In the day and age of the TikTok-ification, one is inclined to wonder whether blogging is still good for artists. As everyone seems to be just watching 10-second videos, how might an artist benefit by starting a blog these days? But, believe me, art blogging is still profitable, and here are 7 reasons why an artist should have a blog! Are you still hesitant about becoming an art blogger? Well, stop procrastinating and start your blogging journey today!
You’ve built your own artist website and now you are wondering whether it’s a good idea to start a blog?
In the day and age of social media, it’s totally understandable that you ask yourself questions like, should an artist have a blog?
Is blogging still worth it?
Is blogging good for artists when there are so many sites to upload your art?
The problem about building up your artist brand on social media and other sites is that you have zero control over those platforms. Art sharing sites come and go, and social media networks do what earns them the most money. It’s that simple. Unfortunately.
Only recently, Instagram changed its algorithm, restricting the organic reach of users in favor of paid ads. If you don’t pay, you don’t get exposure. Many art accounts are still experiencing the negative effects of those algorithmic changes.
But social media has more pitfalls. My recent dilemma with Instagram taught me that social media might deliberately limit your account—without even notifying you! Really, we artists cannot solely rely on third-party sites to get the word out about our work. Because our accounts on those platforms don’t belong to us and we have no control over what happens to them.
Blogging, on the other hand, allows you to have your own little space on the web. You have full control over your art blog and your own website. But apart from that, there are many more reasons why an artist should have a blog!
So, let’s get into it:
Is blogging good for artists?
Art blogging means you are creating content around topics related to your chosen art niche.
Every art blogger might pursue different goals with their blog. Some bloggers, for example, might want to sell their work, other might seek to collaborate with galleries, brands and companies, and yet others intend to build an art business through their blog.
Whatever your goal, an art blog can help you achieve it!
How can blogging help all those artists with their different goals?
Generally speaking, blogging is good for artists because it helps them increase their online exposure.
It allows them to grow an audience interested in their art. As blogging helps to build their brand awareness, you can use it at a means to promote your art business and work with companies.
In case you want to offer courses and tutorials, it will help you attract students interested in learning a particular artistic skill.
An art blog is profitable in many ways. This is just in a nutshell what amazing benefits an artist might have by starting a blog.
We’re going to dive deeper into the reasons why an artist should have a blog right below in this post!
Why should an artist have a blog?
If you are still hesitant about getting into art blogging, here are seven reasons why every artist should have a blog that will hopefully convince you. Have a look for yourself and then start your art blog today! (ᴖ‿ᴖ)
7 Reasons Why An Artist Should Have A Blog
1. You diversify your online presence.
As I already mentioned above, relying fully on social media to promote your art is not a good idea.
Last year, I realized how fatal Instagram could be for your art career.
Instagram became worse for many creatives after the infamous algorithm changes of mid-2020 that dramatically affected the reach of many accounts, in particular smaller art accounts. Not only did the algorithmic changes pressure content creators to post several times daily to stay relevant on the platform, but they were also geared towards paid ads.
For artists, it can quickly become creatively and emotionally draining to post on a daily basis. After all, our main purpose is to create art and not to post daily to keep the algorithm happy! Plus, small accounts might not even have the money to invest into paid advertisement.
What’s more, you have no control over what Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, or any other social media networks do with your account.
This means that your account can be shut down at any moment and for any reason—just because the algorithm thinks the art you post doesn’t conform with the community guidelines anymore.
This is what happened to me. Instagram’s algorithm considered the surreal artwork I posted “too revealing” (yes, with all the OF creators sending Instagram traffic over to their accounts…), and therefore restricted my account reach without even notifying me—while suggesting the exact same posts it restricted my account for as PAID ADS!
Well, this happens when you let algorithms and AI manage an entire platform. I only found out accidentally by randomly clicking on “Account Settings.” If you’d like to know more about what happened, read up on my “Social Art Dilemma.”
