How Artists Earn Money and Build Careers Through Instagram
Now that I’ve gone through the kind of art you can expect to see posted on Instagram, my blog is going to be shifting gears and focusing more on how this social media platform is being used by artists and more for financial gain. For this week, I’m going to start by focusing on independent artists who have managed to successfully utilize their Instagram accounts to promote and sell their works.
First are those doing freelance work, consisting of a broad spectrum of artists who vary based on skill, notoriety, and commitment to the job.
Many of these artists, on Instagram in particular, are not full-time artists and instead simply use their page to post occasional art and commissions. It is common to see these artists post the occasional sample of their work to establish their style, essentially advertising what they have to offer to any potential buyers. When they’re open for commissions, they will usually make it known by updating their page’s description and/or through an update post. In the case of the example below, anyone interested can send them a DM where they can discuss the content and negotiate the commission's’ price. Alternatively, set prices are also used by many artists to give buyers a better idea of what they have to pay before contacting them ($10 for a head drawing, $20 for a full body drawing, etc.).
Instagram also has a large presence of full-time artists who make a living through the art they post to this site and other social media platforms. Their earnings don’t usually come from commissions alone, but rather through sales of pre-existing pieces and prints that they are promoting on their page. Instagram is a terrific tool for artists interested in marketing their work, as it gives them the opportunity to showcase samples at different scales and perspectives within the same post. Their work can then reach an audience through the simple inclusion of hashtags or they can take it a step further and pay Instagram to promote their work on user’s home feeds.
There are also artists who make money on Instagram without even having to directly sell standalone artwork. This consists of the artists who are popular enough to sell merchandise relating to the brand that they built up and established for themselves. In addition to prints and posters of their works, merchandise such as mugs, clothing, and books with their art slapped on them are also commonly sold outside of their social media. Instagram’s pinned stories make it easy for these artists to promote this merch at the top of their page. Clicking on them will often provide links that take users straight from the account to an external website that hosts the merchandise.
Many of these artists, on Instagram in particular, are not full-time artists and instead simply use their page to post occasional art and commissions. It is common to see these artists post the occasional sample of their work to establish their style, essentially advertising what they have to offer to any potential buyers. When they’re open for commissions, they will usually make it known by updating their page’s description and/or through an update post. In the case of the example below, anyone interested can send them a DM where they can discuss the content and negotiate the commission's’ price. Alternatively, set prices are also used by many artists to give buyers a better idea of what they have to pay before contacting them ($10 for a head drawing, $20 for a full body drawing, etc.).
Instagram also has a large presence of full-time artists who make a living through the art they post to this site and other social media platforms. Their earnings don’t usually come from commissions alone, but rather through sales of pre-existing pieces and prints that they are promoting on their page. Instagram is a terrific tool for artists interested in marketing their work, as it gives them the opportunity to showcase samples at different scales and perspectives within the same post. Their work can then reach an audience through the simple inclusion of hashtags or they can take it a step further and pay Instagram to promote their work on user’s home feeds.
There are also artists who make money on Instagram without even having to directly sell standalone artwork. This consists of the artists who are popular enough to sell merchandise relating to the brand that they built up and established for themselves. In addition to prints and posters of their works, merchandise such as mugs, clothing, and books with their art slapped on them are also commonly sold outside of their social media. Instagram’s pinned stories make it easy for these artists to promote this merch at the top of their page. Clicking on them will often provide links that take users straight from the account to an external website that hosts the merchandise.
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