It's 2026 -- What are Your Art Goals to Build an Audience & Boost Sales This Year?

Art business success doesn't happen by accident or happenstance. Art marketing takes time, planning and consistency in effort. Since it is still early in the year, you have a perfect opportunity now to plan for a productive 2026. Don’t wait for random opportunities to find you – proactively seek out those that will bring you what you need most.

Write down your ideas and assign them to the upcoming months. This approach will help you stay accountable.

Begin by identifying your overarching art goals. Next, determine supporting tactics. Here are a few ideas to get you started…

GOAL: Build, update or improve your website. Can you do this on your own or do you need to hire professional help? Be realistic here about your own time and ability to do this. Spending money on a web design professional can save you a lot of aggravation and frustration. For example, WIX is an easy, user-friendly platform with certified designers who set up all the backend directives that help promote your site.

My daughter-in-law, Kira Kornecki, is registered with WIX in their Marketplace for website design. She is an award-winning graphic designer and graduate of Savannah College of Art & Design in Savannah, GA. And by the way, she has designed my own site -- the one you're reading right now. She works with businesses from all around the country daily designing their websites and offers this advice to do-it-yourselfers out there...

"Wix does offer several free templates for artists to use but users can get frustrated with the design aspect. That's where I come in. Typically, I charge for a 1-2 pager site, $1,500. Because besides just the design and build, there needs to be a mobile friendly version of the site, backend business info, keywords, focus keywords, titles and meta descriptions created, favicon, social share, connecting of the domain name, connecting to Google Console and sometimes a Google Business Listing/Profile.

"To design in Wix is free and their tutorials, support etc. are awesome, but people have to pay for their site to be hosted. Also, Wix websites cannot be transferred out of Wix say to other platforms."

If this all sounds like too much for yourself to do, here's Kira's contact information: K2 Creative, Inc. - Wix Marketplace

GOAL: Generate more time each week to create art and build inventory. How can you change/tweak your daily schedule to find that all important, elusive extra time? Take a deep dive into where you might be wasting time (hint: scrolling!) and reclaim it for better use.

GOAL: Identify outlets for teaching or giving demos/workshops. There are many interest groups in the area looking for speakers and programs. Often you can get paid for sharing your expertise out of their speaker’s budget. Your local business librarian can assist you with this search. Then be proactive. Introduce yourself and your topics. What items can you sell after your presentation? Don't forget to determine a realistic speaker's fee. Be flexible, though -- it's better to accept less while still sharing your expertise and making some sales at the same time.

GOAL: Refresh your social media presence by posting regularly. If your plan is to get more eyes on your work and expand your interactive audience, building social media relationships is a good start. Which platforms might pay-off best for you? Do you have the budget to “boost”? Learn the “shelf life” of each of these platforms before wasting your time on those that disappear quickly.

Make 2026 your best art year yet. It's all about planning and executing. You can do it!

-- Lynne Kornecki, Publisher

Enjoy this week's issue and please continue to "Keep those cards and letters coming" with all your art news! Send to: contact@artbeatbuzz.com