An artist should have a blog because you cannot solely rely on social media. My experience blatantly showed that Instagram can actually kill your art career—without you even realizing because they don’t tell you when they restrict your account. This is one of the ladies that caused so much uproar. To learn what exactly happened, read up on my “Social Art Dilemma.”
But this isn't to say that you should ditch social media altogether. No. Instead, you should rather use it to leverage your art blog and artist website!
Social media still has benefits for bloggers, you just shouldn’t solely rely on it. Here are some posts to help you use social media as an artist:
My experience with social media is one of the reasons why I believe every artist should have a blog and why I got into art blogging myself.
My artist website is something that I own and that I have full control over. I able build an email list that is truly a safe space for communication without having to worry about ever-changing algorithms and AI-controlled community rules that can negatively affect your account.
Blogging brings so much more creative freedom and peace of mind than any social media platform ever can!
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2. You can tell the story of your art.
At the end of the day, people always buy from people they can relate to. That’s true for just about any product or service.
Telling the story of your art (or of yourself as the artist) is an essential part of forging connections with your audience.
Giving more insights into the meaning behind your artwork will make it more interesting for potential customers, gallery owners, and collectors. People are always curious about finding out more about the pieces of art they like and the artist behind them.
Your blog gives you the greatest freedom possible to present your work and yourself as the artist exactly the way you want.
You are not limited by a maximum of allowed characters, by preset image dimensions, or the chances of someone clicking “Read more” on the little space you have available.
Your blog gives you the unique opportunity to tell the story of your art—without any restrictions.
In that way, blogging is good for artists because it also allows them to discover more about their own work and their artistic soul.
At the same time, it will help you make your art blog profitable. Because, the more you write about your art, the easier it will become to communicate the purpose of your work to collectors and gallery owners. In return, people are more willing to buy your art. It’s a win-win for everybody!
Related: Do Artists Need To Explain Their Art? [Easy 3-Step Artwork Descriptions]
Blogging is good for artists because it allows them to become adept at speaking about their art. Read up on the meaning behind “Teatime” from my Surreal Stories to get an idea of how to tell the story of your art!
3. Your blog has much more longevity than anything else.
With the exception of Pinterest Pins, social media posts are very short-lived. They become irrelevant after a couple of days, some even disappear after 24 hours.
Have you ever seen an Instagram or a Facebook post come up when you search for something online? Well, perhaps not.
Not so with your art blog. When blogging about a certain topic, you’ll be naturally using keywords that users type in when looking for the topic you write about. To make your posts even more search-engine friendly, you can use a free SEO tool to optimize your articles.
As you keep creating new content, your blog will look fresh and rank high in Google and other search engines—as long as you keep it active!
In other words, your blog posts have the potential to attract an audience even years after you have written them. No social media post can ever do that.
Learn more: SEO For Artists: 5 Game-Changing Tips To Get Traffic To Your Art Website
4. You can build a brand around your art.
With your own art blog up and running, you can create an entire branding around your art. Just like a company.
You can display your logo at the top of your website. You can choose the fonts you want to use for your posts and in your blog images.
You can select the colors for your artist brand that you’ll be consistently using throughout your logo and website.
Related: Best Hyperlink Colors For Your Artist Website – With Hyperlink Style Guide
Branding is a powerful method to make yourself memorable and build a strong rapport with your audience. An artist should have a blog because it’s one of the best and easiest ways to create an authentic brand for your art!
5. You can boost your visibility through blogging.
Another reason why every artist should have a blog is because it can help you significantly increase your online exposure.
First of all, blog posts have the potential to go viral and attract thousands of eyeballs to your art. But that’s not all.
There are numerous other ways to boost your visibility through blogging.
When you provide valuable content on your blog that people find helpful, they are likely to recommend it to friends and fellow artists. This word-of-mouth advertising is usually much more impactful than people just seeing some online ad or, for example, a Pinterest Pin to your content.
