It is still true that the best way to sell your art is person to person, especially if you are painter.  It is difficult to display all the nuances of a great painting or even a sculpture via pictures online.  However, many artists have turned to the internet as a way to sell their work, because it is much less expensive than all the travel, and art shows, and it allows them to create more work because they are in their studio more often.

In my opinion, art is always an impulse buy.  The customer will buy a piece of art because it appeals to him emotionally and visually.  This can best be done in person, and it works even better if the artist or a knowledgeable assistant is there to explain how the piece was created.

However, the internet offers many opportunities for an artist to promote and sell their work without traveling across the country.  And it even allows potential customers to get a feel for the artist's work before they make the commitment to go to the artist's studio in town.

In order to sell anything online that is visual, you absolutely must have great pictures.  Since the buyer cannot see the item in person, you have to give them the best possible picture.  This means that if possible you need to be able to scan in the image from the original piece of flat art or take excellent pictures of your three dimensional art.

You do not need extremely expensive tools to do this, but it is an investment worth your time.  There are lots of techniques that you can use.  One of the best for small 3-D items like jewelry is to use a photo dome.

Natural light is usually better to take pictures in than artificial light. If you have a place in your house or studio that gets great natural light, you can try taking great pictures there. What is great about a photo dome is it eliminates most of the shadows and diffuses the light so that you can take great pictures anytime.

Another note about natural light:  Direct sunlight is usually not good to shoot in because it is too bright and creates deep shadows.

Okay, you have gotten great pictures of your work.  Now what?

The most successful online artists choose one main platform, and several auxiliary platforms to sell their work on.  The list of selling platforms for artists has grown immensely in the last few years. 

Ebay while it has it's faults is still one of the best ways for people to find you online.  There is no question that Ebay is the biggest selling platform and it is global.  With Ebay, like any other platform, you need to create a following that is interested in your work.  Ebay is a little tricky to maneuver, but once you understand the system, it is a great site to sell on.

Another growing site is Etsy.  Etsy allows you to create individual stores for your artwork, but it is up to you to list each item and promote it.

You can create your own site, of course, or sell from a blog. 

If you are interested in selling reproductions of your work, you can sign up for print-on demand sites like CafePress or Zazzle.  These sites allow you to upload your images, and create t-shirts, posters, and greeting cards using your images.  Sites like these are easy to use, and once you create the items, you do not have to box or ship them, the site does it for you.

Although selling art online seems like it would be easier than selling it in person, it is just like any other business.  You need to build your business a little at a time.

Selling online means that you need to learn the techniques of selling online just like you have to learn how to sell your artwork in person.  The best online sellers know how to promote their work, blog about their work, and consistently build a business online one action at a time.

You either need to become knowledgeable enough to promote yourself online or you need to be able to hire someone else to do it.

My advice is to start with one or two selling sites, and one or two promotional techniques and add on from there.

No matter what type of artwork you create, it will take at least one year of dedicated, consistent selling online to create a following big enough to regularly buy your work.  This is true whether the economy is good or bad, or somewhere in between. 

Online selling is not the magic wand that some people think it is.  The artists who are successful online are working hard to become successful, just like you have to in order to be successful offline.

Most online promotional and selling sites do not cost a lot of money to join, but they will take a time investment.  If you are not willing to invest your time, then you need to look elsewhere.

The most successful artists I know online and offline, are successful because they have invested their time creating their work and promoting it through shows, blogs, articles, and teaching others.  Usually it takes about two years to establish yourself to make a full living doing a combination.