Promoting Your Art Online: The Top Five Ways

promoting your art online
promoting art online top 5 ways

When it comes to promoting your art online, there are a number of different strategies you can use. In this post, I will discuss the most effective methods to help you find your audience, and for your audience to find you!

With the ease of access to the internet, more and more people are turning to online platforms to showcase their work. This is especially true for artists, who can use the internet to reach a global audience.

There are a number of ways to promote your art online. In this article, we will take a look at five of the most effective methods. These include using social media, setting up a website, taking advantage of search engine optimization, experimenting with video, and using online marketplaces to sell and showcase your work.

Top 5 Tips for Promoting Your Art Online

1. Create a strong social media presence

For any business that wants to be successful online, it helps to have a strong social media presence. This is especially true for art businesses, which are usually highly visual.

person holding smartphone taking picture of bridge during daytime

There are a few key things to remember when creating a social media presence for promoting your art online. The first is to focus on quality over quantity. It’s better to have a small number of high-quality pieces than a large number of low-quality ones. This means that you should focus on creating work that is visually stunning and engaging, rather than churning out a large quantity of content that is quickly forgotten.

The second key is to be active and engaged with your audience. Social media is all about interaction, so make sure to post content that encourages comments, questions, and shares. Don’t just post your art and expect people to engage with it; start a conversation and get people talking.

And finally, the third key is to be consistent. Posting irregularly will only serve to frustrate your audience, confuse the algorithm, and potentially damage your chances of success. Make sure to post regularly, and to maintain a consistent voice and tone across all of your social media channels. By following these three key tips, you’ll be well on your way to creating a strong social media presence that will help promote your art to a wider audience.

2. Develop an art blog or website

There are many ways to promote your art online, but one of the most effective is to develop your own blog or website. By having a dedicated space for your art, you can control the narrative around your work and ensure that your target audience is seeing the message you want to send.

photo of person using laptop for graphic designs

Here are a few tips for getting started:

  1. Choose a focus for your blog or website. Whether you want to showcase your own art, write about art news, or highlight other artists you admire, it’s important to have a clear focus for your site. This will help you attract the right audience and create content that is interesting and engaging.
  2. Make sure your site is visually appealing. People are visual creatures, so it’s important to make sure your site is visually appealing. This means using high-quality images, an eye-catching layout, and easy-to-navigate pages.
  3. Write compelling content. Even if your site looks great, it won’t be successful unless you have compelling content to share. Write blog posts that are interesting and informative, and be sure to update your site regularly with new content.
  4. Spread the word. Once your site is up and running, be sure to promote it through social media, Pinterest, and other relevant channels. The more people who know about your site, the more traffic you’ll generate.
  5. Monitor your progress. Keep an eye on your website’s traffic and analytics to see how your site is performing. This information can help you fine-tune your content and marketing strategies over time to further improve your results.

By following these tips, you can develop an art blog or website that is both successful and enjoyable to maintain.

3. Use search engine optimization (SEO)

Search engine optimization, or “SEO” for short, is a technique that can be used to help promote your art online. By optimizing the content using key phrases related to the artwork, an artist can make their content more visible to potential customers who use search engines like Google.

photo of woman in front of painting

One way to optimize your content is to ensure that all images and videos are given descriptive file names, titles and alt tags. This allows search engines to index the content properly and help people find it when they search for specific keywords.

Another way to optimize content is to use key phrases on your artist website that are related to the artwork you want to promote. Think descriptive phrases such as “landscape paintings” or “custom pet portraits”. By including these key phrases in titles, tags, and descriptions, artists can improve their chances of being found by potential customers who are searching for those phrases.

In addition to optimizing website content, artists can also use SEO to improve the visibility of their social media posts. By including key words and phrases in the file name, post description, and alt tags (where available) artists can make it easier for potential customers to find their work on social media sites like Instagram and Tiktok, which are moving towards more SEO based search algorithms in place of hashtags.

By using these basic SEO techniques, artists can reach a larger audience and promote their artwork more effectively.

