The art market is not an easy sphere; honestly, I don't know a single systematic and honest story about artists becoming millionaires. Usually, they attend networking parties in business circles, somehow make it to paid galleries through charisma, spend thousands on advertising, follow mythical trends, end up working at a studio subjectively, and rely on luck. The internet is flooded with art bloggers. In this post, I would like to talk about my attempt to replicate their success.
How much is needed to enter the market? One marketer told me that 50 views should be enough for a sale. Other professionals say it depends on the case, the product, and engagement indicators. Statistical experiments show that only 1 in 10 people will remember your slogan and what your company is about.
I often receive email newsletters where companies enthusiastically talk about something and offer deals, but they don't remind anywhere what their company is about. It looks like this: "Hi, Julie, today is an amazing opportunity, a breathtaking promotion, click the link and get your prize." And somewhere nearby is the mysterious abbreviation of the company, CPFTV. I receive tons of such emails, and the only brands I remember are PUMA and the European clothing store MODIVO. All the others make the same mistake— they don't write or remind what kind of company they are. How do they actually get sales and pay their marketers? Haha...
The market represents an art blogger as a young person aged 18-22, who, at such a young age, draws well and has gathered 20,000-100,000 followers in 200 posts (considering that social media is paid, and you need to spend $5000 for such a quantity, the price depends on the niche). This cute person has a queue for commissioned illustrations, 200-6000 likes per post, and of course, she doesn't spend much on advertising, maybe $15-$100, as crowds run to her as soon as they see her excellent drawing. (This applies to any blogger with info products.)
What does cruel reality show? That you are just a loser or... is it all a deception? In December, I opened orders for anime illustrations, was active on social media for 1.5 months, spent only $15 on advertising, and what did I get? Like 100 views and 2 likes, - 2 unsubscribes, cooling of the loyal audience on Facebook who didn't like that I started offering something to buy, and 0, absolutely 0 sales.
Did I have a blog, pages, slogan, positioning, portfolio? - yes. Did I have real videos on TikTok - yes. I even had 500-1900 views. Did this give me a sale? - no. Did crowds run to subscribe to me for beautiful illustrations? - no.
I conclude that art bloggers spend a lot of money on advertising; they don't live off the monetization of art and generally just indulge their vanity. Do they get orders? - yes. Will this allow them to live somewhere in Canada, Europe, or America? - no.
My verdict - total deception. An art blogger must be as much a star as a pop singer to earn good income.
What remains relevant? Book illustration, games, animation, designer merch, drawing courses. Let's test this soon.