Every so often, someone pops into the NSFW Artists Guild and asks the golden question: “Should I even bother with Twitter?”

As a long-time NSFW netizen, I’ve watched platforms come and go; I’ve grown a 40k+ Tumblr, found success on DeviantArt and Twitter, and flopped on platforms like Newgrounds, Pixiv, and Facebook.

After a while, I stopped thinking about algorithms and “playing the game”. If anything, those rules don’t apply to us- NSFW artists are usually penalized by the algorithm the second we mark our profile as R18.

Of course, just because the odds are stacked against us, doesn’t mean we’re helpless.

The Social in Social Media

With all the talk about optimizing hashtags and post formats, we’ve forgotten the true power of social media. It allows us to reach other people, to utilize the support of many to reach big goals.

Just one thing: you need to build those relationships.

With social media, follower count is the most visible number, so it became our default metric. We keep collecting more and more, convinced that that will earn us more commission work, or more patrons.

Quantity certainly helps, but what about quality?

For example, you have levels of friendship, ranging from acquaintances to best friends. But if you think about it, your best friend was once a stranger. It took time and effort for the relationship to grow.

Likewise, you can actively improve your relationship with your social media following. Over the past few years, I’ve worked with many repeat clients, continuously drawing their OCs and building our relationship.

In sales, this concept is called customer acquisition. Customers start cool and grow warmer. A cool customer is not likely to buy, while a warm customer is highly interested and likely to buy.

In the same way, you can have followers within that cool-warm spectrum, in different stages of their relationship with you. They may not be commissioning you because they don’t know if they can trust you, or maybe they aren’t aware of the benefits of becoming a patron. Perhaps they’ve never worked with an artist before, and are nervous to approach you!

I like asking myself questions about the quality of my followers:

• Do I know why they follow me? What sets me apart from other artists?
• What can I do to convert new followers into advocates? From cool to warm?
• How can I find and introduce myself to new people within my target audience, who aren’t following me yet?

With these questions, you’ve made the leap most artists never take. Instead of waiting for followers to realize the value of your work, you take an active approach to showing and connecting with them. By putting yourself in their shoes, you can create content and initiatives that convert them into fans.

For additional reading, check out this article about your 1000 true fans. Think on key points such as retention, which is something you can measure and act on. How do you convert followers into true fans? Thanks to evilsmitty12 for the article suggestion!

How I Use Social Media

Notice how I never even mentioned the algorithm in the previous section! The fun part about all this is that it’s in your control. In contrast, playing the algorithm game is passive: you can’t really control what the platform does with your content.

Here are some ways I actively use social media:

1. Participate and connect. Rather than lurking around, you’ll want to get eyes on your profile. I like commenting and retweeting other artists’ works, curating content that is similar to mine. It’s a great way to connect with other artists, along with their audience. That way, you widen your network and keep your profile active.
2. Talk and send direct messages. You can turn cool followers into warm followers (and thus clients) by getting to know them and their needs. What kind of art do they commission? What do they like about your style? I often message a “Cute OC, could you tell me more about them?” 99% of the time, I work with repeat clients rather than new ones. Even after a 6 month break, I came back and got commissioned by the same people as last year! It’s much easier working with people you know, than building up from scratch each time.
3. Seek your audience. Who do you make art for? What gets you inspired? I know artists who draw niche kinks like inflation or vore, and need to seek out that specific audience for commissions. Grow your network by engaging with the groups that need your work! For example, I comment a lot on FFXIV OC owner posts, and keep an eye out for those who commission art. Once you start following a few artists you admire, and seeing who follows them, your network can grow from there.

In Summary..

It’s always been a part of the NSFW field to be disregarded by social media platforms. Fair or not, it just means that we find different ways to reach our goals.

Ironically, that’s what I most enjoy about NSFW compared to SFW: we’re all just trying to bugger along and enjoy horny content. That means relationships are doubly important, and doubly as enjoyable.

Rather than thinking of your follower count, think about the things you can do to:

• Turn followers from cool to warm, anticipating their needs and the kind of art they like commissioning
• Engage your audience and build your relationship with them
• Connect with people outside your network, and bring the social back into social media

And hopefully in the end, you’ll find yourself free from the algorithm.

Hope that helps! As always, you can let me know what you think by commenting, or reaching out at hbeats.art@gmail.com. Interested in a individualized portfolio review? Check out ArtBeat!