4. Create short videos of your art

There are many ways to promote art online, but one of the most effective is through creating short videos of your art or art process. Art videos can be used to give potential buyers a tour of your studio, a closer look at your work, or even just to provide some educational information about your process or medium.

black android smartphone

Here are five tips for creating great art videos:

  1. Keep it short and sweet. Ideally your video should be between 15 -60 seconds long, which is what most short form video apps accept. Check out my post on how to use TikTok for artists for more short video ideas. If you want to post long format videos of your art, YouTube is a better place for that.
  2. Start with a bang. The first few seconds of your video are crucial in hooking the viewer, so make sure you start with an attention-grabbing image or scene.
  3. Use professional-quality footage and audio. This doesn’t mean you need to hire a Hollywood film crew, but your video should be well-lit and have clear, high-quality audio.
  4. Edit for maximum impact. A good edit can make all the difference in a video, so don’t be afraid to cut out any sections that aren’t essential. I recommend the InShot app for editing videos on your phone.
  5. Include a call to action. At the end of your video, make sure to include a call to action, such as asking viewers to like and share your video, or visit your website to learn more about your art.

If you want step by step instructions on how to create short videos of your art for Reels, TikTok etc. check out my Skillshare class!

5. Sell your art online

When it comes to selling art online, there are a few different avenues that artists can take.

selling and promoting art online

Here are five of the most popular methods:

  1. Set up your own online shop: One of the best ways to sell art online is to set up your own online shop on your artist website. This gives you complete control over the prices, shipping, and promotion of your work. You’ll need to invest some time and money into setting up your shop, but once it’s up and running, it can be a great way to make sales. You can use a storefront app like Shopify (paid) or Woocommerce (free) to set up your store.
  2. Use an online marketplace or Print on Demand: If you’re not ready to set up your own shop, there are plenty of online marketplaces that you can use to sell your art. These platforms make it easy to list and sell your work, and they handle all the payments and shipping for you. Some of the most popular art marketplaces include Etsy, Saatchi Art, and Fine Art America.
  3. Sell through social media: Social media is a great way to connect with potential customers and sell your art. You can use platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter to promote your work and drive traffic to your shop, or sell directly through DM (direct messaging). Just make sure you’re using high-quality images and engaging copy to grab people’s attention.
  4. Take commissions: If you’re not interested in selling your existing artwork, another option is to take commissions. This involves working directly with clients to create custom artwork to their specifications. You can find clients for commissions through social media, by posting the type of artwork you want to take commissions for, and then taking requests via DM.
  5. Participate in art fairs: Another option for selling your artwork is to participate in art fairs and other in person events. This is a more traditional approach, but it can still be effective. Art fairs can be a great way to meet potential customers and build up a rapport with them, even if they don’t buy anything. You can hand out business cards with your social media links so they can follow you, and then potentially make a purchase through your website later on.

All of these methods can be effective ways to sell your art online. Just choose the approach that makes the most sense for you and your business.

promoting your art online

Conclusion

When it comes to promoting your art online, there are a number of different ways to go about it. By utilizing the five promotion strategies I’ve outlined above, you can give yourself the best chance for success. Let me know in the comments below, what’s your favourite method for promoting your art online?


Cheers,

julie signing off

25+ Instagram Post Ideas for Artists

instagram post ideas for artists
instagram post ideas for artists

Are you an artist struggling to come up with ideas on what to post on Instagram? Whether you use your feed, reels, or stories, there are so many ways to share your art on Instagram!

In this post I’m sharing over 25 Instagram post ideas for artists.

A few things to consider: Create value for your audience. Whether it’s something pretty to look at, sharing information, or a relatable story in the captions. Interact with your audience. Ask a question. Get people excited and engaged with your content!

Instagram Feed Posts Ideas:

1. Finished artwork

2. Works in progress

3. Photos of yourself with or holding your artwork


4. Introduction posts. Share a photo of yourself in your studio with a quick introduction for new followers

5. Close ups of your artwork, either a WIP or tease of a final piece

6. Mockups of your artwork on products (download from your POD stores, make your own, or use a mock up generator service like Place It)

7. Real life photos of your artwork on products

society6 can cooler review

8. Join trending hashtags and art challenges like #artvsartist or #dtiys (draw this in your style)

9. Art supplies – review or showcase the tools you use to create your art

10. Studio shots/ behind the scenes

11. Shareable quotes (created by you, using your own artwork)

12. Celebrate an occasion or holiday with a related artwork or design

instagram post ideas for artists

Instagram Reels Ideas:

13. Timelapse videos of yourself creating an art piece

14. Tutorials demonstrating your process, how to use a specific tool or product


15. Trending video memes with an art or art business spin on it

17. “Day in the life” (of an artist)

18. Still images along to the beat of a song

19. Using trending filters on your artwork

20. Animated artwork (can be really simple)

21. “Satisfying” art process

Instagram Story Post Ideas:

Anything goes on stories, they are less formal and go away in 24 hours.

