Maybe Your Work Isn’t Good Enough To Sell

Just because you’re creating content doesn’t mean it’s going to sell.

I follow several creative subreddits where people often ask why their art isn’t selling on Redbubble, Threadless, Shopify, Etsy, Amazon, and so forth. They explain how they've created and marketed a bunch of art, but can't figure out why they’re not making sales.

I’ve browsed products on these platforms and seen some pretty cool artwork, but there are also many low-quality images. My bet is that the people struggling to sell are the same ones putting out that low-quality work.

Every online course that teaches you how to sell your art online, tells you to pick a niche, then jumps straight to:

- Create consistently

- Follow *these* steps to make sales

But these are marketing courses, not learn-the-craft courses, which is where everyone should start. If they do teach you how to make anything, it’s usually low-effort junk they’ve convinced everyone is in hot demand, which only implies success, not guarantees it.

There might be an exception from time to time, but by and large, people want quality art, quality writing, and quality products. Not dropshipped junk from China, low-resolution AI, or ChatGPT YA novels. Just look at the amount of AI-generated anything out there. Most of it can be spotted a mile away because the person who put it out there didn’t bother to check for extra fingers or improve the resolution, or make it sound more human.

Only after a decent product is created should you follow the advice of creating consistently and following recommended marketing steps, but too many people seem to think they can cut corners on the product itself and still expect sales.

It’s awesome that so many tools are available to create art, but artists should take pride in their work by only putting out their best work. Everything else is practice and there shouldn't be an expectation to monetize what amounts to first and second drafts.

It's also important not to insult the public by claiming that subpar work is valuable and deserves compensation.

One growing frustration in society is that companies with billions to spend on quality choose to create products that break down or wear down much sooner than they should. On top of that, consumers can't go to Etsy for homemade items anymore because scammers have flooded the space with their dropshipped, low-quality goods. Altogether, customers have nowhere to go for quality. As artists, we should strive to impress people with our work, not blend in with the junk everyone else is selling.

I’m sure there are talented artists who struggle to make a living with their art, but the people asking for help on these subs are not full-time artists; they’re hobbyists trying to get their slice of the pie using free or low-cost online tools. They seem to be so caught up with figuring out the magic formula for sales and forget the whole point is to create something worth buying.

Let's not ignore the fact that there are talented, full-time artists who have to fight for every sale they get. Is it really a mystery when a dropshipping digital "artist" generating AI images can't make a sale? Or when a first-time writer can't get any views?

The advice I wish was given more often but rarely is, is about honing the craft, not double-checking the marketing formula or switching platforms. Get feedback on the work or at least consider how it can be improved before uploading to Printify. Because no one can help if the focus is on selling instead of making sure it’s sellable.