity?
  • How do you price creative work to demonstrate value to your customer and raise the standard for creative products?

Pricing isn’t easy. But it doesn’t have to be hard. There are strategies and philosophies that drive smart pricing. Before you can price for profit, you’ve got to learn the Art of Earning. Megan Auman and Tara Gentile show you how.

Are you a creative? How do you set your prices? I’d love to hear your thoughts below.

Tags: , , ,

No comments yet.

Leave a Reply