The 6 Biggest Marketing Mistakes Artists Make (And How to fix them)

12/10/2025

Author: Katie Phillips Parrish
Art Marketing Advisor, Walden Art Co.

If you’ve ever felt like you’re doing everything to market your art—posting consistently, making beautiful work, showing up online yet nothing seems to move the needle…you are not alone.

Almost every artist has said some version of:
“I know I’m supposed to be marketing my art, but I don’t know how or if I’m doing it right.”

Here’s the good news: most of the things holding artists back aren’t major failures. They’re simple, fixable patterns that improve instantly once you learn the right art marketing strategy and most importantly - make those strategies a priority. Let’s break down six common art marketing mistakes and how you can fix each one to grow your art business with confidence.

1. Not Building an Email List

If you want to sell more art online, email marketing is non-negotiable. Relying only on social media is like building your business on rented land. Algorithms dictate who sees your content and your reach can be extremely inconsistent.

But email is yours—and by far, has the highest conversion rate for art sales. Your art becomes one click away instead jumping multiple platforms. And the fewer clicks (aka hoops to jump through), the more likely they will make a purchase.

The Fix:

Start your email list today, even if it’s small and only has friends and family. Remember, you can grow it over time. One growth strategy is to use a pop-up box on your website –offer a freebie to entice them to sign-up that links to your sign-up form. Other simple ideas to entice sign-ups include:

A small discount on a future purchase
Your studio playlist
A free printable art download
A phone wallpaper featuring your art
An infographic offering customers guidance on a specific topic (e.g. Tips to Style Your Art) created in Canva

Quick Tip: Do you participate in in-person events/festivals? Host a drawing to win a small original painting or print. All they have to do is give their email to enter.

Email marketing for artists is one of the most powerful tools for long-term growth. Don’t neglect it and learn to use it to your advantage. Trust me, when collectors love your work, they can’t wait to hear from you.

RESOURCE: Need help building an email strategy? Learn about our Email bootcamp and join the waiting list for future classes.

2. Social Posts Without a Strategy

This is one of the biggest reasons artists feel exhausted by Instagram and other social platforms: The constant feeling to produce content just to be “seen.” But, random posting leads to random results and creates burn out real fast.

If your content isn’t tied to a clear artist marketing strategy, it becomes hard for your audience to understand what you offer or why they should follow your journey.

The Fix:

Create 3–5 content pillars or “topic buckets” that support your brand, your art, and your ideal collector. This builds a cohesiveness to your posts and your audience can learn what to expect.

To maximize engagement, your content should do one of three things: Inspire, educate or entertain. Here are a few ideas to decide how to focus your content pillars:

Behind-the-scenes in your studio and life; engage with a short, micro-story to build personal connections
What are some issues/causes/charities in the art world (or personal world) that you connect with and why should others care? What are some misconceptions that you want to shine a light on?
Educate on your process; your approach to your work, what makes it different, the materials you use
Tips on how to style or collect art; Share favorite interior designers or design styles. What are some pet peeves? What are your favorite color combos; share a hack for hanging art
What are some hobbies/sports teams that you connect with? How do they influence your art? Are you watching the big game while you paint?
Sales announcements and launches; but keep these at a minimum. Ultimately your goal is to sell however, the #1 priority of social is connection. Use these posts sparingly.

It’s very important that the pillars are authentic to YOU and not based on trends. Think about what’s important and what fits your unique personality. When you post with intention and show up authentically, social platforms will support your business instead of draining your energy.

RESOURCE: Listen to this episode on the power of micro-storytelling from The Splatter Effect Podcast and how it powers engagement.

3. Treating Instagram or Facebook as Your Website

Instagram and Facebook are amazing for visibility and building connection. And remember, that’s their main function. However, they’re not a stable foundation for a business. When you treat Instagram or Facebook as your main website, you’re relying on a platform that you don’t own, can’t control, and can’t fully customize. Social media is designed for scrolling, not for converting buyers. It doesn’t help collectors easily browse your available work or shop without distractions.

And if a collector has to hunt through old posts or DMs to find your work… they won’t.

The Fix:

Invest in a website so you control the platform. It’s where your art can actually live in a way that’s easy for collectors to explore and purchase.

