I have moved over 17,000 units on RB, and my art isn?t *that* great.
This isn?t my Redbubble shop.. (Photo by Ricardo Tamayo)
There?s a secret to selling art on Redbubble, but it isn?t complicated, but it?s math. I call it ?The Success Formula? and it doesn?t magically make you more sales, it just helps you understand what is making you money.
Disclaimer: I teach an online course called ?Sell a TON of Art on Redbubble? and will be linking information in the footer.
The Success Formula
Success in $ = Views * Conversion rate [decimal] * average commission ($)
We can see there are three factors to our success.
- Views
2. Conversion
3. Commission
Get More Views
Views = # of products * Average views / product
Why break views down into its own formula?
To illustrate a point. You must have a lot of art to get daily sales. How have I sold art daily for years? I have uploaded >2,200 works on Redbubble. I started making sales daily around 1,000 pieces in my portfolio. This is also around the time I reached 1,000 total sales. Once you reach around this number of products and sales, you can expect steady sales for years to come.
You will need a TON of art is you want to turn RB into a reliable monthy income. Sure, you could get sales with a small portfolio, but it?s a little like going viral, it?s probably not reliable unless you are (or become) a semi-famous artist with a large and loyal fan base.
Edit: With Fan Art, it?s much easier to make steady $ with a few dozen works
It?s far more likely you will be able to make a good monthly check, no matter who you are, if you have a ranging portfolio packed with quality work.
Photo by bruce mars
How to make more art
Make modifications to each piece
This can be as simple as a hue/saturation adjustment layer in Photoshop. Another option is to use blend modes, and blend stock images or your other art together.
Think of art as your profession
Give yourself permission to make more art, but at the same time don?t force yourself to do it. Get excited about making art, and find yourself carving out time in the morning, evenings, and even turning off the video stream to turn on the tunes and make some art.
Don?t let uploading cut into your art time
Uploading is work. Don?t try to cram it into your art time, it will only put a bummer on the session. Uploading is best left to its own block, a time you don?t feel like getting into Art Mode, but still want to get something productive on the checked list.
Keep making art until you have a chunk ready to upload, then upload as many as you can in one session. I used to love to watch movies when I uploaded, but now I find it better to watch something lighter on the attention, or even a podcast so I can have control of my eyes.
Other Ways to Get More Views
Categories
When someone is looking at a piece of your art, there is a slider below that has all you other art. If the piece is in one or more categories, sliders will appear for each category. These a huuuugggggeeee click target for anyone looking at your portfolio. Use them. Get more views. Get more sales.
Link to your product types
This is a huge secret to not only views, but sales. Save the links to your individual products. Share these links in your artist bio, as well as anywhere else that makes sense, like a personal blog or an announcement about your art on social media. The link will look like: redbubble.com/people/[your username]/shop/stickers
This works because people are usually looking for one type of product, like a shirt or a sticker. By showing them ALL of your designs in that type, they are more likely to see something that triggers a purchase.
Convert Better
Don?t be boring
In your titles, descriptions, as well as your profile bio and short bio, use your precious space to communicate your awesomeness to anyone reading. Whether you are a brand or an individual, what is your voice? What impression can you send with these few precious words?
Ask Others? Opinions
Get an outside eye to look at your profile. See what they see that you don?t. As the artist, you will never be able to see your portfolio the way an outsider would. You are targeting that view, not your own, so get it. Friends would be happy to help. I will even look if you send me the link!
Promote what is already selling
You most effective promotion will be what you just sold. What one person likes enough to buy, another will as well. Your best sellers will keep selling! Help them sell by re-posting them.
Average Commission
Photo by Burst
Get More $$ Per Sale
20% is the standard on RB. This works in most cases but one.
Set the right commission
Okay, so I haven?t tried every commission price point, or done any research. This is all guts here, and experience.
Stickers add up!!
I like to put my stickers at 50% commission, and I see others doing the same thing (or even more). This is to make a sticker sale something to be happy about. You will make more sticker sales than any other product (well, I do) so capitalize on that. An extra .30 isn?t much to the buyer, but it can mean a lot to you when you sell 1000 stickers ($300)!
Other than that, I leave my commission on 20%. It has worked for me, but of course, try different price points if you?re feeling froggy.
But don?t do this..
Don?t lower your commission thinking that it will make you sales. It probably won?t work, and it definitely won?t leave with you more money in your pocket.
Pitch bigger products
More expensive product sales lead to more money in your pocket. Why sell a sticker when you can sell a shirt? Why sell a shirt when you can sell a duvet cover?
You can pitch big stuff when you are choosing the default product while uploading. You can also throw around the links to a specific product type in your portfolio. Be mindful of what product types are likely to be bought when deciding what to use.
Beyond The Success Formula: Partner Programs
My girlfriend just made her second sale today on her Redbubble account. She made $9+ on one shower curtain! I was so happy for her! Both of her sales had came from a design that was in the Redbubble Rick and Morty Partner Program. Partner programs are a solid bet for any artist without a pre-existing fan base to start selling art and making good money.
Check out my brand-new course on Making Art for Partner Programs
This is the image my girlfriend, Karelia Blum, sold on her Redbubble.
You can see what shows are in the Redbubble partner program here.
If you liked this article, I encourage you to check out the Sell a Ton of Art on Redbubble course. The course goes into detail about everything discussed here, as well as mastering the *real* secret to lasting traffic and sales, targeting image search results. If you would prefer some freebies, I am happy to offer you 7 courses for the price of free. Feel free to choose both! I also have lots of juicy Gumroad coupons.