22. Behind the scenes – going for a walk to gather inspiration, your art studio etc.

23. Teasers for new artwork or content (tutorials, blog posts etc)

instagram story post ideas for artists

24. This or that, showing 2 of your artworks and ask your audience which one they like more

25. Announce a sale and use a link sticker to link to your shop(s)

26. Ask your audience a question (poll)

27. Share a new blog post or video on Youtube or another platform (link with sticker)

28. Share a new (or old) post or reel from your feed to your Stories

29. Celebrate an occasion or holiday, sometimes there are stickers for this so you can share with a wider audience

Looking for more Instagram tips for artists? Check out this blog post!

You can also check out my own Instagram feed for even more post inspiration.

I hope you’ve found this list of Instagram post ideas for artists helpful!


Cheers,

julie signing off

How to Sell Your Print on Demand Products on Facebook

sell print on demand facebook page
sell print on demand products on facebook

Do you want to start selling your print on demand products through social media? In this post I’m going to explain how you can sell your print on demand products, from multiple stores, on your Facebook page.

You can include products from multiple print on demand sites like Redbubble, Society6, Zazzle and more!

If you’re looking for how to sell your print on demand products specifically on Instagram, I have written a more detailed post on that. But this is the first step to that process.

The first step to being able to sell print on demand products on Facebook is to have a Facebook Page set up for your business. You’ll also need to have it set as a Business or Creator account.

If you don’t have a Facebook page for your business yet, you can also set it up at the same time as you are creating your shop.

sell print on demand products on facebook

Your page will have to meet their eligibility requirements including location and other criteria. It also helps if you have your own website domain to use as a primary domain (it does not have to be set up as a store, and you can still direct people to your print on demand links).

Here you can read more about making your page eligible for shopping on both Facebook and Instagram.

If you’re selling Print on Demand products through your own website using Shopify (or a similar service) you can use their partner connect option. This is more simple, but today I’m discussing how to add third party print on demand products from websites you don’t own, such as Redbubble or Society6.

How to set up a Facebook Store

Apply for shopping through the Commerce Manager (connected to your Business or Creator Facebook account)

Once you’ve applied and been approved for Shopping (this may take a few days for them to review your eligibility), head back over to the Commerce Manager. Now you can start adding products!

For this to work you will have to add products manually (Under Catalog > Items, then  Add Items > Add Multiple Items). This will give you a sort of spreadsheet which you can fill out with an image of your products, link, description, title etc. Fill out as much as you can here, but you don’t have to fill out everything.

Just add a couple of products to get started.

sell print on demand products on facebook

Now obviously this will take time since you may have hundreds or more products across multiple retailers. So I recommend starting by adding a few best sellers from each of your stores. This will drive people to those stores where they can browse the rest of your offerings from there.

After you’ve submitted your products it may take about 30 minutes to an hour for them to process before showing up in your Facebook store.

Tips for Selling Print on Demand Products on Facebook

  • Be patient, each step in the process takes time.
  • Familiarize yourself with the Commerce Manager and how it works.
  • Create “sets” to organize your products by product type.
  • You can also create collections to showcase on your storefront.
  • You can only use ONE currency in your store (ex. list everything in USD or your local currency).
  • Add a few of your best selling designs and products from your different stores.
  • Add a few products per week, or per month, or whatever you have time for. This can help drive traffic to your shop since they will show up on some people’s feeds.
  • Don’t add too many products at one time or it will spam people’s feeds and they may unfollow or miss the new items you’ve added.
  • You can’t tag these products in your photos unfortunately. This only works for products from a domain you own (such as a Shopify store).
  • Check the Insights section for analytics to see how many people are clicking on your products and visiting your stores!

I hope you’ve found this blog post useful! Make sure to follow my blog for more art business content in the future.


Cheers,

julie signing off

How to Make Short Videos of Your Art for Social Media: Reels, Tiktok, Shorts, Pinterest and more

how to make short videos of art for social media
how to make short videos of your art for tiktok instagram reels

Do you want to learn how to make short videos of your art for social media like Instagram Reels and Tiktok? Then this class is for you!

Join me as I teach you how to make 2 quick and easy videos of your art and post them to several social media sites to help you expand your audience and reach! 

