How to Grow Your Twitter Account as an Artist

It’s very easy to grow your Twitter account as an artist if you follow these simple steps.

Artists can use their Twitter account for a myriad of reasons.

Getting noticed, gaining exposure, driving traffic to their work, and networking are just some of the few invaluable attributes a well developed authoritative Twitter account can bring.

Many artists are revolutionizing their lives through Twitter — and so should you.

Some artists may struggle to get noticed; many give up before they grow.

The point of this article is to save you valuable time and money to get your work the exposure it deserves.

Too many talented artists don’t get the attention they need, but this article seeks to help you speed up the process.

Why You Should Grow Your Twitter Account as an Artist

While it’s true that there are other social media platforms that allow you to showcase your greatest hits more prominently.

Twitter allows you to reach a wider audience across various internet subcultures in addition to directly networking with burgeoning artists and the best content creators around.

No other platform allows you to get so close to your admirers or even to go viral to the point where laypeople can get excited for your work.

If you are looking to monetize your art or even create a side-hustle, Twitter allows you to express yourself in a way other platforms don’t.

There are infinite business opportunities and ways to reach potential customers on Twitter.

Moreover, you can be your authentic self on the platform, thus attract new opportunities and unexpected admirers to your craft.

Growing Your Twitter Account as an Artist

Growing your Twitter Account as an Artist is very similar to how we would advise any other person to grow their Twitter account, but there should be a few other nuances.

(Check out our article on growing your Twitter account to 10k followers here)

Assuming you already have a portfolio or body of work ready, you won’t have to choose a specific niche before getting underway.

This should save a lot of time before diving right in.

You should already have a name or alias, so we don’t need to cover this point.

The only point we recommend is that unless you are already an established artist you should make it known that you are an artist in your name.

Like this:

Jane Doe | Conceptual Artist

Just make sure that it’s unique and yours.

At the end of the day, content is king. If you make good art, you will gain followers — but there are ways you can maximize your following plus optimize your growth process. 

Your Profile Pic, Banner & Bio

Consider this point to be distancing from other artists.

Your profile pic should include some of your work. 

Whether it is a self-portrait, a piece of art, or even a concept, it should be your work. This exists to differentiate yourself from others.

Your banner is contingent on whether you are established or looking for recognition, but this should effectively be a billboard or your highlights reel.

Add your best pieces of work with some writing or your logo over the top the image to make it your own.

Like this:

In your bio, you should include the following formula:

Your artistic genre | Your artistic interests | Something About Yourself | a Landing Page Including Your Work

For example

Cartoonist | Majored in 19th Century Art | Art Graduate @ Uni, Cat Lover, Coffee Addict, She/her | Linktree

The aim of the game is to get the most amount of profile visitors to follow you for you.

If they like you, the chances are that they will also dig your work.

Once you post good content, people curious but not yet convinced may scour your profile to check out your other stuff.

Assuming your other content or work is to their liking, you have a higher chance of converting a profile visit into a follower.

Landing Page

As an artist, you want to get as many people as possible to see your work.

Unless you have an Instagram page or a website that hosts your entire gallery in one place, you will need a landing page to draw as many viewers as possible to your content.

You many post a landing page such as a Linktree profile to your bio or plugged in under your best performing tweets to garner the most traffic possible to your work.

It takes a short amount of time to set up and can funnel a significant volume of traffic straight to your work.

Content

As we mentioned, growing your Twitter account as an artist is similar to growing an account for anyone else — but there are a few subtle differences.

In our article on getting your first 10k Twitter followers we outlined a few practices that you should follow:

But we also talked against using low-quality viral content such as memes, cartoons, or other images.

As an artist, we strongly suggest that YOU SHOULD use viral content to drive as many viewers to your work as possible.

In the long run, you should try to use your original content where possible.

However, you can give your take on other content with viral potential.

While you should post your own artwork, don’t get disheartened if your work doesn’t go mega viral at first.

You can use content you believe has viral potential once you have a following of at least 1k. 

Underneath this content, plug your OWN WORK and a landing page.

Let’s take a look at some examples.

Strategies

The initial growth phase (0-10k followers) is the hardest part.

If you don’t have a strategy, you may find yourself struggling to grow unless you’re already an elite artist.

Therefore, we recommend that you adopt the tailcoating strategy to get noticed.

You will need get as much exposure as possible for your work.

By doing so, you should farm engagement off the tweets of pre-established artists on Twitter.

Now, this doesn’t mean spam the comments section with your work.

This is a good way to delegitimize yourself and get blocked.

Instead, praise their artwork, ask personal questions (not too personal), refer them to other inspirational pieces; build rapport with other likeminded individuals, and eventually build a relationship with the bigger artist.

Networking with bigger artists on Twitter is the best way to gain organic exposure.

If they dig you as a person, they might retweet your posts — a soft form of endorsement.

Networking

This is where the magic happens on Twitter.

You literally have access to some of the brightest minds in the world.

For FREE.

Just be chill and don’t be afraid to reach out to bigger creators.

But don’t beg for retweets or for them to check out your work without prior introduction.

Again, ask questions, praise their work, say something original.

Don’t regurgitate things they have already said or spam their inbox with dumb stuff.

First impressions are everything, but don’t talk yourself out of reaching out.

Many big accounts love having positive attention.

Not only can you create friendships or business opportunities, but you can be put in touch with people you would’ve never considered.

The potential for networking on Twitter is infinite.

As long as you:

– make good content

– are authentic

– don’t start drama over nothing

– ask questions

– offer to do things

– compliment people where necessary

– be thankful when it’s due

You won’t have a problem in creating networks.

Off Platform Growth

While Twitter is an amazing platform that puts the world at the palm of your hand, you need to spread and diversify your traffic sources.

Don’t put your eggs in one basket.

You should be looking to create content on other platforms to play the spread.

Have a blog? Post it on Tumblr, Medium, Substack, Buzzfeed, etc. 

Have video? Post it to YouTube, TikTok, Bitchute, etc.

Have photos? Post it to Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, etc.

Even if you walk a tightrope on social media, you can get taken down at a moment’s notice.

Never forget that they are some very spiteful people out there who may take issue with anything that you say or do.

Success will always breed haters — even if you’re the least controversial person to have ever lived.

They may take issue with your lack of controversy!

Just make sure you have other platforms to fall back on, and to express yourself in other ways.

Branding

For goodness sake, don’t forget to add your watermark to your content.

Otherwise, other people might try to pass it off as their own if you’re still an up-and-comer.

Make something that is yours and yours only. 

There will be many occasions where people will share a good piece of art off Twitter to other platforms.

If you want the recognition, you must add a watermark so that viewers off Twitter come and follow you.

This applies to other accounts when they say something thought-provoking.