Building an audience for your artwork is the most difficult but also the most crucial factor in turning your artwork from a passionate pastime or hobby into a self-sustaining career. Building a following and growing your customer base can be extremely challenging and at times, very frustrating. Here are our favorite tips for widening your audience so you can start building toward the art career that you’ve dreamed of.
1: Don’t overextend your reach. In the generation of social media, artists are pushed to have a broad social media presence and to keep themselves available and reachable by their fan base. While this is an important point for connecting with your audience, trying to be present on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter, and potentially other social media platforms can quickly turn into a chore rather than a form of advertising yourself and your work. Overextending your reach can lead to unanswered messages, missed opportunities and can actually damage the reputation of an artist. To avoid the possibility of having too much to manage, set up a platform that you are comfortable with and stick to it! Instagram has become a popular choice for artists to share their artistic mediums as it is a widely used platform that is easily accessible to most audiences. An online portfolio is also a great way to showcase your work to online audiences.
2: Don’t be afraid to write. Art creation can be a long and strenuous process. Written work can be a useful resource for artists to provide content to keep in touch with audiences while the creative process is working. Blogs about your favorite artists, technique tutorials, and day-in-the-life journals are all things that audiences love to interact with in order to keep in touch with their favorite artists while the art is being made.
3. Be genuine. Social media has given everyone a voice, even those that use their voice to bring others down. It can sometimes feel like we need to be the person that we think our audience wants. Don't let the possibility of one person’s negative voice keep you from creating what you love in a way that makes you happy. Be unapologetically yourself. Cliché as it may be, the audience you want to build is one that will support you the way you are.
Overall, never stop creating and never stop building - your audience will find you!
Are you looking for a space to create in and an avenue to promote your work? AmFab promotes its artists on Facebook and Instagram three times a week! Complete an application online today to learn about all the benefits available to you when you join AmFab.