And no – you won’t have to dance, lip sync, or even talk. The videos we will create in this class are perfect for shy artist types who aren’t quite comfortable showing their face on camera.

Watch the intro below:


In this class, I will guide you through the following steps:

  • Putting together your set.
  • Filming 2 short videos of your art.
  • Editing the videos using free apps.
  • Posting your videos to a variety of social media platforms including Instagram Reels, TikTok, Pinterest, YouTube Shorts and Facebook.

This class is great for beginners, or already established artists who are looking to expand their marketing to include short video!

For the class project, you can share a link to the short video you created from this class, and/or include a screenshot from your video or a photo of your filming set up.

You will need: 

  • At least one finished piece of artwork.
  • A background texture and some props (optional).
  • Your smartphone and some free apps.

Oh and the class is only 20 minutes long, so you can jump right in! Does that sound interesting to you?

Watch How to Make Short Videos of Your Art for Social Media for free with a 1 month trial membership of Skillshare!

You may also like these posts:

How to Set up an Instagram Shop with Print on Demand Products

how to set up an instagram shop with print on demand
how to set up instagram shop print on demand

Today I’m going to explain how to set up an Instagram shop with Print on Demand products from websites like Redbubble, Society6 and Zazzle.

Did you know that you can add your print on demand products to a shop on your Instagram page? Since I did this I’ve seen an increase in traffic to my stores from Instagram.

The main thing you need to know is that you have to set it up through Facebook.

First of all you need to make sure your Instagram account is a Business or Creator account. You also need to have business Facebook page for your brand connected to it.

Then you can create a store through the Facebook Commerce Manager (click on Add Shop).

If you’re selling Print on Demand products through your own website using Shopify (or similar) you can use their partner connect option. This is more simple, but today I’m discussing adding third party print on demand products from websites you don’t own like Redbubble and Society6.

how to set up instagram shop print on demand

Once you’ve created the store on Facebook, go back into your Instagram account and apply for Instagram Shopping under the Settings section of your profile. There should a Business or Creator section under which you should see Shopping. Apply for Shopping and wait for your account to be approved.

Once you’ve been approved (it may take a few days) head back over to the shop you created on your Facebook page. Now you can start adding products!

For this to work you have to add products manually (click on Add Items). Now obviously this will take time since you may have THOUSANDS of products across multiple retailers. So I recommend highlighting a few best sellers from each of your stores. This will at least drive people to those stores where they can browse the rest of your offerings from there.

how to set up instagram shop print on demand

It will take about 30 minutes to an hour for products to process but then you will start to see them showing up in your Instagram and Facebook stores.

Tips for Setting up Your Instagram Store

  • Be patient.
  • Take the time to familiarize yourself with the Commerce Manager and how it works.
  • Create “sets” to organize your products by product type.
  • You can only use ONE currency in your store. I had an issue with products not showing up and realized it was because I had multiple currencies.
  • Add a few of your best selling designs and products from your different stores.
  • You won’t be able to “tag” these products in your Instagram photos unfortunately. This only works for products from a domain you own (such as a Shopify store).
  • Products are shareable to Instagram Stories or direct message.
  • Check the Insights section for analytics to see how many people are clicking on your products and visiting your stores!

I hope this post has been helpful to explain how you can set up an Instagram shop with your print on demand products.

I’d love to hear what you think about this and if you will be using it for your own products!


Happy selling!

Cheers,

julie signing off

Other posts you may find interesting:

How to Use TikTok for Artists

how to use tiktok for artists
how to use tiktok for artists

By now you’ve probably heard of TikTok. It’s an app where you can make short videos along with music, filters and other effects to share with your followers and others using hashtags, similar to Instagram. I’ve been experimenting with growing a following on there so I wanted to share some tips for how artists can use TikTok to expand their audience.

You may think the app is only for teenagers, but now you can find Millennials and even Grandmas amassing huge followings on TikTok, and having a great time doing it.

How to use TikTok for Artists

Create an account and simply observe. Watch videos that come up on your “for you” page. At first there will be a lot of different subjects but as you “like” and interact, the algorithm will begin to show you more videos attuned to your interests.

As an artist, you will want to follow other artists to get inspiration for the kinds of videos you can make on TikTok. You can find them with hashtags or by connecting with people from your other social media channels.

