Supporting Artists While Socially Distancing
Many of us are practicing social distancing right now in an effort to keep ourselves and those around us safe. While this type of voluntary isolation is great for public health efforts, it has some unfortunate unintended consequences for independent artists.
Being unable to go to conventions, sell their work face-to-face, and network in person can be challenging for artists. In light of that, we wanted to come up with some ideas for backing artists while still maintaining social distancing.
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An easy way to show your encouragement is to share their work online. Always give them credit and be sure to check with them before reposting anything. Sharing their art to networks you’re a part of that may be particularly interested in their work can be huge! Even if people don’t buy anything right now, it can give the artist new followers, who can potentially be future customers.
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Many artists have a Patreon or Ko-Fi account, where you can donate to them directly. Patreon users generally offer several levels of patronage that you can select from, with benefits for joining each level. On Ko-Fi, you can do a one-time or recurring donation, and artists can also set fundraising goals and offer commissions.
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Words of encouragement are super important in uncertain times - make sure your favorite artists know you’ve got their back. Plus, interacting with them on social media is an easy way to boost their visibility!
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An obvious way to support artists is to buy their work or hire them to do commissions. With the loss of face-to-face selling, artists will be relying on online income more than ever. If you make a purchase, be sure to show off your new swag on social media, and tag the artist!
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Follow along with artists’ updates by subscribing to their newsletters or YouTube channels, so you can stay on top of any announcements they have! You’ll feel more connected to them, and they’ll be grateful to have you in their community.
We recognize that this is a hard time for everyone, and we want artists on TeePublic to know we’ve got their backs. Here are some quick tips for designers who want to focus on their store’s growth and promotion:
We have tons more info on the TeePublic blog and on our Artist Instagram. We hope that TeePublic can remain a go-to resource for you to continue to grow your brand and business. And as always, if you have any questions, you can reach us at [email protected].
