Instagram Tips +What I have learned from gaining 50k+ followers in 1 year. (Patreon)

Hi guys!  Here is the monthly tips article!

It has 2 parts to it: honestly, I probably should have divided it up into 2 articles, but we are just gonna roll with this!  Let’s do it! 

INSTAGRAM TIPS 

1.  My biggest tip is to draw what YOU want to draw. 

It’s easy to get caught up in making what you think followers will like, but if your heart isn’t in it and you are just drawing for likes, that will show in your work.  If you draw what you are passionate about, that will also show in your work and it will be more appealing.  

2.  Don’t sacrifice quality for quantity  

Generally you hear tips about posting every day, and it seems that social media algorithms tend to favor more frequent posting.  But if we sacrifice quality because we are in a rush to post, that could make the content less appealing, and might even annoy some people into unfollowing.  If you are able to make high quality content and post every day, that’s awesome!  Do it!  But don’t be afraid to take the extra time you need to make a post really shine. 

3. Post WIPs and Process shots sometimes

Quality posts don't always need to be fully polished and completed pieces of art.  Sometimes the most engaging and interesting posts are posts showing the process, or a half completed work.  It should still show that effort and artistic sensibilities went into creating that process shot, even if it is not full complete.  For me, this is often a really good opportunity to play with interesting cropping and composition to show a cropped preview of whatever I'm working on.

4. Think about how your post will look at a small thumbnail size

Art on instagram is being looked at on a phone, and it has to look good in a tiny size, or at least somewhat nice compositionally.  Make sure you are previewing how your posts look at that tiny size before posting.

5. Keep your "grid" in mind when you make new posts.

How your grid looks is usually what will make people decide if they want to follow you or not.  They will see a post you made and then go to your profile to see more.  If your grid doesn't look nice and somewhat cohesive, its might make it more unlikely for people to click that follow button.  

There are lots of grid planning apps out there you can use, if you really want to get into it.  I have used UNUM before, but they recently restricted a lot of their free features so I don't like it as much anymore... but I think it still kind of works for basic grid planning if you want to give it a try.

6. Have somewhat of a schedule.  

This might seem contradictory to what I just said in tip number 2, but it isn’t if you are flexible with it.  Make a goal to post regularly, but you don’t have to be a stickler when it comes to your schedule.  The goal with a schedule is just to make sure you are continuing to produce art, and don’t become an inactive looking account.  I try to post at least 2-3 times a week. 

7. Post at the right time

This kind of goes along with keeping a schedule.  It might take some experimentation, but try to post at a time when more of your followers are active.  For example, I live in Europe BUT most of my followers are in the US, so I usually wait until it is evening for me to post.  That way, the bulk of my followers will see my new post in the morning.  

I don't usually go to this extreme, but some of my most successful posts have been on days where I happened to be up really late, and so posted after midnight for myself.  But that means it was popping up in the middle of the day for my US followers.  The timing of that might have something to do with why those posts got more engagement.

All this being said, I do think with the algorithm sorting more and more posts based off of what it thinks specific users will like, is making the whole "post at the right time" tip a little more obsolete.  I do think it still matters, because that first hour after posting tells the algorithm how to treat that post, BUT posting at an odd time might not completely kill a post these days.  I see posts that I missed chronologically from the previous day or even a couple days ago pop up on my feed because the algorithm thinks I will like that post.

8. Use Instagram stories.  

Stories are nice because you can share stuff that you wouldn’t necessarily consider “post worthy”.  It’s also fun to share personal things in your life sometimes through your stories.  Some people appreciate seeing the face and life behind the art!   

There are also really awesome ways of interacting with followers with polls and questions.  Make sure to use those features to help increase engagement and interaction with your account.    I typically always try to have at least one story active. 

9. Experiment sometimes.  

It’s easy to get stuck in a rut of always basically drawing the same thing in the same style over and over again because that seems to be what people respond to (*cough* portraits of cute girls*cough).  But that can stunt your growth as an artist and there might be a whole new audience that discover your art through you experimenting and drawing something different then usual every once and a while.  

Keep your quality consistent and always improving, and its okay to try new things sometimes.

10. Draw a cat.  The internet loves cats.  

Kind of a joke, but also not really.  Every time I have drawn a simple cute cat, I have gotten a little boost of followers that I wasn’t expecting... maybe try it for fun and see how it goes.  😂  

11.  Be nice but also genuine. 

12. All Social media is a community platform so remember to have conversation and interact when you can.  

The more personal connection you can make, the more people will associate that positive personal connection with your art every time you post.  

Try not to obsess too much on increasing your follower count all the time and focus on the friendly and supportive people that are already following you!  They are the important ones in your journey right now.  Be nice and interact with them. 

13. Reply to comments, 

especially right after you post.  You don’t always have to reply to every single comment but it does help engagement and goes along with building community. 

14. Participate in an art challenge every once and a while

DTIYS, OOTD, TOONME, and REDRAW challenges are really popular.  If you feel inspired to participate in one every once and a while, it can help boost your own creativity, plus get more eyes on your work.

15. Host an art challenge. 

Make sure your challenge is inspiring, but also easy to understand and participate in.  

