It may seem like social media is the priority when setting up an art business (and it can be really helpful in being seen) but there are so many ways to be seen outside of the social media rollercoaster. Here are 6 alternative ways to share your art that are great strategies for growing your audience and getting your beautiful artwork in front of your ideal clients.

1. Have business cards printed with your art on them

Most of the people that buy your art are going to want to build a relationship with you - they need to know, like and trust you before they part with their hard earned cash (and so they should). So when they leave their conversation with you, you want them to have something beautiful to remember you and your art by. Not only will your business cards have beautiful pictures on but they have easy ways for the client to get in touch with you too.

And for those of you concerned about the sustainability piece then hunt out somewhere that creates eco friendly options (I use Moo to print on cotton - they’re eco friendly AND that’s a conversation piece too).

2. Speak to local cafes/galleries about having a mini exhibition

Small independent cafes LOVE having artwork on their walls - especially if they don't have to pay for it.

Now I am NOT saying give to away (I am never saying that) but organising to display your work on their walls/host an evening exhibition is a great way to get your work seen. You may even sweeten the deal by sharing a percentage of the sales (This is a MUST for galleries but the cafes won’t necessarily expect it).

When you go in to speak tp the owners, you need to have an idea of what you’d be displaying and how. You don’t need all the answers but you need to be coming to them with something that’s easy for them to say yes to. One thing to avoid though is taking in a massive portfolio - a brochure or some photos is a much better idea.

3. Create an email list

IMPORTANT: you DO NOT OWN your social media!

Social media sometimes crashes, gets hacked and shuts people down without any notice. Then POOF your audience is gone.

When you have an email list, this doesn't happen because you have access to those people and you own the account. Those people on your list are also seeing more of what you sent them. with email growth apps, you can see who is opening what, what they have clicked on and which emails are resonating better with people. You can also send the same email with two different subject lines and split it half and half between your audience.

You can set it all up for free too!

Start simple and build it up.

4. Sell your work on an existing platform (such as Etsy or MayFli )

In the long term, you need your own website. It gives you complete control and autonomy and means that the people that click on your links stay with YOU and don’t get distracted by other people’s products.

Some platforms offer you the ability to have your own website link within their platform but you don’t need to pay for that straight away. To begin with it's a great idea to use an existing platform that costs less time and money to set up and will enable you to learn about creating a virtual shop. Most of them offer a system where you fill in boxes with dimensions, categories and descriptions and will give examples of the kinds of photos that you need to upload.

Careful about the fees though and build them into your prices!

5. Write an art blog

I love blogging (hello - you’re reading it right now!). It's a great way to chat about what I'm doing, where I get inspiration and celebrate my wins. The massive bonus is that it also boosts my website traffic (SEO - Search Engine Optimisation - seems pretty scary at first but blogs help massively because you’re automatically using keywords to do with your art and your business while you write). Things that help to get your blog into Google searches are:

using ALT TEXT - adding descriptions and clear descriptive titles to your photographs and images
creating a really engaging introduction that will get people to click (this first paragraph ends up on the search page)
using headings to make your blog easy to scan

Don't have a website? It doesn't matter. You can set up a blog on its own and use it to funnel people to your shop and mailing list.

6. Pitch to magazines in your niche

This is not as hard as people think. Journalists are always looking for great stories to share and all artists have stories to tell. Maybe you use sustainable materials, have an unusual method, your inspiration ties in with a national day or festival...

There's so much you can write about - BUT do your homework. You need to:

Read the publications and see where you'd fit.
Tailor your email to them and say why your story fits with their audience/ethos.
add some high quality images - just a couple or even a link to a shared folder.

Afterwards just leave it alone. They don’t want to be hounded and it can take time for them to find a place for you. I once got a feature 4 months after the email.

Need some support with any of these things? Check out my One to One Artist Mentoring service.

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6 ways to share your art that aren’t social media