Start experimenting. It takes time to learn how to use the different tools, filters, add music and so on. You can create videos and save them as a draft, then go back and decide which ones to post. Don’t be too concerned with perfection. People like to see “real” and “unfiltered” life on TikTok.

There are some great tutorials on Youtube for how to use the various tools.

Once you’ve figured out how to use the app, check the Discover page for trending hashtags. Many are tied to a particular song or video style. You can work these trends into your videos, like the “wipe it down challenge”. Don’t feel obligated to do this but it might give you some ideas for videos and help you get more views.

ALWAYS attach a song to your video. Use “Trending” songs where possible.

Add a couple of hashtags, but don’t go overboard. If you did a challenge or trend, make sure to include the hashtag for that trend, plus a couple of other relevant ones. 3-4 hashtags per video is enough.

Cross Share your TikTok Videos to Other Platforms

You can download your TikTok videos to your phone to share them other platforms. For example, Pinterest. You can add a link to your TikTok profile, or your website. I’ve seen a huge increase in my Pinterest stats since posting short drawing or painting clips I created in TikTok.

You can also share your videos to Instagram Stories directly from the app, and more recently Instagram Reels! My Instagram followers love to watch my process videos. Instagram Stories can also be shared to your Facebook Stories as well with one click.

TikTok Video Ideas for Artists

Below is a list of video ideas to get you started sharing your artwork on TikTok.

Want a step by step tutorial on how to make short videos of your art?

Then check out my Skillshare class! How to Make Short Videos of your art for Social Media.

Keep in mind, optimal video length is around 15-30 seconds long.

  • Process videos. Share how you create your art. This could be in real time or time lapse format (I usually create time lapse videos outside of the app , then edit in Tiktok after).
  • Close ups of yourself creating in real time, again sharing your process.
  • Finished artwork reveals. Start with your phone on the artwork and slowly pull out until it comes into focus. Or, place multiple art pieces on a table along to music. You can also stand holding one of your art pieces and slowly turn it around to reveal the piece (like my video above).
  • Real life, behind the scenes. Show yourself and your personality. People love to see who you are and connect with you personally. You could have your artwork in the background and use text on the screen to talk about something like your struggles as an artist, the inspiration behind your art, or even something totally unrelated to your art. It doesn’t have to be all art all the time.
  • An art spin on trending videos. As mentioned above, use the trends on the Discover page to inspire your own videos, and put an artsy spin on them.
  • Tutorials. Share your knowledge. Simple drawing or painting videos for beginners. Or a tutorial on how you started selling stickers, or something business related.
  • Duets and challenges. You can duet with other artists or people who create challenges to increase your audience or try something new!

I hope this has given you some ideas for how to use TikTok as an artist. Feel free to follow me on there for more inspiration, I’d love to connect with you! It really is a fun app and you can spend hours on it watching all kinds of videos.


Let me know what you think about TikTok in the comments below! Have you used it yet?

Cheers,

julie signing off

You may also be interested in:

How to Sell More Art with Pinterest

how to sell art with pinterest
how to sell more art with pinterest

Pinterest is an excellent free marketing tool for Artists. Rather than a social media platform, Pinterest is a visual search engine. You can use this search engine to sell more of your artwork!

Whether you sell original paintings, art prints, or physical products through Print on Demand platforms, using Pinterest can really help boost your sales. And the best part is, it’s totally free!

You can either watch this video I created which explains my Pinterest strategy specifically for Redbubble (but works for any print on demand store), or scroll down to read about it in detail.

Pinterest Marketing Strategy

Create a Pinterest business account

You can either create a brand new business account, or convert your personal account into a business account.

The benefit of converting a personal account is if you’ve actively been using Pinterest for a while your account may have more authority and better standing than a brand new account.

You can easily hide boards unrelated to your niche (recipe boards etc.) but still have access to them and the ability to pin to them, so you won’t lose pins you want to keep.

Once you have a business account you can utilize Pinterest analytics to see how your pins are performing.

Claim your website(s)

You can track what people are pinning from your website (if you have one) by claiming your website on Pinterest.

You can also claim social media accounts like Instagram and Youtube to track pins from those platforms as well.

Create boards related to your niche

You should create boards related to your art style as well as interests your target customers may have.

Example: Say you paint and sell acrylic landscape paintings.

  • You should create boards dedicated to painting like Landscape Painting Tutorials and Acrylic Painting Techniques for example.
  • You also want to think about who buys landscape paintings so you could create boards like Beach House Decor, Art for the Office, Art for the Cabin etc.

