Easy Marketing Tools Every Artist Needs To Know

This post about marketing is a guest post by Sara Gorry, creative copywriter at SaraGorryCopy.com. Check out her profile below!

Your timeline is flooded with tips and tricks on how to “reach more customers to earn more revenue” and “secret tricks on how to effectively sell your art online”. Seriously, you can’t scroll through Facebook or Instagram these days without seeing ads for marketing your business.

As much as you hate to admit it, some of these ads have piqued your interest. You are wondering if there are secret tricks to effectively sell your art online. But with hundreds of thousands of people offering you information, it can get overwhelming.

How do you know what information is accurate? You don’t want to waste your precious time – or money – investing in something that doesn’t work. Or worse, offers you little to no insight and then tries to sell you something at the end.

As someone who’s been there and done that, I want to save you the trouble of deep diving into a sea of marketing tips.

Let Me Introduce You To Your New Best Friend: Content Marketing

You’ve probably seen this phrase over and over recently. But what is content marketing?

Simply put, content marketing is a way to promote your business using engaging content that provides value to your audience. It’s a way to drive traffic to your site, connect with your readers, and become a trusted authority in your field without paying for ads.

And this marketing tool is great for artists because it:

  • Brings in new leads when your content is shared.
  • Establishes an emotional connection with your current audience.
  • Creates a strong online presence and builds credibility.

All these things will help you get your brand out there and, in turn, sell more art.

According to a study from Deloitte Digital, 76% of customers say they’ve used a brand they trust for four years or more.

Okay, so this all sounds great, but where do you begin?

Start a Blog

You might be thinking “but I’m an artist, not a writer”. That’s okay! You don’t have to have an English degree to start a blog. As long as your posts are relevant, engaging, and valuable to your audience, you’re golden.

Stuck on topic ideas? Let me start you off with a few to get the ball rolling.

  • What are you currently working on?
    • Give a “behind-the-scenes” look into a new piece or project you’ve started.
  • Why did you want to become an artist?
    • Were you self-taught? Where does your inspiration come from? Give your reader some insight into you and your work to create an emotional connection.
  • Create a “Top 5” or “Top 10” list.
    • Top 10 Artists Who’ve Inspired You.
    • Top 10 Places You Find Inspiration.
    • 5 Reasons To Buy Your Art (wink, wink).

If you don’t have your own website, there are plenty of free blog hosting platforms out there – like Wix or WordPress.

Pro tip: Post consistently! Blogging won’t help with your web traffic if you only post once every couple of months. Consistency is key! Even if you’re only able to dedicate time to post once a month.

Share on Social Media

Chances are you have some form of social media to promote your artwork. If not, you should! There are 3.5 billion social media users worldwide. Talk about a wide audience reach.

Social media can be a great marking tool—but there are some tricks to the trade.

When it comes to Facebook marketing for artists, post content your readers will find interesting or entertaining. This is a great platform to not only show buyers (and potential buyers) what you’ve been up to, but it also gets your name out there.

Plus, these platforms are great for you to share your blog posts. Urge your readers to like, comment, and share! The more engagement you get, the more the algorithms will recognize you as an active and relevant page. And sharing your blogs will drive more people to your website. They’ll likely read your blog and then click around to see what else your site has to offer.

Oh! And rather than sharing your artwork on your personal social media accounts, consider creating a business page for your art. It’s free, and you’ll gain access to to all sorts of specific analytics, such as:

  • Your top-performing posts of the week.
  • What days and times your posts received the most interactions.
  • Specifics about who your audience is (gender, location, and age range).

The more you understand your audience, the easier it will be to understand when and what to post.

Get your friends and family to like your business page and have them share it with their network. It’s a great opportunity for you to build a relationship with your existing audience, grow a new audience, and advertise your recent work without being salesy.

Pro tip: Engage with your followers! And always respond to comments or messages.

Send Out Newsletters

Now that you have a good rapport with your audience, and your website has seen a spike in traffic, it’s time to take things a step further. Insert – newsletters! Another powerful marketing tool often overlooked by artists.

I know, I know – you’re probably thinking “there’s more writing”? But newsletters are a fantastic way to keep your audience engaged.

According to Smart Insights, “conversion rates for emails are higher than social media, direct traffic, and search.”

Stumped over what to include in your newsletter?

  • Share links to your blog posts.
  • Post pictures of up-and-coming artwork.
  • Get your audience involved!
    • Made a sale recently? Ask your buyers if they’d like to be featured in your newsletter. Have them send you pictures of their purchase or write a quick blurb about what drew them to the piece.
  • Have a virtual event coming up? Let them know!
  • Offer a video or tutorial just for your subscribers.
  • Give a discount code exclusive to your mailing list.

Make them feel special by giving them exclusive content that you’re not sharing with everyone else.

Pro tip: If you’re just starting out, one email a month will be just fine.

Photo by bruce mars on Unsplash

In Conclusion

Your audience doesn’t want to read an article just for the sake of reading. They don’t want a newsfeed flooded with posts desperately asking them to buy your art NOW. And they certainly don’t want a blast of emails every time you post a new product.

It’s all about forming a trustworthy and genuine connection with your audience.

Believe it or not, the secret trick to effectively sell your art online is YOU.

If you have questions for Sara about content marketing, comment below!

Want to write for The Part-Time Artist? Check out the submissions page!