How You Can Make Money As An Artist Without An Audience

Mimimoo Illustration

14 Dec 202209:15

Summary

TLDRIn this video, Mimi discusses strategies for artists to earn income online without a large social media following. She emphasizes the power of an online audience for sales and brand partnerships. Mimi suggests focusing on platforms with search engines like Etsy, and using SEO and marketing to reach potential customers. She also highlights the importance of making a strong first impression through quality photos and descriptions. The video is sponsored by Skillshare, an online learning platform that can help artists learn necessary business skills.

Takeaways

🎨 **Creating Art Online**: You can earn income from your art without a large social media following by focusing on platforms where your target audience can find you.
🌐 **Growing an Audience**: Building an online community is powerful for earning income and fulfilling, but it takes time; consider earning while growing your audience.
📈 **Audience Value**: An engaged online audience is valuable for selling products, securing sponsorships, and brand partnerships.
🔍 **Searchability**: Focus on platforms with search engines like Etsy, Google, and Pinterest to increase the chances of being found by potential customers.
🛍️ **Etsy for Artists**: Etsy is highlighted as a marketplace with a built-in search engine, ideal for artists to sell their work.
📸 **Quality Photos**: High-quality photos are crucial for showcasing your art and products, even for digital offerings.
🔗 **Building Trust**: Establish trust with new customers quickly through professional presentation, clear communication, and a strong first impression.
📝 **SEO Importance**: Implement SEO strategies to improve discoverability and increase the chances of being found by search engines.
📈 **Content Marketing**: Use content marketing to provide value to customers and direct them to your products or services.
💡 **Skillshare**: Skillshare is recommended as a resource for learning business and creative skills to enhance your art career.
🚀 **Two Approaches**: You can either build an audience first and then sell to them or sell immediately and focus on being found through search engines and marketing.

Q & A

What is the main focus of the video?
-The main focus of the video is to discuss how artists can earn money online without already having a large audience on social media.
What is the significance of having an online audience for artists?
-Having an online audience is significant for artists because it allows them to market their products or services directly to a group of people who may be interested in purchasing them, as well as increasing their value to brands for sponsorships and partnerships.
What does the video suggest for artists who want to start earning before building an audience?
-The video suggests that artists who want to start earning before building an audience should focus on platforms that allow their target audience to search for what they're offering, such as Etsy, print-on-demand sites, YouTube, Google, and Pinterest.
What is the role of SEO in selling art products online?
-SEO (Search Engine Optimization) plays a crucial role in helping artists' products get found by using the best possible words or phrases that people use to search for things, maximizing the chances of being discovered by potential customers.
Why are good photos important when selling art online?
-Good photos are important because they can quickly catch the interest of potential customers, show the quality of the product, and build trust, especially when selling to new customers.
What is the benefit of content marketing for artists?
-Content marketing benefits artists by creating free content that provides value to customers and then directing them to the artist's products or services, helping to build trust and a relationship with the customer.
How does Skillshare relate to the topic of the video?
-Skillshare is mentioned as a resource where artists can learn new skills and business strategies, such as SEO, to improve their online presence and income opportunities.
What are the two main approaches to earning an income as an artist discussed in the video?
-The two main approaches discussed are: 1) Building an audience first and then selling valuable products or services to them, or getting paid for content views or brand sponsorships; 2) Starting to sell straight away and focusing on being found through online search engines and marketing.
What does the video suggest about the importance of first impressions when selling to new customers?
-The video emphasizes that first impressions are crucial when selling to new customers, as it's important to quickly establish trust and interest through elements like photo quality, titles, and website design.
How does the video suggest artists can grow their audience while also making money?
-The video suggests that artists can grow their audience on the side while making money by slowly building a community on social media platforms, which can eventually lead to more income opportunities.
What is the host's personal experience with earning a full-time income as an artist?
-The host took a slow approach to earning a full-time illustration income by first building an audience, which then brought most of the income opportunities. This approach worked for her due to living cheaply and initially focusing on improving her art skills.

