Plenty of artists strive to build a large following on social media. They dream of showcasing and selling their art to their audience on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and so on—and get a lot of fame and money in turn.
While many artists have made it on social media, it becomes undeniably harder and harder to build a presence on those networks.
Algorithm-based feeds don’t show your work to all of your followers anymore, your account reach is promoted according to how much time you spend on the platform. What’s worse, heaps of ads swamp the organic, user-generated content. No matter how consistently you post, it gets increasingly difficult to see results on social media.
But even if you belong to the lucky few who get a decent amount of exposure, it’s a fact that social media posts are generally short-lived. They last a couple of hours up to a few days at best. Then your work is forgotten and you have to come up with something new. Sounds like a good deal? Not really…
But the good news is that you can make it as an artist WITHOUT social media. The internet offers so many more opportunities that make it absolutely possible to get your art out there seen and sell it.
Artists have found success without social networks for ages, and you can even make a living as an artist offline. In other words, you don’t have to waste your energy and time on social media when you don’t see an adequate reward. So, if you are tired of the social media grind, then this post is for you!
Here are four tips to help you become a successful artist without social media:
(Click on the tip to fast-forward to the respective section or continue reading to learn more.)
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Is Instagram necessary for artists?
Recently, I‘ve written a long post about why Instagram can kill your art career—if you solely rely on the social network to promote your art.
In the ‘Social Art Dilemma‘, I speak about how Instagram cut my account reach to zero for supposedly posting artwork that violated their community guidelines. At the same time, Instagram suggested the exact posts it restricted my reach for as PAID ADS! Can you believe it?
It could have been a really funny story, if Instagram hadn’t restricted the reach of ALL of my posts—WITHOUT even notifying me!
If that trend persists, it’s definitely about time to explore new methods for how to make it as an artist without social media!
Can an artist make it without social media?
First off, it’s important to understand that social media networks are businesses that have their own interests in mind. When you post your art on social media, you will always be at the odds of that particular platform. They can change their algorithm any time, they can modify their community guidelines whenever they want, they can restrict your account, delete your posts, or ban you altogether.
Image-focused social media like Instagram and TikTok are still great to gain exposure for visual artists. I’m not saying that you should delete all your social media accounts today, but they should never be your sole focus.
If we don't want to rely on social media as artists to get our art out there, what is the alternative? Can you make it as an artist without social media? And if so, how?
Here’s a quick tip if you want to keep using social media but not put more of your precious time into it than necessary:
Post Planner is the most versatile and affordable social media manager currently available in the market. It is super-easy to use and allows you to simultaneously schedule posts to six social media platforms, including Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and Twitter.
So, if you still want to keep your social media accounts going but not waste your time posting each and every day manually, Post Planner may be the right thing for you!
How to get your art out there without social media?
Luckily, there is still a multitude of possibilities to get your art out there without using any social media platform.
Down below, I show you four strategies you can use to still get eyeballs on your work, even if you decide to not play the social media game any longer!
Let’s start right away with the most critical thing: get your own artist website!
Tip #1: Have your own artist website
A website is something every creative should have—regardless of whether or not they are using social media. Why? Because if you want to come across as a professional artist, people will expect you to have your own website. What would you think of a company that wants to sell you a product but doesn’t even have a website…?
Your own website allows you to build a consistent artist brand, but it extends way beyond the images you upload. You can communicate so much more about your artwork to your potential clients than you could ever do it through your social media accounts.
Then, you have the option to start a blog. Blogging is not only one of the best ways to market your art, it’s also an effective strategy to drive traffic to your website. Unlike the short-lived content on social media, your blog posts stay relevant for an infinite period of time. In the long run, you will be able to convert that traffic into art sales, improve your visibility, and forge valuable connections with your audience.
Apart from that, ownership is also essential. Everything you post on social media is ultimately under the control of the company who owns the platform. Everything you upload to your own website, on the other hand, effectively belongs to you.
But there are many more advantages to building your own artist website. Here are some more reasons why you should make a website for your art.
Are you worried that creating your own artist website as an alternative to social media is too difficult?
Worry not, making a website isn’t hard these days. Easy-to-use website builders make creating your own website a breeze—no coding skills required. Those website builders come with drag-and-drop editors, meaning all you need to do is choose a design element, drag it on the web page and fill it with your own content! That’s how easy it is.
Here’s a choice of website builders that are super-easy to use and very popular among artists:
Best Website Builder for Artists
More choices: → Best Website Builders For Artists
Tip #2: Join art communities
Apart from social media, there are lots of art communities that you can join—both online and offline! If you are interested in becoming part in an offline art community, have a look around in your local area.
Online art communities are easily accessible, regardless of where you are in the world! All you need is an internet connection and you are good to go.
