An Artist’s Guide to Creating an Engaging Newsletter

Tired of feeling like you can't be yourself as an artist on social media? 

You're not alone. 

Social media is horrible for artists trying to promote themselves. It encourages shortened attention spans, changes algorithms on a whim so that fans can't find you, and incentivizes keeping up with trends instead of letting you create the way you want and deserve to. 

One bit of genuine expression that a filter doesn’t like, and you could find yourself censored or banned, with the audience you worked so hard to build now inaccessible to you. 

Social media is a great way to find your true fans, but it’s not a good method to keep them around. If you're a true creator trying to build a loyal audience, you need a newsletter. 

Understanding the Purpose of Artist Newsletters

Once you've built an email list, you own it. It's not at risk of going away whenever some social site updates its terms and conditions. You have a direct line to the people who love your work and a channel to sell your creations anytime. A newsletter provides the following benefits: 

• Personal connection and direct communication with your audience

• The ability to bypass social media algorithms 

• Tools to build and maintain a loyal fan base 

• Ways to gather feedback from your audience to continuously improve your offerings

But how do you find the people who will read your newsletter and buy your stuff? 

Identifying Your Target Audience

The above quote has been a central piece of internet business lore since 2008 when Kelly popularized the idea. It's true: To make a 6-figure income online, you only need 1000 people willing to buy $100 of stuff from you in a year. 

So where do you find these people, and how do you keep their attention? 

Social media is a great place to start. Yes, I know I said that social media is horrible for artists. But you've got to find the people and funnel them to your newsletter, and social media is the best place for discovery. 

Genuine content attracts genuine people. So when creating content around your art, focus on being yourself! If you keep this up over a long enough period, you'll see incremental growth and engagement. Now you've just got to funnel some of that to where you can keep it!

Ensure that there's a link on all of your social profiles to lead people to a place where you can capture some of the traffic you generate. 

Best practices: 

• Link only to the signup page in your bio — no Linktrees – if you’re trying to grow an email following. They interfere with the journey to your site. 

• Make a compelling lead magnet for those who land on your newsletter page to encourage them to sign up. Get creative! It could be a guide for appreciating art, exclusive content, or a link to your secret vlog. 

• Make the signup process clear and easy to complete and explain the benefits of subscribing to your newsletter. 

It's going to take some time and perseverance. Reaching your first 100-1000 subscribers is hard, and you'll want to quit. But if you're able to stick it out, everything gets easier. 

Your ideal fans are out there waiting for you, but the sad truth is that they'll have no idea you exist until you find them and show them how awesome your stuff is!

Designing Your Artist Newsletter

The only wrong way to design your newsletter is designing one in a way that's inauthentic to you. If you're known for minimalistic, calming art, you probably wouldn't want to create an attention-grabbing newsletter. 

Sam Ryan, who writes SamRyanStudio, doesn't use a lot of attention-grabbing visuals in his newsletter. The only attention-grabbing elements are the pictures of the art pieces that he’s selling. 

A screenshot of Ryan’s painting, Tempest, from his newsletter

Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds, on the other hand, have a photo-heavy newsletter that gives visual updates on what they're doing musically and links straight to merch for sale. 

Some exclusive subscriber content from Cave’s newsletter

Cave and The Bad Seeds also have a simple, easy-to-sign-up-for newsletter that leaves readers with no confusion about what to do next. I love the simplicity of it: 

The signup page from Cave and The Bad Seeds’ website

Think about what designs will be the most authentic to you. Different platforms offer different design elements, so consider the features of each platform before you choose who to work with! 

Selecting the Right Newsletter Platform

When you start researching how and where to create a newsletter, you will be bombarded with options – Mailchimp, ConvertKit, Substack, beehiiv... How do you choose? 

• Simplicity and ease of use are essential. After all, you're an artist, not a digital marketing pro! You need uninterrupted time to create. So choose one that makes it easy to write, generate a draft, slap in a picture or two, and send! 

• Look for a platform with easy-to-understand analytics. You'll want to know what's working and what's not down the line; and, again, you're not a marketer. You want simple analytics that are easy to take action on. 

• Find a service with a straightforward pricing model. Many platforms charge ever-higher fees as your following grows. To avoid this fate, choose a flat-rate service. 

Obviously, we're biased, but if you want a platform that includes all of the above, start your 30-day free trial of beehiiv. 

Incorporating Visual Elements

Nobody wants to read a giant, unbroken text block in their inbox. When writing your newsletter, include the following: 

• Pictures of your artwork

• Photos of you working on new pieces (if you're comfortable)

• Videos of you checking in with fans

• Graphics (basic ones are easy to make in Canva if you're not the most tech-savvy)

• Gifs

• Photos that fans sent you of them unboxing your artwork, hanging your art on their walls, etc. (with their permission, of course)

Curating Content for Your Newsletter

If your newsletter only lists and promotes the pieces you have for sale, it won't have a consistent readership. Fans want to be invited into the creative process and enjoy getting to know the person who's creating! 

One of Sam Ryan's most popular newsletter essays is called "I Have a Confession." In it, he lays out what inspired him to create his painting, Tempest, leading the reader to grab a box of tissues and admire his vulnerability. 

Make your newsletter a window into your life and creative process, and you'll have a passionate following. 

Frequently use surveys, polls, and questions to gauge your audience's feelings about your newsletter. The more your audience participates, the better you're doing — it means that they're giving you time out of their busy lives! Don't forget what a privilege that is. 

This should go without saying, but make sure to actually use the follower data you collect. Use what your readers tell you to inform your content strategy going forward (without pandering). Don't lose sight of the originality that makes you unique. 

