How to Market Your Artwork When You Don’t Have Much Time

Happy 2021 friend!

Oh the lessons we have learned in 2020, and how we continue to learn them in this new year.

I hope you’re managing to stay safe and as happy as you can be, and maybe even use your art to dig a little deeper into a happy headspace. Artwork has been a saving grace for me and my life in general, and it definitely helped me to keep my head on straight during the chaos that was 2020.

Today we’re going to explore a question I get from a lot of artists – how to market your artwork when you don’t have much time.

Although we are home a lot more right now due to the state of the world in 2020 and going into 2021, that doesn’t necessarily mean that you have more time to market your artwork.

And especially when you first start, you’re often not sure what efforts will have the most impact so it often feels like you’re wasting your precious time. Or that your marketing efforts are biting into your time that you get to spend, you know, actually creating the artwork.

So let’s talk about how to market your artwork when you don’t have much time.

1) Batching Content

Oh how I love batching my work. In a nutshell, batch working is when you block of a larger chunk of time – let’s say a few hours – to work on a single task, often preparing for the future.

This can apply to social media posts, newsletters, even creating art or photographing it for your website or social media.

Here’s an example.

You sit down for 1 hour and plan out the next 2 weeks worth of Instagram posts. That means the photos, the captions, hashtags, all that jazz…you knock it all out in one session.

Anyone that has tried to post every single day on a whim has probably learned that this not only takes waaaay more time than you think, it’s exhausting and a one-way ticket to Burnout City.

But by batching your content, you’ll be able to stay in that flow state – you know, that genius zone where your ideas just flow and the magic of creativity is making you feel ALIVE – and create some powerful content for Instagram.

Yes, batching might take a larger block of time in one sitting, but it’s going to make your life so much easier and more efficient down the road.

2) Stop Doing All The Things

We are notorious for spreading ourselves too thin, and as a result we end up sacrificing the quality and effectiveness that we want for life in general.

So rather than trying to maintain an account on 20 different platforms and, let’s be honest here, not doing a great job with them all, stop doing alllll the things.

Each platform, whether this be social media, website, online gallery, etc. is unique, and it takes time to master the platform so you can get the most benefit out of it.

And if you’re throwing a little bit of energy at all of them, you’re not going to be able to truly immerse yourself into each of them and thrive.

So. Instead of trying to do all the things, pick one or two things to get really proficient at instead.

Now, this is obviously going to save time if you are posting to one or two platforms rather than 20, but it’s also going to be a much better use of your time. And you’ll become a much stronger force in that area.

This theory also applies to your artwork as well, specifically when it comes to your art style. If you constantly hop from subject to subject, art style to art style, consistency is going to be hard to come by. This is the art style equivalency of trying to maintain all those accounts, and your efforts will become diluted.

But again, by focusing on one or two things and getting really good at them, you’re going to see beautiful waves happening in and around your artwork that will propel you to greatness.

3) Evaluate Your Past Wins (And Do More of These Things)

I know what you’re thinking – “I don’t even have enough time to market my artwork, and you’re telling me to spend time evaluating the past?”

Yes. I am. I really think you should. 🙂

And really when you think of it, this tactic can actually seem pretty obvious but yet we often ignore our own past successes.

Now, unless you are starting completely from ground zero, you will have had some form of success in your past.

And if you take yourself back to those wins and analyze what actually worked, you’re golden.

Maybe it was the type of artwork you created, or even the way you talked about the art.

When we evaluate what worked for us, we can get clear how to claim more wins for our future!

So give yourself the grace to spend a bit of time reflecting on what worked, and why, and you’ll definitely be thanking yourself for taking that extra time.

4) Embrace the Needle-Movers

This follows up on the previous one…but actually taking action on it. And turning that dial up.

Do the things that move the needle the most.

But there’s one thing you need to do first.

You have to figure out what you actually want. Then you can do the thing.

Do you want to sell more artwork?

Do you want to sell fewer pieces that are more expensive, or many pieces that are more affordable?

Or do you want to grow your audience on social media? Grow your email list?

Getting clear on what you want is the first step.

Now this is a bit of an aside, but something I want to mention anyway.

Sometimes it pays to pay attention to trends. Use Instagram as an example. Social media is strongly veering in the direction of video. Especially now that Reels has been unleashed, even video posts and stories are getting a lot more traction.

So Instagram is highlighting video. Thankfully, we’ve all got powerful little cameras in our pockets that make posting videos of your artwork a breeze.

Prop your phone up behind you on a bookshelf while you paint and create a timelapse video of your latest painting coming to life.

Give a studio tour video that gives your fans a little glimpse into your magical little space.

Sketchbook tour videos are also a powerful way to get your fans engaged with your work.

5) Get Clear on Who Your Perfect Fan Is

If you create art that stems from your heart and soul, chances are you can build up the framework for your perfect fan based on yourself.

Think about the things that really click with you – what matters, why you do what you do, etc. There’s a good chance your perfect fan is also going to resonate with those things.

Once you get clear on what those qualities are, speak to those things more. The more you put that energy out into the world, the more you will become a shining beacon of light for your perfect fans.

Not only will they love your artwork, but they’ll love the artist behind it. This adds a whole new layer of goodness to everything because they’ll adore anything you create.

So get laser focused and go a mile deep, rather than a mile wide. Stop spreading yourself too thinly, and get really clear on what your strengths are.

This will do wonders for building up a strong image for yourself, and will also be highly enriching and fulfilling for you.

6) Curate Your Artwork

This can mean your actual portfolio, but also social media.

If you’ve got a website for your art, be very choosy about what you display and you’ll be sure to develop a strong image as an artist.

It’s only natural to lose sight of this now and then – I’ve been there too.

It’s helpful to put yourself into a stranger’s metaphorical online shoes, and ask yourself what they see.

Get analytical, and honest with yourself. Does it look like the same artist created all the pieces on the site or social media platform? 

Let’s say you normally paint beautiful florals with a light pastel colour palette. You’re feeling frisky so one day you paint a cheery orange clown fish on the most beautiful and rich blue ocean background.

Sure, the fish might look beautiful, but take a step back and notice how that piece flows with the rest of your artwork.

Art marketing is a necessary task that so many artists find daunting and frankly, a huge headache. So hopefully this helped you to shift your mindset around art marketing and start to make better use of your time.

Want to take an even bigger flying leap towards your (inevitable) success as an artist?

Watch my FREE masterclass training, Scale Your Art Sales.

It’s the online class for beginner artists that are filled with a fiery creative passion, and want to grow an audience online that actually want to BUY their artwork