Art sharing sites are great to connect with other artists and have meaningful conversations about all things art. You can get feedback on your work and learn from experts in your field. It is not uncommon that members share tutorials, WiP shots, and give you insight into their creative process.
Online art communities are usually frequented by people from all around the globe. That means you cannot only learn from joining an art sharing site, but you also have the opportunity to get your work seen internationally.
Here are some of the largest art sharing sites for you to try out:
Huge Online Community for Artists
DeviantArt is one of the oldest and the largest online community for artists of all genres. The network counts more than 38 million members, who are known as ‘Deviants’. Those Deviants upload over 160,000 Deviations every single day. With more than 65 million people visiting the website each month, DeviantArt is one of the best sites for artists to join!
Behance is probably the second largest online art community. Contrary to DeviantArt, you don’t upload individual images but you create so-called ‘projects’ that may contain your main artwork, plus related images. Many companies visit the platform to discover new talent and hire artists for commissions.
ArtStation is one of the best communities for digital artists because it focuses on 3D works, photo manipulations, vector graphics, 2D characters, and the like. You can find some of the top industry professionals on ArtStation and it’s ideal to showcase your work to potential clients and land some freelance gigs.
Do you need social media to sell art?
Nowadays, quite a few social media sites let you create all kinds of ‘shoppable’ posts. For example, you can open an Instagram shop and on Pinterest, you can create shoppable Pins (which is actually worth trying out because Pinterest Pins are not as short-lived as other social media posts and they are searchable; → 7 Simple Steps To Get You Selling Digital Art On Pinterest FAST).
However, most artists who earn from Instagram and other social media just use those platforms to drive traffic to their shop on their own website or to one of the other places where they sell their art.
In fact, there are many better options to sell art than on social media.
Tip #3: Sell on online art marketplaces
Online art marketplaces are specifically geared towards people shopping for art and provide artists with a much greater range of possibilities to showcase and promote their work.
Here’s a choice of the most popular online marketplaces for artists to sell their art:
Best Online Marketplace for Artists
Etsy is one of the most popular and lucrative online marketplaces for artists. You can sell pretty much anything that is to do with art. Self-made products and digital items are especially in-demand. Since Etsy has been around for so long, there is a large audience of people interested in buying art—which makes it easier for you to sell! → [TOP 25] Best Selling Digital Art on Etsy
RedBubble is especially popular for selling art prints (→ The Best Size For Art Prints That Sells The Most) and other print-on-demand products. RedBubble makes it easy to transform your artwork into wall art, accessories, phone cases, stationary, and others. Once a customer buys your product, RedBubble prints, packages and ships it to the customer. Super-convenient!
FineArtAmerica is very similar to RedBubble. You can create a free account, upload your art and select the products you want to sell it on. There’s a large choice of items, ranging from wall art, home décor, posters, tapestries, apparel, and much more. Once an order comes in, Fine Art America takes care of the fulfillment, without you having to do anything.
More choices: → [TOP 12] Best Websites To Sell Art Online
Tip #4: Use sales platforms for creatives
Besides the above mentioned online marketplaces for art, there are other platforms that provide you with more versatility to make money with your art skills. Apart from prints and other physical products of your artwork, you have the option to sell digital downloads, tutorials, courses, memberships, and printables, which are quite in demand.
Printables are files created by an artist that people can buy and print out themselves. Printables can include artwork and photos, quotes (with or without artwork), calendar planners, all sorts of project planners, coloring sheets, stickers, etc.
- Grab Your Free Best Selling Printables eGuide
As opposed to online marketplaces, sales platforms provide you with special tools to build a successful online business. You will get a web shop with your own domain name, Buy Now buttons, discount and coupon options, multiple payment gateways, and much more!
Here are some sales platforms that are ideal for artists to sell their art without social media:
Best Sales Platform for Artists (Physical & Digital Products)
More choices: → 13 Best Places To Sell Digital Downloads
Ok, just reviewed your article about artists/photographers not using social media. My photography is recognized (not my name) and I’ve used printmaking for unique results.
I do not like social widespread media. People approach me thinking their access to media art on so-called “social media” is the end-all. I’m old school about reaching people without the ubiquitous these current methods discussed in your blog…I can use help in applying what your article defines. In other words how to accomplish this? Are YOU for real? and offer to find other effective ways to directly advise? Please kindly offer some direction in regards to your premise. Thank you “ginangiela”
Hi David, thank you so much for your question! It’s great to hear that you mainly make it without social media.
The best advice I can offer is to get your own artist website. Because you can optimize it and it’s always the first thing that comes up when someone searches for you or your art. I believe that’s also how you found this website… (:
I have an entire section about building an artist website. Please check it out, if you’re new to website building, I’m sure you can find lots of information that will help you along the way!
Good luck for you