How to decide on the products to sell in your shop (Patreon)

Hello, and welcome back, finally, to another Educational Article!

Starting an art shop is super exciting! But one of the most important - and sometimes hard - decisions is choosing which products to sell. This choice can affect the success of your business, as it shapes your brand, attracts your audience, and determines your profit margins. So how do you decide what to offer in your art shop?

First of all, you can of course sell whatever you want to sell in your shop!! This guide goes more into the business side of how to decide on the products to sell.

1. Identify Your Artistic Strengths and Style

Start by reflecting on your strengths and what makes your work unique.

Ask yourself:

- What kind of art am I most passionate about creating?

- What medium do I work best in? Do I use paint, digital, mixed media, or maybe sculpting?

- What sets my style apart from others in the market?

Your unique style will help you find the kinds of products you can create and sell. For example, if you love sculpting and you´re a gaming enthusiast you could focus on polymer clay keycaps.

2. Understand Your Target Audience

Knowing your customers is just as important as knowing what you love to create. Take time to research who is most likely to buy your work.

Ask yourself:

- Who are my ideal customers? (be specific)

- What type of art do they appreciate?

- What price range are they comfortable with?

The more you narrow that down the easier it will be to find your niche.

For example, Lucie Ell @lucieell.art now focuses on Slavic-themed art and started to build her shop and products around that cozy theme, so she found her very own niche and with that the ideal customers who are missing their homes in Slavic countries!

She narrowed it down a bit more and is focusing on the audience who daily writes in her journal and loves to decorate it. So she´s selling stickers, sticker sheets, and washi tape.

3. Explore a Wide Range of Product Types

The easiest to start with is digital products or custom commissions and I think a lot of artists to start with that! Another easy product is stickers, postcards, or prints. Also if you don´t have the money to invest from the beginning into your shop selling art prints and stickers is definitely the one where you don´t have to put in that much money from the beginning as you can outsource them in small batches. Or if you have a bit of money to invest you can get a printer and plotter to make these products at home!

However, a range of products can help diversify your income streams and can get you a wider customer range.

Here are some ideas for other products:

Stationery: notepads, sticky notes, stamps, paper clips

Merchandise: t-shirts, mugs, tote bags, lanyards, keychains, mousepads

Home Decor: wall hangings, pillows, blankets

Digital Products: drawing guides, digital brushes, clipart

I had nearly no money to invest when I decided to sell products.

So I started by selling art prints, and stickers, just by getting a printer and cutting the stickers by hand back then. Then slowly build the shop from there, got a plotter and other machines. And then started to outsource. First with local printing companies by getting notepads and bookmarks made. Then I got products from Vograce because there you can also get a very low MOQ. Then when I was more confident after a few years I decided to outsource to Alibaba manufacturers which is definitely more risky as you have to buy a lot of stock because their moq is mostly a minimum of 100 per design. So you have to keep in mind that you may sit on that stock for a while. This brings us to the next point:

4. Evaluate Production Costs and Profit Margins

It's essential to understand the cost of producing each type of product. Look into the costs of materials, shipping, packaging, and shop fees.

Ask yourself:

- Can I produce this item affordably while maintaining high quality?

- What price can I realistically sell this product for?

- Will my profit margin be sufficient after production and other costs?

For example, selling digital downloads may have low upfront costs but might require more volume to generate a good profit. On the other hand, custom commissions can command higher prices, but they may take way more time to create.

5. Test Market Demand and Get Feedback

Before getting a large batch of any product start with a small batch to see if it sells out fast. If it sells fast you can make a preorder and then order a bit more than the preorders you got. That way it´s not that risky and you can test out more designs and see what your customers like!

Consider sending out a survey, hosting polls on social media, or engaging in conversations with potential customers to learn what products they’re most interested in!

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Balance creativity with practicality, and don’t be afraid to experiment with different formats to see what works best for you and your customers.

And don´t be afraid of making mistakes. I for example thought that if my customers enjoy stickers and washi tape they would definitely also love stamps to decorate their planners and journals, so I got my first wooden stamps and clear stamp sets made, and a lot of them cause the MOQ was over 100, and then nearly no one bought them. But things like that happen! That´s part of a business!

Most importantly, stay true to your vision. Your art shop is a reflection of your passion, and the products you choose should express your unique style and artistic journey.

Good luck with your wonderful art shop adventure!!

🧡🧡🧡