16. Prioritize honing your skills.  

Remember that social media is part of a means to an end, not an end goal.  Loads of followers and likes typically isn’t the end goal.  It might feel kind of nice but it doesn’t necessarily mean you are making a bunch of $$$ from your art.  Social media might get your art in front of some eyeballs but it is your skill and portfolio that will get you hired.   Plus, the better your art skills, the more likely it is that you will be able to make quality posts that draw more people in.

17. Reduce stress 

Try not to not stress out about it so much.   If you are stressed out and desperate, that will show in your art and interactions on instagram. Take care of yourself and take breaks when you need to.   What’s most important is your own health.

Extra things I have learned from gaining 50k followers in 1 year.

These are some observations I have made that aren't necessarily tips but I find them interesting, and maybe you will too.

 ❥ Instagram’s algorithm seems to treat its users a bit like fish, and it is the fisherman.  I know that sounds a little abstract but hear me out. 

I heard on a podcast once about how the tinder algorithm works: within the first few minutes of using the app, a new user’s exposure or reach is boosted way higher then usual, causing them to get a bunch of hits.  Enough to trigger those endorphins in the user's brain!  Then after those first few minutes of exposure, their reach his choked and their profile isn’t seen nearly as much as it was in those first few minutes.  From there it is a bit of a cycle.  Boosting reach to string the user along and then choking reach.   

I can’t say for sure HOW accurate that is but it seems to be at least somewhat the case with instagram as well, at least in my own experience.   

There will be periods of time when my reach is good and people are seeing my posts.  My account will grow at a good rate.  Then for no apparent reason, my reach will suddenly be choked and only a small number of followers and even less new folks will see my art.   

How to get OUT of that rut in the Instagram cycle is the challenge! 

I have no surefire way, but here are some ideas that seem to have had a little impact for me in the past: 

• Take a break  from posting on Instagram for a few days.  
• I’m not saying you should abandon responding to comments or posting stories, but maybe hold off on posting for a couple days.  I have done this before and sometimes it seems like Instagram will start actually showing my other posts to people who hadn’t seen them before.  Maybe I’m imagining things but there have definitely been (many)times where I have gotten more followers on days I didn’t post then days I did.  
• Participate in an art challenge.   
• Host an art challenge. 
• Host a support artist thread This is a nice way to get the community talking with one another and supporting each other, plus all that activity on your post might boost your account a bit. 
• Draw a Cat.

 ❥ Follower Numbers do not automatically equal  more money… in fact, an artist with lots of followers might not be making ANY money from their social media.  

 ❥ I have been able to meet lots of really nice and encouraging people!

 ❥ But some people are jerks:

Sometimes there are rude people who don’t seem to see artists with a higher follower account as actual people and they say mean things maybe thinking we won’t read it?

The best way for me to deal with that is to either ignore it, laugh it off, or rant about it on twitter.  One mean comment feels much sharper then all the encouraging comments, but Whatever you do, try not to let it get to you!

 ❥ Most people don't read  I get asked the same questions over and over again, even when the answer to that question is in the description of the post that person is commenting on.  

  ❥ Time spent working on your skills and portfolio is never wasted, even if it doesn’t get very many likes.  That is the work that will get you skills and eventually work down the road.

 ❥ I always expect that I’ll lose some followers when I post something new, especially if it is something a little more “risky” or out of my usual.  That’s okay as long as I’m creating and posting art that I want to.

 ❥ Don’t put too much pressure on yourself to reply to every single comment and message but don’t totally ignore people either, as your account grows it does become more and more challenging to respond to every single message and comment.  If you can, it;s really great to respond, be friendly and approachable.

 ❥ In addition, its okay to not post on your regular schedule every once and a while.  It might sound harsh, but I don't think most users will actually notice much if one of the artists they are following goes a few extra days or even a week without posting.  Maybe some will but they will be understanding if life is crazy or you just need a break.  No need to apologize to Instagram followers for taking that time.  

 ❥ Not having a certain number of followers doesn’t mean you are a bad artist.  Visa versa, having a lot of followers doesn’t always mean the artist is a great artist either.  Followers don’t necessarily reflect skill.  That shows that learning to run your account in a nice and charismatic way is also important in conjunction with your art if your goal is to gain a following.

 ❥ Sometimes it can be hard to put down. Yeah, it can be really addictive.  There's always new art, new messages, new comments, new numbers and it is so easy to just waste hours and even a whole day online.  I have set my phone to have an instagram time-limit so that the app literally locks me out for the day when I have hit that limit.  If you have a similar problem (with any app) as me, then doing that might be something you consider as well.  HAH!

❥Good Luck and keep at it! Everyone’s account grows at a different rate and every artist is on their own journey. It can be tough not to compare yourself but it is super important to keep those comparisons in check!

If you want to talk about the DEEP dark topics like this, heading over to the Deep talk section in our Patreon discord might be a good place to work it out a little and get it out of your system and find other artists who understand.

Whew!  There was a lot to say and I'm sure I'll remember even more things as conversations around this start happening.  If you made it this far, hats off to you!  I hope that this was helpful and you are able to take away at least a couple useful bits of info.

So, are there any interesting tidbits or tips you have learned from your experience using instagram?  Feel free to comment.  I would love to hear what you think.