A strong artist website should include:

A clean portfolio with your best work
Clear navigation (Originals, Prints, Shop, About, Contact)
An About page with your story and artistic voice
A shop page with easy purchase buttons
Email opt-ins to build your list
A way to contact you for commissions or designer work

Your website doesn’t have to be fancy or expensive. It just needs to be clear, easy to use, and fully yours. When collectors land somewhere you own (not a social feed), your chances of making a sale multiply.

4. Underpricing and Undervaluing Your Art

Pricing is one of the biggest struggles in marketing for artists. When you undervalue your work, you send the message that it’s not worth collecting—and you burn yourself out trying to keep up. I also see artists slashing their prices based on emotion without thinking through the consequences. What if a collector bought a piece from you and the following week they see you offering huge discounts on similar work? They would probably feel duped! When you lower your prices, your collectors who paid full price lose confidence in the value of their past purchases from you…and that’s not a great feeling.

The Fix:

Keep emotion out of it. Realize that we all have a personal relationship with money and it’s easy to get absorbed in thought patterns we’ve established over our lifetimes based on our specific experiences.

You must take a step back and price based on logic:

Your time to create it
Your skill & experience level
Material costs
Market demand
Overhead costs

If you insist on offering discounts, you should be very strategic:

Consider offering new collector’s a special discount for joining your email list. For example, “get 15% off when you spend $100 or more.” Knowing that your email list is essential for long-term strategy, it’s worth losing a little money in the short term. And if every collector has the opportunity to the discount, they can’t get upset.
Only offer large discounts once or twice (at the most) a year. These should be connected to special occasions, like a Black Friday deal or perhaps as a way to celebrate a specific milestone.
Think about discounts that don’t lower the price of your work directly. For example, offer free shipping or tax free holidays (you cover the sales tax).

RESOURCE: Confident pricing is one of the fastest ways to grow your art business sustainably. Check out this pricing guide by Walden Art Company as a starting point.

5. Launching Without Warming Up Your Audience

Imagine this: you’re a single lady out on a first date. When you sit down to dinner, your date asks, “Will you marry me?” That would be extremely jarring (not to mention a major turnoff). You couldn’t run away fast enough!

Just like finding the ideal spouse, art sales require a lot of relationship building. Many collectors buy based on an emotional connection and want to understand what makes your painting or collection unique. If you work behind the scenes for weeks and then suddenly post “New art is live!” … your audience hasn’t had time to connect or get excited.

The Fix:

Warm up your audience for 3–4 weeks and build anticipation before you ask for the sale:

Share your why. What drove you to create the collection?
Share inspiration, preview sketches, time lapses of your paintings coming to life
Offer sneak peeks of finished work
Share the titles of specific pieces and why you chose those titles
Offer email subscribers “first dibs” with exclusive pre-sales (another idea to grow that list!)

Collectors buy when they feel emotionally invested. Plan out a series of social posts, preview emails, or even post a short video on your website discussing the work and why its special to you.

6. Quitting Too Soon (Inconsistency)

Growing an art business takes time. It’s easy to get discouraged when it feels like the needle isn’t budging. And most artists quit right before their momentum hits. Marketing for artists is all about consistent visibility, connection, and trust-building.

The Fix:

Create a sustainable schedule:

2–3 Instagram posts per week
One email every other week
Monthly planning sessions
Seasonal launch cycles
Investigate multiple streams of revenue (festivals, teaching classes, interior designers)

Consistency builds trust—and trust leads to sales. Have faith in yourself, keep showing up, and good things WILL happen.

RESOURCE: Listen to this Splatter Effect episode when you need encouragement to stay in the game: Persistence Pays: Building an Art Career with Grit

Final Thoughts: These Art Marketing Mistakes Are 100% Fixable

Every artist has made a few (or all!) of these mistakes. You’re not behind. You’re simply learning skills most of us were never taught. And you don’t have to figure it out alone.

If you want art marketing tailored specifically to your business, consider a coaching program with Walden Art Company. Lean on our years of expertise, move forward with clarity and get a customized plan you can actually stick with.

Learn more about our coaching programs here.

Have a question? Reach out to our team any time and we’ll be happy to help.

0 Comments