What’s more, when your audience finds a post helpful or interesting, chances are they are going to share it online as well. By including social share buttons in your blog, you make it easy for readers to share your content across different platforms—which, in return, will help you get more traffic to your art blog!
Another way an artist might benefit by starting a blog is through backlinks. Just like readers share helpful posts, other bloggers might mention your content in their posts and link back to your blog. Backlinks give your site more “authority” in Google’s eyes.
In other words, you do not only have more visibility through backlinks, but also better chances of ranking in Google’s search results!
6. You can establish yourself as an expert in your field.
Sharing your knowledge and skills on a blog can help you establish yourself as an expert in your artistic genre.
People appreciate it when they can learn from someone for free—and are also more willing to buy courses or eBooks from that person!
So, giving out free nuggets of information on your art blog is especially profitable if you are planning to write a book or record a course in the future. After all, you want to be sure that your teacher knows what they are talking about, right?
With some solid expertise, you might also be invited to speak at art events or write guest posts on other art blogs!
7. You have unlimited opportunities to make your art blog profitable.
Last but not least, art blogging is profitable for your wallet, too! There are endless possibilities to monetize your blog and earn a passive income with your art.
I’ve just mentioned above that you can offer paid courses or eBooks. Your art blog can be the perfect place to start testing the waters and find out what your audience might be interested in the most. What’s more, frequent blogging hones your writing skills, which is ideal for publishing an eBook anyways!
Once you’ve created a learning resource—be it a book or a course, your blog will also provide the perfect outlet to publicize and promote it in one space.
But that’s not all you can do to make an art blog profitable—not by a long shot.
These are some of the most common monetization strategies for art bloggers:
- Join affiliate marketing networks to earn a commission for each lead or sale.
- Display ads on your website to earn ad revenue.
- Sell physical products, including art prints, originals, and hand-embellished prints.
- Sell virtual products, including printables, downloads, and art commissions.
- Offer memberships or subscriptions that give customers access to exclusive resources and services.
- Offer one-on-one coaching and consulting services over Zoom or Skype.
Once set up, these monetization strategies can earn you a passive income for years—with no added effort. Here’s more information on how to make money with your art blog.
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Now, what are you thinking? Should an artist have a blog? Feel free to share your experiences with art blogging in the comments. I’d love to hear from you! Make sure to sign up for my email list below so you don’t miss out on new blog posts and other cool stuff. ♥
Every post you write is so helpful. Sometimes things seem so obvious that I forget to check and see whether I actually did them. Thank you so much!
Hi Jenny, glad you found the post helpful! Happens to me too that I forget things–even when I’ve written a post about them 😂
Interesting and compelling read! I struggle with keeping my blog going and I’m not sure if the topics I blog about are interesting enough for others to connect with. It’s hard to be found in the vast ocean of the internet.. One of my big questions is: do you have to be consistent in blogging?
Hi Theresa, consistency is definitely key! First of all, it helps you rank your blog in Google cuz Google loves fresh content, and in return, it will also help you get more visitors to your blog.
From what I understand, you don’t have so much engagement on your posts yet. But that doesn’t mean your topics are not interesting enough. Not everyone who reads your posts will comment, only a minimum of people will.
I’ve come to find blogging a bit frustrating and have to admit I’ve let my blogging lapse. Part of the reason is that people rarely interact with my posts. I put a link to each post on my Facebook but I’m not getting feedback and think people are not reading it.
It’s normal that your blog will take some time to get traction. Most people will just read your posts without leaving any feedback. But that doesn’t mean that they are not reading them! So just keep at it, you will see results over time!
I started out as a blogger, but then I abandoned it due to the lure of social media, but I’m slowly making my way back. I’m a watercolor artist, and I realized blogging and newsletters are the only real way to stay in control and be at the mercy of algorithms. I’m making time for both these pursuits by cutting down on my “social media time.”
I think that’s a very good decision, Lara! Social media is most likely not going to get any better for artists, so having your own blog and newsletter list is the best thing you can do!