Advertising Paintings Online — How to Actually Get Sales

[Dmitry-Afremov]

Advertising Paintings Online — How to Actually Get Sales

Alright.

At this point we already have:

a website,
an Etsy store,
social media accounts.

We already look like a real online artist.

Yes, social media is exhausting.

It takes:

time,
energy,
emotions.

Sometimes it feels like some idiot walks into your house and starts:

screaming,
writing garbage,
telling you how terrible you are.

Because your social media page becomes part of you.

It feels personal.

And yes — negativity will happen.

Even if you did absolutely nothing wrong.

But there’s one thing you must understand.

Very often people attack online not because there’s something wrong with you.

But because something is wrong inside them.

For many people, social media is basically a free therapist.

They:

don’t go to psychologists,
don’t talk through their problems,
don’t fix their lives,

they simply dump emotions onto random strangers.

Today that stranger is you.

So the most important thing:
don’t carry their negativity inside your own head.

Now the Most Interesting Part Begins — Advertising

Alright.

Everything is ready.

We’re prepared.

Ready for battle.

But there are still no sales.

And that’s normal.

Because without advertising, there are no sales.

Especially in the beginning.

Always Send Traffic to Your Own Website

This is extremely important.

Never send advertising traffic to platforms you don’t own.

Only send traffic to your own website.

Why?

Because those platforms belong to somebody else.

Imagine this.

You spend your hard-earned $100 advertising your Etsy store.

A customer arrives.

Looks at your paintings.

Then:

sees other artists,
sees other artwork,
forgets about you 30 seconds later.

That’s it.

Your money just helped somebody else’s platform grow.

That’s a bad strategy.

Advertising should always point to your own website.

Start With Facebook

Yes, Facebook still works extremely well for art.

Especially for:

home decor,
paintings,
emotional purchases.

And here I go getting distracted again.

Everybody keeps telling me:
“Just throw everything into ChatGPT and let it make a perfectly polished article.”

No.

I want people to feel my mood.

Maybe it will give them something too.

Facebook Ads Should Be Extremely Simple

This is where artists start overcomplicating everything.

Don’t.

Take:

one painting,
one image,
one short text.

That’s it.

No:

carousels,
50 images,
complicated funnels,
coupons,
giant descriptions.

Coupons barely work anyway.

People:

forget them,
don’t understand them,
are too lazy to enter them.

The simpler the better.

Discounts Must Be Real

And yes —
discounts matter.

But they must be genuine.

If you write:
“50% OFF”

then similar paintings on your website really should cost twice as much.

People today can instantly feel fake marketing.

Why Small Discounts Barely Work

A lot of people will say:
“5–10% is already a good discount.”

Maybe.

But it doesn’t create urgency.

There’s no emotional trigger.

No reason to buy today.

Because honestly?
Nobody urgently needs your painting.

At all.

But 50%?
That feels like:
“Wow. I found a great deal.”

And whether we like it or not —
that works.

Free Shipping Is Mandatory Now

Now here’s another unpleasant truth.

Free shipping.

Yes, almost everyone offers it now.

Yes, shipping is expensive.

But if you start charging separately for shipping,
you will lose a huge number of customers.

That’s simply reality.

So:

include shipping in the price,
calculate it ahead of time,
do whatever you want —

but for the customer, shipping should feel free.

“That’s Not How Art Should Be Sold”

And this is where people start saying:

“But this is art.”

“You can’t sell creativity like this.”

Guys.

This is exactly how art is sold today.

Honestly, I don’t even understand the phrase:
“I created a masterpiece.”

Okay.

And then what?

Why did you create it?

Who needs it?

Very often artists romanticize their work too much.

An Artist Must Be a Professional

My father worked 12 hours a day.

He painted:

5,
sometimes 6 paintings daily.

And every single one looked like a masterpiece.

Why?

Because he was a professional.

He didn’t constantly talk about:

how hard it was,
what cosmic emotions he felt,
how deep the meaning was.

No.

He simply worked.

Every day.

And poured onto canvas whatever was inside him.

Paintings Also Need to Be Sold

And yes —
paintings are sold the same way as:

popcorn,
bread,
any other product.

That’s normal.

You created a product.

Now you must sell it.

Don’t live with the illusion:
“My art will remain forever.”

Most likely — it won’t.

Over the last 100 years there were millions of artists.

History remembers only a handful.

Don’t build your life around that fantasy.

I’m Not Teaching You How to Become Immortal

This is important.

I’m not teaching you:

how to become Picasso,
how to end up in art textbooks,
how to become an immortal genius.