If you sell your art through print on demand websites you may also want to create boards related to the products you sell like Women’s Fashion, Boho Home Decor, Cute Animal Mugs or Floral Cell Phone Cases.

Use Nifty Toolz Speed Sharer to fill up your boards

This is a handy tool created by a fellow Print on Demand artist and seller which you can use to fill up your Pinterest boards quickly and easily, while taking advantage of Society6 and Zazzle’s affiliate programs.

You can pin your own products or other people’s products and potentially get a commission if they sell.

Spend a few minutes each day Pinning

Pin from around the web as well as from your own websites and curated Pinterest feed. Don’t just pin your own stuff, strive to have a good mix of your own and other’s pins.

As your profile grows you will start to see some traffic coming in through Pinterest if you have analytics on your site. It may take some time, but after a few months you will see it can be worth it to use Pinterest to promote your art and products for sale.

Looking for more tips on how to sell your art online? Check out my definitive guide – a round up with all of my blog posts on this topic!

I hope you found this post useful, let me know if you have any other tips for using Pinterest to promote your art!

Feel free to follow me on Pinterest so we can re-pin each other :)

Cheers,

julie signing off

How to Grow Your Instagram Art Account

how to grow your instagram for artists
how to grow your instagram art account

Hey guys! Today I’d like to share with you some tips for growing your art account on Instagram.

If you’re an artist and not using Instagram, get on it! I find it’s better than Facebook or Twitter for artists because it’s more visual based.

In fact, many artists today use Instagram as their art portfolio instead of having a website. While I don’t recommend that, as having your own space on the internet is always best practice, it can be a great place to connect with fans and other artists.

Keep in mind that no one really knows how the algorithm works except the folks who work at Instagram. People will tell you to do this or that or don’t do this or that, but they really don’t know either, so take it with a grain of salt.

These tips are just things that have worked for me personally, and are not guaranteed to work for you. Don’t focus too much on your follower count. Being authentic, focusing on creating quality content, and engaging meaningfully with your fans and followers should be your main focus.

Tips for growing your Instagram art account

  • Find your niche: what kind of art do you want to share with the world? Whether it’s painting, sketches, or digital art, make sure your content is focused and consistent.
  • Post high-quality photos. Make sure your photos are clear and of high quality. People are more likely to follow an account that posts beautiful photos.
  • Post daily, if not to your feed at least to stories.
  • Create fun and interactive stories using polls, stickers etc.
  • Respond to comments on your posts.
  • Respond to other people‘s stories.
  • Use relevant hashtags when you post. Use a mix of broad and smaller hashtags with less than 1 million posts. For example, use #art and #artistsoninstagram, but also use smaller hashtags that are relevant to your specific style of art or the subject of your post.
  • Switch up hashtags from post to post, don’t use the same ones every time.
  • Experiment with posting at different times of the day.
  • Experiment with Reels.
  • Add a location to your posts. It could be the location you actually are, or a different location depending on the post subject or target audience.
  • Create content that isn’t pushing people to buy anything, but simply showing your work or offering something of value to your followers.
brunette girl selfie pink mandala design
Selfies with or wearing your designs get a lot of engagement.
  • Post selfies. Even as an artist, selfies get high engagement on Instagram. Take photos of yourself holding your art or wearing and using your products if you sell through print on demand.
  • Engage daily by liking and commenting on posts in your home feed.
  • Follow hashtags that are relevant to your niche or art style and they will show up on your home feed.
  • Check out the top posts and use them for inspiration, but don’t copy.
  • Every day, if you can, go through a few hashtags relevant to your work or style and like/comment/follow accounts using that hashtag.
  • Add Alt Text to your posts.
  • Tell a story. Your captions should be more than just a description of the photo. Tell a story about your art, or share your creative process with your followers.

That’s it! I hope you’ve found some helpful tips here. If you have more to add feel free to leave them in the comments below. You can also check out my artist resources page for even more tips!

Oh and make sure you follow me on Instagram!

Cheers,

julie signing off

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Social Media Marketing Tips For Artists

social media marketing tips for artists
social media marketing tips for artists

Are you an artist trying to figure out how to market yourself on social media? I was too, just a few years ago! In this post I’m sharing some of my top social media tips for artists.

