Trend #019 - This guy figured out how to sell AI art for $200 EACH 🔥

Hey,

First off, WOW. The last email BLEW UP! (link here if you missed it). So, massive thanks for being the best subscribers on the planet. Please keep the replies coming - I reply to every single email 😊and your feedback helps me dig up more juicy ideas!

This week’s idea is just as exciting. If you like the idea of selling things you can touch and feel (without the pain of creating physical products), then this email is 100% for you.

🔎 He made $60k selling AI ART at LEGIT art auctions

Some of you know I've been on a MidJourney binge lately, using it to churn out realistic selfie photos for Threads. (p/s: If you want to know how I create these, just hit reply and ask)

Anyway, MOST people try to sell their AI art on very competitive marketplaces like RedBubble or Etsy. Although it’s still profitable if you find the right niche (e.g. “Sublimation prints”), it’s getting harder every day.

Then on Saturday, I stumbled upon this FB post about a guy that made ~$60,000 selling MidJourney created at legit art auctions!

No ads. No marketing. No competing on price.

Needless to say, I HAD TO figure out how Ricardo did it.

Luckily for us, he was fairly transparent about his process and I was able to put together a playbook to help you get started:

👀 The AI Art Auction Playbook

1️⃣ Find trending styles: The old business adage of “sell what people want to buy” works here too. Browse the "SOLD" pages at online auctions to brainstorm popular styles to copy. A tip from Ricardo: "modern interpretations of oil paintings, pop art, flowers and birds (and peculiarly, paintings of Nike Jordan sneakers) seem to sell out EVERY SINGLE TIME."

2️⃣ Create a limited edition series: Think about it, why are Van Gogh's paintings worth millions?

1. He's famous (sorry, we can’t all be Van Gogh!).

2. There's only 1 of each painting. Now this is something we can control. The trick here is to engineer scarcity into your AI art. Ricardo creates a series of 7. "I have some that get more and more bids as it progresses to 4/7 - 5/7 -6/7".

3️⃣ Upscale and make high-quality prints: Use upscaling software and make sure your prints are on papers over 200 grams. I’ve included the 2 upscaling software he used and 2 other tricks of the trade to improve your art quality in the full business model here.

🔥 Opportunities for you:

You can sell on online art auction sites that allow the use of AI (This is the one Ricardo uses), or you can:

1️⃣ Sell at your local art auctions: This other guy managed to sell 12 pieces in a week at a local art gallery in a town with a population of just 120k.

2️⃣ Leverage clout: Ricardo’s piece featuring Greta as the "Girl with a Pearl Earring" by Vermeer got me thinking... What about reimagining other iconic figures? Elon Musk or Oprah, perhaps?

👁The Business Model

On average, he's selling each piece for about $200 and sold around 300 pieces so far, grossing $60,000 from his AI art side hustle.

Now, while that sounds enticing, you’d need to factor in the printing & shipping costs. Want a step-by-step on how to create AI artwork, a list of galleries and exhibitions that accept AI art, tools you need to create the artwork and a little-known technique to increase the perceived value of your pieces?

Then download the full business model here - (yes, it’s yours to copy for free)

Dive in, experiment, and of course, let me know how it goes. 🎨

Until the next one,

Hazel

👀 In the news for indie founders

• Anthony from Indie Worldwide sharing how he got 25k subscribers running Facebook ads… for free.

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