As an artist, your art is the main thing you offer. Does that mean you need good art to have a big following?

Someone with that mindset might think ‘it’s not me who’s the problem, it’s that other people don’t appreciate my art’.

Think back to the time you saw a good artist but decided not to follow them. It’s free, so why didn’t you?

Following is a commitment. The belief that someone will deliver what they have delivered before. When you see evidence that an artist won’t deliver on that promise, you won’t follow.

So, instead of asking “is my art good enough”, ask:

Am I an artist people want to follow?

But Beats, is it really that simple? Don’t I need to make good art before I can start gaining followers?

Great question. I do think if you’re a newbie artist, then either you use your inexperience as a marketing tool (follow me and join me on my adventure to improve!) or accept that not everyone will want to follow you just yet.  

However, I don’t think this is something to fret about if you’re serious about improving. Becoming a good artist takes time. Even then, the “good” artist knows there will always be something to improve. That’s just part of the game.

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Good art is just one reason to follow a creator, among many others. This mindset is helpful for newbie artists and might even be what you’re missing as a ‘good’ artist who can’t seem to build a following.

After being on social media for a while, and seeing the obstacles other artists run into, I’ve condensed the principles that guide my social media strategy. Throughout the article, you’ll see how I implement them, and how other artists use them as well.

Principle 1: Resonance

Who is your audience?

Others say make art for yourself. I say make art you enjoy, while finding the people who also enjoy it.

I call these resonance points. They’re the links between you and a stranger.

Your resonance points might be the kinks you draw or the subjects you like drawing. It might be the fandom you’re in or your own original characters. It might be your art style or your artistic voice.

I started out as a generic NSFW artist, before discovering I liked drawing OCs and talking about character backstory. My resonance point was taking the love OC owners had for their characters and putting the same love into an artwork for them.

Determine your resonance point/s, then find your audience.

Fanart gets likes, so is it a resonance point?
Beats, I’m tired of no one noticing my art. Should I make fanart?

Well… Do you want to be known for your occasional fan art, or for what you enjoy doing?

The fact that people ask this tells me that they have an existing resonance point. Either they haven’t put enough time into growing their following, or there are things to improve with their strategy.

The occasional fanart is fine, but if you end up doing it to milk likes and follows, then you’ll be stuck in this prison of “no one will follow me unless I draw fanart” and “I don’t even like drawing fan art” and “I want more likes.”

So no, it’s not a resonance point. It’s a short-term reward compared to your long-term goals.

That doesn’t mean it’s bad, though. It can be a good boost to see people like your art style. I recommend reading this article about balancing short and long-term rewards.

Principle 2: Clarity

Don’t just tell me, show me.

People follow you with the assumption that you will deliver what they expect you to.

To create that expectation, you need to be crystal clear about what you’re doing. About who you are as an artist.

I see too many profiles that say “I draw NSFW art” only to see a gallery of unfinished sketches, linked YouTube videos, and random screenshots.

There’s no pattern to the chaos, no reason to follow.

Clarity is communicating your brand and setting expectations with what’s available. Your description, your pinned post, your gallery, your commission info design.

Everything aligns to tell a stranger, “this is what I do”.

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Beats, won’t that make me seem like an emotionless robot?
Not necessarily! Think of it more as a balance. You don’t want people to follow you only for you (fewer followers), or only for your art (less personal engagement).

For example, I used to tweet 10+ times a day. I knew I was tweeting for attention, not because it was aligned with what I did as an artist. Now I’ve cut it down to 1-2 a day.

In the end, it depends on your goals. If you want to be noticed for your art and personality, you’ll have to sacrifice the shit-posts and overly personal tweets so you can better communicate what you do.

Principle 3: Consistency

A thousand small steps bring you further than a single huge one.

As you hone in on what makes you you, you create expectation. Now, you must deliver.

Consistency communicates that you’re in this for the long run, that people can depend on you. That you’re worth their follow.

My favorite example is stormcow, who went from 10k to 33k followers in a year. His art is rough and sketch-like, yet his consistency in style and posting schedule played into his explosive growth.

Check his gallery out. There’s no clutter, and you quickly get a sense for what he draws. That’s clarity and consistency at work.

Consistency can play into other areas, too. I brand myself as an OC illustrator, so all my work and decisions feed that idea. My commission info directly asks “ready to get your OC drawn?”, while my gallery is filled with content about OCs and the people I draw them for.

Whenever an OC owner sees my profile, they’re more likely to follow me. Perfect, exactly the audience I create content for.

Principle 4: Relevance

Are you on the forefront of your audience’s mind?

After you develop your resonance points and create content consistently, you’ll want to find ways to stay relevant. For example, if you only draw bondage art, are you an artist who comes to mind when someone asks for a bondage artist?

