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Help - Selling art on Craigslist
Sell art on Craigslist
Craigslist (or "Craig's List") is a terrific site for posting the equivalent of a digital classified ad. Plus, for our purposes, Craigslist is 100% free to use.
How your art fits in
Craigslist is really meant as a means to sell items locally, so pick a location near you that you'd be happy to ship to. The benefit of this, of course, is that often times you can simply drive the piece there, or have someone pick it up, without worrying about shipping boxes, complicated packaging, or escrow. Craigslist is not meant for selling to distant locations, even if you do this through Foundmyself. That doesn't mean that people who find your art through Craigslist won't know someone far away who is interested in your art, however, so be sure to specify where you will ship to either in your Foundmyself profile or gallery. Again, this information doesn't belong on Craigslist!
What to post
Your art post should be short and sweet, telling people what you sell - original paintings, prints, sculptures, jewelry, services such as commissions, etc. - and where they can find it, i.e. your Foundmyself art gallery. In your promotional tools section you will find many helpful goodies to syndicate and advertise your gallery. One of them, Picflip, is perfect for Craigslist. It's an automatically rotating image that changes every time someone reloads the page it's on, giving them a preview of another one of your art pieces. Simply copy and paste the standard HTML code found on the Picflip page into your listing and it will show up. Craigslist doesn't support Flash or Javascript, so this image or another from your gallery will have to do.
With your Picflip image in hand, or cyberspace...whatever...tell people what you have to offer. You should be able to mention what you do, how much it will cost, and where the viewer can find more examples and information in just a few sentences. For example:
I am an exhibited artist specializing in dramatic, original oil paintings. Prices start at $250, and commissions are gladly accepted. Please visit my gallery to see examples of my work by clicking the image below.
[Image and text link]
The subject line to your post is at least as important as your advertisement/body text. Again, be quick and to the point. Tell people what art you're selling and motivate them to read your post.
Where to post it
Again, post only once to a city near you. Craigslist doesn't want multiple listings in different cities. On the main page you will see a category under "For sale" that reads "arts+crafts" - post there.
Track results
Using your live statistics on Foundmyself allows you to quickly see if your Craigslist posting is getting interest. If not, don't post again for a month or so, and work on your advertisement's wording.
Also, in the happy event of a sale or lead, be sure to be cautious and only sell to people you trust. Craigslist has their own topic on this subject that's worth a read.
Have fun and good luck!