Writing Compelling Newsletter Copy

There's a time and a place for a ranting, free-flowing monologue about the artistic process, but your newsletter ain't it. Save that for your long-form videos. Your newsletter should be clear, and each one should tell one story that leads the reader toward one action. 

A classic copywriting framework called The Rule of One serves us perfectly here. Your copy should focus on the following elements: 

• 1 Big idea

• 1 Ideal reader 

• 1 Promise 

• 1 Call to action

Sam Ryan's "I Have a Confession," which I mentioned earlier in the article, is a perfect example. He tells how a breakup inspired him to create his piece, Tempest, takes the reader on an emotional journey, and then asks them to stay tuned because the print drop of Tempest is only six weeks away. 

Here are some other helpful tips: 

• Use a conversational tone to make your newsletter feel personal and relatable, like you're speaking directly to the reader. 

• Your content should provide value, whether it's through sharing your unique insights, offering exclusive access to something you made, or educating the reader on topics relevant to your art.  

• Include clear calls to action that guide your readers on what to do next, like visiting your website, purchasing artwork, or attending one of your events

• Keep your content concise and focused so you don’t overwhelm readers with too much information

Case Studies

1. Sam Ryan,

a self-taught fine artist from Gluckstadt, Mississippi, uses his beehiiv newsletter as a crucial part of his tech stack (he runs a one-man business using Instagram, beehiiv, and Shopify). 

Ryan has built a significant Instagram following over the years; but since he's a faith-based painter, his IG posts don't always have a wide reach. Ryan started his newsletter last year to capture some of the attention that he was getting for posting paintings he’d done of celebrities on Instagram. 

Since the launch, Ryan has grown his newsletter following to more than 20,000 readers. He posts regular updates that recap his week as a painter and uses beehiiv's integrated polls to gather data on his subscribers' preferences.

2. Valuart Studio:

Valuart, an art consultancy company, offers a beehiiv newsletter that breaks down the intersection of art and value. They use their platform to explore how art enriches our lives and impacts the market. 

Each week, the company sends their readers a thoughtful analysis of current trends, artist spotlights, and deep dives into how art's value is perceived and constructed in today's world. The creators are doing some pretty exciting things; their newsletter shows them on private jets and attending glamorous gatherings.

A screenshot from Valuart’s newsletter

3. Pablo Helguera:

An artist and educator, Helguera started his Substack newsletter, Beautiful Eccentrics, after hearing that Heather Cox Richardson, the most popular Substack writer, was making millions every year writing her newsletter. 

Helguera wanted to communicate more in-depth with his audience, so he started capturing social media attention in a Substack. He encourages discussions about what the art world needs in his comments and, as a result, has a very engaged fanbase of thousands.

A screenshot of Helguera’s latest newsletter

4. Wendy MacNaughton:

Known for her illustrations and comic-drawn journalism, MacNaughton started the DrawTogether YouTube channel during the pandemic to provide an art outlet for children and families as COVID-19 was sweeping the country. 

Once the channel took off, MacNaughton started the DrawTogether Substack newsletter, which now has more than 52,000 subscribers! Her newsletter is a very eclectic mix of political thought, drawing advice, and promotions of her own line of art materials.

A screenshot from one of MacNaughton’s recent newsletters

5. Don Ravi: The author of For The Love of Art writes a regular beehiiv newsletter called The New Artist Within, a series of essays that offer his take on the art world in the time of blockchain and AI. He shares lessons learned from his many years as an artist and offers tips to help up-and-coming artists navigate the art world. 

A screenshot from one of Ravi’s recent newsletters

6. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds:

Nick Cave utilizes a dual approach with his newsletters. One is a regular newsletter with updates and merch information, and the other, The Red Hand Files, offers a more personal connection, where Cave answers fan questions and discusses serious issues. 

The Red Hand Files is written in a very intimate tone, similar to Cheryl Strayed’s Dear Sugar. From the About page:

"Hundreds of letters come in each week, asking an extraordinarily diverse array of questions, from the playful to the profound, the deeply personal to the flat-out nutty. I read them all and try my best to answer a question each week. The Red Hand Files has no moderator, and it is not monetized, and I am the only one who has access to the questions that sit patiently waiting to be answered."

A screenshot from Nick Cave’s latest newsletter

Best Practices for Sending and Analyzing Artist Newsletters

The best rule to keep in mind as you develop an artist newsletter is: Experiment, then double down like crazy on what works. 

In the beginning, experiment with the time and day that you send out your newsletter to see what works best. Send it a few times a week, then dial back to the frequency that gets you the most engagement. Try a 1500-word rant one week and a 100-word CTR to buy your art the next. Do whatever! When you first start, experimentation is king. 

As you develop and your newsletter grows, start to A/B test your headlines. Look at what gets opened and shared more and see if you can do more of that (again, without pandering; be genuine above all else). 

Pay attention to your click-through rates and unsubscribes. When you see that a small group of your subscribers aren’t engaging anymore, clean your list! It’s no fun to go in and delete a subscriber that you worked so hard to get; but if you “trim the fat,” your delivery rates will improve overall. 

Look at who’s opening and reading the most and put together a little thank-you gift for your most loyal readers.

Building an email newsletter is a game of inches, and what’s worked for one person isn’t necessarily going to work for another! Experiment, analyze, and stay consistent. You’ll find your 1000 true fans. 

What Are You Waiting For? 

The best time to start a newsletter was a decade ago. The second best time is today. Get started with beehiiv’s one-month free trial today, and we’ll help you find your fans!