When I started painting I thought I could get away with just posting the odd picture on Facebook to show my friends what I'd done. As things have developed and I now sell regularly there is a need to publish images across several platforms. What I didn't realise is that cheesy smiles sell. I'm so glad I look after my teeth!

Say Cheese! Showing one of my pieces in The Elements series

Since my art sales picked up I realised I would need to promote my works to a wider audience and thereby increase my chances of sustaining this success. The most obvious way was to engage with social media. So, with some expert help from my kids I set up an Instagram business account amongst others. Until now, I had no idea what I was doing and assumed if I followed a few people they would do the same and in no time I would have tens of thousands of followers and potential customers. I was wrong! It seems there is a bit more to it than that.

I was already ticking one box and that was to ensure that I posted images regularly and at the right times of the day when people are more likely to see my posts in their feeds. Instagram exposure is transient and you don’t get to stay on peoples phone screens for very long. The other thing was to ensure that the images I posted were good quality and represented what I did. Not just painting though, apparently it is a good idea to show that you’re a human being so posting photos of my other activities was also another tick in the box. But, all this was fine but my level of engagement and followers had flatlined, neither going up or down. Something had to change. Well, as it turns out several things but I’ll address just one in this blog.

I discovered, by looking at other artist's profiles, that one needs to show some personality and pictures of oneself with the artwork. I needed to clean my teeth and say cheese - a lot! When I looked at some of the most prominent and successful artists promoting their work on Instagram the same thing showed up - they were all showing themselves with their artwork or in their studio or in the midst of working on their latest project. If you don’t believe me take a look at Swarez, Sophie Tea and Lina Vonti, as good examples. These three combine high quality imagery, engaging and interesting photos and include something of themselves that provide an insight into their personalities. I’ve only been an artist for a year and a selling artist for much less, and although I’m enjoying regular sales I’m still almost unknown. So, following good practice can only help, which is why I follow these amongst others.

I've only just begun to do this in the last few days and it has already had a marked effect. In just 7 days my following has increased by another 15%. Not too bad at all!

Of course, this all means you will now be seeing a lot more of me and my cheesy smiles! I guess eating spinach is off for a while!