by Carolyn Edlund
You don’t have to become an influencer to be a successful artist.
“I know I should market my work, but I hate promoting myself.” I’ve heard some version of this statement hundreds of times over the years.
Many artists feel uncomfortable talking about their accomplishments. They don’t want to ask for attention or act salesy. They worry about being perceived as pushy or self-important. And they’d rather spend another eight hours in the studio than write one social media post. If that describes you, add yourself to this large group of your peers.
A major part of this problem is the perceived idea of what marketing itself is, one that simply isn’t true. If you picture it as someone constantly talking about themselves or chasing customers, I can’t blame you for feeling awkward.
Fortunately, being effective at marketing your art doesn’t have to look like that. Let’s flip the script and reframe the mindset behind it. Marketing can be seen as helping the right people discover work they will appreciate. When you sell a piece of work that a customer loves, you see that a match was made, and often hear a satisfied response to the purchase. That can happen again and again with new people.
Marketing is messaging, and by doing so making connections between your art and the people who are most likely to value it. That makes things much less about self-promotion and more about sharing something meaningful.
Think about how you discovered artists whose work you admire. Perhaps someone recommended them. Or maybe you visited an open studio. You might have read an article, watched a short video, or heard the artist speak about their inspiration. Perhaps you found them through a gallery or at an art fair. Whatever the path, something connected you with their work.
That’s marketing. It doesn’t always involve selling. Often, it’s simply showing up and making your work available to be discovered.
Artist and gallery owner Brenda McMahon wrote a guest article for Artsy Shark titled I Hate Selling, But I Love Relationships. Her point was that she didn’t enjoy selling, but she genuinely enjoyed connecting with people. That shift in thinking changed everything.
The same principle applies to marketing. Instead of asking, “How can I get people to notice me?” ask, “How can I help the right people discover my work?” Those are two very different questions—one is focused on yourself, and the other is focused on your audience.
You also don’t have to be everywhere. Many artists exhaust themselves trying to keep up with every social media platform, every new trend, and every marketing tactic they hear about. They begin to believe that success depends on becoming a full-time content creator instead of a full-time artist. That simply is not the case.
Sending an email campaign once a month is often more valuable than posting every day on multiple social platforms. Participating in a few carefully chosen exhibitions can produce better results than dozens of random events. Prioritizing time spent building relationships with galleries, designers, collectors, and fellow artists often creates opportunities that no algorithm can match.
Many artists tell themselves, “If my work is good enough, people will find it.” I wish that were true. In reality, there are thousands of talented artists creating beautiful work every day. Marketing isn’t about proving your art has value. It’s about making sure your art has a chance to be seen by the people who will value it.
Remember that people don’t just buy artwork. They buy stories, experiences, and relationships. When you explain why a series matters to you, you’re not promoting yourself. You’re inviting viewers into your creative world. When you share photographs from your studio, you’re sharing an inside view that people are curious about. If you create a video demonstrating your process, you are educating your audience, and also building perceived value for your art. All of these efforts can result in conversations and a true interest in what you do as an artist. That’s where sales start, from conversations instead of solicitations.
It’s good to remember that there are people out there looking for what you currently make. The right customer won’t find you if they never discover your art. Your part of the equation is making it available to be seen.
Marketing isn’t about convincing the wrong people to buy. Instead, it makes things easier for the right people to find you. And it’s that shift in thinking that can changes everything for you. Instead of asking people to pay attention to you, you’re helping the people who will genuinely appreciate your work discover something they may have been looking for all along.
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