Screen printing is very in demand for many types of media. Those who love to screen print as a hobby can very easily turn it into a career with very little effort. The most obvious media is clothing. People are always on the look for stylish but unique clothing that is not mass produced, and creating your own clothing line that provides them with such designs can quickly become a success. Another very popular option for screen print is screen print art.
This can be done on canvas or cloth and is meant to hang on walls. The possibilities in whatever media you choose are virtually endless, but where should you start?
The most important thing about trying to profit is to get your name known. First around your community and town, and then you can grow the circle as wide as you like. Craft fairs are a good idea to help you with this, but don't wait around for them if they only happen once a year in your town like they do in mine.
Find businesses that allow local artists to display their art. Better yet, if you print your designs on clothing, there are some clothing stores that will partner with you to sell your things. They will get a part of the commission, but you will get great exposure. If you are simply hanging your work in a local café, be sure to include information on how to get a hold of you, such as a picture frame with your information in it.
Join with charity groups. Join with a charity group and put some of your work up for charity auctions. You will most likely not make a profit from this venture, but you will get exposure and your name will be seen in a more positive light. Great options for this are church charities or children's charities. They are wonderful causes, and you'll be happy you did.
Set up your own artist "break out" party. This is a unique way to make profit that artists around my community have done. Select a public location like a park and get permission to use the area for a day. Then get together with a few of your friends that are artists. They don't need to do the same kind of art as you, variety is a good thing in an event like this.
Then make fliers that advertise the event and also call out to other artists in the area to get a hold of you if they'd like to participate. This event should be free, and everyone displays their work in their own space and way.
This creates a free and fun community event, and gives you and other artists the chance to get their work known and who knows, maybe even collaborate and come up with even better ideas for exposure.
The key to success in any art business to supply what people want and to get involved with the community. Once you've established yourself in these ways and have seen some profit, then you can scale up to larger ventures. To try and open a store or website before you are well known anywhere is to work backwards. It is not impossible to do, but it is much, much harder.