If you ask me, forcing myself to sit down and write an email to my subscribers is the quickest way to invite a chorus of the most boring crickets into my head.

What the hell am I supposed to write?? What if they think I’m bothering them? Waaaah!

Fact #1. Email lists are POWERFUL. In business, and for artists. These days social media is so washed out with buckets of content that the chance of your followers even seeing your work is abysmally low. Like less than 10% kind of low. Yikers.

But email? Since you control your list, you basically control how many people get messages from you. Use a few strategies to keep your email love letters out of their spam folders and you’re even more golden. Plus, emails are so much more intimate than posting on social media for the world to see, so your fans will actually feel like they’re getting to know you.

Fact #2. Stories are also powerful. In fact, they’re one of my all time favorite things to pack my emails with. They weave words together into a rich tapestry that adds a whole new level to your artwork. They touch souls, and turn casual fans into passionate (paying) ones.

Fact #3. Putting yourself on the spot to write sucks. It just does. But what if instead you didn’t have to put yourself on the spot? What if instead you had a list of stories that were just begging to be told?

That’s what we’re chatting about today folks! Here are 5 stories that you can tell your email list subscribers that will have them hanging on every word, and flinging their credit cards at you.

How Something Totally Mundane Inspired You to Create

I just wrapped up my last class of the day so I headed home on my usual path back home from university. I could take the long way around, or I could take the prettiest winding path through an old golf course. Golf course it is.

Nature walks always have me in a contemplative mood, so it’s no surprise that the most precious little wild tansy that was growing through a crack in the sidewalk triggered a whole bunch of emotions.

That if-this-flower-can-grow-surrounded-by-concrete-then-I-can-get-through-anything vibe went on to inspire so many of my paintings, even to this day.

And the time that I shared that story with my email list proved to me that the power of a story is strong.

So think about something small in your life that worked its way into your art, whether it be by being the subject, or infusing itself into the meaning behind your art.

We as artists have the power to move people with our stunning visuals, and when you pair those paintings with juicy stories? We are totally unstoppable.

Your Journey As An Artist

Artists can be a bit of a mysterious bunch to the rest of the world – we create these beautiful things seemingly from thin air. So naturally the journey towards being an artist also takes on some of that mysterious quality.

So take advantage of this. Your journey as an artist is powerful, and guaranteed your audience is going to love learning this about you.

And I know what you’re thinking – “but I don’t really have a good story for how I became an artist, it was nothing profound”.

You know what? That is totally OKAY.

 The power doesn’t come from having an artist story that is a crazy heroes journey – if your artist journey means that you’ve always been interested in creativity since a child and naturally progressed into it, then great! That’s beautiful.

The power comes from you embracing what your story is, and how it made you who you are today.

The One Thing

Let me explain a bit – if you had to pinpoint one single thing that got you to the point you are at today as an artist, what would it be?

I personally adore this question because it is so open for interpretation. Was it your first gallery show? What about your first art sale? The first time you tried a new medium?

Big or small, when you dig into this one, some seriously juicy content pours out.

I want to share mine, just to show you that your “one thing” doesn’t have to be flashy.

I was always a creative earthy kid – I grew up surrounded by nature and dug up animal bones in the yard before I could barely walk (true story). I spent more time drawing dragons in grade 4 than I did learning in class, but my weapons of “choice” (I had no choice) were those crummy Crayola pencil crayons.

For my 11th birthday, my grandmother bought me the biggest pack they had of Prismacolor colored pencils. This transformed everything for me. It was the thing that got me to truly start exploring my creativity, my days of trying to create realistic animal art started very early. I still have the nubs of about 30 of the pencils from that kit, nearly 2 decades later.

So what is your one thing?

Tell The Intricate Story of Your Latest Painting

I’m a fan of this prompt because you can literally use it over and over again. Created a new piece of art? Great! Share the story to your email subscribers.

My favorite way to do this is to walk them also through the journey of how the piece progressed on your easel. It’s a great time to share those photos you snapped on your phone of your painting in progress as it gives another layer to the story.

Emotion is powerful, so be aware of what you want your audience to feel.

And again, like your own artist story, this one does not have to be earth-shattering. Remember my little tansy that popped through the crack in a sidewalk? A totally mundane moment like that can be elevated into something powerful because of the way you tell the story.

Things Your Are Passionate About

As artists, we tend to infuse ourselves into our art, whether we realize it or not.

That goes for what you are passionate about too. Maybe your single biggest wish for the world is to save endangered species, and therefore you paint wildlife that touches the souls of your fans.

Perhaps more than anything you love being a mother, so you paint joyful scenes of children to try to capture that and share it with the world.

Passions are powerful. They move us as individuals, but it’s also contagious. Putting your passion in front of like-minded people (your fans) will do wonders to move them as well.

So share with the world how your passions infuse into your art, and how they will help you to change the world.

Well there you have it, never to be plagued by that “I don’t know what to write!” bug ever again. Email is a powerful tool for artists to get closer to their fans, so when you pair email with stories, you can take over the world.

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