Please note: I’m not an expert on this matter, but I have managed to triple my stats on a few key social networks over the past year, and slowly but surely grown my online presence since creating the Julie Erin Designs brand.

As you may also do, I work a full time job and have many other life commitments outside of my art business, so I can only dedicate a few hours per week to creating and marketing my designs on social media.

This leads me into my first tip which is: 

Dedicate just 5-10 minutes a day to social media

  • Start by taking on just one task per day on one of your social accounts.
  • Some examples include: Tweet an image of your latest work (don’t forget to include relevant hashtags). Like and/or follow some new users on Instagram.
  • Don’t get overwhelmed.  You should be able to do this during your coffee or lunch break, on the way home from work on the bus, after dinner, or whenever you have an idle moment.

Focus on a few key social media platforms

Try out different platforms but then hone it down to just a few, and then focus on content and growing your followers there. My top 3 at the moment are Tiktok, Instagram and Facebook. I dabble on others but I get the most engagement for my time on those 3.

social media for artists

Set up a social media calendar

  • Don’t overwhelm yourself with an over-loaded calendar.  Start with just one task per day that can be completed within a few minutes.
  • Create a visual calendar using your computer, a planner, or you can find lots of downloadable worksheets online. I also have a Notion template with a social media calendar included.
  • Do what works for you and your schedule.
  • Learn the etiquette for your chosen social media app.  On Twitter you can share multiple times per day, but on Facebook you may only want to share something every few days.

Posting schedule example: Example: Monday: Tweet about your latest design, tweet 2 sold items. Tuesday: Share a new design on Instagram.  Wednesday: Blog post about new design, and post to Facebook page.  Friday: Tweet new blog post

Start a blog

  • Use it to showcase your art work, items for sale, share art tips, supplies you use, your sketchbook, whatever you can think of. You can even sell your art directly through your website.
  • Connect with other art bloggers. Follow/like/comment on their posts.
  • Pro tip: Don’t forget to link to your blog from your social media profiles.

Use apps to make your life easier

  • Scheduling apps: Buffer or Hootsuite.  Use one of these apps (or something similar) to schedule a few posts to your social media accounts for the day. This could even be your one task of the day, if that’s all you have time for.
  • Follower tracking apps: Crowdfire or similar apps which help you track followers and unfollowers.  You can also search for people who follow similar accounts and then like/follow them.
  • Photo editing apps such as Canva and Photogrid. There are several out there, so find one that you like. Use it to create and edit images of your designs and products right on your phone.  While you could also just make these images in Photoshop on your PC, being able to make promo images on the go makes it so much easier to get it done when you have a spare moment.
social media tips for artists
Instagram post example created with the Photogrid app.

Keep a list of content ideas

  • Keep a list on your phone or somewhere else, so you never run out of ideas for fresh content!
  • Examples: Sold items, new designs, WIP’s and sketchbook shots.
  • Check out my list of over 25 Instagram post ideas for artists.

Make use of hashtags and SEO (search engine optimization)

  • Use relevant hashtags so that people can find your work.
  • Don’t overdo it. Figure out what works on which platforms.
  • Monitor those hashtags and like/follow others who are posting to that hashtag.
  • Add key words in your description and add alt tags to your posts when possible.

Make use of tagging

  • Sometimes, when appropriate, you may want to actually tag another user (such as Zazzle or Redbubble for example) on Twitter or Instagram, if you are showcasing their product. You may get lucky and they might even re-tweet or feature your product!
  • Go through their tagged feeds to find similar users to like and follow.

Engage with similar users

Connect with other bloggers, and other artists on your chosen social media platforms.

I sell my art work on POD websites such as Zazzle, Redbubble and Society6, so I try to engage with others who sell on those sites as well.  I do this by either liking their work directly on those sites, on social media, through forums or Facebook groups.

To learn more about selling your art through print on demand websites, check out my Skillshare class!

Post to shopping websites

If this is appropriate to your style of art work, you may consider posting your products on shopping websites such as Pinterest and Wanelo.

Additional Resources

If you have the opportunity to do so, it can be really helpful to take a social media marketing course at your local college or university. Or even online. I took a short course which was very informative and turned me on to some new apps and strategies. Think of it as an investment in your business.

Also check out the Artist Resources section of my website and blog for even more social media tips for artists.

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I hope you have found some useful information here about social media for artists!


Feel free to share some of your own social media marketing tips below.

Cheers,

julie signing off