Outlines

00:00

🎨 Making Money as an Artist Online

Mimi discusses how artists can earn money online without a large social media following. She emphasizes the power of growing an audience for income generation and fulfillment but acknowledges the time it takes. The video is sponsored by Skillshare, hinting at resources for artists. Mimi suggests that even without a following, artists can earn by making their work discoverable through platforms with search functions like Etsy, or by marketing broadly. She stresses the importance of audience size and engagement for brand partnerships and sponsorships. To reach potential customers, artists should focus on SEO, high-quality photos, and building trust through content like blog posts or YouTube videos.

05:01

🌐 Growing an Audience and Marketing Strategies

Mimi explores two approaches for artists to earn income: building an audience first to sell to an engaged community or focusing on being discoverable through search engines and marketing. She shares her personal journey of building an audience before monetizing, which led to income opportunities. Mimi recommends Skillshare for learning business skills, mentioning a specific SEO class that helped her. She suggests that artists can use content marketing, such as creating free valuable content that leads to product sales, to build trust and findability. The video concludes with a call to action for viewers to like, subscribe, and join her Patreon for extra content, emphasizing the value of community for artists.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡Artist

An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating an art. In the context of the video, the artist is the creator of original works of art, which can include visual arts, music, writing, dance, etc. The video discusses how artists can monetize their work online without relying on a large social media following.

💡Online

Online refers to the state of being connected to the internet. The video focuses on how artists can make money through the internet, leveraging digital platforms to reach customers and build their business without a physical presence.

💡Audience

An audience is a group of people who view or listen to a particular piece of work, such as a film, a play, or a concert. In the video, the term is used to describe the community of followers or customers that an artist aims to build, which can be leveraged for income generation through sales, sponsorships, and partnerships.

💡Social Media

Social media refers to websites and applications that enable users to create and share content or participate in social networking. The script mentions that while growing an audience on social media is powerful, it can be time-consuming, and artists can still earn income without it.

💡Etsy

Etsy is an e-commerce website focused on handmade, vintage, and craft items, as well as unique factory-manufactured products. The video uses Etsy as an example of a platform where artists can sell their work directly to consumers through an inbuilt search engine.

💡Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

SEO is the process of affecting the visibility of a website or a piece of content in a search engine's unpaid results. The video emphasizes the importance of SEO for artists to increase the visibility of their online shops and listings, thus reaching more potential customers.

💡Print on Demand

Print on demand is a service where a product is not manufactured until an order has been placed. The video mentions platforms like Society 6 or Redbubble, where artists can sell their designs on various products without having to manage inventory.

💡Content Marketing

Content marketing is a type of marketing that involves the creation and sharing of online content. In the video, content marketing is discussed as a strategy for artists to build trust and attract customers by offering valuable content like blog posts or YouTube videos.

💡Sponsorship

Sponsorship is a type of marketing that involves a company supporting an event, organization, or individual in exchange for access to their audience. The video explains that having a larger or more engaged audience can make an artist more attractive to brands looking for sponsorships.

💡Brand Partnerships

Brand partnerships are strategic alliances between two companies for the purpose of mutual benefit. The video suggests that a larger audience can increase an artist's value to brands wanting to advertise to their audience.

💡Skillshare

Skillshare is an online learning community with classes on various creative and business topics. The video is sponsored by Skillshare, which is presented as a resource for artists to learn new skills and improve their business acumen.

Highlights

Making money as an artist online without a large social media audience is possible.

Growing an audience online is powerful for earning an income and community building.

Having an audience means you can directly market your products or services to a ready group of potential customers.

A large or engaged audience is more attractive to brands for sponsorships and partnerships.

Focus on platforms that allow your target audience to search for what you're offering.

Etsy is a marketplace with a built-in search engine for selling products.

You can sell various types of products and services as long as they can be found through search results or marketing.

Other platforms with search engines include print-on-demand sites, YouTube, Google, and Pinterest.

First impressions are crucial when selling to new customers.

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is vital for being found by search engines.

Excellent photos are necessary to showcase the quality of your products or services.

Providing information about yourself helps build trust with potential customers.

Content marketing, like blog posts or YouTube videos, can provide value and direct customers to your products.

Skillshare is an online learning community with classes on creative and business topics.

Skillshare can help artists learn business skills to increase their income.

There are two main approaches to earning as an artist: building an audience first or focusing on search engines and marketing.

The best approach depends on the individual artist's circumstances and goals.

Having an audience provides more opportunities and is fulfilling, but it takes time to build.

The video provides insights on how to make money as an artist online without an audience first.