As you grow, so does the value of your artwork

Be confident in the value that your artwork has! By increasing your prices (with a strategy behind the change) you will be able to take ownership of your sales and continue to grow as a creative business owner! In today’s episode we talk about why, how and when artists would increase their artwork prices as well as the factors to consider when doing so for your individual business.

Increasing Your Artwork Prices

Why should you as an artist increase your artwork prices?

Each year, like with any business, you need to account for annual inflation (anywhere from 3-7% in a year)
Your skills have gotten better and therefore your work has become more refined so your body of work collectively has gone up in value
It’s basic economics, offer and demand. If you’re in high demand and are selling like hotcakes, it’s time to raise your prices.
No collector will buy your artwork if the price seems too low (why is it so cheap?), and if it seems too high (overpriced?), that means the price is exceeding the perceived value of your artwork and your brand.
If your artwork is getting into high profile museums and gallery exhibitions, it’s perceived value is likely higher than similar work with no recognition.

You may feel hesitant because….

You may be worried a current collector will notice and make a comment about it?
What if you raised the prices too much and people perceive it as too expensive?

But looking at where your current sales are you need to think about…

Are your current customers also your future customers?

Each target customer has a different budge range
If you are looking to move from one budget target to another this may need shifting your target client too (or waiting a few years for your lower budget clients being able to grow into your top financial collectors)

When increasing your prices, how and when do you do it?

Look at your collection of work holistically and make sure you are hitting various price point levels
A great time to make the shift is at the beginning of the year or every 6 months
Tip: Do your research, look at other artists with similar areas of focus and experience, how does your pricing compare?
When in doubt, start small - you don’t want to do a big price hike then have to back down.

Things to consider:

You want to cover pricing changings within each price bracket that you have
You want to make sure each price “makes sense” when hanging next to another
- You don’t want a 12”12” painting hanging next to a 6”x6” painting where they are the same general style but the 10”x10” costs $200 more simply because it is “newer”
If you are choosing to decrease some prices don’t make it drastic because you want to be considerate of your previous collectors
- I am anti discounting your own work simply because it is “old” – no one else besides you knows
Depending on your pricing methodology, for example pricing by square inch, it may be necessary to have different pricing size categories. You get to choose whether you adjust just one or all of them. For example, your minis may be $4 a square foot and your big paintings less than $1 a square foot. You may choose to only adjust the larger ones.

When in doubt, be confident in the value that your artwork has! By increasing your prices (with a strategy behind the change) you will be able to take ownership of your sales and continue to grow as a creative business owner!

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