Artists and art organizations often struggle to expand their reach and get their work seen by more people. Surviving in a crowded market and ensuring longevity can be tough, which is why marketing of artwork or art supplies is so beneficial. Acting as an affiliate marketer themselves can also help an individual artist as they team up with recognized brands in the industry and become better known as an honest artist providing reliable feedback on products while also getting exposure for their own art. 

What Is Affiliate Marketing?

Before getting into how affiliate marketing can help those in the art industry, it is first important to have a solid understanding of this type of marketing. 

In short, an affiliate marketer is someone who promotes another company’s products or services on their own channels, which could be a blog, website, or social media platform. The brand gets exposed to the marketer’s audience, while the marketer gets paid each time a follower purchases a product through their affiliate link or promotion code.

Commissions vary between 4% and 30% of the product’s price, but depend greatly on the product being marketed and the company. Affiliate marketing is done by many different industries, including retail, travel, food, wellness, art, DIY, and online gambling. Those interested in affiliate marketing networks in the casino sector should always strive to see more current options and learn how iGaming affiliates help players and other businesses recognize the most valuable trends and brands in the market. 

There are three main types of affiliate marketers:

1. Involved: These marketers recommend products that they’ve personally used. In the art sector, they may recommend brushes or canvases and show off the work they’ve done with them. 
2. Related: The marketer promotes a product related to their industry, but hasn’t personally used the product. A gallery blog may promote online art courses or framing services that they haven’t used, but it’s relevant to their audience. 
3. Unattached: The marketer has no connection to the items they’re promoting. An artist’s website may run ads for creative software or printing services that they have no experience with or ties to.

How Affiliate Marketing Can Help Artists and Art Organizations

Affiliate marketing can benefit both artists and art organizations to get their artwork or service offerings seen by more people. 

For Artists

Most artists are affiliate marketers, as artwork is not commonly promoted by other personalities. Being an affiliate marketer brings in additional income when done the right way. Some artists are typically involved as affiliate marketers, recommending products and services that they have personally used. 

Here’s how affiliate marketing benefits artists:

• Additional income: Artists can earn commissions by promoting their favorite brushes, paints, art supplies, art classes, or canvases.
• More visibility: By partnering with established brands, artists may increase their exposure and get their artwork seen by more people. For example, an artist promoting a well-known paint brand by demonstrating their own art may get reposted by the brand, which has thousands of followers.

For Art Organizations

Art organizations can be both affiliate marketers and use this marketing strategy to promote their offerings. For example, an art organization can ask renowned artists to promote their classes or gallery exhibits, and pay the affiliate marketer for each successful signup or entry ticket sold. 

As affiliate marketers themselves, art organizations can promote art-related products on their websites or social media channels. This provides additional income to the organization, establishes partnerships to increase audience size, and also improves audience engagement. 

Wrapping Up

Affiliate marketing is not yet a common sight in the art sector, although an increasing number of individual artists are turning to affiliate marketing to build credibility, expand their reach, and make additional income. For art organizations, affiliate marketing can be both a source of income as well as a way to market their offerings or products.