I’m teaching you:

how to earn money,
how to live from your art,
how to become financially free,
how to become successful.

That’s what I can actually teach you.

Facebook Advertising Works Intuitively

And this is what I like about Facebook ads.

They’re very intuitive.

You launch:

your first ad,
second ad,
third ad.

And gradually you start understanding everything yourself.

Today anybody can launch ads.

This is no longer rocket science.

Start Locally

Very important advice.

Don’t immediately advertise worldwide.

For example:
you live in Miami.

Then say exactly that:

“I’m a South Florida artist selling paintings with free shipping across Florida.”

Why is this important?

Because:

you don’t spread your budget too thin,
you don’t show ads to millions of random people,
you show them to people who can realistically buy.

That’s far more effective.

How Much Should You Spend on Advertising?

This is where most people make mistakes.

They run ads for:

$5,
$10,
$15 a day.

Then they say:
“Facebook ads don’t work.”

No.

The algorithm simply didn’t have enough time or data to learn.

Personally, I wouldn’t start below $50 a day.

Yes, it’s money.

But Facebook needs to understand:

who buys,
who clicks,
who likes your paintings.
And Stop Panicking

Once you launch the ad —
leave it alone.

At least:
5–6 days.

Don’t:

shut it off after one day,
change everything every 30 minutes,
panic immediately.

The algorithm needs time.

Results Are Not Only Sales

This is another important point.

On Facebook, results are not only money.

Results are also:

likes,
comments,
reactions,
discussions.

Yes, likes won’t buy you dinner.

Obviously.

But you start understanding the market.

People say:

expensive,
beautiful,
love it,
terrible.

And now you begin seeing:

what works,
what doesn’t,
which paintings people react to,
which ones nobody cares about.

That’s called market testing.

And it’s extremely important.

After Facebook — Twitter/X

The next step:
Twitter/X.

Very similar approach:

one painting,
one text,
simple audience targeting.

Launch it.

On Twitter you can start with a smaller budget.

Around:
$25–30 a day.

Leave Google Alone for Now

If you are:

a new artist,
unknown,
without an audience —

don’t touch Google Ads yet.

Google is expensive.

And competition there is brutal.

Paying for people to search your name when nobody knows you yet is a bad idea.

I would only move into Google after:

3–4 months of stable advertising,
building an audience,
gaining recognition,
developing social proof.
Pinterest and Reddit — Later

Yes, Pinterest and Reddit also have advertising.

But I wouldn’t touch them yet.

Start with:

Facebook,
Twitter/X.

That’s more than enough in the beginning.

The Most Important Thing — Choose CONVERSIONS

And this is probably the most important part.

When you launch ads,
Facebook asks:

What do you want?

traffic,
views,
likes,
add-to-cart actions?

No.

You want money.

That’s the only thing that matters.

So choose:
CONVERSIONS.

Only conversions.

Why This Matters

Platforms are extremely smart.

Their algorithms clearly understand:

who likes browsing,
who likes clicking like buttons,
who never buys anything,
and who is actually ready to spend money.

If you choose:
“Traffic” —
they’ll send you spectators.

If you choose:
“Likes” —
they’ll send you people who like everything.

But if you choose:
“Conversions” —
the algorithm will search for people who actually buy.

And that’s a massive difference.

No money — no love.

That’s it.

[PineStreetJoe]

This is probably one of the most practical articles I've read for artists trying to sell online. A lot of people focus only on creating art and completely ignore the business side, but both matter if you want to make a living from your work. Really appreciated the straightforward advice.

[GreenPorchAmy]

This reads less like practical advice and more like someone projecting personal frustration with how platforms and audiences work. You also seem to oversimplify advertising and buyer behavior as if repeating a few Facebook tactics guarantees success, which feels a bit disconnected from how most real artists actually operate online.

[AmberFields]

Afremov is my idol!

[WestCoastNate]

There’s a lot of useful advice here, especially about building your own website and focusing on conversions instead of vanity metrics. I also appreciate the reminder that advertising takes time and that market feedback can be just as valuable as immediate sales.

At the same time, it’s helpful to remember that every artist’s audience is different, so budgets, platforms, and pricing strategies may need to be adjusted based on individual goals and experience.

[SunnySideKate]

I especially liked the emphasis on driving traffic to your own website, focusing on conversions instead of vanity metrics, and treating advertising as a process of testing and learning rather than expecting instant results. I'm a young artist just starting to build my audience and explore online sales—do you ever collaborate with emerging artists or offer opportunities to sell through your platform or studio