Staying relevant means showing up, consistently sharing your work. You produce fresh, new art that keeps people coming back.

It’s a shame to see good art, only to find the artist hasn’t been online in two years.

As an illustrator and writer, here are some ways I stay relevant:

• Holding art events like the Em-chan Art Jam and the upcoming NSFW Artist’s Guild Summerzine (with cohost Omnibun!)
• Staying active in the community and encouraging QnA and sharing
• Posting OC related ask memes
• Writing weekly articles about the NSFW field
• Scheduling my posts and setting deadlines for myself

Relevance might be difficult unless you’ve accomplished principle 1 (resonance) and 2 (clarity). Until then, you’re just another artist who has no differentiator. You can’t be known for something when you yourself don’t know what it is.

Principle 5: Operation

Know your Tools

Even following principles 1-4, you might never take off if you’re on the wrong platform. A furry artist would do much better on Furaffinity than Facebook and Instagram, while a hentai artist would have a hard time finding work on r/NSFWart or r/HungryArtists.

You might have a lot to say about algorithms stopping your reach, but that’s out of your control. I prefer to focus on the strengths of each platform in alignment with your own strengths.

Here’s a less obvious insight: having a lot of followers on a platform doesn’t make it the best platform for you.

For example, I have 1.4k followers on Pixiv. However, I barely sink any time into building an audience there because:

• The language barrier stops me from communicating with followers
• The platform is art-centric; I can’t use my personality as a point of resonance

In contrast, Twitter is my main platform because:

• Direct messaging and interactions are baked into the platform
• You can upload non-art content
• It’s easier to find or build a community
• Art commissioners actively share their works there and find artists through retweets

Don’t be fooled, though. I started and dropped my Twitter account twice before finding a good rhythm. It takes time to find what’ll work for you.

If you feel like your current platform doesn’t give you the tools you need to do your best work, then consider a different one even if your audience there is smaller at the moment.

Principle 6: Demand

Create Your Niche

I kept this one last because it’s the generic solution to “why don’t people follow me?”

Niche is defined as “a specialized segment of the market for a particular product”. In artist terms: a group of people who like a certain kink or content.

You can always find a niche to create content for. Perhaps you only draw futanari. Or inflation. Or giantess. Or guro.  My niche is OC artist.

But what does it mean to create a niche?

As an artist, you have the opportunity to make something uniquely you. Something people won’t find from other artists.

If you’re applying principles 1-5, then you can say you’ve made yourself a niche. You are the niche! Your personality, branding, way of business, and art have all come together to make something unique.

Case Study: CuteSexyRobutts
Let’s see how CSR’s work applies the five principles to create demand.

Principle 1: Resonance
I would say CSR has two resonance points. First, his painterly art style and masterly of light and anatomy make him a cut above the rest.



Another resonance point is the content: fanart. Notice how CSR doesn’t include text or commentary on his tweets, yet people are replying and even thanking him for drawing fanart.



Principle 2: Clarity
CSR has drawn a lot of cute girls. Ever since he started on Deviantart in 2017, he’s uploaded 1k+ cute girl artworks. No problem seeing that in his Twitter, either.



Principle 3: Consistency
CSR is consistent in upload speed (usually longest in-between drawings is a week), art content, and art style. Check.



Principle 4: Relevance
In CSR’s case, he stays relevant by just making good art. That, and the demand tied to anime trends and certain character fanart keeps people coming back for more.



Principle 5: Operation
Since CSR only does fanart, it doesn’t seem like there’s a best or worst platform for him to upload to. In his case, I’d say principle 5 is the least important one to consider.

Principle 6: Demand
So, putting it all together. CSR resonates through art skill and fanart, creating beautiful lewd works. Because of his consistency and clarity, fans know what to expect, and they definitely want more.

Conclusion

To recap, here are the principles to apply so you become an artist people want to follow:

1. Resonance – Find your resonance points and your audience.
2. Clarity – Create expectation by being clear about what you do, in text and action.
3. Consistency – Show that you deliver constantly, that you’re worth a follow.
4. Relevance – Find ways to be known for what you do, differentiate yourself. Show up.
5. Operation – Choose platforms that work well with your strengths.
6. Demand – Become the niche so people demand you, not what you do.

Use these principles to guide your social media strategy. Set yourself up for long-term growth and success, rather than depending on short-term works that conflict with what you actually want to be known for.

Set yourself up for long-term growth and success with these six principles for growing your audience online Click To Tweet

What’s your major takeaway? Which area do you want to improve on? I’m always happy to read your comments, or you can reach out to me on Twitter!

Cheers, Beats.